Found footage movies are nothing new in the world of filmmaking, but each one feels like an innovation of its own. The rawness of a found footage movie shines through the screen,encapsulating the viewers with the possibilities of it all being real. Whether it shows a haunting, a monster appearance, a chase for a killer or the unknown, the feeling of watching footage filmed with a handheld camera will trick the brain into diving deep into the story as if it were happening to the viewers themselves. There’s no one probably more grateful for the found footage genre’s success than producers, as these movies save them money.
The genre dates back to the 1960s, and has had some brilliant, groundbreaking examples so far. Anthology movies like theV/H/Sfranchise rely on found footage and deliver stories that flow across genres. Other found footage instances includeAmerica’s Deadliest Home Video, with the first combination of crime and horror, andThe Last Broadcast, a spiritual predecessor toThe Blair Witch Project. With so many movies in the genre, it’s easy to get lost in the long lists; the best part is - the genre still feels new, decades and dozens of movies later.
11’The McPherson Tape' (1989)
Directed by Dean Alioto
The McPherson TapeakaUFO Abductionis one of the earlier examples of the found footage genre. Today, this movie may be a little funny and clumsy, but it’sone of the earliest examples of home-footage horror movies that aired on TVsand scared the living heebie-jeebies out of people watching it. Many people commented on the YouTube trailer how they genuinely believed the story when they saw it, makingThe McPherson Tapean essential found-footage movie to watch.
The movie is made up of “home” footage of 5-year-old Michelle Van Heese’s (Laura Tomas) birthday party. Her family, the Van Heeses, gathered in their family’s mountain home, and her father, Eric (Tommy Giavocchini), has two brothers - Michael (Dean Alioto) and Jason (Patrick Kelley).Michael films most of the evening with his VHS camera, including the moment the lights go offin the Van Heeses' home. After the three brothers record aliens nearby, they hide in the house with the rest of the family. With some tension and a lot of originality, Dean Alioto’s found-footage horror is the prototype for numerous others later on.
The McPherson Tape
10’Man Bites Dog' (1992)
Directed by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde
The cult found-footage film,Man Bites Dog, is a gritty and unsettling story of a camera crew following a serial killer. The movie is ameticulously made black comedy with gruesome violence and thought-out details, such asnaming a cocktail after a real-life murder casein France.Man Bites Dogwas so controversialthat several countries asked for its complete ban; today, it’s included in lists of the best and most influential found footage/horror movies, delving into the human psyche and the craving for mindless, ruthless violence.Takashi Miikeprobably loves it.
Man Bites Dogfollows filmmakers Remy (Rémy Belvaux), the director, and André (André Bonzel), the cameraman, following around Ben (Benoît Poelvoorde), a charming but trigger-happy, angry man, guiding them through a day in his life.As they go along, the violence in which he participates escalates, from him hilariously screaming at an older woman into dying of a heart attack to a grim and brutal rape scene. In some ways, there have been worse and more violent movies after this one; some are even blockbusters. Few could achieve the relevance ofMan Bites Dogat the time it was made, a movie in which its directors portray its main characters, too.
Man Bites Dog
9’Noroi: The Curse' (2005)
Directed by Kōji Shiraishi
Japanese horror is unmatched;the popularization of J-horror in the West led the country’s filmmakers to get more creativeand raise the bar, which they managed quite successfully in the 2000s.Kiyoshi Kurosawamade some of the most terrifying horror-thrillers, whileKōji Shiraishistepped into the role of a found-footage horror director. He made around five found-footage horror flicks, butNoroi: The Cursewas his first, and is often considered a must-watch movie in both the found footage and horror genres. Fans ofLake Mungomight findNoroito be a movie in a similar vein, combining mockumentary and found footage techniques, though the lore ofNoroiencapsulates a much larger scale.
