There aren't many movies that give the found footage subgenre a distinctive and unsettling twist. When The Blair Witch Project first appeared more than 24 years ago, it not only changed the rules of the horror genre but also gave rise to a brand-new subgenre that allows filmmakers to truly frighten audiences. Erik Kristopher Myers found footage experience, Butterfly Kisses, is one of those great twists on the genre. An emotionally engaging story involving the search for the Peeping Tom, Butterfly Kisses innovatively takes three narratives and effortlessly sews them into a creepy and original experience.
What makes Butterfly Kisses so interesting is the progression of three stories at one given time, with the most important one being Sophia's, from which the film begins. Filmed in black and white, Sophia (Rachel Armiger) presents an unsettling message that she doesn't have much longer to live. Caused by a film project she and her friend and former student Feldman (Reed Lelisle) have been working on, they pursue a documented quest to search for a local legend of the "Peeping Tom" or what others refer to as a "Flemmern-geist," a spirit only intended to be seen by those who have come in contact with it.
Known also as "The Blink Man" or "Mr. Blink," the legend goes that if people don't blink for an hour at the Ilchester Tunnel in Maryland, he will show up. Once a victim has blinked, he gets closer to them with each blink until he gives them a "butterfly kiss," which causes them to blink one last time and face death.
Beginning with Sophia's impending death, the movie moves into its second-most important segment. Gavin York (Seth Adam Kallick), a filmmaker, father, and wedding videographer, finds videotapes hidden in his parent's basement. Thinking this will be his big break into the film industry, Gavin intends to use the tapes for his documentary to find the mystery of Peeping Tom through Sophia and Feldman's research if he can prove footage they captured is credible. As this dark path of obsession and terror starts to consume him, he and his camera crew regretfully discover that the legend of the Peeping Tom does exist as they delve deeper into this investigation.
A third, much deeper story begins to emerge in each of these characters as all of these other stories progress. While all are on a mission to crack the case of the legend of the Peeping Tom, all three individuals go down a dark road of obsession as the Peeping Tom legend starts to not only alter their perception of reality but drives them all into a whirlwind of madness that eventually starts to consume them all. When Gavin finds these films, he feels that this will grant him the new life he wants with his wife and child, no longer having to struggle for financial stability. To achieve his goals and live the life he has always desired, he is prepared to risk everything. Essentially, he is exploiting the lives of others to reach a bigger goal, a similar energy that comes to the surface within the lives of Sophia and Feldman as the tapes uncover more of the story.
However, the film crew also has their own devious angle in mind for this documentary. While they insinuate that they are filming Gavin's progress in solving the mystery of the Peeping Tom and the people who shot the videos, all they are documenting is Gavin's failures as he keeps being told throughout his journey that the footage is not genuine. While these two stories play out, it points out a vital question that the world of found footage often attempts to answer. If one came across authentic found footage in the era we are living in now, would anyone believe it was real?
When one of the most successful found footage experiments, The Blair Witch Project, came to fruition in 1999, the film was successful due to its remarkable campaign and marketing for its time. It's a blatant fact that even the director Edwardo Sanchez of The Blair Witch Project himself explicitly points out to him during a radio show segment when he dissects the found footage. While he is essentially critiquing his work, it is a direct message to those in the small world that is the found footage subgenre that often touts the veracity of their work.
Although the circumstances are very different, the theme is, in essence, the same for Sophia and Feldman. Both have something to gain from this experience. During the process of this investigation, viewers learn the significance of why Feldman wants this to work out. During another competition where they filled another film together, Sophie was the only one who received the award. While they are making this film, there is an element of animosity present. While on one hand, there is a combined effort to want to make this project a success, the goal is aimed at for different reasons. Each of them has a clear definition of what success means to them, yet this overarching theme of obsession is the main force that drags them to attempt to finish the project even, even when things start to take a dark turn for the worst.
Gavin hasn't yet proven to be a likable character throughout the movie, and as he struggles to convince others to believe him about the tapes, he also battles with the trust of his viewers off-screen. However, Myers accomplishes the nearly impossible feat of establishing the validity of the footage through an unlikeable character despite Gavin's personality and setbacks. In Gavin's case, Kallick's performance gradually almost gets the viewer to believe in his story. Myers' buildup to this point is so effective that one begins to wonder if Gavin's claims are true after hearing how many people continue to be skeptical of him. One may even begin to feel some sympathy for him, in spite of his flaws, because there is a push for him to find the truth.
The way Butterfly Kisses presents its history regarding the Peeping Tom is another element in the narrative's continued strength. From all the interview testaments to how well-acted these pieces are, Myers does the work to establish a foundation for making the film work in combination with its characters. Myers pushes the concept further by connecting history to the landscapes of the state, further grounding the myth in reality. As the characters and the mythos start to beautifully blend, it makes room for greatly timed jump-scares and gory elements to take effect. Myers appreciates the importance of such timed pieces, using them effectively and displaying just the right amount of flavors to elicit a disturbing response.
Butterfly Kisses natural progression of how the characters come into contact with Peeping Tom further garners attention to how stable the lore is without questioning how he fits into the narrative. As Sophia and Feldman continue to film, the Peeping Tom legend continues to have a firm grasp on the characters physically and mentally. As the camera continues to shoot and then is turned off, almost reenacting one's way of blinking, the entity comes closer and closer into view until the Peeping Tom comes to emerge, unearthing bone-chilling revelations in its wake.
While Butterfly Kisses is a rare experience that is a love letter to films such as The Blair Witch Project, Myers takes this premise and subverts expectations at every step. Butterfly Kisses starts as a film that starts as a film about trying to uncover the truth behind the legend of the Peeping Tom, the mysteries behind Sophia and Feldman, and trying to prove their existence. What manifests is a backstage tale of obsession, madness, and greed. While Gavin is a character many want to hate during this film, he is the type of character one looks back at and asks, "If placed in this situation, what would one do?" The answer would be different for each person. Greed and success change people after a cycle of many failures.
Gavin, through this experience, tries to present an image of himself that people will respect. However, as the film reveals, Gavin is not as confident as he portrays himself to be. Emotionally scarred from his lack of success as the cameras continue to roll, it creates new flaws that consistently bubble up to the surface within the film. In the end, Myers underscores that we all pay for such attitudes. Whether it was Sophia, Feldman, or Gavin, greed frequently sends people down precarious paths of obsession and madness from which they can never return, having terrible repercussions.