Summary
The found footage style is one of the most distinctive film-making techniques. Generally associated with thehorrorgenre, found footage is the cinematic technique of presenting the story through the lens of someone’s recording, which is then “found” by the audience.
From infamous productions like Cannibal Holocaust to the more commercially successfulParanormal Activityfranchise, found footage has been utilized by countless filmmakers across a myriad of different kinds of stories. While there are several awesome found footage films, like any genre or style, a select few tower high above the rest as the best of the best.
10The Bay
Another kind of style that flows well with found footage is mockumentary. As the name suggests, mockumentary movies are stylized like documentaries, with the difference being they are fictional. As such, it’s a genre ripe with inventiveness.
One of the more memorable films of its type is 2012’s The Bay. Directed by Barry Levinson, The Bay uses found footage and mockumentary techniques to present the tale of a town slowly becoming infected by a waterborne parasite in a truly creative and chilling way.
9Searching
Another newfangled breed of filmmaking style is called “screen-life”. With 2014’s Unfriended being the first screen-life movie to garner massive commercial attention, the idea of presenting a story as if it’s all taking place on a screen is quite the novel concept.
While Unfriended may have brought the style into the limelight, it was 2018’s Searching that showed its potential. Directed and co-written by Aneesh Chaganty, Searching tells the story of a father, played excellently by John Woo, trying to find his missing daughter.
8Chronicle
Before spearheading the disastrous Fantastic Four, director Josh Trank seemed to be emerging as one of Hollywood’s brightest young filmmakers. While Fantastic Four and the subsequent media fiasco did a number on his career, he’s still responsible for at least one great “superhero” movie.
Now, labeling Chronicle as a superhero film is a bit of a misnomer. In reality, it’s a coming-of-age story with a super-powered twist. If you think that premise sounds interesting, you’ll enjoy this strongly directed and well-acted found footage cult classic.
7V/H/S 2
The V/H/S series is one of the most unique in horror. While the short films featured across the anthology franchise can range wildly in quality, each V/H/S movie is guaranteed to be distinguished from its predecessor.
The consensus among the fanbase is that the second is the series' peak entry. Featuring directors like Gareth Evans (The Raid Redemption) and Adam Wingard (The Guest), V/H/S 2 boasts plenty of the twisted creativity that has made the series so beloved among the horror movie community.
6Creep
We’ve all seen horror movies market themselves as being “based on a true story.” Most of the time, this is done to add an essence or sensation of real-world terror to a film, but this realism rarely translates adequately into the finished product.
2014’s Creep might be one of the few horror movies that genuinely feels naturalistic in the most frightening way possible. Directed/co-written by Patrick Brice and starring/co-written by Mark Duplass, Creep is an eerie film that’ll leave you with deep-rooted fear.
5Blair Witch Project
There’s arguably no horror film more infamous than The Blair Witch Project. Between stories of the directors deliberately terrorizing the cast to get genuine reactions to audiences actually believing the movie was a snuff film, there’s no shortage of fascinating discourse around this 1999 classic.
While some consider the film a tedious slog, most audiences remember it as one of the most chilling horror movies ever produced. Regardless of your opinion,The Blair Witch Project’s influenceson the horror and found footage genre are indisputable.
4Cloverfield
Matt Reeves is considered one of Hollywood’s most talented working directors, with movies like War for the Planet of the Apes and The Batman gaining him justified acclaim. In 2008, Reeves was still looking to make his mark in the film industry. He then got his opportunity with Cloverfield.
While mostly remembered for its mysterious viral mass marketing campaign and being the “first” entry in J.J. Abrams' failed Cloverfield universe, the found footage monster movie remains a classic of the science fiction genre.
3Trollhunter
A considerable amount of cheap found footage films were pumped out by Hollywood during the 2000s and 2010s, trying to recapture the success of Paranormal Activity. As such, you might have to look to foreign filmmakers to find movies that best use the found footage style.
In 2010, Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal released Trollhunter. This mockumentary-styled cult classic revolves around a group of college students who travel to the Norwegian wilderness to interview a bear poacher only to discover he’s actually tasked with hunting trolls.
2Lake Mungo
What often comes to mind when one thinks of the scariest horror movies? The Conjuring? Saw? Insidious? While all quality films they often rely on overused tropes likejump scaresor other horror clichés that have long since been deemed as hackneyed.
Enter Lake Mungo, a mockumentary-style horror movie directed and written by Joel Anderson. Without featuring a single jump scare, loud horror musical sting, or any other trite clichés, Lake Mungo is without question one of the most bloodcurdling and unnerving films ever produced.
1REC
Over the past several decades, the zombie genre has seemingly been explored in every conceivable way imaginable. From critically acclaimed films like 28 Days Later to dismal productions like Army of the Dead, it’s hard to find a truly distinctive zombie movie that stands out.
In 2007, REC was released, a found footage film focusing on a news team investigating a zombie-infested apartment building. While simple in premise, REC is masterfully executed and is rightfully held in high regard among the annals of horror cinema.
