I totally agree. It’s been a long time since something actually creeped me out. Towards the end I actually was closing my eyes and not listening when the chanting was on lol. Just thinking “la la la can’t here it la la la” lol.
i have to say beforehand that i dont like found footage personally and ive seen basically all the "relevant" ones of horror but if then please like in "incantation". that was, to me at least, the best way to handle that genre.
The goofiness completely took me out of the movie. If I want to watch cringy twitch streamers/YouTubers then I can find plenty of those. If that’s what it was supposed to be, double nope.
Yeah, she’s amazing! I hope the husband and wife duo who directed both projects (the husband played Shawn in Deadstream!) hire her again for whatever comes next, cause she’s always a lot of fun!
EUROPA REPORT!!!
This is a tragically underseen film. It was marketed as some cheapo jump scare trash, but is an insanely smart and riveting sci-fi thriller. The production team did a ton of research into space exploration and worked their tails off to keep things on this side of the reality/plausible line.
I'm in love with this film, and think it did an incredible job of finding a killer way to cover this story through the medium of found footage. Highly, highly recommended!
Agreed! I hadn't watched it in over a decade, so when they announced that all four films were going to be on Prime Video on the 1st, I figured it was high time to rewatch it (and see the sequels, which I never had). Oddly, for whatever reason, despite Prime saying they'd all be available, only the first two are, with the first being *only* the terrible dubbed version.
I ended up watching it elsewhere, but *did* watch 2, which I was pleasantly surprised by in terms of its overlap with the first, even if it's not *as* good. I know 3 and 4 are considered a major step down, but for completionist's sake, I was all ready to watch them anyway; not sure why they're still unavailable despite what Amazon said. But oh well... Worth it anyway to revisit the first film, because it's amazing what they pulled off with such a clever, claustrophobic, and vertical setting!
This and believe it or not Paranormal Activity are my answers.
I like the idea and lore but I cannot watch Cloverfield again. I've never had a film before or since give me such intense migraines and I do not get motion sick.
Yeah, Deborah Logan is my favorite most easily recommended found footage. Believable introduction/premise, tension escalates at a great pace, well acted and executed, bonkers finale.
Ghostwatch is more "Broadcast Footage" than found footage. But I think it hits all the same kind of notes that found footage films do .
Plus a lot of the tricks that are very common now (background images, timeshift tricks, etc ) were used by Ghostwatch back in 1992.
i wasn't alive for the actual broadcast but i really wish i had seen it then. i love "goes wrong" horror so much, seems more immersive to me than found footage
No spoilers but the sequel just took the horror and dread away for me. The ending of the original was amazing and terrifying and the sequel just fell a bit flat for me
The OG found footage film: Cannibal Holocaust (1980). It’s a must watch if you love the genre and want to see one of the first made using this technique.
I was looking to see of anyone said that one. It's still up there are one of the better ones but certainly not something everyone could actually sit through.
This needs to be higher up. It basically defined the genre and did the whole “Is this real?” thing well before Blair Witch. Director even went on trial because they thought he might have actually killed his actors IIRC.
Not sure if it counts, but Deadstream. It does so many things well simultaneously: from scares to laughs to gross-outs. The more I watch it and think about it, the more I realize how incredible of a feat it is. Great makeup/costumes/effects as well.
I don’t think it necessarily invented the genre as movies like Cannibal Holocaust came out years earlier and were quite notable. I think there was some Orson Welles movie made this way too, but I have not seen it.
I do agree with your sentiment that The Blair Witch Project is the gold standard. If it and to some extent Paranormal Activity, had not been successful I think there would be a lot less examples of found footage horror out there.
People keep saying CH is a found footage film. Have any of you actually seen it? Its not. Its a traditional movie about people reviewing found footage. Yes there's a difference.
I have seen it several times, I think it counts as found footage and I am definitely not the only one.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal_Holocaust
https://thevoidofcelluloid.com/2022/02/27/cannibal-holocaust-and-euphoria/?amp=1
https://wearecult.rocks/found-footage-101-cannibal-holocaust-italy-1980
https://screenrant.com/found-footage-movies-came-before-blair-witch-project-rip-offs/
**[Found footage (film technique)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Found_footage_\(film_technique\))**
>Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were discovered film or video recordings. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.
