Let me be clear, this subgenre has it’s detractors, it’s doubters, let’s face it – outright haters! and while I love this type of horror film, I can see why. It practically thumbs it’s nose at stylistic horror classics such as Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and A Tale of Two Sisters, in this it is polar opposite to recent beautifully shot horrors such as The Lodge, Nope and anything made by Ari Aster. But even so, it works for me, and I can’t help but get a little bit excited when I read ‘found footage’ on the film’s description; to this end I present to you my definitive list of my 10 best.
*Clearly this is representative of this writers opinion only, but trust me – I put in the legwork to have a good solid body of work to pull from

10 Paranormal Activity 3
I have to admit that I like part 2 as well, but for the sheer audacity of the filmmakers to go back and flesh-out a backstory that far into the series I have to pick this one; this is something that happens regularly with horror now (see Insidious or X for example) but this was the first one I remember that backtracked and made a prequel, especially within the found footage genre. Set in the joyous 80s, this film explores why the whole saga started in the first place. I especially love that they made a trailer wholly of B reel scenes that never made it into the film, thus affording you real surprises as an audience – something they would never be allowed to do now. The scares are good and gave me some nice jumps, the acting believable and seriously, combining ghosts and creepy kids? That’s a winner folks!

9 The Bay
Directed by heavyweight Barry Levinson, this film is about a disease outbreak in a small town in the Bay Area USA. How it spreads and brings fear and panic in it’s wake is skillfully explored here; the townsfolk falling to an ecological disaster that is all too topical for the world we live in now. I like the downbeat sense of this film, and the body horror was affectively gross and skin-crawling. I also appreciated the message – mess with the bull and you get the horns – mother nature ain’t missing around people, and soon she’s gonna get tired of us.

8 As above So below
This is a horror to celebrate for different reasons than just the scares. The horror is there, but it is low-key and did not disturb me that much, what I liked was its originality. It’s about a small group of intrepid explorers searching for the fabled philosophers stone in the underground catacombs of Paris. The characters are all shades of grey, they use intellect to escape sticky situations, they genuinely care about each other, and the ‘face your own Demons’ shtick is handled expertly. It’s disturbing enough to be somewhat scary, humane enough to feel real; makes good use of the unusual and exotic locale, and allows its characters room to breathe. Not to mention, none of those pesky cliche ridden endings in sight.

7 Noroi the curse
A Japanese found footage film concerning a documentary film crew investigating a phenomena known as ‘the curse’ which turns out to be a very nasty Demon. The footage left behind by the missing lead investigator forms the body of this film, and so was there for a true found footage film even though it does have elements of mockumentary. It’s designed to creep up on you, revealing new detail as the lead sinks deeper and deeper into a mystery he doesn’t want to leave unsolved. It’s complex, suspenseful, atmospheric, and absolutely terrifying.

6 The Visit

I love M Night Shyamalan films, his aesthetic and his imagination work for me almost every time. Most of his films feature some horror but, in my opinion, the only real horror films that he has made are Devil and this one. At the time The Visit came out, Shyamalan had fallen out of favor with audiences, and I don’t remember his name being used much to advertise this little movie about two kids going to stay with their grandparents – grandparents who aren’t ‘quite right’, and over time they become more horrifying while the kids just keep on filming and trying to get through their visit. With a star-making turn from Aussie Ed Oxenbould, this one scores extra points for being based in reality, and also for its wicked sense of humor that’s woven through the scares. Short and sweet – this is a great little movie.

5 Quarantine

I saw this before Rec, the Spanish original, and having seen Rec since, which is amazing and undeniably creepy, I actually still prefer this one. I felt the story was more coherent and it hung together as a complete film better for me. A virus takes over an apartment building, but this virus turns people into people eaters and before you can say “zombie”, the people inside are quarantined and have to survive somehow on their own. This was not a slow burn horror and once it got going it pushed the pedal to the floor from beginning to end. Had me literally climbing to the back of my couch to get away from the immediacy of what was on the screen-the found footage working in a different way here, and making you feel as much of the part of the action as you would be if it were happening in your own home. Relentless.

4 Horror in the High Desert-Minerva

Two years ago I saw Horror in the High Desert and though undeniably low budget and a small film (a slight tale about a lonely man venturing into the desert and basically disappearing), it surprised me in its humanity, and its willingness to allow the lead character to be someone who felt wholly authentic; and the ending really freaked me out. When I heard there was a sequel, I was pretty excited, having been so impressed with the first one. This one is even more disturbing and worked on an even deeper level for me. Indeed, it made me jumpy for a while after watching it. There is something so empty and isolating about the desert, about living somewhere so remote that even if you needed help it is nowhere to be found. While this riffs on the original film, and expands on it, this never feels less than real in its exploration of others who ran into mischief in the same area. I think we might get a third, and I am all for it!

3 The Blair Witch Project
An infamous classic that really ushered in the dawn of found footage and became one of the most financially successful films of all time. Yes, I know Cannibal Holocaust came before it, but that 70s problematic work didn’t begin a found footage zeitgeist that has continued to this day – that’s all Blair Witches doing. Documentary film crew go into the wood to investigate a local witch story and don’t come out again – this film is what was found on the cameras left behind. At the time of its release, some folks believed the story to be true due to a successful marketing campaign and the unknowns cast in the key roles. This is also a slow burn horror film with just enough little scares to keep you watching, they build to one of the most haunting endings I have seen on film; just thinking about that final shot gives me chills even now. Sometimes what you imagine is 1000 times worse than what you see… And this film is a case in point – clever filmmaking that paid off.

2 Paranormal Activity
We all know the story by now – a couple decide to investigate the disturbance they can feel in their house by setting up cameras at the end of the bed. What we see is what they filmed. This film jolted me out of my cozy “no horrors really scare me” mindset like a bolt of lightning. It was unremittingly full of dread, each night the camera is set up reveals escalating terrors with an unstoppable momentum. The things captured on film are the stuff of real-life nightmares. I went home from this shellshocked and troubled, and slept with the lights on like a baby for three nights straight.

1 Lake Mungo
This is another film that crosses between mockumentary and found footage. It tells the story of a family coping with loss and looking for answers after the drowning death of their daughter. Sounds simple but this film explores family secrets, the paranormal, grief, and facing your own mortality. Also, it is one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen, more specifically – it features one of the scariest sequences ever put to film, and for that alone it deserves the number one spot.
However, I also like that this is an intelligent and thought-provoking horror, set in reality with people we could know. It is slow, it has riches you have to delve for, it has all new horrors to reveal even up to the very last few shots, and it truly unsettled me. This is what I want in horror – real people with real emotions but still with the ability to truly make me afraid, Lake Mungo achieved that.

Special mentions –

Grave Encounters
Okay so it’s a little silly, a little over the top, and the characters are far from likeable, but for me it didn’t matter because this was quite the ride! Duplicitous TV ghost hunters investigate an abandoned psychiatric hospital expecting to have to create ghostly goings-on as per usual, and instead find the real thing. Some big jump scares works very well, the claustrophobic situation the filmmakers find themselves in is palpable, and there are a few neat tricks to do with time and place that almost made this viewer feel a little panicky. Big dumb fun.

Creep

Lo-Fi found footage scares in this two-hander that is a slow burn but manages to (as the title implies) creep right under your skin. A virtuoso performance by Mark Duplass (who’s always good in everything) gives even the most innocuous moment that little feeling of unease. Similar to being stuck on a bus next to someone who’s just that little off-kilter enough to make you wish you could move, this one packs a punch that stays with you.