Fizz and Ginger Films’ Found Footage Film: Dagr (2024)

Head’s up, Filmmaking Horror Fam: Izzy’s Eerie Indies/Isaiah Swanson is currently hiking across America and, as such, indie horror film screeners sent to my inbox are going to be watched and reviewed by yours truly for the foreseeable future! Starting with today’s film: Dagr (2024).

My screener copy of Dagr was graciously sent to me by the film’s director, Matthew Butler-Hart, with a note saying it’s “a dark comedy, found footage, folk horror – not to be taken too seriously!” Between his description, the trailer, and the IMDb plot summary Dagr sounded right up my alley!

I was especially intrigued that nearly every piece of press material for Dagr had “comedy” listed as the primary genre (followed by “horror” and “thriller”) because horror comedies are my very favorite sub-genre of horror and Lord knows I could use a laugh!

So, Is Dagr a Horror Comedy?

No. It’s not.

Calling Dagr a horror comedy — or a dark comedy, or a comedy of any sort — is a great disservice to the film and its potential audience.

I know you’re smart, Fam. You wouldn’t expect Dagr to be Fawlty Towers or Peep Show. But might you expect, based on how its being marketed, something along the lines of Shaun of the Dead, Anna and the Apocalypse, or even An American Werewolf in London with found footage-style camerawork…?

If so, you’re going to be disappointed. Or, at the very least, feel a mixture of surprise and confusion.

If Dagr is a British horror comedy, then so is 28 Days Later.

Both films have occasional jokes (remember Mark’s giraffe joke in 28 Days Later?), plenty of casual quips (like Frank’s “Mmm. Irradiated.” when comparing rotted organic apples to ones that are still remarkably fresh in the market scene), awkward interactions/introductions between characters (there’s a scene in Dagr where two actors meet each other and the film crew that has a similar energy to 28 Days Later‘s Jim and Selena meeting Frank and Hannah), and other humorous touches (like Thea in Dagr having a wee in the forest while simultaneously mocking the Blair Witch Project‘s snot/apology scene — “taking the piss” out of it while literally pissing, if you will!).

That said, is 28 Days Later a horror comedy? No. Absolutely not. And, despite its intentionally funny moments, neither is Dagr. Which makes me concerned that Fizz and Ginger Films is going to struggle to find Dagr‘s ideal audience — the horror audience who would absolutely love what Dagr actually is!

Dagr Is an Excellent Found Footage Horror Film

Lest the significance of that statement be lost on you: You already know that horror comedy is my favorite subgenre of horror. You know what my least favorite horror subgenre is? Found footage films. And that’s exactly what Dagr is. Despite that, I recognize its excellence!

For even more context, I couldn’t even finish George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead (2007). I got extremely nauseous, extremely bored, and fell asleep long before the credits rolled. Which is how most found footage horror films effect me (Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, etc.). I just singled out Diary of the Dead because no horror fan is going to say George A. Romero wasn’t a great filmmaker and, therefore, it helped to highlight my issues with the the overall style/genre rather than falsely attributing my displeasure toward a particular creator.

I’m probably the WORST person to review a found footage movie! Which is one of the reasons I’m so positive that folks who like the genre will LOVE Dagr.

I went into Dagr thinking it was primarily going to be a British horror comedy and that the found footage element was going to be secondary. After all, even the director labeled it “a dark comedy” above all else and repeatedly requested I not take it seriously. I feel like that was a misstep! Because Fizz and Ginger have created a genuinely well-made found footage film — and they deserve to own that fully!

Some Things That Place Dagr a Cut (Heh!) Above

As I mentioned earlier, found footage films tend to make me extremely nauseous via motion sickness from shaky camerawork. Dagr avoids this by having every character in charge of a camera be good with cameras!

Dagr follows two groups of people who eventually converge at the same location: Thea and Louise (TikTok/YouTube/other social media vloggers) and Tori, Gray, Hattie, Emma, and Matt (a film director, her cameraman, their assistant, and two actors). The footage that’s “found” and compiled to create the final film was taken by Thea, Louise, Tori, and Gray — all characters who are adept filmmakers in their fields!

Not only does having good camerawork take away the potential for nausea (I only had to pause for deep breaths once – during Thea’s “inception” scene in the car), it doesn’t break the audience’s immersion because a love for filmmaking is directly tied to who the characters are as people. Which also takes away any of the usual “why are they still filming?”/”why are they still holding their camera?” questions that normally arise when watching a found footage film. If you’re truly passionate about something — if it’s your love, your livelihood, or both — you’re not going to let it go.

Not to mention the entire movie is filmed on iPhones. Would you leave your camera behind in a horror situation if your camera was also your phone? Probably not. (Side Note: Dagr was filmed entirely with iPhones in real life too – not just in the movie! How inspiring is that?!)

I also really appreciate that Dagr is only an hour and sixteen minutes long! As with all found footage horror films, there’s still plenty of meandering and soaking in scenery on the way to the plot; but, unlike most found footage horror films, the scenery is gorgeous and the meandering is accompanied by plenty of cheeky dialogue to keep you awake. It keeps a steady pace and doesn’t overstay its welcome!

Also, this may be very specific to myself and my own aversions to eye contact, but I really enjoyed how many of the shots focused on characters’ hands! And you can easily tell who’s who by just their hands and their absolutely immaculate manicures. And it starts occurring as a theme immediately after director Tori (played by Tori Butler-Hart, co-writer of Dagr and co-owner of Fizz and Ginger Films) says, “we’re going to go real Godard on it. Jump cut again. Do the close-ups on, like, the hands…”

Last but certainly not least: The acting in Dagr is all top-notch. They all act like real people, which makes it a believable found footage film, but they’re also all charismatic on camera.

Charismatic characters who are comfortable on camera aren’t generally featured in found footage films because they choose to be “real” over being entertaining — and Dagr avoids this boredom-triggering issue inherent to the subgenre by having all of the characters have pre-established backstories of being good on film. I hope to see all of the actors again in future horror films!

Dagr Is Now Streaming

I purposely didn’t talk much about the plot of Dagr beyond “it’s about two groups of people who eventually converge at the same location” because, love them or hate them, all found footage horror movies are at their very best when you go in cold.

They’re theme park scare zones. Attractions. Events. Experiences. The jump scares, zanier camerawork, and “WTF?” moments just won’t hit the same if you already know exactly what’s going to happen.

If you love found footage horror films, you’re going to love Dagr. If you typically dislike the subgenre, Dagr won’t be your new favorite film but I think you’ll appreciate it as a genuinely well-made movie.

Images from Dagr featured throughout this post came via Matthew Butler-Hart and were used for review purposes.