The fledgling filmmaker’s flagrant finagling follows his flippant fluctuations from feeling flabbergasted to floundering until his full-fledged flagitiousness frequently features while his failings leave him flummoxed.

Descent into Darkness is a found footage film from France about how a young spiraling filmmaker, Sorgoi Prakov (Rafaël Cherkaski), plans on traveling around Europe to shoot a documentary about the world’s most famous landmarks while he enjoys the local cuisine. His goal is to capture the “European Dream” on film. Starting in Paris, France, we follow him around visiting landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe day by day as his situation becomes more desperate. He gets invited to a few parties to drink heavily. One night while lost in the city he gets mugged by four men, nearly beating him to death. One of them steals one of his cameras so he must buy a replacement. He continues to spend his money frivolously while he’s rapidly running low on funds until he becomes stranded and homeless in Paris. Therefore, his titular Descent into Darkness begins. Will he climb his way out of the rabbit hole or fall faster than a curious Alice?

Directed by and starring Rafael Cherkaski, most of the film is shot with handheld cameras with one being firmly attached to his head providing a first-person point of view. It’s almost as if we see what he sees. The filmmaker makes irresponsible, illogical choices that made me question why he even became a filmmaker and the way he conducts himself. He spends all his money on drugs and alcohol so most of the time the character is obnoxiously drunk. It’s very off-putting but I think that’s the point. To show how far off the rails he goes and how. The pacing is slow enough to let things progress without feeling rushed. The same can be said for when things pick up speed. The practical effects of the gore are so well done that many scenes become uncomfortable to watch because what’s presented is so convincing. It’s as evocative as it is visceral. People get bludgeoned, eviscerated, and violently slain in many other ways I won’t ruin here. As an actor, he does do a good job of convincingly descending into madness as his perspective is slowly altered.

It was written by Quentin Boetan, Simon-Pierre Boireau, and Rafael Cherkaski. There’s not much of a plot because the film is more character-driven. I like how I had no idea where it was going so when shocking things do happen it makes it all the more shocking. Overall, I liked Descent into Darkness because it was a slasher film told from the perspective of the killer in a style not usually used for the subgenre. It’s the opposite of most slashers. It’s so intriguing I couldn’t look away. Rafael Cherkaski carries the film confidently and competently. It’s basically a one-man show that’s crafted so well the lack of other characters isn’t missed. I like how it’s a simpler smaller-scale story showing the frustrations of filmmaking building up until Sorgoi Prakov reaches his breaking point.

Now I must include a trigger warning because some people might not be able to handle certain situations. It’s very violent. Most of the violence is geared toward animals and women. He kills several animals in gruesome ways. It contains rape scenes done off-camera but the act is heavily implied so it’s very clear what had transpired with the women. The sound design makes the scene so much worse. It was hard for me to watch at times. It made me uncomfortable but it never turns into a full-blown exploitation film. I commend them for that. It reminds me of Maniac and Creep because it’s about a documentary filmmaker whose plans go awry but it’s told from the perspective of the killer. A found footage slasher film is also an interesting idea that I’m surprised isn’t utilized more often. Descent into Darkness is an all-around disturbing yet intriguing film. I’d recommend it because of this. And remember, you only to be missing a few croissants to be short of a full dozen.