1976: Two young journalists leave for the French-Swiss border to investigate a strange case of cattle mutilations and record testimonies for a TV channel. Yet, once they get there, the scientific team they were supposed to meet has gone missing.

Old, scratchy film runs through the projector. According to the mid-70s familiar blue-and-white leader projected on the screen, this film is rated R. Then, this: IN JANUARY 1976, TWO JOURNALISTS TRAVELLED TO THE FRENCH SWISS BORDER TO SHOOT A FILM REPORT FOR FRENCH TELEVISION. RECORDINGS WERE DISCOVERED 40 YEARS LATER, IN DECEMBER 2016. THE IMAGES WERE DIGITIZED AND EDITED FOR AN INVESTIGATION.  IN MARCH 2017, THE RESTORED COPY IS UNVEILED TO THE PUBLIC.

David and his girlfriend Melissa (Director of Photography Geoffrey Blandin and Gala Besson, respectively) are freelancers traveling to the mountains to document mysterious animal mutilations and disappearances, in hopes of selling the edited footage as a documentary to a television network, visions of dollar signs in their eyes.

Euros. Francs. Whatever.

After meeting up with other officials at the border, the group wastes no time bundling up their gear, strapping on some snow cleats, and heading out into the freezing cold. May I interject here for a moment? I’d like to give round of applause to the actors involved in this horror movie. This was shot on location, in sub-freezing temperatures, and the actors spent days and days walking (and running and chasing) through the snow, often time carrying heavy backpacks and camera equipment. It looks like a miserable experience, but they carry the burden on their very capable shoulders, making for a natural and believable story.

So, our group pitches their tents for the night, and banter back and forth. These conversations, though they might seem like filler meant to run out the clock before the action starts, actually give us some insight and background to the characters. I liked these scenes, they made these people well-rounded and not just bloody fodder.

Don’t worry, that’s coming.

They stumble across a severed, bloody bone in the snow. Could it have been a wolf who did this? A bear? It does look like a deer bone, one of them says (looks like a human femur, says I).  They continue on. And soon come across something even worse.

Comparisons will (and should) be made to the grandmommy of all found footage films, The Blair Witch Project.  A group of people filming themselves out in the cold dark wilderness, on the hunt for something and finding out that they are trapped in a nightmare. Occasionally, this falls into the trap that so many found footages do: namely, why haven’t they dropped the camera and gotten the hell out of there? Screw the documentary! Turn tail and run, you fools!  Luckily the suspense carries us through from scare to scare so that we rarely (if ever) pause to consider the logistics of it all.  Kudos to the director (and the actors again, natch) for building a tight little snow-bound trap and making us feel as if the walls of the countryside are closing in on us, bit by bit.

They even made the print of the film look aged with scratches and water stains, etc., to sell the story. It’s a nice touch. The anachronisms in this story set in the 70s are few and far between (but did people really talk about “climate change” back then?  Is it obvious that they’re going to be picked off one by one until nobody is left? Sure, we know there were no survivors from the beginning moments of the movie. Does it take away any of the fun? Hell, no! Wrap a scarf around your extremities and heat up some cocoa, Uncle Mike suggests you check this chiller out.