For all you independent horror film fans this one is worth a look. What we have here is a New Jersey horror fan giving you some old fashion suspense and gore. There are several videos in this series. You can find the series on YouTube at the link below:
Here are the videos in order with their length
The Wes David Tapes - 12:57
The Wes David Tapes part 2 - 14:42
Wes David - 1:37
The Wes David Tapes part 3 - 11:45
The Wes David Tapes part 4 - 8:13
The Wes David Tapes part 5 - 7:20
The Wes David Tapes part 6 - 7:20
The Wes David Tapes part 7 - 12:26
The Wes David Tapes part 8 - 15:53
The Wes David Tapes part 9 - 13:36
The Wes David Tapes 31 Days of Real Horror - 32:48
Wes David Lives - 9:22
Total Series Run Time: 2 hours 26 minutes 59 seconds
How It Began
In the fall of 2018 a small town in Northwestern Jersey was shadowed by a black cloud of murder. 6 people fell victim with no real leads and 1 possible suspect. A born and raised local, WES DAVID, was the prime suspect. Described as a pariah since his teen years. The police kept a close eye on him with no concrete evidence to to ever make an arrest. The case is still unsolved, and WES David disappeared without a trace. Police recovered a camera owned by WES. On that camera held the answers to the questions the whole town had and more. The discrepancies that video held made things all more concerning, confusing, and secretive. What was once a national story with viewable evidence to convict, was suddenly brushed under the rug and locked away and not spoken about. We have obtained what are known as The WES DAVID Tapes. These tapes hold the shocking truth of what happened in the fall of 2018. Was WES mentally unstable? Did he have help? Or as you'll find out, was he chosen to do these crimes by the boogeyman himself? Yes, you heard that right. These tapes leave more questions then answers.
Review
First, I am a huge fan of creative horror fans turning their ideas into reality. I like it even more when they are from my home state. With that being said let's get into the review. I love the found footage genre. I am also a fan of the live video footage style movies. This to me is the perfect mixture. It is a playback of live recordings, presented as found footage, but it has a documentary feels to it. Add in the commentary throughout and you have the WES DAVID tapes. The concept of WES DAVID should really strike a nerve with old school, slasher style, serial killer, horror fans. He's crazy, deranged, slightly twisted, and possibly possessed. The fact that his killing sprees pop up and get worse when provoked adds that "you asked for it" kind of feel. The story line also feels more real than Hollywood created. You really could see this type of situation happening with the amount of mentally unstable people walking the streets. People like WES in the real world sometimes document their "work" for various reasons. Some seek attention, some seek approval, and some seek pleasure. WES DAVID started his killing spree in the fall of 2018. What we thought was his final appearance took place on October 31, 2021. It was very possible that we would never see him again. One year later WES arrived back on October 31, 2022 to let the world know that he was still here. There is a psychological aspect of this that I really liked. Besides the fear of the man himself showing up to your home or grabbing you in a dark parking lot there is the mental aspect. He disappeared for an entire year. He has lived in your head rent free for that time. This type of short film definitely has its place in the horror world. I will say that it isn't for everyone, but I would recommend that every true horror fans gives this a shot. I hope that Chris keeps creating and pressing the limits of the genre.
Interview with Chris Magennis
Q. When did you decide to get into film making?
A. I got my first video camera when I was about 14. That thing went everywhere with me, but the idea of making movies seemed so far fetched. I was always shooting skateboarding stuff and dumb skits. I thought you couldn’t make a movie by yourself because I never had other people interested in doing that. So I always just made skits and what made me start really thinking about making movies was a web series I did called “Bro Meets Dude”. Each episode is a little movie of it’s own. My first short horror movie ETRTSAC was supposed to be a Bro Meets Dude episode and I changed that to just make it a straight up short film. It’s been off to the races since then. 5 short films and a 10 part web series in 2 and a half years. Not bad.
Q. Besides yourself of course who else helps you make the episodes?
A. I wish I had help with anything I do! The Wes David stuff is done 100 percent completely by myself. In the latest episode I did have my girlfriend Beth do the narration instead of me to change it up. I hated doing that stuff, but I am usually always a 1 man crew. Even with all my short films.
Q. What inspired you to create the Wes David tapes?
A. I literally found an old Mini Dv camera I got back in 2004 in my closet in my apartment and started messing with it. The footage it shoots is kind of grainy and I love it. There is a setting on that camera called night and I don’t mean night vision. I mean a little tiny light turns on next to the lens and it makes everything look super grainy and has this weird delay look that I absolutely love. So, on Halloween of 2020 at around 2 AM I went outside with that camera and made a 1 minute short. That was the genesis of the Wes David Stuff. Then I sat around thinking how to use this camera and came up with a serial killer that shoots home movies of his killings and whatever else he wants to do. I love found footage stuff so I wanted to do my own version of that style as well.
Q. How did the name WES DAVID come about?
A. This came pretty easy. I was sitting around thinking and I was watching Scream. So Wes Craven came to mind and I dig the name Wes. Right away I knew that was the first name. David is my real middle name so I just used that and Wes David was born.
Q. Do you have a complete storyline with ending or do you create each part as it comes?
A. I create it as it goes. The original 10 episodes I had about 6 written while I was shooting and wrote as I went along. I just brought back Wes David because I love that character so much, but where it goes from here is up in the air. I do have 2 new episodes written, but they go in such a different direction I’m not sure if I like them yet. I need to sit on them a little longer.
Q. When can we expect the next episode in the series?
A. Great question! I’m not sure. I want to keep consistently doing them, but I’m just confused on where I want this character to go. I have big ideas and I don’t want to keep doing the same old stuff with him. Time to get weird.
Q. Can you give the readers some inside information on WES DAVID to shed some extra light on the WES DAVID tapes?
A. Absolutely. If you see him coming your way. Run! You do not want to end up on one of his little home movies. The Wes David Tapes was just the beginning. Wes Is going to become something much much bigger than just a small town serial killer.
Besides The WES DAVID Tapes Chris has 5 other short films that can also be found on his YouTube page. Go support a creator and give his work a look. It's very creative stuff. As for WES DAVID I guess we will have to wait and see where he pops up next and what he is going to do
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