A lot of filmmakers start out making horror films, Sam Raimi did it, James Cameron did it, it’s a way to make something that will have an impact, they’re also a lot cheaper to make. In recent years a staple of the horror genre has become the found footage film, a different medium in which to deliver the scares, and an even cheaper alternative to a cheap alternative. But they’re not just the domain of the scaremongers, other filmmakers have also put their spin on the medium, as they attempt to make a name for themselves, and with established filmmakers like M Night Shyamalan delving into the field for The Visit it’s no longer the domain of rookie.
Here are Loosetooth’s Top Five: Found Footage Movies…
#5. Cloverfield (2008)
By the late 2000’s J.J. Abrams had made a considerable name for himself, particularly after creating the series Alias and co-creating Lost, so when a film with a cryptic title like Cloverfield emerged with Abrams name attached, it automatically gained some attention.
The film followed a group of New Yorkers attending a leaving party when a monster of Godzilla-like proportions attacks the city. The main trick to any found footage movie is to have a reason why one or more of the characters is videoing the events, once you’ve got that locked down you’re golden, in this case one of the party goers is collecting farewell messages when all hell breaks loose.
While not all makers of found footage movies breakout, Cloverfield provided it’s architects with future projects of note. Director Matt Reeves would go on to remake Swedish horror Let the Right One In, and Blockbuster sequels Dawn & War of the Planet of the Apes, while writer Drew Goddard would pen the scripts for World War Z & The Martian, as well as directing Cabin in the Woods which he co-wrote with Joss Whedon.
#4. Troll Hunter (2010)
While Cloverfield relied on panic and brief glimpses of a gargantuan creature, André Øvredal’s Trolljegeren was much more about seeing the monsters, in this case trolls, in all their glory. An American remake written and produced by Øvredal was in the pipeline, but later cancelled.
Troll Hunter finds a group of students out to make a documentary about illegal bear poaching, when they find a suspected perpetrator they follow him, and find that the real culprits are creatures believed to exist only in Norwegian folklore.
#3. 84 Charlie MoPic (1989)
Most film aficionados will be familiar with the other entries on our list, but few are likely to have heard of 84 Charlie MoPic. Why? Possibly because it came out back in 1989, or possibly because it only made $154,264 dollars at the Box Office. So why does such an obscure film make it’s way on to the list? Firstly it’s one of the earliest examples of the sub-genre, with only two others proceeding it. Secondly it’s one of the few non-horror found footage films, and thirdly it’s possibly the only war film that really let’s you get inside the heads of the men on the frontlines.
A cameraman is sent to accompany an elite squad of Green Berets on their last mission in Vietnam, with the aim to create a training video for combatants, and allowing the platoon to impart the wisdom they’ve gained out in the field.
#2. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The film often, and wrongly credited with creating the sub-genre, first example of which actually appearing in 1980 in the form of Cannibal Holocaust, but that’s a history lesson for another day. The Blair Witch Project was made for a mere $22,500, but would wind-up raking in $250 million at the box office, spawn two squeals, comics, and a trilogy of videogames.
It wasn’t just the unusual style that grabbed people’s attention, it was also the way in which it was made. The three actors, playing the filmmaking students, improvise the majority of what you see on screen, they were individually left instructions each day on what had to happen to progress the story, and the rest was up for grabs.
This method gave the film a real sense of paranoia, as well as eight months of editing for it’s creators Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez.
1. Chronicle (2012)
After attending a party three friends make an incredible discovery in the nearby woods, a discovery that gains the trio superpowers. While they have fun initially, soon their darker sides start to emerge.
Not only was Chronicle a fresh and original take on the superhero movie, like Cloverfield and Troll Hunter it showed what can be accomplished within the found footage medium.
Chronicle propelled it’s participants to greater things, particularly stars Michael B. Jordon and Dane DeHaan. DeHaan has starred in a range of high profile films including Lincoln, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, while Jordan took the lead in Rocky spin-off Creed and villain duties in Marvel’s Black Panther. Jordan and director Josh Trank also re-teamed for the largerly panned superhero flick Fantastic Four.
What’s your favourite found footage film? Did it make the list? Let me know in the comments below.