For Roger (2021) Review

After the recent loss of his fiancé Clara (Jenna Gibilisco), Roger (Michael Andrusiewicz) takes a lonesome trip back to the cabin he and Clara stayed at as a getaway vacation for the past few years. Dealing with the grief of losing his love, Roger finds and rewatches a collection of tapes he recorded of his and Clara’s time together. Upon rewatching these tapes, Roger notices that someone has been watching them from the woods for years.

The found footage sub-genre is something of a past obsession as it has almost faded into obscurity as we creep closer towards 2022. Aside from the newly released V/H/S/94 and the upcoming seventh entry into the Paranormal Activity franchise Next of Kin hitting cinema’s within the next couple of weeks, a fresh surge for shaky cam could be making its return if successful enough. For Roger isn’t authentically a found footage flick, utilising the sub-genres hook line and sinkers in a low-budget genre hybrid attempt much in the likeness to Dave Franco’s The Rental, with a small fraction of its coin. The difference here however is in how it switches back and forth between the tape footage and the real time material, leaving behind a hodge podge experience that is wafer-thin on anything of true substance.

For Roger is the sort of horror experience that relies on its character driven approach and empathy to get its kicks. The issue here depends on if your characters are a) likeable enough to carry an entire film or b) are fleshed out enough for us to sympathise for their impending peril. Unfortunately For Roger only fills half of that bracket, presenting somewhat tolerable (if not slightly one-dimensional) characters who have little to do for a long period of time. We as the audience are subjected to repetitive tape-playing from Roger right up near the 50 minute mark, resulting in an unfortunate slog of an experience that feels empty and terribly unfulfilling.

Given its such a performance reliant horror, the small handful of cast do a decent job with the material given. More so Michael Andrusiewicz as Roger himself who is placed in centre stage for the majority of the film, and does a fine job at it too. He has nothing more to do aside from playing the devastated boyfriend of recently deceased Clara (which is completely understandable), but in a movie almost solely dedicated to the existence of these one-note tapes, it would have been nice to see a little more depth to his grief presented on screen. Clara herself is adequate, one of the more fleshed out characters involved, even if her and Roger’s relationships never feels like anything more than a third date as opposed to its evident multiple year-long relationship.

When the horror begins to start rolling in (better late than never), For Roger does shift into a more satisfying direction. Once The Watcher (Nicholas Paparo) is laced into the story it’s undeniable tensions begin to rise, as Roger spots a face watching through the windows in one of the tapes. This moment is an absolute highlight, spurting genuine terror as that grainy VHS face sits static on the screen. Whilst this moment does jumpstart the duration of For Roger into a far more engaging course, its impact is also deflated by Director Aaron Bartuska’s choice to unflatteringly show the antagonist earlier on for no apparent reason. This questionable choice subtracted a hefty chunk of tension from The Watcher’s big reveal on the videotape, and could have been so much more effective if it had been the very first time we laid eyes on that terrifying mask and figure. What a bummer.

Once the action kicks in and after a few solid minutes of well-earned tension, we are then bogged down with a poor attempt at a narrative love-triangle. One that never feels fully realised or earned. If given more time to play on the antagonist’s obsession with Clara we could have had a decent third act tonal shift which would have been welcomed, and very much needed. Instead we are handed a half-baked attempt that feels as hollow as it does redundant. 

All in all For Roger is not entirely terrible, boasting a fairly decent final act albeit lackluster. It’s bland visual presence and tedious story makes the overall product feel somewhat of a slog, which is an absolute shame as glimpses of merit make themselves known throughout; unfortunately to and far between. This may have been For Roger, but it was certainly not for me.

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