[Editorial] 5 Found Footage Films for a Dreary Day

For those of us in the UK, the summer is quickly becoming somewhat of a washout with the weather dampening spirits as it continues to obliterate us in rain and blustery winds. Which means weekends and evenings are still being spent indoors accompanied by good food, good wine, good company and hopefully good horror movies… With the recent announcement that we will be getting V/H/S ‘94 from Shudder as a resurgence to the found footage anthology series that made waves on its first release, what better sub-genre to look at than found footage!

Found footage itself is a divisive type of style; often critiqued as becoming difficult to follow or even inciting nausea when the camera is moving dizzyingly, yet heralded as one of the most effective ways at eliciting realistic fear in the audience. The genre lends itself to independent filmmaking too, as producing found footage films can often be done on a minuscule budget and still create something that is truly a masterpiece of horror. The realism that comes through is next to none when it comes to the horror genre - there are not many other sub-genres that allow the audience to feel completely immersed within the hellscape that has been designed to make the viewer really experience the horror unfolding. 

Love them or hate them, there is no denying that found footage horror films are some of the most frightening films to grace our screens. From Ruggero Deodato’s controversial 1980 Cannibal Holocaust to Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez’s 1999 The Blair Witch Project, the shaky-cam fascination has long been utilised to create horror like no other. So whilst you’re wrapped up on the sofa this week as the heavens decide to pour with misery, here are some lesser-known found footage horror films that will keep your fears up high. 

Phoenix Forgotten 2017

Although the supernatural has been a recurring theme for this particular sub-genre, another that always gets reused, and for good reason, is aliens. Making believable sci-fi films with next to no budget is an exceptionally difficult feat, especially when it comes to set design and costume design. Without being able to make props that look tangible, it can completely destroy the film and take away any realism that was present. 

Justin Barber’s Phoenix Forgotten is a frightening indie sci-fi horror that uses the camera to its advantage and tells a compelling story at the same time. After her brother went missing 20 years ago, Sophie investigates his disappearance by looking through the footage Josh and his friends filmed leading up to their last days. During the investigation, Sophie begins to uncover the truth behind what happened to them, with all signs pointing to a potential alien abduction.

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime UK

Grave Encounters 2011

When it comes to horror, it is so easy to completely overlook a film based on factors such as the cover, the short synopsis and even the ratings held on various critic sites. However, this can often lead to missed opportunities, and making assumptions far too brashly before even giving a film the chance to impress. 

Grave Encounters from Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz is no different, and seems to constantly be pushed towards the back of the shelf (metaphorically speaking) in favour of more well-known films of the same mood. Paranormal ghost hunters is a tried and tested method for any found footage film, which is why this indie gem performs so well under the umbrella. But Grave Encounters adds the twist of reality TV show, some truly unsettling imagery, a unique set of characters and genuinely finds ways to frighten the audience which do not solely rely on cheap jump scare tactics. 

Available to stream: Amazon UK and US

The Borderlands 2013

Even though churches are supposed to be a sacred, calming place of worship, most of us can wholeheartedly agree that they have the most unsettling atmosphere amongst all places of holiness. Which therefore makes them a popular setting for horror films; because there is just so much depth and so many varying ways that the film can evolve into. But nothing has come quite as close to pure terror as Elliot Goldner’s The Borderlands. 

The Vatican sends a team out to an isolated area in the English countryside to investigate claims of a religious miracle that has been witnessed by the Priest of the church. The team are apprehensive and skeptical of the so-called phenomena that has been happening and take the words of the locals with a pinch of salt. But soon enough the duo are halted within their skepticism as they first-hand begin to experience the miracles, but it soon becomes apparent that perhaps what they are experiencing comes from the darkness and not the light.

Available to stream on: Amazon, Apple TV, Tubi

The Last Horror Movie 2003

Meta horror is an imaginative way to keep an intelligent audience engaged, one that has seen so many horror films that tropes become tiresome and stereotypes become tedious. By providing the audience with a meta perspective, it allows the viewer to feel seen and heard by the film itself, something which can enlighten the viewing experience and raise questions that might not have been approached previously. 

The Last Horror Movie by Julian Richards although came after meta horrors like Wes Craven’s Scream 1996, feels like it was ahead of its time for the way it psychologically plays with the audience. Back in 2003 this title could be rented from the likes of Blockbuster which added to the effect of the plot; a serial killer has taped over the film the viewer was supposedly meant to have rented and instead has replaced all footage with his killings, all the whilst documenting and talking to the audience. Now you can stream this at home, some of the realness has been removed but it still creeps under your skin with just how genuine it feels to watch. 

Available to stream: Amazon UK and US

Ghostwatch 1992

Back in the 90s the UK were a little more on-the-nose when it came to their TV programming and were producing and airing some TV films that were traumatising, with Lesley Manning’s Ghostwatch being a prime example of this. The BBC first aired this pseudo-documentary on Halloween night and found that they had evoked the British public, with an approximated 1m phone calls being received from disturbed viewers, some which praised the show for its brazen show of horror and others complaining at how much it had affected them negatively. 

Ghostwatch has never been aired on British television again, but it has become heralded by the horror community as a true example of how to not only do found footage, but how to use the realism of low budget filming to truly terrify an audience into stupor. Through camera trickery and believable portrayals of characters, this TV film showed audiences what it is like to feel completely overwhelmed with fear and fright.

Available to stream: Looks like you’ll have to buy some physical media!

The found footage genre has become one of the most powerful and effective ways to give the audience a genuine fright - by combining realism through camerawork and an element of the unknown, it allows the audience to be consumed. It certainly isn’t a sub-genre for everyone due to being difficult to watch at times, but if you want to feel as if you’ve stumbled across a dark web video, then it is a sub-genre that will bring that feeling alive.

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