Noroi: The Cursefollows the paranormal investigator and documentary filmmaker, Masafumi Kobayashi (Jin Muraki), as he embarks on a journey to investigate cases relating to one term - Kagutaba. With people repeatedly hearing noises, feeling watched, and becoming possessed,the legend of the demon Kagutaba haunts and intrigues. The movie is a mix of found footage videos and mockumentary-style scenes; critics and fans have called it genuinely terrifying, praising its dark and foreboding atmosphere and a brilliant screenplay. For anyone who wishes tolearn more about J-horror,Noroiis a great movie to start with.
Noroi: The Curse
8’Paranormal Activity' (2007)
Directed by Oren Peli
Paranormal Activityis on the list of must-watch found footage moviesbecause it pretty much revived the genre in the 2000s. With a single shot of adrenaline in the form ofParanormal Activity, found footage and haunting-themed horrors once again became all the rage, and the moviecleaned up the box officewith one of the lowest movie-making budgets. Without trying to replicate the industry’s biggest found footage movie,The Blair Witch Project,Paranormal Activitystrives to tell an authentic story of a demon haunting a woman from childhood through home video footage.
The movie opens with Katie (Katie Featherston) moving in with her longterm boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat). She explains to Micah that she’s been haunted since childhood; in response,he sets up a home camera to note if anything unusual happens around their home. Of course, ask, and you shall receive - Micah and Katie see unsettling footage, especially while they sleep.Paranormal Activityhas some jumpscares, but it relies more on delivering the scares through the tense atmosphere depicted in home footage. The movie is one of the few found footage horrors that has no need for a camera crew; just a couple, being haunted by a very angry and violent entity.
Paranormal Activity
7’Creep' (2014)
Directed by Patrick Brice
If Craigslist wasn’t giving you major creepy vibes, this Craigslist-experiences-based movie might.CreepstarsPatrick Bricein his directorial debut, andMark Duplassas one of horror’s most unsettling characters ever. Though Duplass seems pretty chill (in other movies and generally),he makesCreepgenuinely terrifying with his unnerving acting.Creepspawned two sequels and a found-footage series,The Creep Tapes, onShudder, though nothing will feel more relevant to the genre as the first movie.
Creepfollows a videographer and aspiring director, Aaron (Brice), who ishired by Josef (Duplass) to film him for a movie dedicated to his pregnant wife, Angela. Josef tells Aaron he has a little left to live, and he wants to leave something nice for Angela, so Aaron travels to his remote home to work with him. When Aaron arrives, though, Josef puts him in uncomfortable situations that escalate into creepy confrontations.Creephas one of the most iconic endings of any horror movie; there might be some unsettling feelings lingering with the viewers for a bit after watching this found-footage horror.
6’Cloverfield' (2008)
Directed by Matt Reeves
One of the biggest box-office hits of the 2000s was also the found-footage sci-fiCloverfield. Created byJ.J. Abramsand directed byMatt Reeves,Cloverfieldis, more or less, the most famous movie on this list. The movie grew into a franchise, with several spin-offs (and no sequels); Abrams created a brilliant new universe, coming up with a new monster called Clover. After Clover came to life through Neville Page’s design, the movie covered the case of an alien attack on New York City calledCloverfield.
Cloverfieldopens with the retrieval of a camcorder in a now-devastated Central Park, NYC. Going back to the start, the owner of the camera is Hud (T.J. Miller), friend of Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who is leaving for a job opportunity and wants Hud to record messages from his friends at his farewell party. During the party,unusual events occur across the city, from devastating traffic accidents to a massive earthquake; Hud records the entire time, and audiences watch the movie from his and his camera’s perspective.Cloverfieldwas one of the few found-footage movies to ditch horror and go for a science-fiction premise; though it gets scary, it’s more than anythingvery thrilling and intense.
Cloverfield
5’REC' (2007)
Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza
Another international feature,RECis one on a long list of brilliant Spanish horror movies;RECbelongs in the found-footage subgenre, and it’sa terrifying zombie movie with a claustrophobic and unnerving atmosphere.RECstands for ‘recording’ and it refers to the abbreviation seen on the screen of a camera, often next to a red dot. The popularity of the movie gave its creators a chance to develop it into a franchise, delivering three sequels over the next seven years -REC 4: Apocalypsewas the final installment, released in 2014.
