colywolys corpse catalog

The U.S.’ ONLY exclusively found footage film festival

Wow. First off, let me start off by saying this experience was nothing short of life-changing. A small time blogger with a dream applied for a Press Badge on a whim and the gracious folks over at UFF decided to take a chance on me. I am forever grateful for this opportunity and hope to continue to have the privilege to cover the festival for many years to come,

Over the course of 5 days, I watched a mix of close to 30 feature length and short films all within the found footage genre. The submissions ranged from directorial debuts to new projects from established directors and I’m excited to say that the quality of these films was simply out-of-control.

You can see the full line-up at the UFF9 official website.

Now, before I get on to the reviews, I’d like to preface this article:

I did not watch every movie. I also did not like every movie. My goal is to bring you authentic and unfiltered reactions to all the movies I review. That said, this article is dedicated to only the movies I both watched and genuinely enjoyed. I am not in the business of putting down budding creators – I am just a guy with opinions and zero artistic merit of my own.

Onward…

tier list definitions refresher:

Or more simply: S is 5 stars, A is 4ish stars, B is, like, 2-3 stars? F is 1 star. Fuck you.

Heritage (2026): S-tier

I had the pleasure of chatting with Heritage director, Baptist, a number of times across the festival. Wonderfully nice guy who harbors a sinister creativity under his kind exterior.

When I say the final sequence of this movie had me holding my breath for what felt like 5 minutes straight, I mean it.

“Heritage” is brilliantly paced, drawing clear inspiration from “The Blair Witch Project” but layering in some creepy (and very real!) Corsican folklore. This is a superb feature length debut. What I admire most about this film and what ultimately earns it an S for me is its patience. Modern horror movies, especially found footage, tend to lean heavily on frequent jump scares or gratuitous gore. After one or two scares or obscenely bloody scenes in a film, I feel they tend to lose their gravitas. It becomes predictable and a bit stale.

But there is nothing predictable or stale about Heritage. This is a slow burn that will leave you speechless at the end. Bravo, Baptist.

Frogman Returns (2026): s-tier

I just croaked my pants.

Simply put, “Frogman Returns” is the Aliens to Frogman’s Alien.

It’s been a year since the dramatic conclusion to Dallas, Amy, and Scotty’s visit to Loveland, OH in search of local cryptid, Frogman. Dallas has successfully proven to the world that cryptids exist… but at what cost?

Enjoying his newfound fame, Dallas is now the world’s foremost cryptid expert. However, when Dallas catches wind that Amy has been spotted back in Loveland, he embarks on a mission to confront Frogman once and for all.

“Frogman Returns” is absurdly fun. This is why we go to the movies. Anthony Cousins and his team turned a cult classic, found footage screamer into a sci-fi action thriller, leaving the door wide open to an incredible franchise (cryptid-verse anyone???)

But this isn’t just some dumb, bro-y action movie. Cousins writes amazing characters and I love how the sequel turns the dynamic between the original trio on its head:

Dallas no longer holds the reins.

Amy is a froggin’ badass.

Scotty unfortunately still looks like that…

Man, I love Frogman.

Big City pizza (2026): S-tier

Ok, so this isn’t a horror movie… but it deserves to be talked about because it is awesome.

“Big City Pizza” is a first-person POV, slice-of-life comedy about a skeleton pizza delivery boy who is about to have the weirdest night of his fucking after-life. And Boney is an icon.

The animation style is both psychedelic and disturbing… and yet somehow, also very charming.

The director and animator, Dusty, clearly had a blast creating this world. It is deeply layered, vibrant, and filled to the brim with silly characters that will leave you crying with laughter. This is what creativity is all about.

So grab a slice, pop an edible, and prepare to get lost in the wacky dystopia that is “Big City.”

we put the world to sleep (2025): a-tier

“We Put the World to Sleep” is a Romanian found footage film and the spiritual successor to Adrian Tofei’s prior controversial work, “Be My Cat: A Film for Anne.” Be My Cat has been notorious for its hyper-realistic execution… its production is so creepy and convincing that many reviewers and fans alike actually believed Adrian was criminally insane.

After having met both Adrian and Duru in person, I can assure you that is not the case… they are wonderful people who are very creative and clearly dedicated to their craft. That said, “We Put the World to Sleep” will make you question that reality once again.

This film is chaotic, surreal, and deeply… deeply disturbing. And this is not your typical horror film. There’s nothing overtly scary about the events that take place. There are no monsters (well, perhaps metaphorically), no obscene violence or grotesque imagery… no. What’s truly scary about this film is living through the psychosis that Adrian and Duru’s characters succumb to.

This one has stuck with me for days since watching it. An incredibly unique and unsettling film… not for the faint of heart or the closed-minded.

the killing cell (2026): a-tier

This film was prefaced to me as a, and I quote, “roundhouse kick to the face.” And, honestly, that’s not too far off.

“The Killing Cell” is somewhat of a period piece, meant to recreate the high school aesthetic from the late 2000s; aka my youth (am I old??). Needless to say, this film is emotional, fast-paced, and intense. The acting and setting are top-notch. Hard to be disappointed with an abandoned prison. Add in booby traps and a very disturbing history… what’s not to love?

