THE WENDIGO (2022)

The Wendigo (2022)
Directed by: Jake Robinson
Written by: Jake Robinson, James S. Brown
Starring: Austin Pigza, Hunter Redfern, Jake Robinson, Laura Rodriguez, Matthias Margraves, Paul Hurley, Taylor-Grace Davis, Tyler Gene

THE WENDIGO (2022)
Directed by Jake Robinson

A vlogger named Logan goes out into the Appalachian woodland as a dare at the request of his premium subscribers. Always one to obey his paying audience, Logan rolls up with a tent and camps out for the night, armed only with a video camera to record his overnight adventure. After something goes terribly wrong during his live-stream leading to his disappearance, his fellow influencer friends decide to try to and find him (and record some content for their own channels whilst they’re at it!). Unaware if Logan’s live-stream antics were a hoax or not, they travel deeper into the woodlands, but will they be prepared for what they find?

There seemed a lot of excitement on social media when we spread the news about found footage horror movie THE WENDIGO being released. It seems that folks love a good folk horror and what better way to deliver one about the Wendigo than a Blair Witch-esque found footage thriller!

Although THE WENDIGO doesn’t reach the incredible levels of The Blair Witch Project, director Jake Robinson shows some potential in this, his first feature length film (albeit a short 70 minute feature).

When we meet Logan (Tyler Gene), he’s the definition of one of these sickly influencers who are as narcissistic as they come. His over-the-top persona, as he’s live-streaming his trip, is aggravating to sit through and watch, and it’s very hard to like or care about the chap. Fortunately, the “live” comment section rolling down the side of the screen is much more entertaining and wickedly on-point for anyone who has ever lurked on a busy YouTube or Twitch stream. Such is Logan’s performance for his followers, a collective he fondly describes as Logan’s Lovers, that it’s of no great loss when something from outside his tent appears to attack the vlogger, with the lie-stream abruptly coming to a halt amidst buffering. The subsequent ‘reactions’ we see from subscribers following the ending of the live-stream, a stream which we’re told goes viral, are a little exaggerated and overbaked to be taken seriously, but fortunately all that settles down when we meet Logan’s friends and fellow influencers, Jay, TJ and Matthew.

As we see the three guys chatting in the car on the way to the woods where Logan went missing, it feels as though we’re actually sat on the backseat having a casual conversation with them. This natural, authentic approach is what works well for a movie of this style with some better performances from its cast too. We see this quest for realism continue into the hunt for Logan as we meet two more characters in the form of stroppy influencer Cassi and her put-upon assistant, Kaylee. Cassi instantly makes her persona known and the sassiness can be overplayed at times, though the beef between her and Matthew feels more genuine because of it, perhaps because Cassi is such an opinionated character. However, the bickering between the two seems to distract from the story and leaves the plot lacking a much-needed gradual build-up of tension to play and feast upon, something that The Blair Witch Project used successfully to its advantage. Instead, things seem to go rather south at the flick of a switch, leaving a frantic craziness in its wake but lacking the actual fear factor that I was very much hoping for.

As a found footage movie, there’s always a risk the handheld style can cause motion sickness and I did find that it triggered mine which wasn’t pleasant to endure. The fast cuts and rapid action of the camera, specifically towards the latter end of the movie, just exacerbates the situation, but it also makes it hard to work out what the hell is going on. I can appreciate with a low budget that one has to get creative but a more balanced approach to the camera work and editing could still have worked and been easier on those who are sensitive to such things.

You may be wondering if you get a glimpse of the titular creature, the Wendigo, and you shan’t be disappointed. The design of the creature is fantastic to behold and is one of the highlights of the movie. The other being the creative work with the audio which plays with the characters as they venture ever deeper into the dark woodland.

Whilst THE WENDIGO manages to touch upon subjects like greed, possession, cannibalism and murder, those intrigued by the mythology and legend of the Wendigo may be left hungry for more than what’s offered here.

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