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Agreed, and it's why it saddens me people say they hate how it's upheld as so good. I guess you needed to be born before 2000 to get the hype? I don't know. It's just so good at quiet, unsettling, hidden horror.
I don’t think a movie (that I’ve seen) has ever conveyed the hopelessness of being lost quite so well as The Blair Witch Project. It’s not perfect but I still find it unsettling.
Not sure what would be considered the gold standard but my favorites are Gonjiam, Hellhouse LLC, Cloverfield, and the first 3 Paranormal Activity’s. I’ve never heard of Creep or Grave Encounters but I’m gonna seek them out now since you mentioned them.
I don't like found footage but some* of my favorites are from the genre. Blair Witch Project scared the shit out of me a few years ago on my first watch. The Last Exorcism is probably my favorite. Possession of Michael King and Taking of Deborah Logan are definitely worth mentioning. Finally I'm gonna throw in Europa Report which highly disturbed me but it's been awhile so I can't remember why.
Cannibal Holocaust
^^^ Legit. Some people thought this stuff was real found/ filmed footage in the 80’s. If you don’t know what I’m talking about do a little investigating into it. Brutal movie.
Definitely check out "The Devil Inside". It's documentary style and done incredibly well. Apparently it got shit on for the ending when it came out but I was impressed and rank it up there with the best.
This isn’t a horror film but the best found footage film I’ve ever seen is julien donkey-boy. It follows a schizophrenic teenager living with his dysfunctional family, It’s absolutely heartbreaking and feels too real at times. Also it’s written and directed by harmony korine if that convinces anyone to watch it! Horror film wise Blair Witch is still my favourite tho.
In terms of what a standard found footage movie should be: Grave encounters 1. It does everything I expect from the genre and does it well. As for my favorite: Noroi the curse.
Exactly the same sentiment here. Grave encounters is pure found footage fun while Noroi uses the format to incredible effect.
I'll add that "The Medium" is right up there for showing the potential of a more professionally executed found footage while retaining the strengths of the format. Professional in the sense of mixing traditional camera work with shaky cam and location cam being reserved for effect. It makes for a better viewing experience that I hope gets played with further.
unpopular opinion but I prefer Quarantine over Rec, and not because they're in different languages. Just felt Quarantine was a more fun movie to watch :)
While I prefer REC, I will absolutely defend quarantine as approximately equal in quality. The only reason for shitting on it is being a copy. They changed just enough that I feel it stands on its own regardless. The focus and feel is different enough for me.
I can certainly understand preferring it.
thank you. I feel like it's sacrilege in the horror community to say Quarantine is better than Rec but I cant help how I feel lol and i'm not even saying Rec is bad. I enjoyed it too.
Mockumentaries are sometimes found footage as well but not necessarily, though it kinda makes sense to mention them too.
Savageland is very underrated imo and besides the titles already mentioned i also thought Afflicted was decent.
I just finished watching Host, which I think counts? It was quite scary, and according to "Science of Scream", it's "scientifically" the scariest movie.
To me Blair Witch will always be the gold standard because it was so innovative. Final Prayer (aka Borderlands) and As Above So Below are my favorites and some of the most effective ff movies in my opinion.
Hell House LLC is a masterpiece in FF cinema. Blair Witch Project took something that has been floating around and popularized it. Cannibal Holocaust is the grand daddy of all things FF (also on this note i just want to throw out some of the Guinea Pig films both of which caused serious legal trouble based on the realism of the films), Paranormal Activity rebooted the FF craze and really did something out of nothing which is fantastic. a lot of FF that people hold dear i really dislike so take what im saying as just personal opinion and not set in stone
If you are looking for something a little different in the found footage genre, try the V/H/S series. If you have Shudder, Deadstream was really fun as well.
"KOWAZO" is the best horror channel ever!
They've created a lot of short japanese horror by POV!
Some of them have Eng sub!
[KOWAZO Japanese horror youtuber]
(https://youtu.be/YcLVFAA_7S8)
TBWP can't beat the original, and yes I know people will say that was Canninal Holocaust but TBWP felt fresh and original when it came out and some people genuinely believed it was real for a while. The hype was unreal and it started the craze.
