One of my guilty pleasures is watching found footage horror films. I enjoy them for a couple of reasons; first, most of them don't require a lot of attention since it's all build up until the last fifteen or twenty minutes. This means I can stream a found footage film while in my shop doing something. If I miss anything, I can just rewind. Second, found footage films lend themselves to amateur film making very well. Literally one person and a cell phone can make a found footage film (e.g. "Bad Ben"). And some of these one-person amateur films are way better than big-budget studio attempts. As the old saw goes, it's not the story but how it's told. Big budgets often get in the way of telling a good story while with amateurs it's usually all about the story.
The first found footage film I ever remember was "The Blair Witch Project" way back in 1999. I actually didn't see the film until at least 2020, but I remember a colleague of mine had spent a weekend in Seattle (I was living on the Olympic Peninsula back then) and had seen the film in it's original limited release. He came back a little freaked out, telling me about the film and about the website. I remember looking at the website with him and telling him, "Look, this isn't real. It's just a film." But I have to admit I was a little freaked out, too...the website was a nice little "creepy pasta" addition to the film that left you a little doubtful as to what was really going on, kind of like the "Ted the Caver" blog that was making the rounds a few years prior. Of course, the film went viral (as they say now) and pretty soon Heather Donahue was making the rounds on every talk show so it became apparent the film wasn't real. But that little bit of doubt created by not knowing for sure made an impression on me.
To this day the best found footage films, to me, come across as something that, while not plausible since they often deal with the supernatural, at least generates a feeling of reality from the cinema verite presentation. The best ones are the ones presenting people reacting the way real people would so that you feel for the outcome (which of course is almost always tragic). The worst just have a bunch of people running around yelling and cursing and doing stupid things. Unfortunately, most found footage films are terrible...but every once in a while there are some gems.
What makes a good found footage horror film? Here are my opinions:
First, minimal banter. Like any film, dialogue that doesn't advance the plot affects pacing.
Second, having things happen from beginning to end (“Cloverfield” and “REC”). It doesn't have to be big stuff; it can be a slow build but endless camera shots of rooms at night where nothing happens are like watching paint dry (that's why "Paranormal Activity" isn't on my list!).
Third, the camera shows you things, not just pointing at the ground while people are running and screaming!
Last, the camera teases but doesn't reveal...or at least not until the end. Part of the appeal of found footage is both not knowing what is going on, just like the people filming, but also that moment of revelation where it sinks in what's really happening...something the original Blair Witch Project really got right at the end by showing just enough but not too much.
And what makes a bad found footage film? Well, I pretty much summed it up with what makes a good film, above...but the ones that really make a found footage film bad are endless trivial banter (note to amateur film makers; you may think your friends' stories and verbal antics are cute and funny, but no one else does), the films where people yell and scream at each other instead of trying to focus on figuring out what's going on, the ones with long camera shots of the ground while people are running, and any film about the Jersey Devil (Sorry, anyone from New Jersey, but I've been to the Pine Barrens and they look like the rest of New Jersey. They are not wild, they are urban woodlots of a few acres. The idea of a monster lurking in a densely populated area like that is ludicrous. You need to get out and see more of the country).
All right, with all that said here is a list of my favorite found footage films with a few of my thoughts on each:
10. The Blair Witch Project (1999): The original found footage film for me, it set a lot of the tropes for the future of the genre like the crying monologue in front of the camera at night. That being said, it is an effective slow-build up horror film and the end...well, it's just creepy as hell and just ambiguous enough to set your imagination into nightmare mode!
9. As Above So Below (2014): I actually didn't finish this film the first time I watched it, but wound up watching it again because it came on automatically after another film and I was too lazy to go over and pick another. I'm glad I gave it another chance; although it gets off to a rough start it winds up being quite a good found footage film with an interesting premise. More on the higher budget end of the genre, it feels a little polished at times (which was part of my initial turn off) but is a solid film with a perfect, all-loose-ends ending that is characteristic of the genre.
8. Hell House LLC (2015) and its sequels (The Abaddon Hotel, 2018; and Lake of Fire, 2019): A very different sort of found footage, one of a crew documenting making an epic haunted house in upstate New York which results in a complete disaster. Some really creepy scenes and a sense of never really knowing what's going on keep this one a real watcher. The two sequels, while not as good as the original, do wrap up the story nicely so they are fun but not necessary.
7. [REC] (2007): This Spanish found footage film is truly amazing; the premise of a TV reporter and cameraman on assignment and running in to strange and sinister goings-on is so perfect for the genre I'm amazed no one had used it before! This film spawned an American re-make and a few sequels but do yourself a favor and watch the original; it's superior to all the others.
6. The Visit (2015): M. Night Shyamalan's foray into the found footage genre is surprisingly effective. The premise is straightforward; two children are sent to visit their grandparents, who they have never met, and wind up documenting some strange and ultimately sinister goings-on. With the trademark twist at the end, this film apparently was made by Mr. Shyamalan with very little money but it put him back on the map as a premier horror director. One of my favorite horror films, not just in the found footage genre.
5. The Monster Project (2017): What if you decided to do a documentary about people who thought they were monsters...and then it turned out they really were? That's the premise of this film, a very good little found footage film that has even more tricks up it's sleeves than the superficial premise. And the pacing! At times it's absolutely frenetic!
4. Butterfly Kisses (2018): What can I say about this film? I haven't seen a film this creepy since I watched "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (the 1956 original) and tried to stay up for three days straight! The premise here is of a monster that gets closer every time you blink...unwittingly called by a camera crew who decide to use a camera to do what a human can't…stare for an hour without blinking. It's a great slow-build that starts out as a ghost chaser film and becomes much, much more sinister...
3. Troll Hunter (2010): If you haven't seen this film, do yourself a favor...it's a wonderful romp into the boundary between myth, fantasy, and horror as a group of documentary film makers look into bear poaching and instead uncover a government conspiracy. It's delightful in almost every way and has some great scenes and special effects. It was a hard choice for the number two spot but I just really like...
2. Grave Encounters (2011): This is hands down one of the creepiest and most effective scare movies I've ever seen. I know it gets mixed reviews, and some people hate it, but I find the sense of claustrophobia generated by this film is on a par with any other horror film. Ultimately this film leaves you with a sense of utter despair and dread at what happens to the documentary film crew who lock themselves in an abandoned asylum...and then find they are trapped for eternity.
1. Cloverfield (2008): This film is the standard for found footage! The premise, of a friend filming a going away party when catastrophic events begin to unfold, holds together enough but what really sets this film apart is the characters (yeah, you actually like them and care what happens to them) and the special effects. Although on the high budget end of the genre it doesn't feel too polished, and the pacing is absolutely terrific! Again, not just my favorite found footage film but one of my favorite horror films.
So there you have it! These are my ten favorite found footage horror films, although I have to give a shout out to some honorable mentions: Bad Ben (2016), The House on Mansfield St (2018), Horror in the High Desert (2021). All of these are good solid films, and Bad Ben and The House on Mansfield St. both show what can be done on a very low budget if you know how to tell a good story.
So what, dear reader, do you think? Let me know in the comments. Did I miss a film? Do you have a recommendation for me to watch? Do you vehemently disagree with my choices or criteria? I'd love your thoughts!
I didn't actually know the name of this genre. I've only seen Blair Witch and Cloverfield, but perhaps I'll watch some of the others now!
I’ve not seen any…I’m too scared to watch horror films! Yet your description of all of these films makes me want to watch all of them. 😱🫣