The Andy Baker Tape Movie Review
If you like found-footage films, then you’ll definitely want to give The Andy Baker Tape a chance. The trailer for this caught my attention because I’ve grown rather tired of the same old horror offerings where the same old shit happens. This isn’t your paranormal type of found-footage tale. There aren’t any demons, or witches, or anything else that goes bump in the night. The monsters in this tale are the worst kind, because they’re real. So, sit back and get comfy as I tell you a little bit more about The Andy Baker Tape.
Written by and starring Dustin Fontaine and Bret Lada, The Andy Baker Tape is a tension-filled journey that begins as we first meet Jeff Blake (Bret Lada), who’s a pretty unlikable guy from the start. He’s a narcissistic YouTuber who’s a food blogger and potentially the next Food Network star. During one of the very first vlogs of the film, Jeff informs the audience that he’s done one of those do-it-yourself DNA tests and has discovered that he’s got a half-brother that he never knew about. So, naturally he and his long-lost sibling Andy Baker (Dustin Fontaine) arrange to meet.
The meeting is caught on tape—as is everything—and first appearances are interesting to say the very least. Jeff is clearly the more “citified” of the two, while Andy is more “backwoodsy” and simple. Initial interactions are awkward, but kind of comical as the film moves forward and we get to learn more about the two characters. We get to see more of their eccentricities and more of what kind of makes them tick. Jeff is very anal and is more worried about what his followers see while he’s in front of the camera. He wants Andy to be more professional and more like him. Andy is rough around the edges with a short temper and doesn’t like to be made to look like he’s stupid. When either of them gets angry…well, we won’t like them when they get angry. Or maybe we will. It just depends.
Essentially, this is what the foundation of The Andy Baker Tape is. It throws these two stereotypes into a “two go in, one comes out” death match situation. We basically know who wins judging from the title of the film.
In a nutshell, The Andy Baker Tape is a really well-done, highly entertaining film. This one is enjoyable because it doesn’t rely on a lot of jump scares, tons of gore, or gratuitous nudity. It relies on dialogue, acting, and storytelling to keep the watcher’s attention. Given that the budget wasn’t huge, and this is only a two-person cast, Lada and Fontaine did an outstanding job on this film on many levels. The suspense factor is fantastic. The runtime is perfect because it comes in at just a little over an hour. The chemistry between Lada and Fontaine is believable and entertaining. There are enough twists and turns to keep the watcher on edge.
I mean, I can’t say enough good things about The Andy Baker Tape. I highly recommend you watch it for yourself. You can find it streaming on digital and VOD currently.