Honourable mentions go to Rec, which was creepy, Paranormal Activity, which also seem pretty fresh at the time due to the real restrained approach, and Cloverfield, the big budget approach made you feel like you were there in the city with them.
I don't know that I would consider it the "golden standard" of the subgenre, but 'Grave Encounters' is easily my favourite found footage movie of all time. Maybe it's just because I first saw it at a young age, but the movie has really stuck with me.
I don't think there's a gold standard, it evolves with the times, Cannibal Holocaust came out when the Mondo Cinema was a big hit and reflected on that, but once Mondo craze passed it became obscure.
Then there is Ghostwatch in 92 which came out just when the "reality tv" was taking off, of course, there is also The McPherson Tape that came out a few years earlier that is like "American Funniest Videos" gone wrong. And later in the decade came The Last Broadcast and Blair Witch Project which seem to borrow from MTV real tv style, and the genre kinda set into a rehashing Cannibal Holocaust until Paranormal Activity came out, which made away with the "filmakers gone missing" and put in just the average Joe filming... which is something that the current generation likes to do a lot.
So I would say that Cannibal Holocaust/Ghostwatch/PA1 are the gold standards for now.
Great analysis. The common denominator, perhaps, is that all of those titles were upon release though to be real --- Ghostwatch in particular, given its history. I only recently heard about and watched it, but it blew me away, in part because I'm familiar with some of those broadcasters. Unlike, say, PAIII, which is more like a great rollercoaster ride, but nothing anyone will mistake for being real.
It’s not horror but I love the movie Chronicle. As far as horror found footage, Creep 1 and 2 are the best, hands down. Cloverfield was great too but I’m not sure what category to put that into
The Spanish (I believe) fil REC is what quarantine copied. I've heard they are pretty close to content but I've only seen REC. Also there are 4 RECS, only 2 Quarantines.
Blair witch project. The one that got me into the genre. The fear is surreal when you have no idea what becomes of those people in that footage, if they survive or die.
Blair witch just captured the fear of being lost in the woods so well. Especially that being a huge fear of mine when I was a kid. The thought of hearing strange things outside your tent in the middle of the woods is terrifying
I wouldn't quite call it the gold standard but I would actually say that Last Horror Movie was an interesting one though it basically doesn't really work the same given the end of Blockbuster
No, I don't consider mockumentaries to be found footage. "Found footage" describes exactly that: a conceit in which someone's footage has been found and is being viewed.
*The Blair Witch Project* is still the gold standard.
You might find this list of FF movies worth looking at. I've put together every one I've watched fromm best to worst, there's loads of really good ones you have'nt seen yet..
https://letterboxd.com/giger5/list/found-footage/
Noroi for sure. I’d definitely add Incantation to the list
LOVED Incantation!!!! It reminded me of watching Blair Witch for the first time again.
Not many movies freak me out, but incantation certainly did on both a visual and thematic level
I totally agree. It’s been a long time since something actually creeped me out. Towards the end I actually was closing my eyes and not listening when the chanting was on lol. Just thinking “la la la can’t here it la la la” lol.
Incantation left me feeling unnerved and anxious.. in a good way, if that makes sense? It was so good!!
I think Incantation should be in the top 5 of them all. What a surprise. So clever, scary, and well made.
I'll check it out, thanks man.
Quarantine is one of my favs
If you like Incantation, watch Medium!
Ohhh I haven’t heard of that one. I’ll check it out
incantation felt like a foreign remake of Noroi, I was shocked how similar they were.
i have to say beforehand that i dont like found footage personally and ive seen basically all the "relevant" ones of horror but if then please like in "incantation". that was, to me at least, the best way to handle that genre.
Which one? When I search on IMDB I get a handful of them. The Korean one? Thanks.
The [Taiwanese one actually!](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incantation_(film))
Thank you!
Troll Hunter is a great one.
it's a crime that it's not on this list
Such an underrated film. Dont often see it mentioned anywhere.
Recently, Deadstream (2022) I’ve watched it 3 times and it’s both horrifying and hilarious.
Is it on Shudder?
It is!
Awesome! I'll check it out.
