There are a lot of different genres of horror movies but none have the particular real-life implications of the found footage horror film. Unlike other horror movies where you get some distance from the subject matter knowing it’s just a movie, with a found footage film things hit a little closer to home.
Over the years, there’s been a dearth of these particularly realistic horror films that operate under the assumption that you’re watching someone’s real camera, whether it’s a security camera or camcorder or some other sort of found footage. The most common way it’s presented is footage that’s supposedly found after someone is dead or missing.
Unfortunately, some of these films are much better than others. Let’s take a look at some of the best.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Endlessly parodied but never quite duplicated, The Blair Witch Project revitalized the found footage genre and became a bonafide phenomenon when it was released way back in 1999. It tells the story of three student filmmakers who hike into the Black Hills near Maryland to investigate the legend of the Blair Witch.
The footage is found a year later with no sign of the filmers. The movie works because it taps into a deep, human fear and gets tenser as it goes on. It culminates in one of the most chilling endings ever (found?) filmed. If you haven’t seen it then you’re in for a real treat.
Perhaps fittingly, this movie was so successful that an attempt at a sequel absolutely tanked at the box office. You only get to catch lightning in a bottle so many times.
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Before there was Blair Witch, there was Cannibal Holocaust. In fact, the similarities are pretty easy to see. Regardless, this is a bloody and chilling film. It tells the story of Harold Monroe, an anthropologist who travels to the rainforest in the Amazon to find some missing filmmakers, who disappeared while filming a documentary on a tribe of cannibals.
They never find the crew but they discover the lost footage, which a television station wants to broadcast. The footage is disturbing and features rape, mutilation, murder, violence toward animals, and just generally terrible things. At one point, one of the lost filmmakers is killed and mutilated and another is raped and decapitated.
Suffice to say, it’s an extremely disturbing film and it was banned in several countries. Director Ruggero Deodato was charged with obscenity and murder after the movie came out and was forced to appear on Italian television with the actors to prove his innocence. This is found footage at its finest (or worst, depending on how you look at it).
The Last Broadcast (1998)
This film came out about a year before Blair Witch and there are some striking similarities between the two, to the point that at one point there was media speculation that the Broadcast directors, Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler, would sue over the similarities.
This turned out not to be the case. “If somebody enjoys ‘The Blair Witch Project’ there is a chance they will enjoy our film, and we hope they will check it out,” the filmmakers told IndieWire. The movie is about two TV personalities who were murdered while doing a live broadcast searching for the “Jersey Devil,” a mythical murderous beast.
Four people went into the woods and only one came out. He was charged with triple homicide and died in prison under dubious circumstances. It plays out like a documentary until the end when things weirdly go off the rails. While it’s not as good as Blair, it’s an interesting entry into the found footage genre nonetheless.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Part of the terrifying fun of a found footage movie is how they handle the “unseen.” It’s a horror movie trope that things become less scary once they’re seen, but this type of story is paramount to the success of a found footage film. This is no different than the incredible Paranormal Activity, which takes this principle to its logical conclusion.
The movie is about a young couple who move into an ordinary house that is actually haunted by some sort of supernatural creature. Things move in the night, sheets move completely by themselves and there’s the ever-present threat of footsteps that shouldn’t exist.
The acting and premise are airtight and go a long way to make you really believe a couple went through this for real. It’s a masterclass in showing and not telling, jump scares, tension, and genuine fear. A great movie that took what Blair did and elevated it.
Cloverfield (2008)
Cloverfield is an all-time found footage classic. While not necessarily a meat-and-bones horror movie, it’s a monster film with moments of pure, abject terror. It tells the story of six people who start out at a lighthearted party and are forced to flee after something attacks the city.
At the beginning of the movie, the footage is presented as being from the United States Department of Defense and found in an area that was “formerly known as Central Park.” The plot involves a man named Rob Hawkins moving to Japan, so someone is in his apartment filming his goodbye party.
There’s a power outage after an earthquake and when everyone goes on the roof they see an explosion, freak out, and start to run. When they reach the street the head of the Statue of Liberty falls almost on top of them. Even worse, there are creatures running around that bite humans and well, I’m not going to spoil it but it’s pretty incredible and one of those “oh damn” moments that you never forget.
The storytelling is crisp and it’s hard to remember it’s a found footage film. A true classic.
REC (2007)
This is the first foreign language film on the list, but by no means is it not exceptionally scary. The movie follows a reporter who accompanies a group of firefighters on their nightly rounds. Everything is fun and upbeat… until it’s not. There’s an infection in the building and the cameraman is the only one inside to record it.
It gets tenser as it goes on and the final scenes should be studied in film school for how simultaneously abhorrent and terrifying they are. The backstory is also fleshed out extremely well and the twist, while fairly predictable, is still rewarding when it happens.
This is widely considered one of the best found-footage movies of all time and if you’re into the genre this is going to be a favorite. Also, there are three sequels.
Troll Hunter (2010)
Despite the awful title and seemingly campy subject matter, Troll Hunter is simply a pretty good movie. It’s presented as a serious documentary but it’s also not afraid to take itself too seriously. That makes for a really fun found-footage ride.
The movie follows a group of students who want to make a documentary about a man named Hans who’s suspected of poaching bears in the woods. They find a bear site and then notice the tracks seem odd. They follow Hans into the forest while he tries to escape from them and then all of a sudden he runs back screaming “Troll!,” which is one of the best things ever.
This is a found footage movie about a troll and that’s pretty cool. It’s also kind of fun to watch people deal with trolls. At first, they’re freaked out but then it becomes a kill-or-be-killed scenario and you really start rooting for the people. Also, the trolls look pretty scary!
Honestly, there are not a lot of movies out there like this one, found footage or not.
The Last Exorcism (2010)
With a title like The Last Exorcism, you pretty much know what you’re getting into. This found footage horror film from 2010 follows a preacher who decides he’s going to let everyone know that exorcisms are BS. He gets a letter from a farmer who says he needs help driving the devil out of his daughter and decides this will be his last exorcism ever.
It takes something that’s familiar and turns it into something altogether unique, a tall order considering any movie with exorcism in the is going to be immediately compared to that other exorcism movie, but this one is good enough to stand on its own.
Director Daniel Stamm also seems to trust the audience will be smart enough to follow the story and he doesn’t pepper it with jump scares, which is refreshing. It’s atmospheric, claustrophobic, and genuinely scary. There’s also a healthy amount of humor baked in so you don’t get bogged down in the heaviness.
The Den (2013)
The last movie on our list came out around the time that webcams were just becoming ubiquitous and have lost a little bit of that shine over the years. However, it’s still a cool idea and exceptionally viable as a slasher movie.
The film follows a woman named Elizabeth who is a member of a social media site called The Den, where people could chat with anyone around the world. Remember Chatroulette? It’s like that. She’s doing a graduate project for her sociology class with the goal of having as many meaningful conversations as possible, and everything is going great until she witnesses a murder.
Things go really off the rails after that in a way that’s hard to explain but really entertaining to watch.