“Why are you recording this?”
It’s a valid question, and one the found footage subgenre struggled to answer in the years which followed The Blair Witch Project. It’s an issue which has become less relevant in our terminally online day and age, in which our every move is constantly being tracked. Kyle Mangione-Smith’s Compliance (not to be confused with the equally grim 2012 film of the same name) is the latest multimedia found footage picture to make use of the format – all of the formats – to tell a tale of a sinister conspiracy and the women (Megan Wilcox and Lindsey Normington) caught in its web.
Wilcox plays Sam, a young crisis manager for a tech startup. She’s tasked with talking down traumatised Sarah (Normington), whose sexual assault threatens to derail a multi-million dollar deal. With her unsympathetic bosses breathing down her neck, Sam puts her best foot forward in trying to contain the damage. But it becomes increasingly clear that Sarah’s horrific attack was just one small part of a much bigger picture. Caught between the uncooperative victim and a sinister corporation, Sam is dragged kicking and screaming into a dark, far-reaching conspiracy.
Mangione-Smith utilisies hidden cameras, screen-sharing technology and traditional found-footage technique to craft an increasingly claustrophobic thriller. Between the cameras and the constant screentime, Sam is never truly alone, but she feels increasingly isolated – torn between her sense of compassion and her loyalty to a shady employer. The second thing isn’t a problem for long, but the conspiracy doesn’t end with her employment. Just how much danger is Sarah in? And how far will her employers go once they realise that she’s on to her game?
Wilcox does tremendous work as Sam, the once idealistic social worker turned government stooge. Her situation will resound with anyone who’s been forced to compromise their morals in the name of a steady paycheck. Angry Facetime calls, Slack messages, right-wing talking heads and incessant iPhone notifications converge to drive home Sam’s increasing claustrophobia. There’s also the nostalgia of a bygone time in its 2024 setting – a time when one could complete a regular Google search without having to filter through pages full of AI crap.
Compliance loses its way during the too-busy, too-ambitious, too-noisy finale, but it’s a remarkable feature debut from Mangione-Smith, who uses our dystopian digital landscape to create something uncomfortably voyeuristic and devastatingly prophetic.
COMPLIANCE premiered at FrightFest on August 31, 2026.
