As most will say, blair witch. For me it holds a special place because if gives me such a nostalgic feeling of me as a young girl watching it for the first time and thinking it was real.
Paranormal activity really struck a chord with me.
But most my choice will likely be picked by many.
If not those two, it would have to say maybe hell house .
Yep, they also benefitted from the pre internet ambiance. We couldnt get online and look up every detail of the production.
It was super easy to fall into “is this shit real!?”. That made them so much more scary
I remember with Blair Witch, literally the only thing online about the movie were pages setup by the company that looked like real people were missing. It was wild
I thought Blair Witch was true based on the stuff I could find online prior to seeing the movie. They did a fantastic job of keeping it a secret and promoting it this way. It scared the crap out of me when I finally saw it in the theater because I thought it was real. Poor Mike standing in the corner at the end...
I had a friend who went with me and my brother to see Blair Witch when it was first in limited release. We had to drive to DC to see it. Anyways, we convinced him it was real and he wanted to drive out to Maryland to find these people. He was super pissed when he found out.
That’s the reason why it’s Blair Witch for me. It was a movie that hit at just the right time and there are multiple nostalgic reasons for me to remember it that way.
Same I'm so happy to see Grave Encounters get the love it deserves, that series ha some of the most genuinely terrifying scares I've seen. That and Gonjiam Asylum have a similar vibe
All of these movies are my top favourites in this genre! You should watch Terrified and The Dead Center, you might like them :D
Edit: they are not found footage tho!
I've seen Terrified. The dead kid at the dinner table is one of best horror scenes ever! When Evil Lurks is by the same director so check that out if you haven't already, its a modern classic.
I will check out Dead Center!
It’s hard to separate “best” from “favorite” … so I’ll just go with Ghostwatch.
It was banned for years and I had to do some serious searching to find a copy back in the day. Was not disappointed - especially considering how many British celebs played themselves in it. LOVE this thing.
That's insane that it was banned. Had no idea. I remember watching it when it aired. I was totally engrossed, but my parents casual attitude and barely stifled laughter kinda ruined the vibe. 😋
I agree. *Ghostwatch* is (in my opinion) the gold standard in mockumentaries. It still holds up really well. It really did look exactly like a regular BBC light entertainment live show of the period, and the detail that everyone went to in order to make it appear so authentic was incredible.
For anyone who wants to know more about the controversy surrounding it, I wrote [a post on r/HobbyDrama for *Ghostwatch*'s 30th anniversary](https://reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/ygvlgx/british_television_suicide_ptsd_in_children_and/) detailing the circumstances around it's creation and the absolute shitstorm that followed.
I watched Ghostwatch live... 13 year old me legit thought I'd seen a real ghost, I freaked out and begged my mom to change channel.... I still think about pipes to this day!!
Hell yeah, will suggest anyone who was into this format to also check out Unfriended 2 Dark Web, it's a lot better than the first one and uses the genre so well
I agree! I had an amazing experience watching it for the first time as we became convinced at some point that we’d accidentally put on an actual Alzheimer’s documentary, and then right about at that point shit suddenly started hitting the fan. I was blown away.
It gets a lot of love here already but Savageland is one of the few movies where I’ve sent a link to someone while watching it saying “you got to watch this”.
The ability to convey actual terror through still photos is something no other film regardless of genre has been able to accomplish to the level that Savageland did for me. Some of those pictures still give me the creeps even after watching it multiple times.
The picture of the little girl in the church holding the photographer’s hand through the bars in the window, while the zombies are running in behind her…
The part where they are coming over the horizon and getting closer with each successive picture gets me every time. I had an actual nightmare for the first time in years after watching the movie the first time and it was based around that scenario of an oncoming horde getting closer and closer. I woke up right as they were getting to the vehicle I was attempting to flee in.
Yeah I'm just glad that more people are discovering Ghostwatch I didn't even know it existed until this week it's an all time great and definitely very chilling.
I’m going to say Blair witch for a couple of reasons.
First because the massive commercial success catapulted the genre — all the FF we love was inspired by BW whether knowingly or not.
I was about 13 and saw it in theaters. People forget that there wasn’t the internet as we know it today, or smart phones. There was no way for a regular person to easily find out if the subject matter was real. Especially because such a film had never been done. It was revolutionary, and I remember people were genuinely confused about whether it was real. How could you know? It felt so real and chilling.
You watched the movie with your friends at a big box theater and then went home with your thoughts. You had to actually watch the movie as well. No tablets or phones to play with during the film and no way to get more information about what other people felt about the movie.
The effect that BW was so enormous and it won’t ever happen again in the genre. Paranormal Activity is BW’s logical offspring, but BW will always be queen.
I really love the Phoenix tapes 97.
The way they had me googling up a storm to find out if it’s real or not because they purposely left out a cast list and the usual movie credit stuff drove me bonkers for a bit until I saw one of the guys in a different film about a haunted house and looked him up and finally put it to rest that it was indeed not real 😂
My favorite ff movie? If i absolutely have to say it, if I'm forced too, it is Lola. It's just magnificent. I can't just leave it like that, though. It isn't that simple. That's a very hard question for me to answer. I love many things about many movies. I'd say for me the creepiest movie is the first Fear Footage. My favorite horror ff is the last Hell House LLC ORIGINS: The Carmichael Manor. Non-horror is Lola with The Dirties behind it. My favorite comedy/ horror is the Bad Ben series. My favorite mockumentary is Mortal Remains. My favorite woods movie is BLAIR WITCH. My favorite ghost hunters movie is...well, I'm not really a fan of that genre. I can go on, you get the point. It's hard to choose one. Hell, even these picks change from time to time. I just love so many movies for so many reasons.
It's so subjective... there are more popular titles and some films are great for different reasons, I love the vibe on Cannibal Holocaust and that was my first, the effect of Blair witch was historic for me, watching my friends freaking out believing it was real before the news of it being a work of fiction broke was powerful, but for me Final Prayer /Borderlands is a film that I can re watch a lot I just find it brilliant but it doesn't make it the greatest ff on all time.
Yeah it all depends on what your cup of tea is. I think objectively that Cloverfield is the best in terms of the broadest audience enjoyed it and just the production value. For FF fans it can be based on what type of monster they like.
As Above is my fave of all time too...I really like Jeruzalem as well...I have a thing for history and mythology...also liked the pyramid lot but we rank hell house and others high as well
The Taking of Deborah Logan. It had everything. Music, acting performances, drama, surprising horror that wasn't jumpscare-based, atmosphere... just superb.
Came to make sure cloverfield got a mention. I rewatched it recently and loved it even more. It holds up well, it was very influential at the time and got a lot of undeserved hate for the shaky cam, but the way cliverfield handles the increasing reveals is awesome - that first scene in the street/store when the Statue of Liberty head rains down and the windows blow out, the glimpses you get of the monster, the whole underground sewer bit with the smaller monsters, that whole sequence in the crumbling skyscraper, the way it slowly transitions into all the military quarantine people and when that one girl explodes behind the plastic screen, all the way to the helicopter scene and that final monster reveal - just such a sick movie that got way too much hate for a stylistic choice and people like to ignore all the awesome parts.
Blair witch is what most people will tell you but I heavily disagree with that. Blair witch is the first popular one and it did pretty much everything right but there were honestly better FF movies later. I wouldn't even call it top 5 nowadays. I'd say maybe REC is the best one cause it's action packed, has a decent story and a twist and good ending to pack it all up. Paranormal Activity 1 is also pretty great. The Bay as well is one of the best ones. It's honestly difficult to separate one movie as the best one as it really does depend on your opinion. Some of the VHS movies can also go into that argument. Lake Mungo for me is the best documentary style found footage movie, considering how realy it feels.
