When it comes to the best horror movies around, there's something to be said for the found-footage variety mainly because it can make it feel as though the audience is right there. That was certainly the case when talking about a movie like Cloverfield. Audiences watching the head of the Statue of Liberty's head rolling down the street felt like the effect added a bit of realism to the film. That's likely why there have been so many found-footage horror movies over the last few years. It might be hard to remember, but there was a time when they were relatively rare. Found-footage was even thought to be an entirely new kind of film.
When The Blair Witch Project first arrived on the scene, it showed just how spooky these kinds of films could be. It wasn't necessarily that the film was the first to ever take this approach, but it was definitely one that put this kind of format on the map. There have been all kinds of films since then that have attempted to mimic the success of Blair Witch and there have been some that had better success than others.
There have been some, like Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity that took the format and ran with it and made it even more successful. There are others that did quite well with found footage but have sort of been lost in the shuffle. They are the truly underappreciated found-footage horror films that deserve another look from those who love that kind of approach.
The Taking Of Deborah Logan
The Taking of Deborah Logan is one of the best found-footage horror films of all time and yet it simply doesn't get the respect it so deserves. This diary-like movie is supposed to be about a family dealing with a woman that has Alzheimers. The fact that the woman, Deborah Logan is acting odd is often dismissed for precisely that reason. Eventually, the people shooting the film begin to realize there is something that is quite a bit more sinister going on.
From there on the movie takes viewers on a wild ride that also manages to give a slightly different take on the demon possession genre. One of the reasons this movie ended up being as good as it was, is because the transformation from a confused woman who just seems to be trapped in her disease to a lurking monster is done quite well. The other characters don't see it coming until it's much too late.
Diary Of The Dead
Diary of the Dead was the fifth zombie film that was created by the great George A. Romero, and it's an entirely different kind of zombie flick than any of his others. Perhaps because it was his fifth film, it doesn't get a ton of talk, but it does a very good job of showing how a group of college students who were out in the woods doing their own thing when the zombie apocalypse hits could be so slow to understand exactly what's going on. There's also a pretty good take on just why the public, in general, might not have been able to adapt to the fact that the dead were walking faster. While movie-goers these days know instinctively to take out the head, these kids are still coming to grips with that fact and therefore are hesitant when a killing shot is needed.
While the cast is relatively unknown (except for a short appearance by a young Tatiana Maslany) they do a relatively good job of convincing the audience that these are desperate people just trying to make it through what appears to be the beginning of the end of the world. There's also one aspect that seems well ahead of its time when a character talks about not believing the media. Once again, people in 2021 who have seen these kinds of movies know there's no reason to believe the news would lie about the walking dead. However, in this movie's world, there are several who think the reports are going to get walked back any minute now.
Hell House LLC
Hell House LLC is a movie that is similar to something like Paranormal Activity with a bit of a spin on that theme. This movie depicts a group of friends that have bought an old hotel and are turning it into what they hope will be the scariest Halloween haunted house around. The problem is that there appears to be a sinister force at work that ends up killing most of the friends and wreaking havoc when guests are actually touring the facility.
The movie takes on the look of a news investigation with interviews from those who survived the night and clips of what went down in the house. It's a very good approach to a now well-worn format and it's certainly one of those films that has become extremely underappreciated these days.
Quarantine
Quarantine offers a bit of a different take on the usual zombie movie as its not clear if the monsters that are going after people are really dead, and trying to eat other people. It seems in this film those who are afflicted have some sort of rabies virus that causes them to be extremely odd and aggressive once they run across other people. The disease is first a big mystery that a news crew led by Jennifer Carpenter's reporter character are trying to unravel as they make their way through an apartment complex.
This found-footage horror film is actually an Americanized version of another movie called Rec. While that Spanish flick is considered to be better, this film is still plenty good all on its own. Perhaps because the film is a remake of an existing movie, it's quite underrated but absolutely worth a watch.
Antrum
Antrum is a bit of The Witch and a little bit of The Ringwith The Blair Witch Project mixed in for good measure. In essence, this is a mockumentary about a movie that has caused more than 60 people to die after having watched it. The movie itself is apparently about a cult that practiced demonology and that demon attached itself to the film. To be sure, this film is the lowest of low-budget found-footage films, but the idea that it's killing the very people it's watching is an interesting take. It's worth a watch.