The 20 Most Frightening Found Footage Films Of The Past 25 Years
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Found footage seems tailor-made for horror because it’s typically built around the idea that the footage was lost or hidden for suspicious reasons. The genre’s signature use of wobbly camerawork and raw dialogue places audiences directly in the shoes of a film’s panicked characters as nightmarish situations unfold. Found footage has also evolved to encompass other styles, including mockumentaries and screenlife films. There are lots of excellent films to choose from, so let’s rank the best ones to watch as we round out spooky season.
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Director Jane Schoenbrun made waves this year with I Saw the TV Glow, but one of her earlier films, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, is notable for taking the found footage concept and going in different directions with it. She continues to establish herself as a unique director with a lot to say, though her films require a good deal of patience. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair centers on a lonely teenager named Casey, who becomes obsessed with an internet challenge that involves pricking her finger with blood, repeating a chant, and undergoing a supernatural transformation. We witness all of this through her computer monitor. It seems like innocuous kids’ stuff, but the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur throughout the film.
As Casey’s “symptoms” intensify, she tears apart her favorite stuffed animal, lets out blood-curdling screams while singing and dancing, and even threatens to use her father’s gun. She also connects with a lonely internet user who likes watching other people’s World’s Fair videos. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is undeniably weird and may feel too abstract for some, since it doesn’t really go much of anywhere. However, it does capture the loneliness and yearning for connection in our digital society, as well as the struggle of finding one’s place in the world as a young person.
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The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a nasty entry in the found footage canon about officers discovering hordes of videotapes created by a serial killer who, evidently, enjoyed recording abductions, torture, and even desecration of his victims’ dead bodies. The grainy, rudimentary appearance makes the gradual realization of what type of cruelty you’re actually seeing hit even harder.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is presented as a mockumentary, featuring news footage and interviews with investigators as they tackle this massive case and hunt for the killer’s identity, whose face is always obscured in the videos with some sort of theatrical mask. These videotapes involve grotesque situations one after the other, including a woman whose severed head of her husband is put into her womb. The voyeuristic nature of the videos makes the audience feel unwittingly complicit and dirty. The Poughkeepsie Tapes is certainly not for the faint of heart, taking immense pleasure in its macabre film aesthetic that assaults viewers with close-ups of gore and screaming pain.
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The Sacrament draws from the real-life horror of the Jim Jones massacre. A documentary crew investigates a remote commune, Eden Parish, led by a magnetic leader (played by a charming but snake-like Gene Jones). Much of the story mirrors what really happened at Jonestown, including the supposed prophet convincing his devoted parishioners to consume cyanide-infused drinks. In the case of The Sacrament, however, the found footage genre is limiting. It does not allow the film to delve deeply into the psychological motivations of the cult members, instead sensationalizing their pain in a gruesome and chaotic finale.
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In The Taking of Deborah Logan, a group of students film a documentary about an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s and her daughter Sarah (Anne Ramsay). However, Deborah’s (Jill Larson) increasingly odd behaviors—lashing out in anger, speaking in different languages, and lamenting about snakes and other occult happenings—combined with the transformation of her bony, ragged appearance, lead them to question whether there is something supernatural at play beyond the mind-altering illness.
Aging is a classic horror movie trope, but this movie doesn’t explore it as sensitively as Relic or even X. The quavering camera adds to the suspense and unpredictability, leaving viewers uncertain of where she might appear or what strange new behavior she’ll exhibit. Jill Larson delivers a phenomenal performance as someone gradually transforming into a feral shell of her former self. Her sharp eyes bore into your soul during several uncomfortable close-ups.
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The Last Exorcism successfully breathes new life into the tried-and-true exorcism genre by using the found footage format. Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) has lost his faith and conducts fake exorcisms for those who are really just dealing with mental health problems. He participates in a documentary to prove that demonic possession is a myth—until he encounters an innocent farm girl who is genuinely controlled by Satan. The handheld style adds an immediate sense of danger to the exorcism scenes in which her body contorts in unnatural ways and her voice sounds like tires scraping against gravel. The Last Exorcism reaches a stunning conclusion, as the Reverend and his cameraperson sneakily peer through the trees to find elaborate cult rituals and an unholy revelation reminiscent of Rosemary’s Baby.
