The “found footage” label is a very specific one, referring not only to the style in which a film is shot, but also requiring there be a specific plot point of how or why the footage was found. This lends itself most handily to the horror genre, as the most common reason for footage being unearthed would be that the filmmaker couldn’t release it themselves, which typically means they were buried in an abandoned mineshaft or torn apart by escaped lab monkeys. This creates a demand for found footage movies that aren’t straight horror (or at least I’m demanding it), and escaping the confines of that genre allows filmmakers to play with that style in an interesting way. Matt Johnson is one of those filmmakers.

Currently best known on the international stage for Blackberry (2023), Matt Johnson is a Canadian filmmaker specializing in that naturalistic, found footage technique. His first feature The Dirties (2013) utilizes this style to the best of not only his ability, but the ability of the genre, in my opinion. On the commentary track he notes how interesting the camerawork is, saying “We needed to shoot it as if the cameras were hiding, but still capturing everything, so how do you do this, because of course the running narrative for us is that—” and then he gets distracted and never touches on it again. But the end of that sentence is that the characters are making their own movie about taking revenge on their bullies, which they establish in the opening scene. This is a convenient way to explain this style and the recuperation of footage. But as the film progresses, you begin to notice that Matt is the only one who addresses the camera, and seems to be the only one who can even see it. Owen is also planning this movie, but never refers to shooting it, or setting up shots, or really executing it at all besides a rough outline.

The film chronicles the attempt to attribute some significance to the misery in your life, and the subsequent fantasies of taking your revenge. Media has a huge role to play in this. Matt is obsessed with movies, constantly quoting scenes and referencing his real life to parts of his favorite movies. What better way to detach from real life than to imagine your every move is being documented by a film crew, the happy moments of your life playing out over a montage of your favorite on-the-nose song, and the sad ones played for inspiration and motivation for the hero to rise above? This is exactly what we see happening with Matt’s character, and leads me to believe this found-footage style is being utilized to show us the vision of an unreliable narrator.

One scene in particular really nails this in for me. Matt is once again referencing a movie while balancing on the edge of a cliff. Owen tells him to move away from the edge, and this argument escalates into revealing Owen’s frustration with how Matt is always performing, always acting, even when there aren’t any cameras around. But in the world of this scene, they’re being filmed. There is someone else on that cliff with them. Matt looks into the camera but doesn’t address it,  and Owen doesn’t acknowledge it at all, because it’s not really there. I don’t think Owen knows they’ve started shooting this movie.

In a Q&A for The Dirties 10th anniversary, Matt talks about his preference for making more stripped-down, “approachable” films that disarm the audience into thinking they’re smarter than the movie, or at least lower their expectations of what the film is capable of. When you take advantage of that lowered guard is when people really feel an impact. I love the notion that impact and emotional response isn’t limited by what style the film is utilizing. I love to be disarmed and frankly blown away, and that’s exactly the impact The Dirties had on me.

You see something happening on camera and it’s like it’s not even happening to you. It’s like a different person.