The first trailer for a new found footage film being called “one of horror’s most polarising features in years” has been released.
Dashcam made its UK premiere at the London Film Festival in October 2021, and it’s the latest release from Rob Savage, who directed the Zoom horror Host during lockdown in 2020.
The film, shot on an iPhone, split audiences down the middle following its debut. It follows a musician (Annie Hardy) who, depressed by her pandemic lifestyle in Los Angeles, breaks quarantine to go to London to see her bandmate (Amar Chadha-Patel).
Things soon take a turn for the deranged, though, with Annie deciding to livestream her actions for online viewers.
Many people who attended the premiere at London’s Prince Charles Cinema in October couldn’t get enough of the film’s wild thrills, with the reactions agreeing on one thing: it needs to be seen with an audience.
Writer, director and creative producer Nia Childs wrote: “Dashcam was a RIDE. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had that much fun – the audience just make it. Screaming, laughing, at one point I think someone was nearly sick?”
Writer and horror expert Anna Bogutskaya added: “Heading to my second viewing of #DASHCAM at #LFF because this unhinged rollercoaster of a film demands to be seen with an audience.”
The Upcoming Blumhouse Dashcam Trailer looks creepy and scary as hell! You have my attention pic.twitter.com/HAgPEKTHWa
— Horror Pop After Midnight Podcast (@PopAfter) April 27, 2022
Journalist Tom Beasley said that the film “plays gangbusters” with a cinema crowd.
Find a selection of reactions below.
Heading to my second viewing of #DASHCAM at #LFF because this unhinged rollercoaster of a film demands to be seen with an audience.
— Anna Bogutskaya (@annabdemented) October 14, 2021
DASHCAM plays absolute gangbusters in a packed cinema. It's gleeful, silly, bloody and, crucially, scary. Not a clue what was going on for the most part, but I was too shaken, rattled and rolled to care very much. #LFF
— Tom Beasley (@TomJBeasley) October 14, 2021
For Screen International, Wendy Ide called the film “furiously chaotic”, while Dread Central’s Chad Collins predicted that it will “dominate the horror discourse” upon its release.
Much of the film’s criticism is thrown the way of the film’s anti-face mask lead character, who was branded “one of horror’s most grating characters in recent memory” by Bloody Disgusting critic Meagan Navarro.
Jude Dry, writing for IndieWire, said: “Equal parts confounding, challenging, and insanely fun, Dashcam is horror at its most inventive.”
Corroborating just how divisive the film has proven to be is its Rotten Tomatoes score, which currently sits at 54 per cent based on 49 reviews.
Dashcam, produced by Jason Blum and co-written by Savage alongside Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd, will be released in selected cinemas on 3 June. A digital release will follow on 6 June.
Savage’s previous film, Host, can be streamed on Shudder.
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