Found Footage Movies Are Not Going Away and That's a Good Thing

Written by Scott Edwards

('The Blair Witch Project' - 1999)

As the B-Movie Baron of the site, I find myself finding all sorts of diamonds in the rough, especially when it comes to horror movies. Adding all kinds of titles that are recommended to my viewing queue, it has become evident that there are more Found Footage genre films out there than you can shake a stick at.  While there are a few that I cannot stand to watch with bad acting and extremely shaky camera work off of a cell phone, I do find myself sticking with them if the story is sound, and this has led me to think about the sheer wonder of the Found Footage genre, and its surprisingly rich history.

As the genre is a little bit newer to the film industry, it has been around since 1980 with the success of Cannibal Holocaust. As this has become a cult classic over the years, it is important to remember what really caused a stir about this movie. With the footage of three documentarians being shown on the big screen being killed and not seen after the movie wrapped, the director was actually charged with murder. Being able to bring his actors out of hiding to prove his innocence, this is something that really made writers and directors take notice for today’s day and age.

Skip forward to 1999 when The Blair Witch Project came out and the same type of stir started once again, but on a psychological level. Following Heather, Josh and Mike through the Black Woods to try and find out who or what the Blair Witch really is, it quickly became a hunt in real life. Being a made-up story, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez really ignited something that no other film had done since Cannibal Holocaust, added a sense of reality to the horror industry. With this being done, the found footage industry got picked up by many different film makers and for good reason, it is cheap, and people want to be frightened.  

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('Cloverfield' - 2008)

With another big franchise being picked up in 2007, Paranormal Activity hit the scene with a vengeance and for one reason again, it helps to make people believe that what they are watching is real. This has been a winning formula for the many films in the franchise, but these films also proved that found footage does not have to be shot on only one camera. With this becoming a new idea of how to shoot found footage, it has opened up the genre for many more great movies to make their way to the big and small screens for the fans to enjoy. It has also helped to give birth to some of the smaller production companies that have started to pick up and distribute these movies to the masses instead of waiting for the studios to open up their pockets.
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After this, the found footage genre was in full swing and even Hollywood took another swing at it with 2008’s Cloverfield, a film that left many people woozy in their seats after the credits started to roll. With the explanation about why the camera continued to roll, because ‘this is important’, another rule for the genre was introduced that audiences needed to be made aware of, as to why would you keep filming if a giant monster is going to eat you, or if you are about to be incinerated. While this is the probably the most expensive found footage movie out there, mainly because J.J. Abrams was attached, it helped to keep the genre up front and foremost in people’s eyes, even if it made them physically ill from all of the shakiness. 

Jump forward another ten years and here we are today with so many found footage movies, it should be making us hate the genre, but it just seems to be getting warmed up. I cannot count how many of these films I have watched over the years, mainly because I do not have that many fingers and toes, much less body parts, because there are a lot. In reality, these movies will keep coming out for one reason, they are quick, cheap and easy to shoot if you have the right people in place. Making sure to have your main character behind the camera most of the time seems to be essential, unless of course they are carrying a selfie stick, and keep the storyline moving forward at all times. Once you start to veer away from telling a story, the movie cannot be maintained, regardless of how good the actors are.

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('The Faith Community' - 2017)

The thing that I am starting to see in some of the recent found footage movies is that the film makers and actors are really starting to make them their own. When I say that, they may openly refer to The Blair Witch in the film, making sure that the audience knows that they know about the movie as well.  This was demonstrated very well in Found Footage 3D since the filmmakers of that feature had their own take on the genre, you know, shooting it in 3D and trying to explain why and all of the rules that need to be followed to make this a one of a kind movie. While everything falls to shit at the end, even killing off a prominent horror movie reviewer in the process, this movie had a different feel to it, more fun than anything else when all was said and done.
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This is something that the film makers, old and new need to take note of when taking a stab at this genre, as they are always going to be compared to The Blair Witch Project. Just go out there and have a good time with the movie instead of trying to make it better, because even if it is, there are plenty of people out there that will say that you failed. Looking back at a couple other movies I watched this year, The Faith Community was one of the purest found footage movies I have seen in a long time, mainly because of all the camera issues throughout and the last ten minutes still terrify me to this day. Willow Creek was an interesting one as you have an extended cut of seeing your two characters being tormented by what might be Bigfoot outside of their tent, but really have no idea what it is. Even the Bad Ben series has fun with a haunting gone evil within the walls of an old house, it’s definitely one of my favorites of 2018.

The long and short of it is that Found Footage movies are not going to go away for one reason alone, people love scary movies. While the genre is mainly attached to horror/thriller, I would love to see it possibly branch out a little bit, but I am not sure how that would work out in a romantic comedy or drama, but you never know, there are some ambitious people out there. The only thing that really matters in a movie, Found Footage or regular is the storyline and while there might not be the budget for the greatest cast, if you can have someone to keep the pacing moving forward and not always get in the way, the movie will be loved by plenty. I cannot wait to see what next year brings in the way of horror movies, even the Found Footage ones, because I am really starting to see some great growth out there. Stay Scared.

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