THE MCPHERSON TAPE (1989)
AKA AUFO ABDUCTION
Label: 101 Films
Region Code: B
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 63 Minutes
Audio: Uncompressed English PCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1)
Director: Dean Alioto
Cast: Dean Alioto, Laura Tomas, Tommy Giavocchini, Stacey Shulman, Shirly McCalla, Christine Staples, Patrick Kelley
The McPherson Tape (1989) is perhaps the world’s first found footage horror movie, shot a decade before The Blair Witch Project, and directed by first-time filmmaker Dean Alioto in 1989 for $6500. It's set in 1983, the found-footage zeros in on the titular McPherson family who are gathered together at a remote home to celebrate the birthday of 5-year old Michelle. Michael McPherson has a new camcorder and he sets about documenting the the birthday party, capturing not just family cheer and good times, inadvertently also capturing an alien invasion as the home is laid siege to by extra terrestrial beings!
The McPherson Tape (1989) is perhaps the world’s first found footage horror movie, shot a decade before The Blair Witch Project, and directed by first-time filmmaker Dean Alioto in 1989 for $6500. It's set in 1983, the found-footage zeros in on the titular McPherson family who are gathered together at a remote home to celebrate the birthday of 5-year old Michelle. Michael McPherson has a new camcorder and he sets about documenting the the birthday party, capturing not just family cheer and good times, inadvertently also capturing an alien invasion as the home is laid siege to by extra terrestrial beings!
At first glance this is a pretty shoddy-looking affair with lots of low-lit scenes of people running around chaotically with flashlights beams half-lighting the action, with a barely seen alien ship and big-eyed aliens. If it were made today it would be somewhat laughable, but think back on it and this is a seminal slice of independent cinema made by a rag-tag group of filmmakers who were well ahead of their time. No one else had thought up the idea of a found-footage film shot on VHS at that point, this was the first, and the end result is a pretty cool SOV alien-invasion film with a solid cast, interesting premise and scrappy can-do spirit.
Audio/Video: The McPherson Tape (1989) was never previously released on home video until 2020. While it was picked-up for distribution on VHS by a distributor early on, due to a warehouse fire that VHS release never panned-out. The film received it's first official home video release from AGFA + Bleeding Skull, newly preserved from the original 3/4ʺ master tape in April of 2020. Now UK fans of found-footage can enjoy that same release now licensed by 101 Films for a region B locked Blu-ray. Framed in the original 1.33:1 full frame presentation, the film was shot and edited on VHS so don't expect HD miracles here. While it's definitely superior to the bootlegged copies you might have seen on YouTube and dodgy bootlegged VHS tapes it's still a ill-defined, smeary presentation with scan lines etc in full effect, which only further goes to sell the SOV authenticity of the found-footage concept.
Audio comes by way of uncompressed English PCM 20 stereo with optional English subtitles. Obviously not the most dynamic or sound designs but it does the trick, while there's no score there's a cacophony of overlapping dialogue being shouted throughout and it's resolved coherently, that's about all you possibly hope for here.
Onto the extras, first up is an alternate version of the film, the 2017 director's cut under the title UFO Abduction that has newly created alternate title card and opening and closing credit titles sequences, though the bulk of the film seems unchanged from what I could tell from a one-time viewing. The director's cut also features a different framing and color-grading with some scenes looking to have superior definition and warmer more authentic looking over the original cut, and sometimes vice versa. We also get a Audio Commentary track with director Dean Alioto on original cut, which is pretty great as it gets into the genesis of the scrappy project, how necessity is the mother of invention, the special effects and storied legacy of he the film.
Also on tap is a 3-min 1989 theatrical premiere introduction by Alioto, the 6-min Encounters TV Segment that aired on Fox in the 90's featuring both UFO expert/author Tom Dongo and retired Air Force Lt. Col. Donald Ware speaking to how they think the film could be real, and then Alioto pops up to dispel it as a work of fiction, which I loved. The beefiest of the extras is the 39-min Fantastic Fest Q&A from 2019 with the Bleeding Skull crew and director Alioto along with a special guest! That gets into the making of the film, how budgetary constraints lead to the VHS found-footage premise, attempting to sell the film to several uninterested and sometimes hostile distributors, and how after finally finding a distributor the deal fell through when the distributors warehouse burned to the ground along with the film elements! Then it gets to the really good stuff, how the lost film developed a cult-following when it started being traded at UFO convention as evidence of a real UFO encounter, and the process of getting Bill Boes (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow) to create the alien spaceship for $750!
The single-disc release arrives in a clear Scanavo keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork featuring both The McPherson Tape and UFO Abduction artworks which look great, both branded with 101 Films and AGFA icons on the front and spines of the wrap This release also includes a limited edition slipcover with The McPherson Tape artwork.
Special Features:
- New transfer from the original 3/4ʺ master tape
- UFO ABDUCTION: The 2017 Director’s Cut.
- Audio Commentary track with director Dean Alioto on original cut
- 1989 theatrical premiere introduction (3 min)
- Encounters TV Segment (6 min)
- 2019 Fantastic Fest Q&A (39 min)
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
- UFO ABDUCTION: The 2017 Director’s Cut.
- Audio Commentary track with director Dean Alioto on original cut
- 1989 theatrical premiere introduction (3 min)
- Encounters TV Segment (6 min)
- 2019 Fantastic Fest Q&A (39 min)
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
- Limited Edition Slipcover
On the surface The McPherson Tape (1989) might seem hokey and kitschy through modern eyes deluged by the early-00's glut of post-The Blair Witch project "found footage" films, but scratch beyond that and this is a seminal piece of SOV/found-footage, a film that was very nearly lost but whose scrappy authenticity kept it alive without proper distribution or a legit home video release, that's pretty dang crazy. I would put this right up there with The Collingswood Story as a prescient gem of found-footage that needs your eyeballs on it ASAP if you're any sort of fan of found-footage. In the UK this release is available from 101 Films, if you're in the U.S. you can grab it from AGFA+ Bleeding Skull.
Screenshot Comparison:
Top: Original Version 'The McPherson Tape'
Bottom: 2017 Director's Cut 'UFO Abduction'
Extras:
