Found footage gets a bad rap. After the sleeper success of The Blair Witch Project, which proved just how profitable a micro-budgeted horror film shot in this style could be, the genre became inundated with found footage films. That influx caused massive burnout among fans, but more importantly, it demonstrated that creating a found footage film isn’t as easy as it looks. Avoiding the pitfalls of predictability while justifying the camera’s constant use is a tricky tightrope walk, but creating an unsettling atmosphere and effective scares can go a long way in showing there’s still plenty of horrors left to be mined from the subgenre.
Point being, there are still plenty of terrifying and innovative films in the subgenre worth seeking out.
This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to some of the best goosebumps-inducing entries in found footage. These five movies test the boundaries of their format and deliver nail-biting tension and creative scares…
Afflicted – Prime Video
Best friends Derek and Clif, played by writers/directors Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, embark on an epic trip around the world. They intend to document their journey every step of the way and upload their footage to an ongoing blog. Derek’s health tempers their excitement; he has a brain aneurysm that could rupture at any moment. The adventure is thrown another curveball when a one-night stand in Paris leaves Derek unconscious and bloodied. When he wakes, Derek’s body undergoes horrifying new changes that see Clif desperate to save his friend. While much of the subgenre is dedicated to demonic possession and ghosts, Afflicted gives a refreshing update to a different foundational movie monster. Moreover, it does it with suspense and action-horror style.
Lake Mungo – Tubi
Using a faux-documentary setup, Lake Mungo follows a family still reeling over the unexpected drowning of the eldest daughter. Soon after, strange things start happening around the home that prompts the surviving family members to investigate the details that led up to her death. The scares come subtle, often lurking in the background for only the most observant to notice. Who Alice Palmer was before her passing makes for the most fascinating aspect of this unique horror movie, a slow-burn mystery full of twists and one seriously unnerving jump scare for the ages.
Final Prayer – Tubi
Also known as The Borderlands, Final Prayer follows a paranormal team sent by the Vatican to investigate strange phenomena plaguing a Catholic church in the remote countryside. That setup sounds overly familiar, and it is, which works in the film’s favor. Hostile villagers, blasphemous Pagan rituals, haunted activity, and even a suspicious religious lead character all make for the typical trademarks of a found footage horror movie. Including that it appears that it’s building its way toward an exorcism. Where it goes from there is far beyond the realm of predictability, though—Final Prayer parts on a grim note, with one of the boldest, most disturbing final acts.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum – Prime Video
Amateur ghosthunters in over their heads is a plot description that could be applied to any number of found footage movies, let alone horror in general. If you’re going this route, you’d better find an innovative way to set it apart from the rest, or at least ensure the scares are plenty. Gonjiam nails it. In this Korean film, the crew of a horror web show plans a live stream event in one of the country’s most infamous abandoned hospitals. The host has rigged fake scares to spook his crew for the sake of ratings, but they prove unnecessary thanks to the sinister forces haunting the place. While this movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it makes up for that with unrelenting terror. Turn the lights down low and prepare to get creeped out.
[Rec] 2 – Crackle
Few horror sequels manage to live up to the success of their predecessors, and even fewer surpass them. [Rec] 2 makes maintaining the breathless energy and chills of [Rec] look easy. Overlapping with the events of the first film, the sequel follows a medical officer accompanied by a SWAT team into the quarantined apartment building. Concurrently, a group of outsiders also make their way into the building, creating a whole slew of new characters forced to contend with the infected residents. The scares are almost nonstop, and the tension leaves you on the edge of your seat. Above all, this sequel expands the mythology in extremely smart ways. [Rec] 2 isn’t so much a sequel as it a continuation. If you need to catch up on [Rec], both films are available to stream on Crackle.