RECfollows field reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso), as they follow a firefighting crew on their night shift. When they receive a call about an elderly woman being locked inside her apartment, Ángela, Pablo, and firefighters Álex (David Vert) and Manu (Ferrán Terraza), head out to the building. However, the woman shows signs of incredible aggression and hostility, which leads to an unexpected and terrifying turn of events. The progression of the movie,from patient zero to a full-blown zombie infection, is shown through Pablo’s camera. Ángela Vidal is one ofhorror’s biggest final girls, even if she’s a bit unknown due toRECbeing a Spanish production.
4’The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
Found footage horror became a lot more popular with the appearance ofThe Blair Witch Project, a movie many people consider the best in the genre because of its pop culture relevance.If not the best though,The Blair Witch Projectis, at least, a pioneer in movie marketing; creatorsDaniel MyrickandEduardo Sánchezcreated theBlair Witch urban legendfrom scratch, describing its origins on a creepy-looking website. The lore was detailed, giving people a bit of an introduction to the movie itself and, possibly, doubts whether the story was based on facts.
The Blair Witch Projectfollows three film students, Heather (Heather Donahue), Mike (Michael C. Williams), and Josh (Joshua Leonard), arriving in Burkittsville, Maryland toinvestigate the legend of the Blair Witch.They hike into an area called the Black Hills, filming their journey along the way. The movie relies on atmospheric tension and the very filming style it popularized for the purpose of creating scares. ThoughThe Blair Witch Projectisn’t the most terrifying movie, it’s a cultural milestone, and still pretty darn scary, regardless of the level of fear you’re expecting to experience.
3’Ghostwatch' (1992)
Directed by Lesley Manning
Lesley Manning’s supernatural horror mockumentary,Ghostwatch,was welcomed with mixed emotions when it first aired; it’s inspired by thereal-life case of the Enfield poltergeist. While the legitimacy of the Enfield case continues to be debated, it still inspired numerous British filmmakers.Ghostwatchis a TV movie that terrified people who watched it when it first aired,feeling like they were watching cursed footage of an unsuspecting family’s haunted home. The movie is also one of the earliest examples of found-footage mystery/thriller/horror.
Ghostwatchwas broadcast on the BBC on October 31st, 1992, and presented as live footage.The movie opens with a nightly program hosted by Michael Parkinson, a famous English presenter; he debates the existence of the paranormal, and the story moves to the Early family home, where Pamela Early lives with her daughters Suzanne and Kim. Suzanne frequently hears knocking and clanging noises, naming the entity that haunts them “Pipes.” Parkinson’s collaborators, another famous host, Sarah Greene, and her husband, decide to spend the night at the Early home, with terrifying results, of course. DuringGhostwatch, people called in, scared; this draws a similarity withOrson Welles' radio dramaThe War of the Worlds, which also convinced people it was real.
Ghostwatch
2’Cannibal Holocaust' (1980)
Directed by Ruggero Deodato
Cannibal Holocaustis a tough watch, but it’s one of the pioneers of the found-footage genre; most movies of this kind venture into horror, since found footage is incredibly effective. The director ofCannibal Holocaust,Ruggero Deodato, is the biggest example of just how effective the genre is;he was on trial for this entirely fictional story, with accusations of obscenity, suspicions of murder, and severe judgment of animal cruelty. Well,Cannibal Holocaustisn’t exactly a Christmas movie; it’s much rather a punch in the gut and highly relevant to the history of horror. Though it is a must-watch, equip a steel gut.
The movie is based on actually finding lost footage, much likeCloverfield. An American anthropologist, Harold Monroe (Robert Kerman), leads a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest,to retrieve a lost film crew that documented the existence of cannibalistic tribes. His expedition finds their lost footage, and before the footage is uncovered to the public, Monroe reviews it; he sees atrocities, though most are committed by the missing film crew - not the tribespeople. The movie is an obvious allusion to the destruction of nature and a native way of life; the behavior of the film crew is a social commentary on greed and insensitivity to violence, a theme often covered in some of the scariest horror films.
