Popcorn Frights 2025: ‘Alan at Night’ energizes the found footage genre

If you’re an avid found footage fan, I don’t need to tell you that the genre is thriving these days. With his new film, Alan at Night, writer/director Jesse Swenson injects the subgenre with enough adrenaline to get the blood coursing in your system. It packs in peculiar twists and turns while never sacrificing good, old-fashioned, bone-chilling scares. The film, which played this year’s Popcor Frights, fits comfortably in the realm of Digging Up the Marrow for its grotesque and gooey imagery and keeps the surprises going until the very last frame.

A pair of pranksters, Jay (Joseph Basquill) and Camillo (Jorge Felipe Guevara), stumble upon a viral goldmine when Jay’s new roommate Alan (Chris Ash) starts exhibiting strange behavior. Things start innocuously enough. Alan is a socially awkward introvert, but after a few nights of drinking, Jay pulls him out of his reserved shell. Alan doesn’t cause any problems, except for his mountain-rumbling snoring that echoes throughout the apartment.

Things go south when a nauseating odor seeps from Alan’s room, contaminating the entire living space. He also shirks all responsibilities, doesn’t show up for work, and sleepwalks, during which he eats copious amounts of food. Concerned a frazzled, Jay installs cameras in the apartment to keep tabs on his roommate. What he captures appears to be a frightening possession, as Alan’s eyes roll back in his head and his snores morph into some unearthly vibration. Jay uploads various clips to TikTok, which rake in the likes, reshares, and comments. It’s a wealth of content that gives his creator lifestyle plenty of good stuff to keep his name in the public’s minds.

Swenson pens a tight script and keeps the cards close to the vest. He slowly reveals bits and pieces as the story requires, leaving the viewer tiptoeing on eggshells just waiting for the other shoe to drop. As Alan’s behavior grows more outrageous by the minute, it becomes clear there’s something terrible hidden in his bedroom. It’s only within the last 10 minutes or so that Swenson exposes the truth, but the journey to that moment is just as exciting.

Alan at Night doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does offer found footage a thrilling new story. The writer/director exhibits a knack for creepy storytelling, the kind that leaves an indelible imprint on the brain long after the credits roll. The film strikes a perfect balance between terrifying and disgusting that’ll scratch that found footage itch.