This article contains mentions of suicide and abuse.
While many found footagehorror moviesare genuinely scary and well-made, some would perhaps thrive even more as regular films. With origins dating back to the 1960s, the found footage genre has spawned countless horror movieclassics. As their name suggests,these movies are made to emulate footage that might have been found some time later.
Because of this premise,found footage often looks as though it has been shot on lower-budget devicessuch as camcorders, phones, or webcams. This method of filming, while considered innovative many years ago, can often make movies feel constrained. Though the genre has spawnedmany great found footage horror movies, this sort of filmmaking can lead to many films having a similar feel.
Creep
Cast
Creep is a 2014 Horror film directed by Patrick Brice. The found-footage style release stars Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice and revolves around a videographer who takes a job recording and chronicling the life of a supposedly dying man that will be showcased later to his unborn son.
Told through the eyes and lens of a videographer named Aaron,Creephas an interesting premise that keeps viewers hooked. Aaron follows around Josef, a man who has an inoperable brain tumor, recording so that Josef’s son will have something to watch once his father passes. However,Josef becomes increasingly unhinged, leading to the true horror of the movie.
Whilethe premise ofCreeplends itself well to the found footage genre,much of the actual horror is itself lacking. Where there might have been some pretty jarring scares if this were a normal horror movie, there are instead lingering shots that tend to sit with viewers for a while. This may work for some audience members, but there are many moments that would be more frightening and more impactful were this film shot in a more traditional way.
Apollo 18
Apollo 18 is a sci-fi horror film that takes place in a revisionist history where the Apollo 18 mission was never canceled and instead made it to the moon, but the crew never returned. The movie shows the found footage of the mission as it retells the story of the secret mission headed to the moon to install a defensive payload for the U.S., but they soon discover they’re not alone.
It is rare for found footage films to be purely science fiction, butApollo 18stands out as an interesting addition to a diverse genre. Its premise revolves around the canceled Apollo 18 mission, offering the possibility that the mission was launched and landed on the moon, but the crew never returned. This is because of a group of supposed aliens living on the moon, who, throughout the movie, slowly kill off the astronauts that landed there.
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While the monsters in this film are themselves somewhat jarring, their presence is undermined by the found footage format. Were the film to frame them better, they could have perhaps been more suspenseful, but they are left feeling hollow and altogether not very scary. IfApollo 18were to be made like any other monster horror movie, it could have capitalized on these frightening creatures, as seen inmovies likeAlienandPitch Black.
8As Above, So Below (2014)
Horror Found Footage Is Framed Like A Documentary In As Above, So Below
Presented as a documentary about the Catacombs of Paris,As Above, So Belowserves as a chilling, mind-bending experience. As the group explores further down below the city, they encounter all manner of apparitions, each more terrifying than the next. The film broaches topics such as faith and religion and heavily references Dante Alighieri’sThe Divine Comedy.
The best parts of the movie are its horrible out-of-this-world moments, and because of this,As Above, So Belowwould thrive in a format that would allow for even more artistic expression in this regard.A regular horror film with a less personal lens would allow for this perspective, one that prioritizes the shifting world around these characters.As Above, So Belowwould be even more terrifying if the focus were put on some of the visuals over the found footage format.
Unfriended
Showcased entirely on a computer screen, Unfriended follows a group of teens who are terrorized over the internet by the ghost of one of their deceased friends. The ghost, a classmate named Laura Barns, seeks revenge on the other teens for the bullying she endured from them before taking her own life. Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki, and Courtney Halverson star.
Unfriendedis unique when it comes to found footage stories,as for the most part, it takes place during a Skype call. This is quite a deviation from other found footage films, which typically allow for at least some movement from place to place. Instead,Unfriendedfollows a group of high schoolers and the game of death they are forced to play as a result of their classmate’s suicide.
Despite the one-time original presentation ofUnfriendedand the films it later inspired, the film still suffers from being static. Because it takes place during a Skype call, there is not much that the film can do when it comes to including other points of view. Adding a little bit of outside perspective would have helpedUnfriended’splot from being too bare-bones, and therefore, it would have worked a little better as a regular film.
Cloverfield
Directed by Matt Reeves, Cloverfield is a found-footage disaster movie that follows a group of people seeking safety during a state of emergency. When New York City is attacked by an unknown monstrous entity, chaos ensues. A group of friends document their attempts to flee the city and find sanctuary from an onslaught of monsters on a handheld camcorder - footage which is designated as an account of the “Cloverfield” incident.
Many people know of the incredible thriller10 Cloverfield Laneor the more science fiction leaningThe Cloverfield Paradox.However,many forget that it all started with the found footage monster movieCloverfield,the plot of which is surprisingly simple. It focuses on the story of six people as they flee from a massive monster, attacking New York City for some unknown reason.
