Old Wounds (PANIC) Heal Slowly in Trippy Found Footage Indie Film

Title: Old Wounds

First Non-Festival Release: TBD

Director: Steven Hugh Nelson

Writer: Chelsey Grant, Steven Hugh Nelson, Brian Villalobos

Runtime: 109 Minutes

Starring: Chelsey Grant, Steven Hugh Nelson, Brian Villalobos

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after its screening at the Panic Film Festival in 2025.

On a trip with his girlfriend Ashley (Chelsey Grant), Steve (Steven Hugh Nelson) decides to document their experiences while they prepare to meet Ashley’s family. Their fun adventure takes a strange turn when they get the feeling that they aren’t alone. Soon enough, more secrets will be revealed that will test them as partners.

A grounded, genuinely mysterious found footage film, Old Wounds finds horror in the mundane and harmless.

Every found footage horror film lives and dies by its characters, either praised for their quick-thinking or values or derided for their insistence on filming above all else. The first act of Old Wounds gets things rolling like a typical found footage film. Both Ashley and Steve are affable enough to follow as they record the silliness of their road trip. Their creeping suspicion that they’re being watched elevates further when Graham (Brian Villalobos) is introduced to the story and subsequently changes its direction and energy. Each major player has secrets and quirks that make them a suspect for nefarious intentions.

This leads to an interesting dilemma. Old Wounds has great characters but confusing dynamics, which makes the overall story harder to believe. Throughout the film, the three characters never seem to pin down who is being the ultimate creep in their triad. Each revelation brings scheming and plans of payback but there never seems to be a full grasp on where the overall story is going. Since it eschews typical sub-genre conventions Old Wounds is hard to predict, but the unresolved angst gets tiresome.

The performers do a solid job of bringing their characters to life without falling into the familiar trappings found footage stars face. Chelsey Grant, Steven Hugh Nelson, and Brian Villalobos have great chemistry, which gives the awkward social interactions weight. The strange situations feel genuine with how each actor behaves. Each equal parts skeptical and defensive, the trio make it easy to stay invested in their characters because of how difficult it is to determine who is responsible for the escalating horrors.

Slow-burn with an emphasis on escalating awkward interactions, Old Wounds posits that sometimes the scariest thing can be poor social awareness. The characters of Old Wounds clearly have issues communicating and this drives the characters forward. Sneaking around and revealing secrets, the lack of trust and propensity for snooping paints a nuanced view of the current generation of young adults. Unable to simply confront their friends whenever they find themselves unable to trust them, the characters in Old Wounds cannot handle the discomfort that comes with these heavier conversations.

The biggest letdown comes in the form of its ending, which feels out-of-left field. Building up its characters with the sinister implication that all have something to hide, it would appear that Old Wounds is keeping its cards close to make its twist satisfying and unexpected. It accomplishes one of these goals. Its finale is puzzling to say the least, even if it is in service of its characters and their tangled web of lies and apologies. There’s nothing wrong with subversion, but a little polish would have smoothed the feelings of its non-ending.

With more positives than negatives, Old Wounds adds enough to the found footage cannon to justify a recommendation. Its odd story and lack of commitment to horror are obvious drawbacks but there’s something so curious about Old Wounds all the same. Caring more about its characters and their depiction as a dysfunctional yet empathetic group, Old Wounds has plenty of interesting things to say about how deception becomes secondhand nature in a society obsessed with prank videos, true crime, and curated authenticity. It may not fully hit all h the marks it wants, but that doesn’t stop Old Wounds from being a captivating snapshot of the complicated horrors of friendship.

Overall Score? 6/10