Hunting Matthew Nichols

Twenty-three years after her brother Matthew vanished without explanation on Vancouver Island, documentary filmmaker Tara Nichols (Miranda MacDougall) assembles a team to investigate the cold case using rediscovered 2001 VHS footage and modern found footage techniques. Director Markian Tarasiuk plays himself, blurring the line between filmmaker and investigator as the investigation descends into ambiguous supernatural territory. The recovered footage shows two teenagers lost in dense forest, pursued or stalked by something unseen. Hunting Matthew Nichols is a debut that understands found footage's fundamental power: what you cannot see is more terrifying than what you can. Runtime of 89 minutes moves with deliberate pacing, building dread through accumulated detail rather than jump-scares. The film premiered at Newport Beach Film Festival 2024 and won Best Found Footage Feature at FilmQuest 2024, establishing Tarasiuk as a director who respects the genre's conventions. Pre-release, it promises authentic indie horror for audiences exhausted by franchise repetition and jump-scare spectacle.

Formula: Weighted Score = Severity × Authenticity Multiplier × Centrality Multiplier

🔴 Woke Tropes

Trope	Severity	Authenticity	Centrality	Score
Female Lead Investigator	2	High	Moderate	1.4
Subtle Critique of Male-Dominated Institutions	1	Moderate	Low	0.5
TOTAL WOKE				1.9

🟢 Traditional Tropes

Trope	Severity	Authenticity	Centrality	Score
Sibling Loyalty and Family Duty as Motivation	5	High	High	6.3
Perseverance Through Fear and Uncertainty	4	High	High	5.04
Found Footage Dread and Authentic Horror Craft	4	High	High	5.04
Satire of True Crime Obsession Without Preaching	3	High	Moderate	2.1
Nature as Unknowable and Overwhelming Force	3	High	Moderate	2.1
Indigenous Knowledge and Local Legend Treated With Respect	2	High	Low	0.7
TOTAL TRADITIONAL				21.3

Score Margin: +19 TRAD