8 Found Dead Digital Review

3 star holiday from hell horror.

8 Found Dead is a 2023 horror film written by Jonathan Buchanan and directed by Travis Greene in an impressive and imaginative feature directorial debut.

Following it’s UK Premiere at Grimmfest, it is now enjoying it’s UK Home Premiere on 23rd October 2023 courtesy of High Fliers.

“I am really excited to share with you, ermm, some really heart centred updates as you walk with me on this journey this weekend. Don’t forget to like and comment below and what you think about, you bring about.”

8 Found Dead tells us one story from a number of perspectives and through four separate timelines. As the film opens, we see Jessie (Jenny Tran – Yellow River) driving through the desert towards a remote Airbnb holiday rental. She arrives to find it full of the aftermath of a millennial party, but soon has it cleared up and heads out to sunbathe in a bikini. The axe stuck in a chopping block makes us worry for her safety and we are right to do so. Unfortunately, her only reason for being in the film appears to be to show how short her shorts really are.

And so to the story. First up we have Carrie (Aly Trasher – Analysis Paralysis, Cerebrum), a struggling actress and her boyfriend Ricky (Eddy Acosta – Do It in Post) who are also about to head to the same Airbnb in the desert, to meet friends Sam (Alisha Soper – American Horror Story (TV Series)), an influencer and her boyfriend Dwayne (William Gabriel Grier – Olympicos).

Carrie is annoyed as Ricky is making them late, Sam and Dwayne have already set off and they will arrive way later than them. Sam has a big announcement to make, and Carrie thinks that being there may help further her flagging career, as Sam has a million followers. Both couples are in for a shock when they arrive in their respective timelines, the property appears to have been double booked and is already occupied by an older couple, Liz (Rosanne Limeres – Dead in the Head) and Richard (Tim Simek – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape). These two actors have no etiquette or social filters and will try anything to make everyone else feel uncomfortable.

Last but by no means least, we have Blake (Laura Buckles – Broken) and Bobby Miller (Patrick Joseph Rieger – Dead Women Walking), soon to be divorced local law enforcement agents who are left with sorting out the aftermath and working out what happened, during this long and bloody night in the desert.

“You are not pregnant, so why did you drag me out into the desert, in the middle of nowhere? And what is up with that ridiculous scarf?”

8 Found Dead is an enjoyable watch once you get into the swing of it. The constant timeline shifts are confusing at first, but they serve to keep you unsettled right the way through. The story is told all out of order, so that we know who is dead, what we don’t know is when or how and yet somehow, there is still a twists at the end, impressive.

Hats off to the editor on this one, by the end of the film, there is a coherent storyline and that is no mean feat. Some of the performances could have been better, but that doesn’t really matter, we’re supposed to feel uncomfortable anyway. The kills are suitably brutal and there’s no shortage of graphic violence in this film.

It also pokes fun at some very first world problems, they can’t check booking confirmations because they can’t access the app, there’s no Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi  password can only be accessed from the app. Very frustrating. This is a good film with plenty of surprises and revelations and well worth a watch.

“No, I like a good film, but when the house lights come up, I’d like a fair shot at banging the lead.”

8 Found Dead is available on UK Digital Platforms from 23rd October 2023