8 Found Dead — 8 Found Dead (VOD)

8 Found Dead is the new slasher thriller from director Travis Greene (short films include Ten Essentials and Cookie Monsters). As two couples head out for a weekend partying at an remote, yet cosy, cabin in the desert they discover that the current occupants aren’t exactly all too up for leaving. What starts as an awkward altercation slowly becomes something more sinister, and as the bodies begin to pile up a pair of local cops are eager to solve this heinous crime.

I found Greene’s film quite a frustrating watch, for numerous reasons but chiefly because there is the core of something really strong within 8 Found Dead. There’s a solitary idea that shines so bright in its potential for drama and character interactions, but it is unfortunately wrapped up in this slasher shell that isn’t interesting enough to carry the films for its short runtime. The story of an influencer with a tragic secret that she tries to keep from her partner, who is long suffering because of always having to keep the pretences of living the perfect life could have been a perfect short chamber-piece. However the amount of moving pieces that surround that are too many. Instead of giving the most compelling narrative the space to blossom, Greene throws in a creepy couple, some divorced cops and a couple who seem to have it relatively all together apart from some jealousy issues. It’s too much for this story, especially when none of the aspects are developed to any real depth.

As for the mystery part of this thriller, Greene plays his hand way too early. The reveal of the killer occurs at the half an hour mark and we need up then just waiting for some unfulfilling kills, which themselves are ruined because of the non-linear narrative bouncing between before and after the violence. There’s a distinct lack of narrative stakes, the destination is weak because the journey is mostly dull. Perhaps the biggest thing this film has against it is that it came out a year after Zach Cregger’s excellent Barbarian, which does a lot more with a very similar horror concept. It was hard not to spend most of the runtime comparing this to a more focused and tightly written contemporary.

The performances are mostly good, the faults of this film are ironed a bit by some strong performances from the central cast. Perhaps the pair that will stick in the mind the most will be creepy couple Richard and Liz, played by married couple Tim Simek (Dead in the Head) and Rosanne Limeres (also Dead in the Head) respectively. They both bring this strange argumentative charisma to their roles which helps maintain a sense of tension throughout the film and they make an impression from their very first scene.

At the end of the day, 8 Found Dead is fine. There's nothing you can’t get from its older sibling Barbarian.  Yes- there are some good ideas deep in there, but they aren’t given any room to breathe since this film is already overstuffed.