Notable Cast: Tommy Cramer, Dylan Sprayberry, Rebecca
Forsythe, Robert Bailey Jr, Jacob Hughes, Veno Miller, Hector Gomez Jr,
Valentina de Angelis
Also known as: The Malibu Tapes
The term ‘mockumentary’ can be deceptive. Although the genre
may regularly apply to the style or tonality of comedies like The Office
or any of Christopher Guest’s films like A Mighty Wind, it has more to
do with the replication of a documentary than it does satire or spoof. For
example, Malibu Horror Story is most certainly a mockumentary for its
first two thirds as it replicates the feeling of a ghost investigation show one
might stumble upon on YouTube. Yet horror fans might be immediately turned off
by that idea as so many found footage flicks have already used that angle to tell
their story - ala Grave Encounters.
Still, it’s the can-do attitude to remarkably strong
execution of films like Malibu Horror Story that remind us of what a
mockumentary can do as a filmic style. Maybe the term shockumentary is more
fitting. Not only does this film properly create a fake documentary feel for
most of its run time, but it ends up being a decently fun and horror film that
pushes the boundaries of its budget and adds just enough artistic merit to its
proceedings to lift the whole beyond its parts. Malibu Horror Story
might seem like “just another found footage horror flick.” It’s not and there
is a creative flow to it that sets it apart from its peers.