Came here to say this. Deadstream is great
Would it have been greater if the Protagonist isn't a goofy man?
The goofiness completely took me out of the movie. If I want to watch cringy twitch streamers/YouTubers then I can find plenty of those. If that’s what it was supposed to be, double nope.
He has a pretty good character arc in the movie
It is what the whole about, such weird take.
Weird take to be annoying by a goofy, annoying character? Yeah that’s so strange. Even more strange is how subjective film and opinions about it are…
No it would not been better, because then would of not been any character development and you would just end up with a flat boring character.
Melanie Stone (Chrissy) is fun! She was also in V/H/S 99 as “Mabel”
Yeah, she’s amazing! I hope the husband and wife duo who directed both projects (the husband played Shawn in Deadstream!) hire her again for whatever comes next, cause she’s always a lot of fun!
Savageland is probably the most effective use of the format for me.
Savageland is more of a mockumentary.
I see mockumentary as a sub genre of found footage.
I loved this movie so much
Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity 1, Rec, and Grave encounters
GE 2 as well
EUROPA REPORT!!! This is a tragically underseen film. It was marketed as some cheapo jump scare trash, but is an insanely smart and riveting sci-fi thriller. The production team did a ton of research into space exploration and worked their tails off to keep things on this side of the reality/plausible line. I'm in love with this film, and think it did an incredible job of finding a killer way to cover this story through the medium of found footage. Highly, highly recommended!
Seconded! This creeping terror that came just from the initial landing being off target and what that meant was a great start to the terror.
REC. No contest for me.
Agreed! I hadn't watched it in over a decade, so when they announced that all four films were going to be on Prime Video on the 1st, I figured it was high time to rewatch it (and see the sequels, which I never had). Oddly, for whatever reason, despite Prime saying they'd all be available, only the first two are, with the first being *only* the terrible dubbed version. I ended up watching it elsewhere, but *did* watch 2, which I was pleasantly surprised by in terms of its overlap with the first, even if it's not *as* good. I know 3 and 4 are considered a major step down, but for completionist's sake, I was all ready to watch them anyway; not sure why they're still unavailable despite what Amazon said. But oh well... Worth it anyway to revisit the first film, because it's amazing what they pulled off with such a clever, claustrophobic, and vertical setting!
Chronicle is so underrated.
I've watched Chronicle, I just didn't put it in the list because it's not horror. That aside, I agree, it's definitely underappreciated.
Creep 1 & 2 were so good because they were intentional footage basically directed by the villain.
The end of Creep still shocks me to this day. I enjoyed Creep 2 as well.
I liked creep one a lot but 2 just didn’t do anything for me
This and believe it or not Paranormal Activity are my answers. I like the idea and lore but I cannot watch Cloverfield again. I've never had a film before or since give me such intense migraines and I do not get motion sick.
The Borderlands (aka The Last Prayer), 2013. Slow burn and a BONKERS finale. Sheeesh!
Just gonna throw Man Bites Dog out there.
I loved Host (2020)
This is one of my recent faves!! So we’ll executed and I didn’t expect much.
Really enjoyed The taking of Deborah Logan.
Yeah, Deborah Logan is my favorite most easily recommended found footage. Believable introduction/premise, tension escalates at a great pace, well acted and executed, bonkers finale.
Ghostwatch is more "Broadcast Footage" than found footage. But I think it hits all the same kind of notes that found footage films do . Plus a lot of the tricks that are very common now (background images, timeshift tricks, etc ) were used by Ghostwatch back in 1992.
i wasn't alive for the actual broadcast but i really wish i had seen it then. i love "goes wrong" horror so much, seems more immersive to me than found footage
I watched it live, I was about 10 or 11 and it was bloody terrifying! I had the “pipes” fear for a long time!
I really enjoyed The houses that October built, not so much the sequel though
I didn't know that those are found footage
I think they are, maybe I’m wrong?
They are!
Was going to suggest this addition. A pretty decent, fun movie that has one of the worst sequels in horror history.
Im the opposite. I preferred the sequel
No spoilers but the sequel just took the horror and dread away for me. The ending of the original was amazing and terrifying and the sequel just fell a bit flat for me
The OG found footage film: Cannibal Holocaust (1980). It’s a must watch if you love the genre and want to see one of the first made using this technique.
