Bodycam is a 2026 found footage horror movie that tries a few different things. Two police officers are called to the scene of a domestic dispute. This leads to a tragic accident which Officer Jackson (Jaime M. Callica) and Officer Bryce (Sean Rogerson) try to cover up. But it is more than the camera that knows what they are up to.
Even the biggest found footage fans will admit that a lot of suspension of belief is required. This mostly centers around why the camera is still there after an hour of running around. Director Brandon Christensen gets around this by making the camera mandatory. The main characters have them on their bodies and cannot stop them from recording. This allows all of the focus to be on the movie instead of wondering why they just don’t drop the camera and run.
Bodycam has more of a plot than many films of the sub-genre. Usually the driving motivation is a scary legend or a missing film crew. Jackson and Bryce have stronger and much more personal motivations. Adding a deeper plot allows the action to go in directions that would not normally be feasible. Christensen uses this to his advantage by using multiple locations.
The attempt at added story also leads to some of the biggest issues. The biggest is why are they bothering trying to hide things in the first place. Bryce is well within his rights to make the decision he does. There is an unfortunate side effect, but few would think he is wrong. Bodycam tries to dance around this by saying the public will not believe him, but everything was caught on tape so his testimony would be unnecessary in proving his was justified.
The chaotic pacing makes sure things never get boring, but the lack of lore is frustrating. There is a lot going on, yet nothing is explained. Towards the end, Bodycam loosely ties drug addiction into the evil. However, there is never anything definite making an awesome creature reveal fall flat.
Bodycam premieres on Shudder March, 13.