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South Korean filmmakers are fearless, often delivering lacerating and precisely crafted twists and turns. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is no exception. A horror web series crew travels to an abandoned asylum where 42 patients took their own lives and the hospital director went missing, hoping to boost views with a live broadcast. While their ghost-hunting scenarios are typically staged, the asylum has other plans for these unsuspecting fame-seekers. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is unrelenting, barely allowing you a moment to breathe since the ghosts often appear out of nowhere making petrifying and strange noises.
One of the biggest scares involves a camera falling and viewers see a pair of feet floating in the air, slowly getting closer and closer to the web series star. The frights in Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum are sleek and savage, making for an adrenaline-fueled viewing experience despite its familiar premise.
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While Host’s premise is similar to that of Unfriended, the technology of the times has changed. Instead of Skype, we’re now all on Zoom. And we all became especially reliant on Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic, which Host incorporates into the creepy-crawly narrative with finesse. An attempt to connect during pandemic isolation turns deadly when they accidentally conjure a demon during their online séance. The format works very well for the scares, forcing the audience to watch multiple points of view at the same time, never knowing from which Zoom square the evil spirit will strike. The protagonists are stuck where they are and cannot help their friends.
Even the Host actors worked from home. Although directed by Rob Savage, every cast member filmed their own sequences from home, arranging the cameras, sound, lighting, makeup, and stunts. For being such a homegrown film, the effects are quite stunning. Host is a remarkable little found footage movie that exemplifies some of the positive creativity that came from the pandemic.
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The Vicious Brothers pay homage to the spooky and slightly hokey paranormal reality shows of the early aughts like The Scariest Places on Earth and Ghost Hunters. The mysterious sixth episode of Grave Encounters—a phony series in which the charismatic hosts and camera operators portray their hauntings as all in good fun, making lighthearted jokes and mugging the camera—has been recovered. But when the crew locks themselves inside the Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, known for a doctor who performed unethical experiments and lobotomies, they become trapped in a real nightmare. The best part of Grave Encounters is its labyrinthine setting, filled with endless hallways and massive tunnels. The grainy handheld visuals, the blinding spotlight that cloaks the background in pitch darkness, and the eerie green night vision make it even more terrifying because you are never quite sure what will appear just around the corner. Grave Encounters starts off as a clever parody then morphs into a horrific thrill ride as the ghosts of the asylum patients ravage the cast and crew one by one.
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The horror master M. Night Shyamalan successfully experiments with the found footage genre. Fifteen-year-old Becca (Olivia DeJonge), an aspiring filmmaker, and her 13-year-old brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) visit their Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop-Pop (Peter McRobbie) for the first time, and she documents the family reunion. They dismiss some of their strange behavior as just the nature of old age—a collection of soiled diapers, randomly projectile vomiting, attacking neighbors, and chasing them beneath the house. Becca’s documentary eventually is used to record evidence of their bizarreness. Shyamalan has a lot of fun playing with the different ways to use the camera, even having the villain take control at one point. He makes this contemporary Grimm’s fairy tale feel fresh, and the family drama even more intense by putting it in the children’s point of view.
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The entire V/H/S series deserves recognition, though some films and sequences stand out more than others. These horror anthologies feature short films often tied together by a frame narrative, typically involving characters who are watching these shorts on a found VHS tape. One of the series’ greatest strengths is its ability to push the boundaries of found footage, often placing the camera in unexpected locations or playing with different formats.
“Phase I Clinical Trials” from V/H/S/2 puts the camera inside a man’s eye after he loses his sight in a car accident. We see a zombie outbreak from the POV of a biker’s helmet in “A Ride in the Park” from V/H/S/2, “Storm Drain” from V/H/S/94 evokes a 1990s local news report investigating an urban legend that lurks deep in the sewers among the displaced community. “Ozzy’s Dungeon” from V/H/S/99 puts a deadly spin on a Nickelodeon-style game show.
The shorts can extend beyond the horror genre, incorporating humor or taking a more straightforward thriller approach. They feature all types of spooky things like body horror, aliens, the paranormal, or everyday terrors like cults and serial killers. Some of the shorts can be hit or miss, but all of them are creative and continually surprise the audience. It’s fun to watch such a variety of horrific worlds, found footage techniques, and filmmaking styles in quick succession.