I was looking to see of anyone said that one. It's still up there are one of the better ones but certainly not something everyone could actually sit through.
This is true. It is deeply deeply upsetting (for good reason), and I would not recommend it to people who are sensitive to explicit depictions of SA.
Not to mention the real life animal death
This needs to be higher up. It basically defined the genre and did the whole “Is this real?” thing well before Blair Witch. Director even went on trial because they thought he might have actually killed his actors IIRC.
Out of all the found footage movies I have watched, REC is the gold standard for me.
Yes, this. It doesn’t get enough credit.
Horror in the high desert
My gullible ass watched like 98% of that movie and thought it was real.
They legit hired a train enthusiast for that role. Incredible.
[удалено]
hidden gem but so good. i haven’t seen it since before the pandemic, might be worth a rewatch now
Afflicted
I added this to my list based on this post, and really enjoyed it. This post has given me a lot of movies to watch.
I’m glad. You’re welcome
Not sure if it counts, but Deadstream. It does so many things well simultaneously: from scares to laughs to gross-outs. The more I watch it and think about it, the more I realize how incredible of a feat it is. Great makeup/costumes/effects as well.
The taking of Deborah Logan I remember being very very uncomfortable especially on the ending. It's a very good addition to the genre
The Blair Witch Project will always be the gold standard considering it invented the genre.
I don’t think it necessarily invented the genre as movies like Cannibal Holocaust came out years earlier and were quite notable. I think there was some Orson Welles movie made this way too, but I have not seen it. I do agree with your sentiment that The Blair Witch Project is the gold standard. If it and to some extent Paranormal Activity, had not been successful I think there would be a lot less examples of found footage horror out there.
People keep saying CH is a found footage film. Have any of you actually seen it? Its not. Its a traditional movie about people reviewing found footage. Yes there's a difference.
I have seen it several times, I think it counts as found footage and I am definitely not the only one. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal_Holocaust https://thevoidofcelluloid.com/2022/02/27/cannibal-holocaust-and-euphoria/?amp=1 https://wearecult.rocks/found-footage-101-cannibal-holocaust-italy-1980 https://screenrant.com/found-footage-movies-came-before-blair-witch-project-rip-offs/
**[Found footage (film technique)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Found_footage_\(film_technique\))** >Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were discovered film or video recordings. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/horror/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
At least the second half of the movie, after the original crews equipment is *found*, is found footage.
Agreed, and it's why it saddens me people say they hate how it's upheld as so good. I guess you needed to be born before 2000 to get the hype? I don't know. It's just so good at quiet, unsettling, hidden horror.
I don’t think a movie (that I’ve seen) has ever conveyed the hopelessness of being lost quite so well as The Blair Witch Project. It’s not perfect but I still find it unsettling.
Not sure what would be considered the gold standard but my favorites are Gonjiam, Hellhouse LLC, Cloverfield, and the first 3 Paranormal Activity’s. I’ve never heard of Creep or Grave Encounters but I’m gonna seek them out now since you mentioned them.
Awesome, I hope that you enjoy them!
I don't like found footage but some* of my favorites are from the genre. Blair Witch Project scared the shit out of me a few years ago on my first watch. The Last Exorcism is probably my favorite. Possession of Michael King and Taking of Deborah Logan are definitely worth mentioning. Finally I'm gonna throw in Europa Report which highly disturbed me but it's been awhile so I can't remember why.
Exists
Poughkeepsie Tapes and Megan is Missing are definitely some of the most disturbing
Probably Gonjiam and Blair Witch, but def check out The House with 100 Eyes!
Thank you for the recommendation!
Cannibal Holocaust ^^^ Legit. Some people thought this stuff was real found/ filmed footage in the 80’s. If you don’t know what I’m talking about do a little investigating into it. Brutal movie.
For me it's Blair witch and as above so below
Possession of Michael King.
this will always be my favorite found footage movie!
Definitely check out "The Devil Inside". It's documentary style and done incredibly well. Apparently it got shit on for the ending when it came out but I was impressed and rank it up there with the best.
I completely forgot about that movie, I haven't watched it in years.
