An $8,000 budget, but Found delivers more chills and substance than Hollywood’s multimillion-dollar nightmares
In order to cleanse my horror palate after the shitstain that Terrifier 3 was, I decided to find the cheapest, dirtiest little horror film I could dig up. The winner? An $8,000 indie gem called Found, streaming on Tubi and more. And let me tell you, compared to Terrifier 3, this thing looks like an Academy Award nominee.
First off, major kudos to director and co-writer Scott Schirmer for taking Todd Rigney’s self-published novel and turning it into a film with barely anything but heart, passion, and a camera. To pull off a feature film on an $8,000 budget is no small feat. Most Hollywood productions wouldn’t even flinch at spending that much on lunch. And yet, here we are, talking about Found’”a film that manages to be raw, unsettling, and memorable, all on a budget that wouldn’t even cover a few extras on a mid-tier horror flick.
Is this film flawless? Absolutely not. Some shots are shaky, and there are takes that a more polished production would toss out entirely. But when you’re working with pennies, it’s about what you can do with what you’ve got. Schirmer somehow makes these imperfections feel part of the film’s charm. There’s a gritty, homespun quality to the production that only adds to its eerie atmosphere.
What makes this achievement even more impressive is how much Schirmer does with so little. The film centers on fifth-grader Marty (played with real depth by Gavin Brown), who discovers that his older brother is a serial killer. The movie doesn’t waste time throwing you into the thick of it. From the opening scene, we see Marty sneak into his brother’s closet to check the bowling bag that holds the latest victim’s head’”a routine he’s disturbingly accustomed to.
On paper, Found might seem like just another low-budget slasher flick, but it’s so much more than that. This isn’t a gorefest; it’s a deeply psychological horror story about youth, rage, and the gradual erosion of innocence. Marty is a kid growing up in a nightmare, and Brown’s performance captures the delicate balance between naivety and the grim realities surrounding him. His character is heartbreaking’”this is a boy trying to cope with a horrific truth, and his moral compass is constantly shifting.
Schirmer keeps the violence controlled but impactful. There’s gore, but it’s not gratuitous, which is a smart choice when you’re working with a limited budget. Instead, the film builds tension through mood and implication, forcing the audience to fill in the blanks. When Found hits you with its brutality, it’s not because of elaborate effects or over-the-top blood splatter’”it’s because the story has earned it. It’s a slow burn, but the dread seeps into you as the film progresses. The final act is a gut punch not just for what happens, but for how deeply it taps into the fear of losing control’”control over yourself, your family, and your future.
When you consider how much Found accomplishes on such a shoestring budget, it’s truly remarkable. For $8,000, Schirmer and his crew delivered something that sticks with you. Most low-budget films either go campy or try too hard to mask their financial constraints. Not here. Found embraces its limitations and works within them, using tight, claustrophobic settings and simple, practical effects to craft something raw and unnerving.
Schirmer understands that horror doesn’t need a massive effects budget or big-name actors to be effective. It needs atmosphere, tension, and characters you care about’”or, in some cases, characters you fear. The film’s low-budget charm might turn off some viewers expecting polished visuals and slick editing, but horror purists will recognize the heart and craft behind this small indie effort.
While Terrifier 3 and its ilk throw money at the screen hoping to shock with cheap thrills, Found digs deeper. It’s about the terror lurking in everyday life, about the unspoken horrors that children like Marty face when the world around them falls apart. For anyone who’s looking for a horror film with substance beneath the blood, Found is a must-watch and a testament to what indie filmmakers can achieve with passion, vision, and a few thousand dollars.
Found
Forbidden Films
distributed by XLrator Media
2012 | 103 minutes | rated R | unrated version on Blu-ray | U.S. | English
available streaming and on DVD and Blu-ray
