Markian Tarasiuk's directorial debut, "Hunting Matthew Nichols," emerges as a significant, albeit imperfect, entry in the faux-found-footage horror genre, a style famously popularized and widely imitated since 1999's "The Blair Witch Project." The film earns points for its self-awareness, directly referencing "Blair Witch" and building its premise around two aspiring-filmmaker teens, Matthew Nichols and Jordan Reimer, who were obsessed with the seminal hit and vanished in the dense forests of Vancouver Island, potentially attempting to recreate its chilling narrative.

The central plot of "Hunting Matthew Nichols" unfolds decades after the initial disappearance, as Matthew's surviving sister, Tara Nichols (portrayed by Miranda MacDougall), embarks on a documentary project to solve the lingering cold case. The film we witness is ostensibly this documentary, with Tarasiuk and Ryan Alexander McDonald playing themselves as professional filmmakers aiding Tara in her quest. Through mock vintage TV news clips and direct addresses to the camera, the mystery is laid bare: Matthew and Jordan vanished on Halloween night, 2001, last seen entering a vast parkland outside town. An extensive search yielded only their camcorder in a remote abandoned cabin, leading to the assumption of accidental deaths, though nasty rumors, including unfounded suspicions against Jordan's Indigenous family, circulated.

Haunted by her brother's absence since childhood, Tara returns from the mainland after her father's funeral, determined to find "a better answer." Her inquiry evolves into a film project, with Tarasiuk directing and McDonald as cinematographer. The team interviews Tara's mother (Susinn McFarlen), Jordan's father (Trevor Carroll), the original cold case detective (Christine Willes), a former mayor (Bernard Cuffling), and others. These interviews largely yield old gossip about "Satanic rituals" and local folklore concerning a 19th-century religious commune, dismissed by an anthropologist as mere cautionary tales for children. However, Tara soon suspects authorities are withholding information, a suspicion confirmed when she obtains the original evidence box, revealing surprises and indications of further missing items. Her obsession escalates to near-hysteria, yet she insists on pressing deeper into the forest, a decision that ultimately proves perilous.

While the film's climax is sufficiently creepy, "Hunting Matthew Nichols" faces criticism for its protracted buildup, with protagonists remaining outside the island's woods for its entire first hour. The narrative often relies on a common found-footage trope: nervous or frightened characters yelling at each other, which viewers may find more exhausting than empathetic. Furthermore, the mock-doc illusion is occasionally compromised by more polished elements, such as occasional gorgeous scenic shots by cinematographer Justin Sebastian, MacDougall's somewhat histrionic performance, and an effective, though sometimes overblown, score by Jeff Griffiths and Christopher King. The late arrival of scares leaves too much time for viewer weariness to set in, detracting from the overall impact. Character development for the costars and the missing boys themselves also remains minimal, despite a surplus of often cliched dialogue in Sean Harris Oliver's screenplay.

Despite its narrative shortcomings, "Hunting Matthew Nichols" is competently crafted and notable for its off-screen enterprise; it achieved a self-distributed theatrical release on over 1000 North American screens. Though the belated payoff in the final minutes is strong, it may not fully redeem the preceding 80 minutes, nor does it strongly warrant anticipation for a sequel. Overall, the film stands a notch above average within its often-saturated genre, but ultimately remains an unmemorable thriller that falls somewhat short of its potential.