Writer/Director Robbie Banfitch is back in the found footage realm with his follow-up to the excellent The Outwaters, the haunting Tinsman Road.
We follow Banfitch as Robbie, a brother who returns to his hometown to solve the mystery of his sister who vanished in the woods nearby.
While it may feel like you’ve heard this story before, Tinsman Road is an entirely different animal.
This is a haunting and emotional journey of grief that becomes something deeply scary.
Banfitch explores the affect that a missing family member truly has on those who they leave behind. At one point Robbie and his mother try to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner, in a scene which is so utterly heartbreaking. The all-rounder director finds a way to make us really care about these characters with a subtle performances.
For instance, Robbie drinks a lot but it is never explained why; is it the trauma of losing his sister or something deeper?
The closest comparison to Tinsman Road I have found in the past decade or so, is the Paul Tremblay novel Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, which carries an equally heavy emotional wallop.
Whether Banfitch stays in the found footage sub-genre or moves on to something else entirely, Tinsman Road is such a tonal shift from The Outwaters but ultimately succeeds in being this scary film that will linger deep in your soul as the credits roll.
Look out for this one on the film festival circuit or its digital and physical media release in Summer 2026.
Tinsman Road screened as part of Leeds International Film Festival.
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