THE MCPHERSON TAPE (1989) – Episode 290 – Decades of Horror 1980s

"He's not kidding! There's a spaceship or something outside. There was three little guys that came out!" Maybe he should have led with, "Look what I got on video!" Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and special guest Michael Steinberg – as they discuss The McPherson Tape (1989), an early found footage film depicting an alien abduction.

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 290 – The McPherson Tape (1989)

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Synopsis: On a typical fall evening in 1983, a young man was videotaping his niece's 5th birthday party. As the night's strange occurrences took place, he kept his video camera running, recording the entire event.

• Writer/Director/Producer: Dean Alioto
• Special Effects: Bill Boes
• Selected Cast:
  • Tommy Giavocchini as Eric Van Heese
  • Patrick Kelley as Jason Van Heese
  • Shirly McCalla as Ma Van Heese
  • Stacey Shulman as Renee Reynolds
  • Christine Staples as Jamie Van Heese
  • Laura Tomas as Michelle Van Heese
  • Dean Alioto as Michael Van Heese
  • Kay Parten as Alien Number 1
  • Ginny Kleker as Alien Number 2
  • Rose Schneider as Alien Number 3

What is the first found footage horror film? Wait, let's rephrase that question. What is the first U.S. found footage horror film? The answer is undoubtedly The McPherson Tape (1989), also known as U.F.O. Abduction. You might also know the film as one of the first alien abduction hoaxes, although the filmmakers had no part in the "hoax." Either way, it set many of the tropes that became standard in the as-yet-unnamed found footage subgenre. The film had no script, was shot with a single handheld video camera in a single take over one night, and featured no score. As rough as it is, The McPherson Tape is a landmark film that should be seen. Your 80s Grue Crew is joined for the occasion by Michael Steinberg, CEO of PlayNowMedia and founder of the Found Footage Critic website (foundfootagecritic.com). Michael also offers a special 50% off promo code for one of his streaming channels, but you'll have to listen to find out which channel and what the code is.

At the time of this writing, The McPherson Tape (1989) is available to stream from Hoopla, Tubi, PlutoTV, and Plex, as well as multiple PPV sources. It is available on physical media as a DVD from POV Horror.

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine's Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode's film, chosen by Bill, is Night of the Demons (1988), in which ten teenagers party in an abandoned funeral parlor on Halloween. What could go wrong?

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