Robbie Banfitch became a name on genre fans’ lips with his 2022 surrealist found-footage horror The Outwaters. The terrifying, reality-bending nightmare starkly divided viewers, but wherever you fall on the love it or hate it scale, it’s impossible to deny the sheer passion that went into the vicious, unforgettable tale. Banfitch has followed the psychedelic chiller with the far more stripped-back Tinsman Road, a slow-burn found footage film following in the footsteps of his earlier work, championing atmospheric terror and emotional depth over balls-to-the-wall scares.
Tinsman Road follows Robbie (Banfitch), who, after his sister Noelle goes missing, returns to his childhood home in New Jersey to live with his mother, Leslie (Leslie-Ann Banfitch). Leslie copes with the devastating loss by turning to spiritualism, believing Noelle’s spirit is still in the house and that she can communicate with her. Robbie, on the other hand, channels his grief into creating a documentary about their lives and solving the mystery surrounding Noelle’s disappearance.
Far from the aggressive cosmic horror of The Outwaters, Tinsman Road’s most fear-inducing moments come from the raw grief and trauma the family face. Tinsman Road benefits from the genuine performances by Banfitch and his real-life mother, whose exchanges provide some of the film’s most sobering, spine-chilling, and tear-jerking moments.
They deal with their loss in wildly different ways – Robbie desperately tries to find answers, whereas Leslie retreats into the spiritual realm. Their contrasting ways of coping and the devastating mental effect this has on themselves and each other is harrowing to watch. Tinsman Road is a haunting ghost story that focuses on those left behind when someone is gone and the wreckage in the wake of life-altering events.
The realism of the film is compounded in the way it is shot entirely on a camcorder from the 2000s and edited to place us straight into the nostalgia of watching family home videos. The framing, performance, writing, and direction all work in tandem to create an atmosphere laden with fear and sadness, making the audience feel just as much a part of this family and dealing with the same loss. Every little detail in the family home highlights Robbie and Leslie’s adoration for Noelle and the suffering they are enduring, with shots lingering on photographs just long enough to personify the longing they face every single day. The film’s music, featuring vocals from Salem Belladonna (who also worked on The Outwaters), is the cherry on top in terms of creating an eerie, sombre atmosphere.
Where Tinsman Road falls flat is in its pacing, feeling at times like a bloated 90-minute feature pushed to an eye-watering 159 minutes. What starts strong and gripping often wanes, meaning its emotional impact flounders as the narrative winds on. Though Banfitch somewhat reins it back in at the film’s powerful and wild third act, Tinsman Road is sure to lose many viewers along the way.
Despite its issues, Tinsman Road is a deeply intimate character study of grief, loss, and devotion that rewards the audience’s patience with a surreal, powerful climax that is as unforgettable as Banfitch’s previous work.
TINSMAN ROAD will be available on UK digital platforms from 3rd August.
