Tinsman Road (To Be Released) is a Found Footage Force of Nature

Title: Tinsman Road

First Non-Festival Release: TBD

Director: Robbie Banfitch

Writer: Robbie Banfitch

Runtime: 119 Minutes

Starring: Robbie Banfitch, Leslie Ann Banfitch, Salem Belladonna

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after receiving an official screener in 2025.

Ghosts can haunt without being present. In fact, sometimes the absence of the supernatural makes it easier to believe, especially for those with all the reason in the world to have hope. 

The chilly exurbs of New Jersey set the scene for the story of Robbie (Robbie Banfitch) and Leslie Lyle (Leslie Ann Banfitch), who face grief in their own way. Several years after Robbie’s sister Noelle Lyle (Salem Belladonna) disappeared into the night on Tinsman Road, the remaining Lyles are lost themselves. Robbie takes it upon himself to pick up the search efforts once again. Armed with just a camera and immense guilt, Robbie finds himself following a dangerous path to unearth answers about his sister’s vanishing.

An initially familiar and unassuming supernatural haunter, Tinsman Road is a welcome change of pace in the deluge of found footage would-be fright flicks.

Starting with a simple and familiar story, Tinsman Road takes its time building up to its horror. Borrowing heavily from the giants of the sub-genre, Tinsman Road works like a long-lost cousin of The Blair Witch Project and is every bit as effective. Instead of focusing on the lore of why this is happening, Robbie of Tinsman Road is undeterred by the horror. The journey to find his sister takes on various shapes, evolving organically with the bend of the trail. Tinsman Road succeeds because of its sadder elements. Grief becomes the main antagonist as it pushes Robbie further and further to places he should not go, both physically and mentally.

Authenticity bleeds through Tinsman Road in nearly every way. One of the biggest distractions of found footage is the obvious production element to the sub-genre. Thankfully, there’s none of that here. From the cast to the writing, the characters and situations of Tinsman Road feel as genuine as they are portrayed. Almost as if you could pluck them out of any gas station parking lot or public park, there is a charm to how realistic these people are. None give a more true-to-life performance than Leslie Ann Banfitch. It’s hard not to see every midwestern mom in her performance [yes, this is set in New Jersey, no I will not apologize for the comparison] which makes her grief feel more real. It’s this level of earnestness that shines through all levels of the project.

Every bit as unsettling as one would expect from a Robbie Banfitch offering, Tinsman Road is deliberate in its efforts to terrify. Playing with sound again, Banfitch uses dynamic audio and visual confusion to up the terror. Birds screech, foxes yowl, and the forest falls silent. The flurries of animal vocalizations add to the loneliness of the night. Danger too. Banfitch alternates his approach as needed but because of his insistence to keep audiences disoriented, he makes it so they feel the same confusion as the character of Robbie does. This culminates in a finale that holds true to this tried-and-true formula for scaring success.

The soft, homey aesthetic of the late 1990s and early 2000s burst to life out of the winter thaw. Between the friendly interactions amongst strangers and the lack of deep aversions to being recorded, the documentary approach of Tinsman Road feels wholesome in a way. Removed from the snark and venom of the present, Banfitch focuses on keeping his vision in line. Be it the architecture and interior decorating of the family home, the throwback wardrobe, or even the way it’s filmed, Tinsman Road looks like it was snatched from the shelves of Blockbuster circa 2002.

An odd choice for a found footage/mockumentary horror, the soundtrack of Tinsman Road strangely fits. Inserted for obvious narrative reasons, the songs erupting from Noelle’s stack of somber cassette tapes serve a dual purpose in further propelling the film’s eerie atmosphere while also deepening the mystery of her disappearance. The haunting vocals of Noelle pop up at various ventures aligning with when her presence swells in the story. The gloomy folk pop ballads cast a warm glow over an otherwise frigid watch. Without their inclusion, Noelle would feel far more removed from her own story.

Another banger from Banfitch, Tinsman Road proves there is still juice left in the found footage sub-genre. Dark, chilling, and unrelenting in its slow burn approach to horror, Banfitch’s sophomore feature is every bit as intentional and evocative as his previous effort despite diverging in subject matter and tone. Where The Outwaters is a primal roar in the night, Tinsman Road is a hushed chorus of whispers in the forest, dangerous yet determined. Take a walk on the wild side and plan your trip to Tinsman Road asap.

Overall Score? 8/10