Terrifying Found Footage Short Is What The Blair Witch Project Wanted To Be
When I first got my driver’s license, my friends and I loved to go to abandoned and supposedly haunted places with a video camera to see if we could document any paranormal activity. While what we were really doing was documenting ourselves trespassing on private property, we really didn’t believe in ghosts or anything, but rather enjoyed always the timeless teenage thrill of doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing. When I read the synopsis for 2019’s XIII on Tubi, I felt a sudden rush of nostalgia and decided to give this 45-minute found-footage short a go to see what amateur filmmakers Nathan Cox and Archie Meyer were able to do with a horror sub-genre that, in most cases, is hit or miss.
To my surprise and delight, XIII boasts the same cinematic spirit as The Blair Witch Project, but in many ways surpasses the film that popularized the sub-genre.
It Starts With A Media Project
XIII centers on two university students named Archie Smith (Archie Meyer) and Nathan Clark (Nathan Cox) who are tasked with completing a media project for one of their college courses. The only guidelines given to them are to find a book, and come up with a film concept from there. They head to the library and find a beaten up book with cryptic notes hand-written on the pages, and decide that since their assignment’s instructions were so vague in the first place that this would be the perfect book to pursue.
When they realize that the Roman numerals scrawled on the pages are GPS coordinates, they decided to charge up their cameras, head to the location, and report their findings.
Just Boys Being Boys
Upon Archie and Nathan’s arrival at the location, they realize that the crude drawings of buildings drawn in the book match what they’re seeing in real life. Naturally, they survey their surroundings while filming what they find, but they’re the furthest thing from scared because it looks like the rooms have just been trashed by partying teenagers, and that the book was some sort of prank. However, when they find the “fallen gate,” exactly as described in their dilapidated library findings, they realize that their fun may soon come to an end in XIII.
This Is Really All Google Map’s Fault
For a 45-minute found footage short that looks like it had a non-existent budget to produce, XIII is an effective entry into the sub-genre for a few reasons.
First of all, it’s believable.
Unlike The Blair Witch Project, which I’ll admit had amazing marketing to sell the whole “this actually happened” narrative, XIII focuses on two kids who by happenstance find a weird book. There’s no buildup or “let’s make a documentary and talk to locals” angle that needs to be explored. Archie and Nathan just do a quick Google search, assume that somebody who knew about a creepy abandoned building in the middle of nowhere was messing around, and pack up their cameras to go on an adventure.
Not The Best Setting For A Bro-Down
What really sets XIII apart from other found footage entries is the fact that there are only two people we need to follow (unlike The Taking of Deborah Logan, for example), and they barely even get separated. I personally enjoyed their back-and-forth banter because it reminded me of when my friends and I used to go on similarly strange adventures for the heck of it.
What’s more, Archie and Nathan are actually friends, whereas in The Blair Witch Project, Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard are just classmates. When they slowly come to the realization that something more sinister is at play, the back and forth “seriously, dude, are you messing with me?” lines felt genuine. Since they went into their entire project thinking it was just a joke, there’s literally nothing at stake until external forces cause them to have a change of heart and think otherwise.
Less Is Always More In This Context
XIII is a surprisingly slow-burn short, which is impressive in and of itself. Most of the suspense comes from those moments of silence that are interrupted by Archie and Nathan’s own footsteps. But perhaps what makes this short’s pacing so believable is the fact that there are no transitions that take you out of their documented experience. I don’t recall seeing a single frame of static that was added in post-production, and there’s no excessively shaky camerawork that would give any viewer motion sickness.
In this case, XIII leaned so hard into the “less is more” approach that it felt real right up until its climax and conclusion.
Stream XIII For Free On Tubi
GFR SCORE
When it comes to amateur found footage horror, XIII checks all of the boxes that make it an effective sub-genre entry. For my money, there’s nothing quite like watching two buddies bust out their video cameras and make terribly misguided decisions because that was such a huge part of my life growing up that the nostalgia roped me in. And I have zero regrets about sticking around because it’s actually a fantastic short that I’ll be recommending to my horror friends until they tell me to shut up.
As of this writing, you can stream XIII on Tubi for free.