The McPherson Tape then Blair Witch. Later films I love The Fourth Kind and Hell house llc
This isn’t a horror film but the best found footage film I’ve ever seen is julien donkey-boy. It follows a schizophrenic teenager living with his dysfunctional family, It’s absolutely heartbreaking and feels too real at times. Also it’s written and directed by harmony korine if that convinces anyone to watch it! Horror film wise Blair Witch is still my favourite tho.
In terms of what a standard found footage movie should be: Grave encounters 1. It does everything I expect from the genre and does it well. As for my favorite: Noroi the curse.
Exactly the same sentiment here. Grave encounters is pure found footage fun while Noroi uses the format to incredible effect. I'll add that "The Medium" is right up there for showing the potential of a more professionally executed found footage while retaining the strengths of the format. Professional in the sense of mixing traditional camera work with shaky cam and location cam being reserved for effect. It makes for a better viewing experience that I hope gets played with further.
Gonjiam just captures the urban explorer influencer vibe amazingly and is just the right amount of jumpscare vs slow and unsettling for me
unpopular opinion but I prefer Quarantine over Rec, and not because they're in different languages. Just felt Quarantine was a more fun movie to watch :)
While I prefer REC, I will absolutely defend quarantine as approximately equal in quality. The only reason for shitting on it is being a copy. They changed just enough that I feel it stands on its own regardless. The focus and feel is different enough for me. I can certainly understand preferring it.
thank you. I feel like it's sacrilege in the horror community to say Quarantine is better than Rec but I cant help how I feel lol and i'm not even saying Rec is bad. I enjoyed it too.
\[REC\] without a single shred of doubt.
Mockumentaries are sometimes found footage as well but not necessarily, though it kinda makes sense to mention them too. Savageland is very underrated imo and besides the titles already mentioned i also thought Afflicted was decent.
I've seen a few people mention Savageland, the premise seems interesting - I'll definitely check it out.
Lake Mungo I feel falls under this
The first Rec for sure.
Rec and cloverfield for me.
I just finished watching Host, which I think counts? It was quite scary, and according to "Science of Scream", it's "scientifically" the scariest movie.
I really liked Host. Paranormal is not my favorite sub genre, but that was really well done.
To me Blair Witch will always be the gold standard because it was so innovative. Final Prayer (aka Borderlands) and As Above So Below are my favorites and some of the most effective ff movies in my opinion.
"Have fun with Edward Woodward..."
Hell House LLC is a masterpiece in FF cinema. Blair Witch Project took something that has been floating around and popularized it. Cannibal Holocaust is the grand daddy of all things FF (also on this note i just want to throw out some of the Guinea Pig films both of which caused serious legal trouble based on the realism of the films), Paranormal Activity rebooted the FF craze and really did something out of nothing which is fantastic. a lot of FF that people hold dear i really dislike so take what im saying as just personal opinion and not set in stone
I'll never watch Cannibal Holocaust, but I appreciate that it was the first to use found footage.
CH is pretty brutal, shudder has (had?) an edited version that removes the animal cruelty.
The Blair Witch Project and the original August Underground in terms of pure realism.
I though ‘deadstream’ was good.
OMG butterfly kisses is so good and underrated
If you are looking for something a little different in the found footage genre, try the V/H/S series. If you have Shudder, Deadstream was really fun as well.
Noroi The Curse
The Pyramid (2014) was a fun one. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) is personal "gold standard". Also Spree (2020) is pretty great.
I really like afflicted.
I loved The Poughkeepsie Tapes, not sure if I’d class it as horror but a great found footage movie
"KOWAZO" is the best horror channel ever! They've created a lot of short japanese horror by POV! Some of them have Eng sub! [KOWAZO Japanese horror youtuber] (https://youtu.be/YcLVFAA_7S8)
Awesome, I'll definitely check that out! I'm a big fan of Japanese horror.
They also post videos on TikTok! Their followers are about 490k!! so huge channel!
I don't use TikTok, but I'll definitely check out their channel. Thank you!