“The Killing Cell” is heart pounding fun, and honestly, just very very entertaining. I would liked to have seen a bit more tie in between the dark history of the prison and the events that play out for the Hell Gang, though. That’s the only piece keeping me from giving this a confident “S” rating (and, admittedly, is my own storytelling bias).

If you’re looking for a good ol’ fashioned scream fest, then “The Killing Cell” will not disappoint. Definitely worth watching.

infirmary (2025): a-tier

More creepy abandoned hospitals??? Yes, please.

“Infirmary” blends body cam found footage with surveillance video tapes to capture one disturbing and ill-fated nightshift for rookie Edward Yoon and his new boss, Lester. And if you thought the clowns from Hell House, LLC were nightmare-inducing then, boy, do I have bad news for you… enter: mannequins!!!

The cinematography in this film is simply masterful. Fans of the broader surveillance horror video game genre will especially appreciate this one. Think “Five Nights at Freddy’s” or the lesser-known “I’m on Observation Duty.” There’s something uniquely terrifying about wide-angle surveillance cam footage where spooky shit could be lurking in any shadow or corner.

“Infirmary” captures this feeling excellently. You’ll be clutching your chest and clenching your ass well before anything “actually” scary happens… but when the scares ramp up, you’re in for a real treat (once again, fucking mannequins.)

So if you’re looking to get your blood-pumping, this is sure to get the job done. I also really loved the characters. Edward and Lester are particularly well-written, there’s a lot to unpack for both of them over the course of the film.

That said, I did find the twist at the end to be a little under-developed. Thematically, super interesting and a great concept overall, but I think the execution leaves you feeling like you got duped more than anything else. The film is presented as “found footage” in the traditional sense, i.e. these are tapes that have been recovered by law enforcement and are being reviewed as evidence… and yet, at the end they leave you questioning whether or not most of what you saw was real.

That violates the axioms of found footage for me… this film would have been a lot cleaner if it didn’t have that “found footage” wrapper on it. I feel like you could justify showing the film through body cams and surveillance shots without declaring it as explicitly found footage. The twist would’ve landed for me a lot better that way.

Again, that’s really my only criticism of this film. If you don’t allow yourself to be thrown off by that one narrative choice and appreciate the rest of the film for what it is, then this is excellent. Super scary. Super intense. Very well written.

Just an awesome movie.

Content (2025): s-tier

Ok, screen-life!!! Go off!

I have to admit, I thought all screen-life films were hot garbage before seeing this film. Boy, was I wrong.

“Content” is mindbogglingly orchestrated. This is what screen-life is all about and AJ Wilby is perhaps one of my favorite horror antagonists of all time.

What I really appreciate about this film is how effectively it uses screen-life as a medium to tell its narrative. This is intentional. Screen-life isn’t just a wrapper, it’s a narrative tool and the director, Adam, uses it masterfully to enhance the story.

Again, excellent characters. “Content” is funny, disturbing, emotional… and just awe-inspiring to look at. I was totally blown away by how seamlessly this film flowed. I’m talking video chats, social media tabs, text messages, internet stalking and it’s all coming at you at an insane pace. I’m still dumbfounded by how the team managed to pull off something this elaborate.

To change my mind about entire genre of film is impressive. “Content” deserves to be watched and celebrated. This was a dark-horse favorite for me from the festival.

This house is totally haunted (2026): s-tier

We love a campy ghost!!!

I ain’t gonna spoil anything about this film.

Is the house haunted?

What’s the deal with the campy ghost?

Is it supposed to be funny or scary? Both??

All great questions.

Just watch it.

You will not be disappointed.

39 (2009): s-tier

This was a very special treat brought to the festival by a horror film historian and unabashed 39 fan.

39 was initially released in 2009 by director Gary Sherman. However, after a handful of initial screenings, the film proved so disturbing to audiences that plans for its distribution were hastily scrapped. Sherman voluntarily removed the movie from circulation and it has remained unseen for nearly 15 years.

How’s that for a hook???

What a travesty that this film has remained hidden for so long because this is an absolute masterpiece. Carroll McKane is a one-of-a-kind psychopath and Martin Cummins performance is transcendental. I honestly can’t believe this was removed from distribution… I’ve seen plenty more disturbing films (see next review) that didn’t have half as good a premise or performance as 39. This is up there with “Se7en” and “Silence of the Lambs” for me as far as serial killer crime thrillers go.

I can’t wait for this film to be back in circulation. It needs to be watched.

American Guinea pig: slaughter of the swine (2026): f-tier

Ok, I lied.

There’s one movie that I watched and will gladly shit on. American Guinea Pig just ain’t for me dawg. This shit is disgusting and frankly uninteresting.

Yeah, you could argue the special effects are interesting? But after 20 minutes of gore, torture, and pornography I was just tired. Great film if you like blood and poop and also pee… plus a little bit of cum.

Fuck this movie.

photoslop Compilation