As a horror fan, it should be incredibly obvious that I love horror movies. What might make me somewhat different from most horror fans though, is that I am a HUGE fan of the “Found Footage” sub-genre of horror filmography. The hand-held camera style filming, the unrecognized actors and the pure grittiness of these films make them much more believable, and much more original than their big budget counter parts.
Below, I have compiled a list of some must see “found footage” films. They have been placed in descending rank order, so that the films that I believe are the best are found at the bottom.
If you want to learn more about these films, click on their respective images. Enjoy the list and feel free to comment!
Troll Hunter
I’m sure fans of this Norwegian masterpiece will argue that it should be lower on the list, but in all fairness this film is only semi-horror, and mostly just kind of a creepy action film.
When a group of film students attempt to make a documentary about troll hunters, they find out that their skepticism was very unwarranted.
In a kind of beautiful way, the students get to discover the true nature of the grotesque looking trolls, while learning who the real monsters are.
This film is great because of its originality, even in such a novel sub-genre. It has monsters (trolls) and a few scares, but overall just isn’t quite a horror film.
Lake Mungo
This film is shot in a kind of “docudrama” format, with several pieces of “found footage” used to add intensity and mystery.
It tells the story of a family’s attempt to understand the death of one of their loved ones, both how it happened and (more importantly) why it happened.
While there aren’t very many scares in this film, the realistic style of shooting and the spooky ambiance of it make Lake Mungo a must see for fans of mystery and the paranormal.
Grave Encounters
Obviously, this film is a classic must for horror films. It has ghosts, jump scares, a creepy atmosphere and plenty of twisted images to make your skin crawl.
However, the abomination that was Grave Encounters 2 ruined the way I see the film, which is why it is so high on the list. I still highly recommend seeing the first film though, just avoid the second like the plague.
Grave Encounters takes us along with a group of paranormal investigators as they lock themselves into an abandoned (and thoroughly haunted) psychiatric hospital. The tagline of the film says it all: “They were searching for proof. They found it.”
The Fourth Kind
Although I am not usually a big fan of alien/UFO movies, this one, and the next one on this list, are big exceptions. The Fourth Kind has plenty of terrifying moments and shocking revelations to keep it entertaining, and the best part is it’s based on a freaking true story.
Ok, so they embellished it a little, but still.
Milla Jovovich plays psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler, who uses hypnosis to find out what exactly has gotten the town of Nome, Alaska so freaked out.
The “real” footage peppered into this thriller will make you sleep with your lights on.
The movie itself will make you cringe every time you hear a “hoot” at night, and will possibly make you want to punch an owl in the beak.
Apollo 18
Again, I’m usually not a big fan of alien horror, but if you were to tell me you found the lost tapes from some astronauts that showed horrific alien attacks and spooky settings, of course i would love it.
That’s the deal with this film, it claims to tell the story of why we never went back to the moon, and if it wasn’t just a work of fiction I would write to the president asking him to nuke that big hunk of cheese right out of the sky.
The thought of being alone, isolated in space already rattles the nerves enough as it is, but throw in a little bit of space bugs crawling in your clothes and you’ve got Apollo 18. Horrifying stuff.
Cloverfield
This is a modern take on a classical tale. Something gigantic, unnatural and destructive has found its way into New York, and nothing we try seems to stop it.
Ok, so it’s basically the American version of Godzilla, but that is sort of the point.
This creature of unknown origin smashes its way through sky scrapers as our protagonists/film crew try to escape. Say what you will about this monster flick, it has a lot more to it than you might think. If you search for Cloverfield secrets, you’ll see what I mean.
This film is a must see if you love monsters, and I LOVE monsters, like, a lot.
Paranormal Activity (and all of its sequels)
What do you do when things around your house start moving and you hear strange sounds in the night? Get out the video camera of course!
If you haven’t seen any of the films in this series yet, you may want to start by watching with the lights on. There are plenty of jump scares and spooky moments to make your bones rattle.
More importantly, the nifty effects, camera tricks, and creativity used to make this film work will make you want to break out your cell phone camera and try making a horror film of your own.
This film really sets the stage for “found footage” demon flicks. Currently, there are five of these movies (Paranormal Activity-Paranormal Activity 4 and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) and the fifth is set to come out this October.
With this many sequels, you may assume that the films have gone down in quality over time, and you would be correct. However, the way all of the films have tied together has really given me a few “A-HA!” moments (I just watch The Marked Ones last night).
Cannibal Holocaust
This film is disgusting. Absolutely gross, gory and awesome. The film was so believable upon its release that the director had to prove that he didn’t just try to sell an actual snuff film.
The movie uses “found footage” along with traditionally filmed material to walk a viewer through the final moments of a group of young documentary filmmakers who disappeared while on a mission to film Amazon cannibal tribes.
Don’t worry, this isn’t just 96 minutes of constant torture, there is actually a decent plot and a great twist. Watch it, but not while you’re eating.
The Blair Witch Project
This is the film that revolutionized the sub-genre of “found footage.” Much like Cannibal Holocaust (above), many people who saw this film when it was new back in 1999 completely believed they had actually witnessed the events portrayed, and for good reason.
The cast of this film were not only great actors, they were extremely dedicated to making their disappearance seem as real as possible. They even made and distributed “missing” posters of themselves prior to the film’s release. But that’s not all.
The director of this film constantly kept the actors in character by scaring them and filming it, and the cast was actually lost several times during filming!
Evidence
As I mentioned above, I love monsters. More than ghosts, vampires and definitely aliens, I find a big hairy beast in the woods to be one of the scariest things there is, and this movie has them.
More than just monsters, this movie has something that is incredibly important to horror films: subtlety.
The monsters in this film start as just a possibility, then they are a quick glance in the background, then everything goes crazy as hell.
This movie is a little lesser known, which is awful because it has got to be one of my favorite films of all time.
It tells a familiar story (with a unique twist) of young people camping in the woods, and one of them just so happened to bring a camera. It begins very eerily and slowly grows into something incredibly action packed.
I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea what is going on at the end of this movie (and I have seen it a lot) but it leaves you thinking that there will probably be a sequel, and you crave it like heroine.
The special effects in this film are very good for B grade movie, and the suspense is ridiculously perfect.
V/H/S and V/H/S 2 (aka S-VHS)
I don’t think there will ever be a “found footage” film that will be as amazing as the VHS films. They have everything: monsters, killers, zombies, ghosts, demons, cults, and vampires (or maybe some kind of gargoyle).
These films are actually a series of short films directed by different directors (somewhat like, and including directors from, The ABCs of Death), and all filmed “found footage” style.
These “mini films,” if you will, are held together by a subplot (also filmed by handy cam) that all ties together throughout the first and second film.
That may sound confusing, but trust me, it’s worth it to check these out.
Also, while I was searching for the image to use for this list I stumbled upon the news that the third VHS film is soon to be released. I immediately peed myself in excitement, cleaned up, and then came back to the computer to watch the trailer, just to pee myself from excitement all over again.
Here it is, enjoy:
Mmmmm, so good. As of yet there is no release date, but you can bet your horror loving heart that I will see it the second it is released and blog about it.
The “found footage” sub-genre, though not as well funded or advertised as the A list Hollywood films, is an incredible, horrifying, creative take on the horror genre. If you aren’t a fan of these types of films as of yet, please give a few more of them a try.
There are many, many more terrifyingly awesome “found footage” films out there, but these are my favorites for now. In the future I am sure I will be writing about more of them. Thanks for reading.
B.G.'s Horror Blog 