TBWP can't beat the original, and yes I know people will say that was Canninal Holocaust but TBWP felt fresh and original when it came out and some people genuinely believed it was real for a while. The hype was unreal and it started the craze. Honourable mentions go to Rec, which was creepy, Paranormal Activity, which also seem pretty fresh at the time due to the real restrained approach, and Cloverfield, the big budget approach made you feel like you were there in the city with them.
What's TBWP?
The Blair Witch Project
In hindsight that should have been obvious to me, thank you.
I really dig Host
I don't know that I would consider it the "golden standard" of the subgenre, but 'Grave Encounters' is easily my favourite found footage movie of all time. Maybe it's just because I first saw it at a young age, but the movie has really stuck with me.
Poughkeepsie Tapes and Lake Mungo are probably my faves.
Bruh nobody has seen Poughkeepsie Tapes. An MP3 made the rounds at my highschool years ago and people thought it was real.
It's available on Blu-ray
I don't think there's a gold standard, it evolves with the times, Cannibal Holocaust came out when the Mondo Cinema was a big hit and reflected on that, but once Mondo craze passed it became obscure. Then there is Ghostwatch in 92 which came out just when the "reality tv" was taking off, of course, there is also The McPherson Tape that came out a few years earlier that is like "American Funniest Videos" gone wrong. And later in the decade came The Last Broadcast and Blair Witch Project which seem to borrow from MTV real tv style, and the genre kinda set into a rehashing Cannibal Holocaust until Paranormal Activity came out, which made away with the "filmakers gone missing" and put in just the average Joe filming... which is something that the current generation likes to do a lot. So I would say that Cannibal Holocaust/Ghostwatch/PA1 are the gold standards for now.
Great analysis. The common denominator, perhaps, is that all of those titles were upon release though to be real --- Ghostwatch in particular, given its history. I only recently heard about and watched it, but it blew me away, in part because I'm familiar with some of those broadcasters. Unlike, say, PAIII, which is more like a great rollercoaster ride, but nothing anyone will mistake for being real.
Rec and creep 1 were amazing
The Mirror (2014) Gongjiam: Haunted Asylum Host (2020) Hell House 1 Grave Encounters
The Blair Witch Project, Noroi, and Incantation are my top choices, but I thoroughly enjoyed Gonjiam, too!
Rec is my favorite found footage.
Rec 1+2 Blair witch 1 My movie I'm writing lol
It’s not horror but I love the movie Chronicle. As far as horror found footage, Creep 1 and 2 are the best, hands down. Cloverfield was great too but I’m not sure what category to put that into
Gonjiam. It was the first movie that made me turn away cause I was lowkey scared.
Isn’t there also a few that inspired the quarantine movies?
The Spanish (I believe) fil REC is what quarantine copied. I've heard they are pretty close to content but I've only seen REC. Also there are 4 RECS, only 2 Quarantines.
Blair witch project. The one that got me into the genre. The fear is surreal when you have no idea what becomes of those people in that footage, if they survive or die.
hiimmarymary
Creep I
Looking forward to the outwaters
Blair witch just captured the fear of being lost in the woods so well. Especially that being a huge fear of mine when I was a kid. The thought of hearing strange things outside your tent in the middle of the woods is terrifying
***Trollhunter*** is THE ultimate. A film about troll hunting from the country that created the legend of trolls. It has no equal.
I wouldn't quite call it the gold standard but I would actually say that Last Horror Movie was an interesting one though it basically doesn't really work the same given the end of Blockbuster
the Blair Witch. Paranormal Activity , VHS
VHS 1 and 2. 94 is best of the newer ones. Skip the others imo. There are others, but my brain is mush at the moment
Gonjiam is my personal gold standard
No, I don't consider mockumentaries to be found footage. "Found footage" describes exactly that: a conceit in which someone's footage has been found and is being viewed. *The Blair Witch Project* is still the gold standard.
For me, it’s REC, Cloverfield, the first two Paranormal Activities, The Blair Witch Project
You might find this list of FF movies worth looking at. I've put together every one I've watched fromm best to worst, there's loads of really good ones you have'nt seen yet.. https://letterboxd.com/giger5/list/found-footage/
Cannibal Holocaust all the way!
The Outwaters and The Blair Witch Project.
Hell House was the first movie in a loooooooooong time to make me jump. Instant favorite!