Dir. Danny Villanueva Jr. (2024)
A young woman makes an investigative documentary about strange events from her childhood.
I'm a sucker for found footage, but goddamn are there a lot of bad ones out there. Thankfully, when a found footage film gets its plot, scope, and acting correct, it's hard to beat just how scary they can actually get. What Happened to Dorothy Bell?, which world premiered on Sunday at Fantastic Fest, is an excellent example of what can be accomplished even after all of these over-saturated years in the genre. Filled with great performances, an intriguing plot, and some stellar scares, this is one you'll want to watch out for.
Ozzie (Asya Meadows) is trying to piece together a personal history that is full of holes. She has recently learned that she was attacked by her grandmother Dorothy Bell (Arlene Arnone Bibbs) when she was a child, a fact that was hidden from her by her parents until she was an adult. With the help of her therapist Dr. Connelly (Lisa Wilcox, veteran of a couple of Nightmare on Elm Street films) and an investigative video diary, she is slowly working towards learning to accept her history and move on. After discovering the presence of one of her grandmother's books, however, history threatens to repeat itself in the present in gruesome ways.
After a really unnerving opening scene that heebied my fucking jeebies, What Happened to Dorothy Bell? never lets up on the fear factor. There are some truly scary moments in the film, and while you can more than likely guess what's going to happen next, director Danny Villanueva Jr. puts it all on screen in a refreshing and terrifying way. Meadows is outstanding in the starring role, plumbing her character's sentimental side while delivering a realistic portrayal of a damaged young woman who never escaped from the dangers of her earlier life. Wilcox is also excellent, though in a much smaller role, and the entire supporting cast, including Michael Hargrove (Nia Costa's Candyman), is fantastic.
There's a ton of great supernatural tidbits here, and while the plot itself is not particularly inventive, there's more than enough here for fans of the genre to enjoy. The ways in which the found footage is integrated into the plot is fantastic, and the idea of having the main character create what is essentially a video blog while investigating her grandmother's history is a great way to never make the audience doubt why they're seeing these things. The old library, the central location most of the scares take place, is frightening, dark and threatening even when nothing is occurring on-screen. The payoff of the film is a little weak, especially given some of the scares that came before, but by and large, it's a damn good film.
As a self-professed found footage junkie, this is one of the better films in the genre in recent years. It's an enthusiastically scary entry into the genre that doesn't pull any punches and is never afraid to deliver on what it promises. Meadows is genuinely great in the role, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see her in a lot more in the future. I can say the same for Villanueva Jr., who clearly has a lot of talent and is almost assuredly going to make a name for himself. If you're looking for some found footage scares, look no further. This is one you don't want to miss if you're a fan.
Who this movie is for: Supernatural horror fans, Found footage junkies, Librarians
Bottom line: While I'm not too crazy about the name, What Happened to Dorothy Bell? is well performed, and well made, an interesting and actually-scary entry into the found footage genre. It's indie enough to make the found footage premise connect with the audience in a way that studio films tend to forget, and it's a damn good film besides. The world premiere is at Fantastic Fest this week, and if you get the opportunity to watch, I highly recommend that you do.
