''Hunting Matthew Nichols'' is a 2024 Canadian

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

written, directed, and starring Markian Tarasiuk in his directorial debut. It has elements of a " found footage"

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

in which filmmakers explore a decades-long, unsolved disappearance.

Plot

Twenty-three years after her brother mysteriously disappeared, a documentary filmmaker sets out to solve his missing case.

Cast

* Markian Tarasiuk as himself * Miranda MacDougall * Ryan Alexander McDonald as himself

Production

Development

Tarasiuk was inspired by true crime documentaries on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, "as a satire to some degree," and myths around the world involving "forest creatures". The film was inspired by ''

The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. One of the most successful independent films of all time, it is a " found footage" pseudo-docume ...

'' and ''

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

''.

Filming

The film was made over several weeks in December on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

to capture a gray, rainy, dark tone and sense of dread.

Release

The film premiered at the 2024

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival had permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival bega ...

, and also screened in the

Borsos Competition The Borsos Competition is the main awards program for Canadian feature films screening at the annual Whistler Film Festival. The award is named in memory of Canadian film director Phillip Borsos. Introduced for the first time in 2004, the juried ...

at the 2024

Whistler Film Festival The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is an annual film festival held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 2001, the festival is held the first weekend of December and includes juried competitive sections, the Borsos Awards, and the Pand ...

, as well as Nightmares Film Fest,

FilmQuest FilmQuest is an international film festival for genre films held annually in Provo, Utah, United States. It premieres and awards both feature and short films, and hosts celebrities, artists, filmmakers, industry reps and press from the fantastic, ...

and

Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival (BITS) is an annual film festival in Canada. It was founded by Kelly Micheal Stewart in 2012 as an offshoot of his then ongoing monthly film series entitled "Fright Nights at the Projection Booth" which we ...

.Janet Smith
"Hunting Matthew Nichols and Kryptic among B.C. contingent as Whistler Film Festival unveils Canadian entries"
''Stir'', October 28, 2024. UK sales outfit Amp International acquired worldwide sales rights in October 2024. The marketing included a website with “case-file evidence” and other extras adding to the central story.

Reception

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunting Matthew Nichols 2020s English-language films 2024 directorial debut films 2024 films 2024 horror films 2020s supernatural horror films Canadian independent films Canadian mockumentary films Canadian psychological horror films Canadian supernatural horror films Canadian teen horror films Camcorder films Films about film directors and producers Films about witchcraft Films set in forests Folk horror films Found footage films 2024 independent films English-language horror films English-language independent films 2020s Canadian films