*SPOILER ALERT—Have you ever seen a movie about a documentarian making a documentary? Butterfly Kisses (2018) tells the story of Gavin York who is searching for a documentary video on an old cassette tape containing video footage of students in a tunnel. A movie that, when you first see the poster, makes you feel curious. Butterfly Kisses uses a unique found footage concept, not only imitating The Blair Witch Project, but also offering a brilliant metanarrative concept. The movie received a rating of 5.9/10 from 4.9 thousand viewers on IMDb. Butterfly Kisses screenwriter Erik Kristopher Myers also acted as director in the production of this movie. Although at first glance it seems less evocative in terms of ratings, there are several things that could be the reason this movie is worth watching for horror lovers.
‘Layered’ and Complex Story
The scenario of Butterfly Kisses is very complex, starting with a video recording of Sophia Crane (Rachel Armiger), a film student in 2004, documenting the existence of a local legendary astral figure named “Peeping Tom”. Years later, the tape is rediscovered on cassette tape by unemployed Gavin York (Seth Adam Kallick) in 2013. After seeing the video, it turns out that the contents are just a bunch of raw videos, which makes him want to ‘perfect’ his documentary to prove that the video on the tape is real or just a fabrication. The plot of this movie is also very neat, so every time there is a question or gap in the story, you immediately get an answer without having to wait long.
Uniqueness of the Found Footage Genre
Even though it uses the found footage style, this movie does not follow the cliché like movies with the same genre in general. Instead, Butterfly Kisses remixes the horror genre with three layers of interlocking footage – like Inception but with a found footage version. Plus, the movie keeps the audience guessing which one is real and which one is a trick.
The Charm of Butterfly Kisses
One of the things that makes this movie stand out is the use of three interconnected layers of found footage, which makes the viewing experience unique and interesting. The movie is also good at playing with point of view, which makes the audience feel like an unstable teenager because they are always hesitant to decide what is real and what is just a trick. Not only that, there is a cameo appearance from (Eduardo Sanchez), the director of The Blair Witch Project, which adds to the genre’s distinctive vibe and makes the audience doubt the concept of found footage in this film. In addition, this movie also tells the story of an independent filmmaker’s struggle to achieve his dreams through a challenging project. Butterfly Kisses successfully brings a new color to the found footage genre, which is usually considered boring.
Butterfly Kisses has a skillful screenplay and a fresh approach, so this movie is a must-watch for those of you who love horror or who are pursuing your dream of making an independent film. Although some of the acting is not on point, this movie still proves that found footage can be developed into something cooler. Do you like horror movies with found footage concepts like this?
