Mockingbird is a 2014 American found footage horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino, from a story by Bertino and Sam Esmail.[1][2] The movie was released to video on demand on October 7, 2014, and was given a DVD and Blu-ray release on October 21 of the same year. It features Todd Stashwick, Alexandra Lydon, and Barak Hardley as three people that have been given video cameras with the instructions to film their daily activities for a strange contest.[3]

Mockingbird
Mockingbird poster
Directed byBryan Bertino
Screenplay byBryan Bertino
Story byBryan Bertino
Sam Esmail
Produced byJason Blum
Marc Platt
Adam Siegel
Bryan Bertino
Adrienne Biddle
Starring
CinematographyBrandon Cox
Edited byMaria Gonzales
Production
companies
Blumhouse Productions
Marc Platt Productions
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • October 7, 2014 (2014-10-07)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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The movie follows three groups of people, all of whom have found a video camera on their doorstep and begin filming with the impression that this is a chance to win money as part of a mysterious competition. Tom (Todd Stashwick) is an average guy filming the life of his family with his wife Emmy. Beth (Alexandra Lydon) is a bored and isolated college girl who sees the camera as something to fill her free time. Leonard (Barak Hardley) is a mother's boy who believes his clown makeup will steal the scene. Each group has been given a label - "The Family" (Tom & Emmy), "The Woman" (Beth), and "The Clown" (Leonard), but they are largely unaware of what is truly happening and are shocked when they receive instructions telling them to keep filming or die.

Cast

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Reception

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Bloody Disgusting and Indiewire both gave favorable reviews for Mockingbird,[4] and Bloody Disgusting praised the movie for its tone and wrote that while it "lacks some of the studio polish of The Strangers, it actually feels bigger than that film in some regards."[5] HorrorNews.net panned the film.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Gilchrist, Todd (January 30, 2012). "'The Strangers' Director Bryan Bertino to Answer 'Mockingbird' Call". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  2. ^ Barone, Matt (October 7, 2014). "Permanent Midnight: Surprise! The Director of "The Strangers" Finally Has a New Movie Out". Complex Networks. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  3. ^ Miska, Brad (October 24, 2014). "You Must Watch 'Mockingbird' This Halloween! (Exclusive Images)". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Taylor, Drew (November 7, 2014). "Digging Through the Blumhouse Movie Dump: What You Should Watch and Skip". IndieWire. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  5. ^ Dickson, Evan (September 29, 2014). "[Review] 'Mockingbird' is Incredibly Effective and Almost Unbearably Suspenseful". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  6. ^ Mulvaney, John (October 24, 2014). "Film Review: Mockingbird (2014)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
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