Halloween is my favourite time of the year! As a spooky kinda gal it is the one time of year no one questions the horror movie inspired dresses I wear, or tells me 'Halloween was last month!', and buying home decor is never easier. One of my favourite things in life is also horror movies, so when it was requested by As the Pokéball Turns that I write a 13 Days of Horror Movies: Halloween Countdown, I had to oblige! This is part two (check out part one here), and is all about my favourite found footage films! I could easily have mentioned so many other films here, so a quick honourable mention for The Taking of Deborah Logan, Late Night with the Devil, Spree, Cloverfield, Hangman, Savageland, Lake Mungo and the V/H/S franchise.
13. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a mockumentary (which falls under the found footage category) that follows wannabe notorious serial killer Leslie Vernon and his attempts to become infamous. It is something really different in the FF genre, and something different is hard to do in the world of horror.
12. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
You can't talk about found footage with talking about The Blair Witch Project. I love The Blair Witch Project so much that I have a twanas tattooed on my leg. Rewatching this never gets old! Found footage for me is all about the unseen, and TBWP nails it. Don't bother with the sequel Book of Shadows, but do give Blair Witch (2016) watch, it isn't as bad as people say!
11. Frogman (2023)
I did not expect to love Frogman as much as I did, but that promo image (above) had me intrigued, and I can't resist an FF based on IRL folklore and local legend. Frogman is a cryptid from Loveland, Ohio, and is described as a humanoid but frog like creature that is 4ft tall. How could you not want to know more about Frogman? This film follows Dallas Kyle, who is convinced he was Frogman when he was 12, but no one believed him. He wants to prove he didn't make it up, so sets out with his friends to find the real deal.
10. Horror in the High Desert (2021)
With FF you have to pay attention, and if you pay attention, you can spot SO much going on in Horror in the High Desert that you might not otherwise have noticed. You then immediately need to watch Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva which is even better than the first. I've not had chance to watch Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch yet, but I will be doing asap! Part 4 has also just been confirmed, and it is a thrill to see an FF series thriving.
9. Cold Ground (2017)
Cold Ground in a mixture of French and English, and follows a team of scientists who are set to travel out to a research camp in the French-Swiss Alps that has stopped responding. The eerie snowy mountain setting is unusual for horror and works brilliantly, truly making the most of the helpless feelings you have as watch. This film is my go-to recommendation when people ask for an FF film they haven't seen.
8. The Borderlands (2013)
The Borderlands (also know as Final Prayer in some countries), is a British FF following Vatican investigators who have been sent to a church to study paranormal activity. This is quite a slow burn at times, and the ending is quite controversial, with some people loving it, some not getting it, and others hating it. I love it!
7. As Above So Below (2014)
One of the all time great found footage movies, and one of the rarer higher budget entries to the genre. The Paris Catacombs is the setting, and what a setting it is! Ben Feldman is one of the leads in this, he also pops up in Cloverfield, so I suspect that while he may have made his name in the sitcom Superstore, he is actually an FF fan. If you enjoy FF and you haven't seen this one, get it watched.
6. The Tunnel (2011)
The Tunnel is the debut feature film from Aussie director Carlo Ledesma, and follows a journalist and her crew as they explore the abandoned railway tunnels under Sydney. After a government project to recycle water in the tunnels is cast aside with no reason given, and rumours of homeless people vanishing from the tunnels, the team are sent in to make a documentary about this creepy underground location. The darkness truly envelopes you whilst watching this, and the claustrophobic setting is an FF dream. Another absolute must for FF fans.
5. Willow Creek (2013)
Camping in the woods is a classic found footage concept, and Willow Creek may be short, but it works. A couple decide to hunt for Bigfoot, another popular cryptid of the found footage genre. This film is famous for a 20 minute long shot inside a tent that is considered one of the most controversial in FF. People either love it or hate, and I personally think it is one of the most effective scenes in an FF movie.
4. Hell House LLC (2015)
The Hell House franchise has firmly established itself as one of THE top found footage franchises, and for good reason. We are 4 films deep with more on the way, and while some entries to the franchise are weaker than others, the original movie is the one for me. Endlessly creepy, plenty of jump scares, and very well done. Following a group who set up a haunted house for Halloween that goes horribly wrong, there is a reason this film is always mentioned when found footage is discussed.
3. Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County is actually a remake of The MacPherson Tapes from 1989, by the same director, Dean Alioto. That's right, this came out long before The Blair Witch Project which is widely considered the birth of the genre. This movie for me, of all the FF I have ever watched, feels the most like real found footage. In fact, for a long time many people thought this might be the real deal thanks to how limited the original MacPherson Tapes were, after a fire destroyed the master tapes. The family and their interactions feel so believable, that it is easy to suspend your disbelief that this is the real deal.
2. Butterfly Kisses (2018)
I'm not someone who typically has bad dreams after watching a horror film. In fact, I generally only ever have the exact same nightmare that has been recurring since my childhood. But Butterfly Kisses can now claim victory as the one and only horror movie that has even given me a nightmare. Butterfly Kisses is another FF that follows the tale of a cryptid, the Blink Man, or Peeping Tom, when a group decide to make a documentary about their local legend. It is written and directed by Erik Kristopher Myers who sadly passed away in 2021. This movie is his legacy, and what a legacy we have to remember him.
1. Creep (2014)
Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass make one hell of a team for Creep. At only 82 minutes, they create a concept and a villain that are so well rounded that you can't not love this film. The sequel Creep 2 is also excellent, and we've recently had a mini series, The Creep Tapes, confirmed too. In Creep, Brice plays a videographer who is hired by Duplass, who claims to be dying, and wants to leave footage of himself behind for this loved ones. What follows is a wild ride, and truly one of the best found footage films.
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