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The Bay starts with a great hook: All the footage in this film was confiscated by the U.S. government until it was leaked by an anonymous source. What they didn’t want you to see was an entire Maryland town on the eastern shore die from the contaminated water supply of Chesapeake Bay, tainted by chicken excrement from steroid-fed chickens. Director Barry Levinson creates a collage of chaos through the use of various media formats, including news reports, FaceTime videos, surveillance cameras, and dashcam footage. These camera techniques give us a front-row seat to the catastrophe. We feel just as desperate and frightened as the small-town residents who are trapped with no help or warning from the CDC or Department of Homeland Security. The issues of environmentalism and government conspiracy add some depth to what is usually a very formulaic genre.
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Searching is another film that takes place entirely on a Mac, and while we already have plenty of screens in our lives, it’s still oddly fascinating to get an inside look at someone else’s computer usage. Rather than fitting into the horror genre, Searching leans more towards a mystery. David Kim (a riveting John Cho) tries to track down his missing teenage daughter, Margot (Michelle La). Searching weaves through the overwhelming, cluttered digital landscape of our daily lives such as emails, social media, FaceTime, and text messages. It explores the idea that we construct identities through technology, often presenting ourselves differently online than we do in the real world.
David learns that he never truly knew his own daughter, and he goes to great lengths to try to find her again, his desperation increasing with every confusing new clue he uncovers. He also takes matters into his own hands, bypassing law enforcement to solve the case. As a taut thriller, Searching constantly keeps you unsure of where it’s headed. While it may not be the most visually exciting film, this experimental approach pays off thanks to the gripping narrative about how little parents often know about their children’s lives.
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Late Night with the Devil utilizes found footage in a unique way. It presents a faux documentary that investigates unearthed footage from the mysterious final episode of the 1970s talk show Night Owls. While the black-and-white behind-the-scenes footage feels disjointed and somewhat shoehorned in, the main part of the film is riveting. It takes us through the live broadcast in nearly real-time, creating a slow burn that gradually develops into sheer terror.
David Dastmalchian is mesmerizing as the host Jack Delroy, brimming with jealousy and desperation as he competes for ratings against The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His excessively chipper veneer masks a dark lust for wealth and power.
The special guest for this Halloween episode—a final bid to boost ratings—includes a 13-year-old girl named Lily (Ingrid Torelli), who survived a mass cult suicide and claims to be possessed by a demon nicknamed “Mr. Wriggles.” The idea that all the crazy, macabre events happen live, while talk shows are supposed to be light and fluffy, makes Late Night with the Devil even more intense. The revelation of Mr. Wriggles is absolutely horrifying, featuring surreal special effects and visuals reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It also breaks the boundaries of the found footage format to dive into Jack Delroy’s mind, creating a very distinctive scary movie experience.
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It’s hard not to think of September 11 while watching Daniel Reeve’s Cloverfield, with its jittery camera capturing the skyward view of something unfathomable unleashing destruction in New York City, and the billowing plumes of smoke filling the streets. Adapting the found footage genre for a giant monster movie was a brilliant concept, immersing viewers in the terror of having to face something they cannot outrun or overpower. So many images from Cloverfield stick with you, especially the head of the Statue of Liberty crashing into the middle of the street. The queasy shots make the chaos feel immediate and in-your-face, juxtaposing the polished aesthetics of typical Hollywood disaster blockbusters such as Godzilla or Independence Day.
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Lake Mungo is more of a faux documentary. The entire ensemble delivers nuanced performances that authentically convey the pain of a grieving family coping with the loss of their teenage daughter, Alice (Talia Zucker), who drowned in a dam. After some odd occurrences in their home—like creepy noises and bruises appearing on the body of Alice’s older brother (Martin Sharpe)—the Palmer family conducts a paranormal investigation with a psychic and a parapsychologist. As they dig deeper, they discover that Alice led a double life. Lake Mungo is a slow burn that keeps you guessing throughout: Is Alice haunting her family, or is it another evil entity? Are the Palmers tricking the documentary filmmakers for fame? Was Alice secretly involved in something criminal? The footage uncovered from that fateful night features uncanny images that will linger in your mind long after the film ends.
