With Hardcore Henry coming out next week and making the most of it’s found-footage filming style, we thought we’d take a look back through some of the better uses of the technique. The sub-genre has received a lot of backlash over the past few years, mostly thanks to the overabundance of found-footage films that were being released after The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999 (they usually involve possession). It also became more and more difficult to defend why exactly the characters kept filming in life-threatening situations. To add insult to injury: found-footage is frequently used as a cheap gimmick to mask crappy filmmaking, so more often than not their quality is subpar (for every Blair Witch we get five Megan is Missings). That being said, every now and then a found-footage film comes along that breathes new life into the sub-genre. The following eight films are some of our favorites!
Cannibal Holocaust
Green Inferno Schmeen Inferno. Cannibal Holocaust is where it’s at. Sure, it’s a weird little movie, but it’s got some truly haunting imagery spread throughout its 96 minutes. Though it is famous for the scenes in which animals are killed (they used real animals) and the allegations that it was a snuff film, Cannibal Holocaust really does stick with you afterward even though you know it’s only a movie (save for the aforementioned animal slayings).