Found footage and the paranormal goes together like peanut butter and jelly, and Danny Villanueva Jr.’s second feature was perfectly put together with love like the sandwiches your grandma’s prepared for you.

Audiences at Fantastic Fest 2024 had the treat of seeing the world premiere of What Happened to Dorothy Bell?, a film that follows Ozzie (Asya Meadows), first through home videos and then later through video diaries and Zoom calls. Opening on Ozzie watching a television program, the audience hears that her grandmother is missing. Then we see her playing hide and seek, but it is obvious that something is not quite right with Grandma Dorothy. Now as an adult, Ozzie is trying to put together the missing pieces of her childhood, trying to understand why someone she loved so dear had tried to hurt her. As she embarks on this journey to uncover the details of her family’s past, she documents her progress with a video camera–as we tend to do in this day and age. 

Upon returning to the town where she spent her childhood, Ozzie discovers that her grandma and the story of the tragedy that haunts her family have become an urban legend. Known as “the Witch Librarian of Spellbound,” Dorothy Bell is said to haunt the library she once worked at. This is when the horror of the story begins to ramp up. A janitor who remembers Ozzie’s grandmother lets her come into the library after dark, and this is when the paranormal activity, like flickering lights and ghostly mists, begins to manifest. 

What Happened to Dorothy Bell? Consistently switches up the format, aka the source of the “found footage.” Between old home videos, handheld camcorder footage, CCTV security footage, YouTube videos, and screen-life like Zoom calls and Google searches, it’s easy to stay engaged with the story since the film has allowed itself to use a wide range of scares based on all of these conventions of the sub-genre. Essentially, it plays like a “best hits of found footage” while still feeling like an original story, which is great news for fans like myself. 

Having its world premiere just weeks before the 10th anniversary of The Taking of Deborah Logan, it is worth noting that the two films would make an excellent double feature. Unlike Deborah Logan, Dorothy has been long dead, existing only in the film as a ghostly presence. In the current cinematic landscape that has often made out the body of aging women as something horrific, it is refreshing to see that even in the discussions of mental health and the ways she has hurt Ozzie, there is a sympathy for Dorothy that is allowed to stay intact when the scares come from the sounds that go bump in the night. 

It is also a story that will resonate with many who have difficult relationships with their family and families with complicated pasts and unspoken curses. The truth of what happened to Ozzie as a young girl has driven her apart from her parents, who only hope that she will not succumb to the same fate as her grandmother. Watching the mental decline of the ones you love is difficult. As someone who not only has a history of family with mental illness but has also recently witnessed the rapid decline of my own grandmother, this film feels personal. The best horror films should be able to strike you in the heart and still give some truly horrifying moments, and What Happened to Dorothy Bell? does this well. 

This film is one of the most enjoyable watches to come out of Fantastic Fest and Asya Meadows carries the entire film. Since Ozzie is our primary focus as we come along on her journey, Meadows proves herself to be a compelling new actress in the horror space. With What Happened to Dorothy Bell? being her first lead role, it will be exciting to see where she takes her career. A strong film with good scares, What Happened to Dorothy Bell? will be a favorite for found footage fans to return to in the years to come. 

Grade: B+

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: None

Release Date: TBD
Where to Watch: TBD