The Glenarma Tapes – Frightfest 2023 Movie Review
Director: Tony Devlin
Writer: Tony Devlin, Paul Kennedy (Screenplay)
Cast
- Warren McCook (Hope Street)
- Sophie Hill
- Ryan Early
- Emily Lamey (A Fistful of Karma)
Plot: In Spring 2020 when five students and two faculty members from the Mid Ulster College of Art go missing in a forest on the north coast of Ireland. What happened on the day they disappeared has remained a mystery – until now.
Runtime: 1 Hour 18 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Glenarma Tapes starts when Jimmy (Early) is recording Gordy’s (McCook) student life. The pair are joined by Eleanor (Hill) and Clare (Lamey), as they head off to film inside the forest. However, after learning about a local legend, they decide to investigate it.
This leads to them getting lost in the forest and stumbling into a disturbing event going on in the forest. Now, they must figure out how to survive and make it out alive.
Verdict on The Glenarma Tapes
The Glenarma Tapes is a horror thriller following a report of a missing persons case with only one survivor. We get to dive into the found footage idea behind what happened that day, while the lone survivor hopes for answers.
This is a movie that looks to build on the popular Found Footage concepts. While most of the forest side of things does feel like another vision of The Blair Witch Project. It is the fact it opens as a documentary being made about the events on the tape that make things more interesting. Where the movie struggles with the ideas don’t feel that fresh and ends up going through the typical routine of events. The legend doesn’t feel as horrific as other movies either. However, this is still an interesting idea for a found footage movie, even if it goes more for shocks over scares.
Final Thoughts –The Glenarma Tapes is a by-the-book found footage movie.
