"Hunting for the Hag" (2024) [Unnamed Footage Festival]

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s found footage horror Hunting for the Hag by Paul A. Brooks and Into The Night Motion Pictures.

Synopsis

Three women (Jasmine Williams, Alexa Maris, and Sierra Renfro) venture deep into the Illinois woods to hunt for a legendary creature known as The Hawthorne Hag. As the girls attempt to capture it on camera for the first time, things take a frightening and horrific turn.

The Good

Joseph: It’s not easy to discuss the merits of Hunting for the Hag without giving away spoilers, but I’ll do my best. Williams, Maris, and screenplay cowriterRenfro make for a believable trio of friends, with Williams’ Tara being the serious documentarian amongst the bunch, and Maris’ Beth making an early unwise decision to use the occult to call on the spirit of local spooky legend The Hawthorne Hag. After the trio gets pranked by their friend Alyssa (Nora McKirdie) in the woods at night, the proceedings take a dangerous turn as three gun-totin’ men (Thomas A. Jackson, director/cowriter Paul A. Brooks, Steve Christopher) show up and do what is expected of hillbilly locals in horror movies. The young women give solid performances as they attempt to traverse their unfortunate situations, and the men also portray their villainous characters well. With all this going on, potential viewers expecting the titular entity to show up at some point won’t be disappointed. K.R. Brooks’ cinematography is impressive, with the found footage aesthetic giving way to more traditional camerawork for part of the movie.

Mike: If you’re one of those people who doesn’t like the low-budget feel of a bouncing handheld phone or camera, you are in luck because Hunting for the Hag features very little of it. Instead, what you have is a slickly produced film that somewhat resembles a found footage style of movie. The protagonists, a trio of young women, are mostly likable and have good chemistry together, so accepting them as close friends going off to make a documentary about a local legend is quite easy to do.

The Bad

Joseph: Although not outright bad, the aforementioned sudden switch from verité-style camerawork to non-found–footage cinematography feels like a bit of a cheat. Although it informs viewers quite well of the perilous proceedings to which the women are subjected, it feels to me like it goes against the spirit of the framing device, which involves a lawyer (Daniel Roebuck) following Tara’s insistence that he watch the film that she put together of the trio’s time in the woods, as he would not have access to that action and information.

Mike: Those expecting a true found footage experience will be shocked to discover that this is an inexplicable mash-up of that and a traditional style of filming, which - when things are shown from an angle or in a scene in which nobody would have been there to film, immediately takes you out of the proceedings. It’s also slickly put together which is somewhat explained “in world”, but not sufficiently enough to make it believable. While there are some other faults, like the trio of cliché villains who throw a wrench into the gals’ plans, and a surprise ending reveal that should have stayed hidden, it’s the faux found footage-looking found footage that sinks this boat.

The Verdict

Joseph: Hunting for the Hag is a well-made found-footage shocker that provides plenty of tension, much of it highly uncomfortable situations as the men hold the women captive. Brooks paces things well and keeps the suspense at a taut level. The technical aspects are quite impressive. Fans of occult horror, urban legends, hillbilly horror, and of course found-footage chillers should find the film well worth a watch.

Mike: Going into this I had hoped for something entirely different than what I got. While I don’t mind traditionally filmed bookends that explain the pieced-together found footage, it helps for the “found footage” itself to have a less polished finish to it if the object is to make it all seem like what you’re aiming for. Hunting for the Hag suffers from far too much polish and some poorly written aspects to make this a worthwhile recommendation.

Hunting for the Hag screened as part of the Unnamed Footage Festival, which ran March 26–31 in San Francisco. For more information on UFF, visit https://www.unnamedfootagefestival.com/.

Hunting for the Hag premiered on multiple streaming platforms and cable systems April 2nd, 2024 via Lion Heart Distribution.

Hunting for the Hag