Conjuring Tapes (2025)—A Chilling, Entertaining Ride from Beginning to End!
I’ve been patiently yet eagerly waiting for Rob Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr.’s latest film Conjuring Tapes. And as a sucker for both found footage horror and horror anthology, I’ve struck the jackpot as this film kills two birds with one stone! If you thought it was hard to make an entertaining found footage horror film, horror anthology is a whole other monster. You not only have to create multiple engaging and creative stories, but also need to maintain an overarching theme throughout the anthology. So does Conjuring Tapes succeed in doing that?
A young woman named Molly (played by Brenda Yanez) has a nightmare of her friend Sarah (played by Nora DeMello) killing herself via gunshot to the head. The next day, she meets up with her friend Sam (played by Samantha Laurenti) to sort through Sarah’s things. They stumble across a journal warning them of an entity ominously named “Mr. Magpie”. Upon digging deeper, they find a series of VHS tapes. As the women watch the tapes, they soon learn that each tape unveils a new and different breed of horror while slowly coming closer to the dark truth.
For those who’ve followed Rob Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr.’s career will know that this isn’t their first crack at horror anthology. Hell, it isn’t even their first film that uses VHS tapes as a form of storytelling. But unlike The Christmas Tapes, Conjuring Tapes features much more found footage creativity. We see nods to classic found footage films whilst introducing us to angles never before seen in a Woof Cat Films production. If you ask me, Conjuring Tapes feels like the culmination of all of Randy and Rob’s filmmaking experience. It has the wit and black comedy of The Other Girl, the first person scares of Infrared, and of course, the horror anthology format of The Christmas Tapes. I’m truly impressed by their ability to seamlessly weave multiple genres into a single horror subgenre.
Our core three actors: Samantha Laurenti, Brenda Yanez and Nora DeMello all take on various roles throughout the film. While all three demonstrate their ability to effortlessly morph from one role to the next, Samantha Laurenti easily shines in this film. I was especially impressed with her performance in the second tape as the bubbly yet crazy talk show host, who gives off an electric Harley Quinn-esque energy. Meanwhile, it’s astonishing to see Brenda Yanez switch between the traumatized Molly and the cheerful yet sincere blogger Kira. You almost can’t tell they’re played by the same person. An honorable mention also goes to Phoenix Brewer as a mental patient named Michael in the third tape. I just love how scarily creepy he can transition between different personas with just his body language alone.
To answer my question: does Conjuring Tapes succeed with telling an overarching theme whilst keeping you engaged? Yes! Mr. Magpie is always at the forefront of the film. You never see him, but you feel his presence. And with every tape, we along with Molly and Sam come closer to unravelling the enigma that is Mr. Magpie. It starts out relatively innocent and safe, but as the tapes continue, they become far darker and chilling. You could almost feel the air around you drop a few degrees as we approach the halfway point. And by the time you finish the fourth and final tape, you’re left chilled to the bone. It’s easily one of, if not the creepiest film Rob and Randy have made.
Despite being found footage, Conjuring Tapes is not entirely shot in first person. It actually presents the real world in third person, giving it a more polished look compared to other found footage films. While this can seem like a break in immersion, I actually beg to differ. Unlike most other found footage films I’ve reviewed, Conjuring Tapes has two worlds: a “real” world and a “film” world. By having the “real” world shot in third person, we as the audience are given a visual cue that Sam and Molly are separate from the tapes. Quite frankly, this is something I’d like to see more of in horror found footage anthologies.
Even though Conjuring Tapes is a more professionally-made horror anthology, it lacks The Christmas Tapes’ charm. What do I mean? Well, the former lacks the memorable characters present in the latter. While Samantha and Brenda do play some unique characters, they’re not as fun compared to Paranormal Perry, Vernon Wells’ evil mall Santa or Greg Sestero’s Geoff. Additionally, I was a bit hit or miss on the film’s ending. It’s far from bad, but it’s a lot more ambiguous compared to Rob and Randy’s other films. It took me at least another viewing to fully comprehend the film’s ending.
With a wide and stellar acting range from our main cast along with a concise and entertaining premise surrounding demonic horror, Conjuring Tapes is another solid horror movie in Rob Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr.’s directing lineup. It’s not just another horror anthology by the directing duo, it’s an amalgamation of all their previous efforts in film. But don’t think you’ll get everything from reading or watching reviews alone. There’s so much more to the film that you just have to experience it for yourself. Full of fun and terrifying surprises, this film will have you laughing, scared and having fun from beginning to end!
