Found footage horror succeeds when it can convince viewers that what they're seeing might actually be real. For much of its runtime, Something Ugly Is Over There, the debut film from writer-director Noe Perez, accomplishes exactly that. Screened as part of the Unnamed Footage 24HR26 at Home Festival, the short delivers an unsettling blend of religious horror, Mexican folklore, and analog paranoia that lingers long after the static clears.
The premise is simple but effective. After a Catholic church receives an audio recording from a young man named Jona, whose family believes he is being tormented and possessed by Santa Muerte, a priest is sent to investigate the circumstances surrounding his eventual death by suicide. The footage presented to viewers serves as the final record of that investigation.
A surprising amount of the film's early runtime is devoted to a conversation between Jona and a radio host while television static occupies the screen. It is an unconventional choice, but one that largely pays off. Jona describes a woman he has been seeing and claims she wants him to hang himself, introducing the audience to a chilling mystery before any visual horrors appear. Max Valencia delivers a believable performance in these quieter scenes. While some of the more intense moments land less effectively, his conversational exchanges feel natural enough to sell the reality of the situation.
Once the investigation moves to Jona's residence, the film truly finds its groove. Perez, who also portrays the investigating priest, guides viewers through an increasingly unsettling environment filled with strange details and unexplained phenomena. Crosses line the ceiling. Shoes are in piles throughout the home. Blood-red messages are scrawled across surfaces. Chairs are propped against doors. Radios activate on their own. Loud knocks and bangs echo from unseen locations. None of these elements are particularly groundbreaking on their own, but together they create an atmosphere of mounting dread that feels genuinely effective.
One of the film's more entertaining aspects is the priest's reaction, or lack thereof, to the increasingly alarming evidence surrounding him. Faced with what appear to be obvious signs that something terrible has occurred, he presses forward with near-professional indifference. Whether encountering ominous messages smeared on walls, hearing unexplained noises, or discovering disturbing photographs, he remains focused on the task at hand. At one point, he casually pockets a Polaroid of an apparent victim and keeps moving. The understated response somehow makes the situation feel even stranger.
As someone who loves Mexican folklore, I found the use of Santa Muerte particularly compelling. Horror often borrows from religious iconography, but Something Ugly Is Over There feels grounded in a cultural perspective that gives it additional weight. The Spanish-language dialogue further enhances that authenticity. Living in Texas, Spanish is hardly unfamiliar to me, and hearing much of the story unfold in its native language helps the film feel more immediate and believable.
Technically, the short does a solid job maintaining the illusion of authenticity. The aged-video filter looks convincing without becoming distracting, while transitions using television static and color bars reinforce the feeling that viewers are watching recovered footage assembled after the fact. Cinematographers Soleil and Noe Perez understand the visual language of found footage and use it well throughout the film.
Perhaps the film's greatest strength is its restraint. Perez demonstrates a strong understanding of how tension works, allowing scenes to breathe and discomfort to build naturally instead of relying on constant shocks. That patience makes the story feel more realistic and often more unnerving. Perez is equally convincing as the priest. If I had entered the screening without any information about the production, I could easily have mistaken portions of the film for genuine investigative footage.
That same restraint is also where the film falls just short of greatness. The atmosphere is strong, the setup intriguing, and the mystery consistently engaging, but the conclusion never quite reaches the level of impact the buildup seems to promise. After spending so much time cultivating unease, I found myself wishing the finale had pushed things further or delivered a more memorable payoff.
Still, Something Ugly Is Over There is an impressive debut effort. Noe Perez demonstrates a clear talent for atmosphere, an appreciation for folklore-driven horror, and a strong grasp of found footage storytelling. While the ending may not hit with the force some viewers will be hoping for, the journey remains creepy, convincing, and surprisingly effective.
Jessie Hobson