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What begins as a typical local news story devolves into a cacophony of violence and chaos when a television reporter and emergency workers are locked in an apartment building plagued by a viral outbreak. The camera jolts and jiggles with every step as they try to evade the infected who move with a lightning-quick rage. Every shot is dizzying and claustrophobic, putting the rotting flesh and twitching bodies of the various victims—including an elderly woman and a little girl—directly in the audience’s face. [Rec] brilliantly mixes the found footage and zombie genres to make an intense film that gets its claws into you and never lets go until its shocking ending.
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Both Creep films are equally, well, creepy. They rely on indie maverick Mark Duplass’ overeager smile and the twinkle in his eye that gradually shifts from friendly to predatory to carry the story. He plays Josef, an oddball who is (supposedly) dying of cancer and hires a videographer to capture a personal eulogy for his unborn son. Director Patrick Brice plays the cameraman Andrew, who eventually realizes that Josef is not just a theatrical weirdo who enjoys wearing wolf masks, he’s an actual sociopath. Creep 2 is even better, touching on feminist issues in the manipulation of a YouTuber named Sara (Desiree Akhavan). Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass, who wrote the films, deftly interweave comedy and terror and make clever use of the rudimentary camcorder footage in the unexpected endings.
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While the found footage genre often relies on characters carrying their cameras (despite audiences sometimes wanting them to put the damn thing down and run!), it’s trickier to sustain excitement when the footage comes from a (mostly) stationary computer. But Unfriended manages to do just that. During a Skype conversation, a group of teenagers are haunted by a student they bullied before she took her own life. This creative approach makes us afraid of potential threats lurking behind them in the dark, away from the brightness of their screen. The film cranks up the tension and dread as we witness their baffled responses to the horror happening in real time. Even something as minor as Skype freezing can be twisted into a frightening moment.
Unfriended: The Dark Web is a completely unrelated story, but just as scary. It exposes the seedier side of the internet with snuff films and deep fakes, in many ways predicting the dark path we may be headed down with AI. Both Unfriended films cleverly update the found footage concept for our screen-addicted lives. Maybe a TikTok horror movie is in the future?
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As one of the first major found footage films, part of what made The Blair Witch Project so frightening was the marketing made audiences think it was real. The official website featured police reports, newsreel-style interviews, and missing persons posters. IMDb even listed the actors as “missing, presumed dead.” Three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard (also the names of the actors, which added to the confusion)—hike in the Black Hills Forest to film a documentary about a local myth known as the Blair Witch. Their camera was discovered a year later.
The Blair Witch Project scares are relatively simple and restrained: twigs snapping unexpectedly, stick figures hanging from trees, or the sound of children laughing. While some may seem quaint compared to the extremes the found footage genre would reach in the coming decades, they still rattle us. Even the mere image of someone standing in a corner is unsettling to this day. The Blair Witch Project is a fun time capsule, setting the standard for how the blend of truth and fiction can create unforgettable horror.
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What makes the Paranormal Activity series so frightening is the way everyday suburban life is turned completely upside down. It’s unsettling to see ordinary household objects being controlled by something sinister and unseen, like the sudden slamming of doors or having your sheets yanked off the bed. Katie (Katie Featherston) believes a dark spirit has followed her since childhood, so her husband Micah (Micah Sloat) sets up surveillance cameras to catch any supernatural happenings.
Director Oren Peli is a genius at building suspense, delaying scares to when you least expect them. He’ll focus on a light fixture for a long time, making you think nothing is going to happen until it suddenly moves. The audience is overcome with dread every time the couple retreats to their bedroom and we watch the timestamps roll later into the night and early morning. There’s so much tension in the stillness and the wide angle of the camera, forcing viewers to scan every corner of the frame for something malicious that could befall these poor, unsuspecting individuals in their sleep. It makes you wonder what terrifying things could be occurring while you’re unconscious. The image of Katie standing over Micah for over two hours, motionless, has never left me. While the Paranormal Activity series loses its simple charm as it delves deeper into demonic lore, the first three sequels still deliver some genuinely nerve-wracking sequences.
