Phoenix Forgotten was like The Blair Witch Project in that it was a story about a group of missing individuals told through found video. Where Phoenix Forgotten excelled was in its storytelling. Going into the movie, I had certain expectations based on the trailer that the story would be about an alien abduction. What I liked about the movie most was that it gave me exactly what I wanted from it. The twists and turns, and particularly the pacing of the story and of how the narrative unfolded, were well executed and made for an unexpectedly good movie.
The characters were sweet, endearing and believable, and the discovery of found video halfway through the narrative was an expert way to take the movie into a direction I did not think it could go, with an ending that was, to me, very satisfying. Highly recommended! 👽
Barber, Justin. Phoenix Forgotten, Cinelou Films, 2017.