While the plot may be simple, the execution is anything but. The monster ofCloverfieldis impressively realized in a way that generally holds up to this day. However, if the movie were to be a blockbuster film like those that would come later in the series, not only would it feel more thematically tied to those movies, but it would also be able to more properly capitalize on the fear this monster instills in the viewer.
Megan Is Missing
Megan Is Missing is a found-footage psychological horror film centering on two teenagers, Megan and Amy, who navigate the dangers of online interactions. Their encounters lead to disturbing consequences, highlighting the perils of internet relationships and child abduction.
One of the more controversial found footage films to date,Megan Is Missingpresents itself as a cautionary taleof what could happen when children trust strangers on the internet.Gruesome at best and exploitative at worst, the film shows in great detail the abuse that two children suffer at the hands of a man they meet online. It is a difficult watch from beginning to end,andMegan Is Missing’s endingmight be one of the most unsettling in the entire genre.
Because it comes across as what is meant to be a deeply personal found footage film, the movie often lingers in places where it should not. Sexual descriptions and acts go on for uncomfortably long amounts of time, and there is a lack of distance from the killer. TurningMegan Is Missinginto a regular film could help begin the journey to fixing its faults,possibly taking a more respectful stance on the disturbing subject matter.
The Visit
From director M. Night Shyamalan, The Visit follows two siblings who are sent to stay with their estranged grandparents while their mother is out of town on vacation. Realizing that all isn’t what it seems during their stay, the siblings set out to find out what is really going on at their grandparents' home. Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould star as Becca and Tyler, with Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, and Kathryn Hahn making up the rest of the main cast.
Directed by the legendary M. Night Shyamalan,The Visitis a confused thriller that alternates between found footage horror and classic American film.Following a pair of children as they go to visit their grandparents, they begin to realize that something is very wrong when they are told not to leave their rooms at night. Anything else would veer too much into spoiler territory, as with any Shyamalan film there are plenty of surprising twists and turns to be had.
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Despite the fact that it was recorded as a found footage film on lower-budget cameras,The Visitstill feels like it is a little too close to traditional filming to be considered purely"found footage.“The camerawork is very still most of the time, and any shot feels as though it was purposely composed with filmmaking in mind. It already crosses the line into being a traditional film, and by fully taking that step, it could really lean into its other strengths.
3Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Cannibal Holocaust Was The First Found Footage Horror Film
Known for its grotesque imagery and horrifying premise,Cannibal Holocaustis a controversial horror film that follows a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest. Prior to the beginning of the film, a film crew went missing while documenting the tribes that live in the forest, known for being cannibals. The rescue mission eventually makes its way into the forest and finds the tribe responsible for the film crew’s disappearance, but they could not imagine the horrors that await them there.
Cannibal Holocaustis historical when it comes to the cultural explosion of the found footage genre, and without it, there is no telling if these sorts of movies would be as popular as they are today. It has been banned and unbanned, criticized and politicized for a variety of reasons, and provided its own form of social commentary. However,if it were filmed as a regular movie,Cannibal Holocaustcould have escaped some of the accusationsof being a real snuff film.
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 horror film that follows three film students who venture into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland. As they document their search for the Blair Witch legend, strange and unsettling events unfold. Presented as found footage, the film is directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and it pioneered the found footage genre in mainstream cinema.
Few discussions of found footage films ever leave outThe Blair Witch Project. Perhaps the most famous found footage horror film of all time, it follows the disappearance of three film students who set out to document the stories of the supposedly fictional Blair Witch. However, they bite off a bit more than they can chew, finding themselves haunted by the myth in the woods of Maryland.
Mostly improvised,The Blair Witch Projectis a spectacular example of how tense found footage films can be.While there are only a few actors, a forest, and the infamous cabin, the film manages to do a lot with very little. However, one is left to wonder whatThe Blair Witch Projectwould be like if it were filmed more traditionally, possibly dialing up the scares but removing some of that grounded-in-reality feeling the original had.
Paranormal Activity
After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.
Originally released in 2007,Paranormal Activitysupposedly documents a hauntingthat takes place in the home of young couple Katie and Micah. It follows the same format as many popular ghost investigation shows, with cameras set up throughout the house in order to document paranormal activity. However, it quickly becomes clear that there is a very evil spirit there in the house, making for one of the most terrifying found footage movies ever made.
As of today, there are sevenParanormal Activitymovies in total.
Even though the film is plenty scary on its own,a traditional horror movie could take the things that made the found footage sections ofParanormal Activityamazing and elevate them to even greater heights.Stories such asThe ConjuringorThe Haunting of Hill Houseexpertly craft these lingering narratives, leaving viewers watching around every corner. This is something thatParanormal Activitycould do as well, only cementing it as one of the greatesthorror moviesof all time.
