The McPherson Tape

The McPherson Tape (1989)

Runtime: 66 minutes

Directed by: Dean Alioto

Starring: Alioto and other non-actors

From: Indiesyndicate Productions/Vidatron Entertainment Group

So, yesterday I received my second vaccine shot; the first went fine aside from arm soreness... the second has been different. In the evening I felt exhausted so something that was barely over an hour long, was on Shudder and is a movie I've been interested in for ages... it was a wise choice. There's also no regrets in getting those shots, even if I hardly got any sleep last night and feel like I am moving at half-speed due to sheer exhaustion.

Before Paranormal Activity and even preceding The Blair Witch Project, The McPherson Tape was the first fully found footage horror film. It is an incredibly simple premise and allegedly only cost $6,500 to make. Some young adult dude in 1983 (Mike) films his niece Michelle's 5th birthday party with what had to be the first or one of the first camcorders that the public could buy. It has the expected quality, but that and other factors do make it feel rather authentic. Mike and his brothers/brothers-in-law-go outside after the power goes out and discovers... a spaceship and aliens that stereotypically look like those allegedly seen by many... gray skin, huge oval eyes, short, etc. They get spotted and the fit hits the shan, so to speak.

I was greatly amused that even at the beginning of the genre this has some cliches... people constantly bickering with each other outside of them reacting to the big event is the big one with me. “Someone does something really stupid” is a thing here. Another one is “the camera cuts out at the most convenient moment.” Be that as it may, this was still fun, at least by genre standards. I'd say found footage isn't my favorite but with the number of those I've seen... perhaps I am lying to myself. I was never irritated, which is a feeling that comes from too many of those; even with all the arguing, at least after the first act it mostly relevant to the pants-soiling moment of spotting aliens and thinking they're after you.

This will get some kudos from me for an idea that was far ahead of its time and managed to create some chilling moments. What I most appreciated (and I am sure is only experienced if you see the new remastered version that's on Blu from AGFA and is the print that Shudder streams) is that twice I spotted something quite subtle in the background, each time rewinding to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. From later events, what was noticed was accurate and those moments helped in creating even more peril for this poor family. Other subtleties may have been present but I saw two for certain. This was remade by director Dean Alioto a decade later as a TV movie (which featured pre-fame Emmanuelle Chriqui) which I haven't seen but I will assume the original did it better.