Butterfly Kisses

"Butterfly Kisses" adds its own unique (meta) spin on the found footage genre. Definitely if you just go by the call-in radio set-piece, and its special telephone guest. Clever touch. Sure it still follows the standard low-budget sub-genre cliches, but it's how the story is presented is where it sets itself apart. Heavy on mystery with its urban legend style groundwork. A wannabe film-maker stumbles across a box (labelled 'Don't watch') of a student's film project involving research into a local urban legend; Peeping Tom. So he goes about trying to investigate if the disturbing footage is real, while trying to complete their unfinished project as his own work. He gets a seperate documentary crew to follow him around to consolidate his findings and tell his story of getting this done.

While watching I was getting 'Lake Mungo' vibes, as it focused more so on mood and discomfort than all out frights and incidents. It's slow burn, constantly conversational and sort of creeps up on you in a potboiler way. There's a documentary within a documentary within a documentary framework to the story as one film-maker's obsession becomes a domino effect for everyone involved. Meaning there's no real satisfying conclusion to it all. Probably by the end it was more interesting than entertaining.

I won't go into the details as so many others have already laid out much of it. If you're looking for a horror or thriller, this probably isn't the film for you. It's more of a character profile. It's a film with in a film. The "found footage" would be the typically generic of that genre...film students being hunted/killed by otherworldly force. The more interesting part of the film is the central character. He's a loser and a jerk. He failed as a film student, works a menial job, can't support his family, steals from his own child, is belligerent towards people who can help him and worst of all is using someone else's work in order to make a name for himself. There were annoying bits about not finding any records of the missing/dead players from the "found footage," except for one. Also the ending is annoying. I won't give that away, I will give my opinion on a stronger ending, though. I would have enjoyed the ending had it been an interview with the characters of Feldman and Crane being amazed that a failed and forgotten film project had driven someone to obsession and madness.

Yet another "found footage" movie. I have watched dozens of movies in this genre, most of them pretty below average.This one was however pretty good, and a cut above the rest with an interesting concept. A film maker comes into possession of a box of videos left in his mother-in-laws new house. It belonged to two film students investigating the local legend of the supernatural being, Peeping Tom, or The Blink Man. He becomes obsessed with the footage and begins his own investigation and documentary. That's the basic beginnings of the movie, and it takes several twists and turns from there. I did enjoy this movie, and would have scored it higher, but I found the central character of film maker Gavin York so unlikable, it was hard to empathise with him. His reactions in certain situations seemed excessive, even for someone obsessed as he was. Could have been an 8/10, worth a look.

A self-aware found-footage film. Now there's a concept I don't think I've seen before. At one point 'Butterfly Kisses' even has a character list all the flaws in the found-footage film concept. It also features the director of 'The Blair Witch Project' Eduardo Sánchez giving his opinion on whether a film was or was not real footage. And strangely enough, it all works and even manages to create a tense horror film in the process.

The concept takes a little while to get used to, but once you start to realise what they're going for and how the format works you are able to settle in and just enjoy the ride. It is admittedly a little clunky in places, but it certainly gets better as the film goes along. Because of the way the story is told it feels like two films in one. You have a mystery and a horror being told concurrently. The horror story is almost certainly the strongest aspect of 'Butterfly Kisses' though.

The film contains one of the best jump-scares I've ever seen in a film. It got me really good, and I'm not got easily. I missed this film back in 2018 when it was released but I'm glad I went back and found it because it was an enjoyable watch. I would recommend people give this one a look.

I believe that Butterfly Kisses is a dark comedy/mockumentary in the likes as C'est arrivé près de chez vous, Bad Ben and Digging Up The Marrow.

(mind you, I thought the same about Best Wordt Movie, still won't believe it's for real)

Watched it with my 15-year old daugter, who was really creeped out. In my opinion she missed the 'clues' that this is more of a psychological character study.

Better prove that the acting is great than people reacting that this is a manipulated documentary doesn't exist. (whoooosh?)

I found this one of the nicest quirky movies I have seen.

Whatever it is, I found it a fun and entertaining movie, and my daugther liked it too, for completely differrent reasons.

Give it a go and make up your own mind.