Directed by Scott Feinblatt and Jeffry Chaffin
USA 2011

A independent horror filmmaker has a lot of problems during the shooting his film, and one of those problem is a eager “friend”, who wants to make a behind-the-scenes documentary. His interests and behaviour starts to feel weird and threatening.

Outtake Reel begins (and aims to feel) like documentary, and does that in a clever and unique way. Of course there are other horror mockumentaries out there, but Outtake Reel and directors/actors Scott Feinblatt and Jeffry Chaffin have some new tricks in the sleeve. With tricks, I mean twists in the story - but no spoilers in this review!

After a somewhat implausible beginning, Outtake Reel catches the interest very quickly. by creating tasty conflicts between lead characters Tom (Feinblatt), Danny (Chaffin) and Ashley Swan (Ava Santana). After that, the voyeur inside the viewer will soon experience some disturbing moments.

The low-budget has been used very efficiently. The rugged surroundings support the story - when the film is about indie horror filmmaking, it doesn’t need glitter and shiny Hollywood studios as a location. Also the use of POV (point of view) camera is a right solution to build atmosphere, although these days it isn't too original by itself.

The dialogue keeps the movie together, and most of the acting feels natural, especially with the lead characters played by Feinblatt, Santana and Chaffin. Some performances could have been better, though, but there’s never embarrasing moments. There are also cameo performances by Tiffany Shepis and Troma-honcho Lloyd Kaufman. The latter cameo is outstanding, Kaufman really shows his ability to act.

Outtake Reel is a nice surprise. When you expect to watch some nasty gorno, Outtake Reel has instead Hitchcockian-style story twists combined to modern-day imagery.

DVD release contains a lot of extras - bloopers, deleted scenes and interesting interviews.