For those who may not know, found footage is a cinematic technique where the film is presented as if they were recordings of a real event that have been discovered and are now being shown to an audience as raw, unedited footage. Many horror movies use this technique to create a more realistic experience therefore a more terrifying one too! They are intentionally filmed in a way that lacks polish to exaggerate the authentic nature of the film! This way we are seeing the plot of the film thought the characters eyes!
In this post, I’m going to mention some of my favourite found footage films that really made me feel like I was watching a playback of real life events!
REC (2007)
REC is a fantastic example of a great found footage film! A TV host and her camera man are following an emergency call to an apartment building, but they end up stuck inside with the residents as a virus starts to spread among them. I love this film because it really feels like a real-life experience. Our main character is desperate to get a good story so it is believable that we would see all of these horrific incidents happen on camera! As the virus spreads, it’s less about the documentary and more about survival which is portrayed through the chaotic camera movements! This movie is genuinely terrifying and I don’t think it could have ever achieved the same effect if it wasn’t found footage!
Grave Encounters (2011)
So Grave Encounters is one on my guilty pleasures. The cast of paranormal-investigation TV show decide to spend the night in an abandoned hospital but their night turns to terror when they realise they are actually in the company of real ghosts! Since the characters are filming a TV show, they have a lot of stationary cameras set up in random rooms that captures some spooky sights that only we see! I love this in a found footage film as it really sets the scene for us and builds the suspense! Throughout the movie I just think this movie is really fun - you’ve got the typical trope characters and a lot of screams and jump scares are a bit cliché, but it all works to bring this film to life!
As Above, So Below (2014)
As Above, So Below is the one of the scarier found footage film I’ve seen! There were so many moments that stuck with me after watching and that proves the film really does make it’s mark. It’s your classic group-of-friends-go-to-a-place-they-shouldn’t-and-then-things-go-bad kind of film, but the place they go to just happens to be the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris! It’s all documented on a camcorder which really makes us feel like we’re in there with them! I honestly think that this film ticks all the boxes - it’s unsettling, the performances are believable and it’s just downright freaky! The story itself is pretty unique and so are the ways that some of the characters meet their demise so overall I’d say it’s a really creative and well thought-out film! And to add to the nightmare, the film is inspired by true events…
Hell House LLC (2015)
I have only recently watched all four Hell House LLC movies and I literally LOVED them! Are they the best films ever? No. But are they a whole load of fun? Hell yeah! My favourite out of the four was the first in the franchise. A group of friends decide to open up a haunted house attraction in an old abandoned hotel with a dark past. As you could expect, things start to go wrong for the friends. With security cameras set up in all of the rooms decorated with monsters and clowns and one of the characters documenting everything on a hand held camera, we see an array of supernatural activity and a bunch of jump scares! The film is split up by some interviews from people who found the tapes and who know about the horrors of hotel and I really think this adds to the authenticity of the found footage aspect! Overall it’s a really fun film with some great, scary moments!
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