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(Brooklyn Horror Film Fest 2026) ERIE: Curiosity Killed the Camcorder

By. Vanessa Maki

 

 

ERIE makes its east coast premiere on October 20th at Brooklyn Horror Film Fest.


CW: Suicide


Throughout the decades, we’ve gotten a range of found footage horror films to keep pressing play on. Though, there are times when even the best found footage films don’t manage to subvert expectations. ERIE, directed by Alison-Eve Hammersley, is a found footage film steeped in grief, mystery, and shock by the end of it all. The slow building to the madness of the latter half of the film is worthy of applause from found footage fans.

ERIE follows Stella (Carly Stewart) and Oscar (Grant Carter), two grieving siblingswho go on an ill-advised journey to find out precisely what happened to their late sister, as well as why there’s been a wave of suicides in their hometown. Unfortunately for them, uncovering the mystery is far more than they were ever prepared for. The film’s late ‘90s setting provides a nostalgic feeling, as well as an unease because there are no smartphones to attempt to call for help in isolated situations.

During the start of the film we’re introduced to the sister, who is nearly paralyzed with fear upon seeing something off camera, and it leads to her committing suicide. Immediately the footage gives us enough reason as to why Stella is refusing to believe there’s nothing more to their sister’s suicide. Much like many found footage horror films, the truth is often worse than believing in appearances. Stella’s desperate investigative nature only leads to madness because she’s a skeptic who isn’t prepared for a nightmarish outcome. Meanwhile,  her brother is barely holding it together.

 

The sibling dynamic between Stella and Oscar is the gooey center of ERIE, especially due to the natural chemistry between Carly Stewart and Grant Carter. It helps add a believability that makes it feel all the more real, which is why everything that occurs is so tragic. They’re not your typical ghost hunters and or thoroughly unlikeable protagonists. Instead, Stella and Oscar are siblings who aren’t on the same page about what’s going on.

 

Despite the sibling antics that occur, Stella and Oscar manage to meet with a man played by Ryan Garcia, who doesn’t give them the best vibes, but they persist onwards. As ERIE slowly moves towards the third act, the sense of dread continues to build and build. Neither Stella nor Oscar have begun to fully process what happened to their sister. And the tension between the siblings only grows as unsettling events unfold in the back half. Anything they expected regarding the reasons for the suicides is proven entirely wrong.

ERIE’s visual style is part of what’ll pull fans of this subgenre in because the footage is being filmed with an older camera. There’s no glossiness to the camera footage, nor is there perfect sound quality at times. The aesthetics are solid and apt for the time period the film is taking place. Some of the filming may slightly remind fans of The Blair Witch Project (1999), which also dealt with trying to unfold a mystery that leads to nothing but trouble. And most found footage connoisseurs will agree that’s quite commonplace in the subgenre.

 

Old recordings have a nasty habit of revealing things nobody was meant to see. Josh Tanner's POSTHUMOUS, which also screened at Brooklyn Horror Film Fest, follows a woman investigating her mother's death through unsettling VHS tapes. Vanessa Maki found the footage considerably more frightening than the supernatural mystery surrounding it.

The small cast makes it quite easy to hone in on the performances from both Stewart and Carter. Individually they both present viewers with opposite personalities, which only makes watching them interact delightful. Stewart’s performance as Stella is full of boldness, ambition, and a willingness to push boundaries and buttons. Carter’s performance as Oscar is packed with a desire to keep them both out of harm’s way, all while dealing with a tremendous amount of pain inside. Without their performances, ERIE may not pack the same amount of punch as it does in the end.

 

While ERIE does lean into some found footage tropes such as continuing your filming journey when you feel something is very wrong or one person not believing that dangerous forces could be at play, it still manages to be shocking in its reveals in the third act. It also takes a major turn near the end that is quite ambitious on the director’s part. You’ll either appreciate the surprise or you’ll be scratching your head about it.

As soon as you reach the ending, you’re guaranteed to be sitting there in silence for a moment because of what has taken place. There was no escaping the madness for any of these characters because they couldn’t leave well enough alone. It’s a lesson that nobody ever seems to learn in these situations. And in the case of ERIE, everyone’s individual feelings of grief or guilt led them to the worst circumstances.

ERIE may not completely shake the foundation in terms of found footage, but it’s got more than enough for people to enjoy if they give it a chance. Especially if they want to discover more women directors in the horror space.

 

Jordan Downey's THE CYCLE offers another Brooklyn Horror Film Fest mystery that gets considerably stranger the longer it unfolds. Deborah Ann Woll stars in a film that eventually takes a grotesque turn, and Vanessa Maki's review explores whether the payoff justifies the wait.