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Dashcam: This ‘unhinged’ found footage film is being called ‘most polarising horror in years’

A new found footage film is being called “one of horror’s most polarising features in years”.

Dashcam made its UK premiere at the London Film Festival on Thursday (14 October). It’s the Jason Blum-produced film from Rob Savage, who directed the Zoom horror Host during lockdown in 2020. (Find the trailer for Host above.)

The film, shot on an iPhone, is splitting audiences down the middle. 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, however, with Annie deciding to livestream her actions for online viewers.

Many people who were present at London’s Prince Charles Cinema UK premiere 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.”

Journalist Tom Beasley said that the film “plays gangbusters” with a cinema crowd.

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 50 per cent based on 39 reviews.

Dashcam, co-written by Savage alongside Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd, currently has no UK release date.

Savage’s previous film, Host, can be streamed on Shudder.

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