Review: ‘Jabberjaw’ is a reminder to never go camping in the woods

Writer/director Luke Genton has compiled quite a horror resume over the last few years. The Bone Box, Chateau, and Sorry, Charlie are among his best career moments. He’s demonstrated to be a masterful storyteller both on the page and behind the camera. Now, he returns with a brand new found-footage film, titled Jabberjaw, which drops on Found TV tomorrow (October 17). With the release, he plots a surprisingly terrifying story about two friends with a camera and nothing but the wide open wilderness. It’s not reinventing anything, but it does what it sets out to do: entertain. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

The story follows a young woman named Dylan (Olivia Khoshatefeh), who escapes for the weekend with her best friend Minnie (Alexis Ingram). She could use the break, especially if it puts some distance between her and an abusive partner. With nothing but the open road before them, Dylan and Minnie embark on a trip they’ll never forget. In typical found footage fashion, their campsite offers both a time to recharge and sheer terror, the kind that slips out of the darkness when you least expect it. After they set up a tent, it’s only a matter of time before strange things start happening in the darkened woods surrounding them.

Already in a fragile emotional and psychological state, Dylan must gather up as much strength as she possibly can. In a way, she’s confronting her abuser as whatever’s lurking in the shadows crawls closer to their tent. Their sanity quickly unravels, and they’re forced to break into a nearby home for refuge. But four walls and a roof can’t keep out pure evil. Khoshatefeh and Ingram deliver decent performances that make you fearful for their characters’ well-being. There’s something to be said about actors in micro-budget horror that dig their teeth into the material and suck it dry. Genton gives them plenty to consume, and they act for their lives here.

While Genton’s direction isn’t as compelling as his work in Chateau, he does keep his hand guiding the ship forward. There are plenty of shadows dancing and strange noises echoing off the trees that elicit suffocating suspense and dread. With its meager resources, there’s a tendency to write something like this off, but that would do a disservice to Genton as a filmmaker with a clear vision. He might not always stick the landing, but it’s far better to swing for the fences than to be boring. Jabberjaw possesses the sneaking tension of Willow Creek with the eeriness of the “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” segment from V/H/S/2.

Found TV is doing God’s work with their streaming platform, which recently turned one year old, and what they snatch up every single month. With their latest get, they’ve proven they are on to something truly special. Luke Genton’s Jabberjaw might not be thrilling enough for many more adventurous found footage fiends, but it should scratch that itch if you’re looking for something only kind of creepy for a chilly Friday night at home.