Fantastic Fest: ‘What Happened to Dorothy Bell?’ crawls under the skin

Found footage almost always hits the sweet spot. First-person perspective and visceral fear transmitted through the camera lens make the sub-genre the one storytelling vehicle that conveys what real human terror feels like. It’s animalistic in the way it can wiggle into the skin and settle in the brain. Director Danny Villanueva Jr. achieves exactly this with What Happened to Dorothy Bell?, a standout from this year’s Fantastic Fest. A slow-burn by design, the film fashions familial threads into a horrifying tapestry about a young woman’s quest to discover her roots and what really happened to her grandmother.

Ozzie (Asya Meadows) suffered a brutal knife attack by her grandmother (Arlene Arnone Bibbs) when she was a girl. The unexplained incident feeds an urban legend about a witch who haunts the local library, where she suffered a tragic fate. Sometimes, if you really listen, you can hear her whispering in the dark. Ozzie, pushed to the brink, plots an investigation into the supposed haunting and video records every moment of her research. It’s a decision she soon regrets, as she tumbles down into a rabbit hole of dark deceptions and surreal magic.

When she ventures to the library, she reconnects with an old family friend and maintenance worker, who allows her inside the echoing halls to continue her inquest. Ozzie pokes around stacks of books, plays audio of her grandmother reading her a bedtime story, and even uses an Ouija board to reach the other side. Her efforts slowly and surely pay off when a mysterious book flies off the shelves. Assuming it’s her grandmother’s way of contacting her, Ozzie picks up the books and begins flipping through its crumpled pages. She reads aloud various poetic passages, but there’s one section that stands out, seemingly written in another tongue (maybe Latin, she surmises). As she later learns, this stanza is a cryptic curse meant to allow a demonic force to possess the reader.

Ozzie’s desperation to process the past bubbles to the surface through various therapy sessions with Dr. Robin Connelly (Lisa Wilcox). These virtual conversations further extend the film’s emotional life, allowing the audience to understand and empathize with Ozzie. But as her paranormal search unravels, a dark presence grows increasingly violent and even demonstrates an ability to crawl through computer screens. Ozzie isn’t the only one in danger, as even Dr. Connelly becomes the target of a grisly attack.

Villanueva Jr. plays upon the viewer’s fascination with the occult and other demonic properties. As Ozzie cascades deeper into the demon’s well-planned scheme, she finally uncovers the truth behind her grandmother’s vicious attack and what led to her untimely death. The director delicately slots in some delightfully good scares, from the jumpy variety to the more subtle, background ones. His dedication to telling an emotionally-powered story creates a sense of stakes and urgency that give the film immense weight.

What Happened to Dorothy Bell? makes damn sure to strike fear in your bones. It’s enough to keep you awake at night and constantly looking over your shoulder. Dorothy Bell arrives as the perfect vehicle to tell this haunting ghost story, as she delivers some of the best scares you’ll find in any horror movie this year. From appearing around bookshelves to her voice wafting from a dark library recess, Ozzie’s grandmother doesn’t fool around when it comes to smacking you in the face. It’s the kind of terror you won’t soon forget.

What Happened to Dorothy Bell? is what good found footage is all about.

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