2021 somehow found itself to be more abhorrent than 2020. An attempted insurrection took the lives of nine people. Out of the five domestic terrorists, only one died at the hands of a police officer. Four of the officers trying to defend democracy would go on to take their own lives within the next few months. That’s just how the year started. Nearly half a million Americans would die from COVID, and with the death toll from the year before, would push American COVID deaths to nearly one million. While the world may have been in turmoil, you cannot deny how amazing some of the 2021 horror releases were. We had a spin-off of a [soon-to-be] billion-dollar franchise with Spiral, James Wan wowed us with his giallo-esque Malignant, DGG gave us a brilliant finale to his Halloween trilogy, Taiwan brought us one of the goriest zombie films of all time with The Sadness, and the V/H/S franchise came back swinging with the extravagantly gruesome V/H/S/94. To say 2021 was a good year for the genre is an understatement.
It’s hard to pick a favorite, or standout, found footage film from 2021 as they just all hit the mark too damn well. The reason we’re going to look at this specific film in 2021 is twofold. Firstly, it’s a found footage film that gets the mockumentary formula right (which we’ll double down on when we get to the 2022 pick). Secondly, it has somehow spawned a franchise and a devoted fanbase. And that just makes me happy.
Horror in the High Desert is a Truly Unique Found Footage Film
Horror in the High Desert is not the Western it sounds like it will be. However, there is a hard argument you could make to say Horror in the High Desert is indeed a Western film. One of the biggest downfalls of Lake Mungo, my favorite mockumentary, is how rehearsed and acted the dialogue feels. With High Desert, you are gifted an insanely well-acted mockumentary that never loses its footing in its authenticity. Writer/director Dutch Marich, great name, effortlessly accomplishes what The Poughkeepsie Tapes tried so hard, and failed, to do.
Nearly eighty percent of this film follows the typical true crime documentary style, leaving the audience to possibly forget they’re watching a horror film. In most senses, this would be a turn-off for genre fans. Marich not only understands the craft of filmmaking, he understands how to scare. The slow-as-paint-drying buildup to the finale makes the entire runtime worthwhile. If Marich failed at having an impressive finale, then High Desert would have failed. Now, do we need a second film? I know nothing about the second film, so I’m not sure what direction they’re planning on going…but I do know I’m going to watch it eventually.
One of the greatest things about found footage films is how filmmakers decide to skirt around the formula. If there’s one thing critics can rightfully say about horror is that it’s incredibly formulaic. What makes Horror in the High Desert succeed is how it chooses what genre it wants to be at any given time. There are small moments of horror that pop in throughout the film, but Marich doesn’t let the horror take the reigns until it’s absolutely necessary. Art is about taking risks, and Horror in the High Desert isn’t afraid to take those risks. It could have easily backfired on Marich, but his knowledge and competency behind the camera propel this film into horror history.
