The McPherson Tape (1989) aka UFO Abduction: The First Found Footage Horror Film

Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t get abducted by aliens (unless you’re into that kind of thing). The McPherson Tape perfectly fits the Thanksgiving holiday since it’s about aliens invading a small family’s house in the country in Connecticut- just like the English Colonists invaded Native American lands! Only these aliens don’t sit down and have a friendly feast with the humans in The McPherson Tape…or do they?

The McPherson Tape (1989) has the infamous claim of being the first found footage horror film. In it, the Van Heese family gathered together to celebrate 5 year old Michelle’s (Laura Tomas) birthday on one fateful October day in 1983. Partaking in the festivities are Ma (Shirly McCalla), her three sons: Eric (Tommy Giavocchini), Jason (Patrick Kelley), and Michael (Dean Alioto, who wrote and directed the film), Jason’s girlfriend Renee (Stacey Shulman), Eric’s wife Jamie (Christine Staples), and daughter Michelle. They’re doing normal family shenanigans until the lights go out and they see a red flash. They discover an alien ship has landed nearby and three aliens come walking out. Are aliens attacking? Are they trying to make friends? What did little Michelle get for her birthday? Mysteries are afoot!

The McPherson Tape bathes the audience in mysteries from the get-go. The most pressing unsolved mystery: where did the name McPherson come from? That’s not the family’s name, and it’s not referenced anywhere in the film that I know of. Really, if there’s an explanation that I missed please tell me. Is it a random name pulled out of someone’s ass? 

The next mystery: why are the aliens so dang small? They look like children! In fact, during the credits we see photos of the actors, two of whom are children. These cutie-sized aliens don’t really inspire fear with their presence… but most of the film’s tension comes from watching the family freak out and fight with each other about this possibility of a home invasion rather than actually seeing the aliens do things, so maybe that’s the point. There’s very few shots of the aliens, but that’s ok because once you see those tiny aliens walk out at the end, it really takes the piss right out of any tension the film had built up.

There is a definite cinema verite to the home video of the Van Heese family- the mundane conversations, everyone talking over each other constantly, the shitty quality of an old ass camcorder, and so on. Watching it may up a sense of home and family for anyone like me who’s old enough to have VHS recordings of family get togethers. I also grew up in the country, and have several older brothers prone to middle fingers and farting, so seeing them walk around in the woods and flip the bird felt just like home- a perfect feeling for a Thanksgiving film.

As with all found footage films, The McPherson Tape is an often-dizzying experience that will make you wish for a steady hand behind the camera if only for a moment. The film is very dark with interspersed moments of a pure black screen where you only get audio. It was legit filmed on tape so it’s forgivable and adds to the authenticity of the found footage essence.

If you are a horror fan and are curious to see the first found footage horror film, The McPherson Tape is worth checking out. I mean, it’s not a great film, but it’s an interesting bit of cinema history, a precursor to the found footage boom of the ‘10s, and, clocking in at 1 hour and 6 minutes, it goes down quickly. Plus it features my favorite character, five-year-old Michelle, who could give two craps about the aliens and tells the freaking-out adults, “Let’s go eat birthday cake.” Yass girl. Same. I’m not about to let aliens keep me from eating birthday cake and opening presents!

Disclaimer: Just because I am the Action Flick Chick and love action movies does not mean I condone real life violence in any way. Everyone has their own shit to deal with, be nice to each other.