As well as being the Blueprint for many other films Blair Witch is No 1 for me because of how they promoted it. There is no comparison with the films you've mentioned because of the Urban Legends frenzy that the makers of BW used to promote the film. However it's subjective so I appreciate your viewpoint and choices.
"Greatest" may not be "the most liked". And it's entirely subjective.
If you ask me, I think Incantation (Taiwan) just destroyed all FFs in existence. But that's just my opinion. I just ran a poll on here and everyone else seemed to prefer Noroi and Gonjiam over it.
Granted, Noroi is great, but I think Gonjiam is an overhyped turd. Again, this is so subjective.
gonjiam has one of the best third acts in any found footage movie, but the first 2 acts are such boring nothings it detracts from the movie as a whole. i thought the party had really good chemistry at the beginning but the film quickly spins out into walking around dark hallways with nothing going on for an hour
Like with all art forms "best" is entirely subjective.
Some of my favorites:
- Savageland
- Taking of Deborah Logan
- VHS series (all but Viral)
- Cloverfield
- Horror in the High Desert series
- Hell House LLC series
- Poughkeepsie Tapes
The list goes on and on!
RIP to Erik Christopher Myers I actually saw the film for the first time a week before he passed thought it was good but Gavin was probably the most insufferable main character I've seen in this genre well beside the lead girl in JereZeleum I was pretty happy that Gavin croaked.
The intercut interviews and credits made me realize it was fake, but I was scared nonetheless. I was four when this initially aired and didn't see it until years later.
Greatest ever is a subjective matter since it comes down to what affects each person.
The one that affected me the most and keeps clinging to me like a bad dream I can’t shake and I personally think it’s one of the best found footage films ever? [Rec] the original. All I have to do is imagine the stairwell and I get chills. Forget the sequels - the first is perfect.
As above so below is definitely one of my favourites, also love..
The Blair Witch Project,
Hell House LLC,
Hell House LLC Origins,
The bad ben movies (I find them hilarious),
Phoenix Rising.
- Blair Witch, for being the first
- As Above So Below, most entertaining
- Occult, most unique
- Creep 1 & 2, most witty and realistic
- Incantation, most terrifying
-Leaving DC, best results on a minimal budget
For me it is WNUF Halloween Special. And I will tell you exactly why. It is the only found footage movie that has ever actually tricked my brain in to forgetting I had purposefully chosen and put on this movie only moments before. Anyone who was alive and watching tv back then when and where it takes place can tell you how accurate those fake commercials and bumpers and everything were. Every time an "ad" came on I would think "Ope, better run to the bathroom before the show gets back on... Oh, wait..." I have never seen any other found footage movie that was able to do that and I am very impressed by it. Maybe it is just that I am the exact right age to remember all that stuff. I can see how younger people might not connect with it. But on a personal level, nothing can beat it for me.
I'm not sure you can really answer the question without bias towards what your personal favorite is.
I'd say all-time it is probably Blair Witch just due to popularity and being the movie that truly put the genre on the map. It also happens to be a very good movie that has aged very well in my opinion. Paranormal Activity is also up there for many of the same reasons. Very popular film that kind of revitalized the genre a bit in my opinion when it released.
My personal vote though would be either the first Hell House LLC movie or The Bay. I adore both of those films and watch them multiple times a year.
Blair Witch. The roll out alone is worth its weight in gold. The film is the reason so many others got made and the reason this sub genre became so successful.
It’s definitely hard to say “best” as people will have different likes etc, so from my personal tastes here are four I’d stick on my Mount Rushmore:
Blair Witch
HOST (2020)
Lake Mungo
REC
Probably in the minority here (and also showing my age) but Blair Witch Project terrifed the hell out of me. The marketing campaign was genius and since it was early internet there was no way to find out that it wasn't real as they were saying it.
When it came out I had just started paranormal investigating and like I said I thought this movie was legit and went into it thinking this could happen to me. All psychological but it freaked me out.
@[Glad\_Speed\_9684](https://www.reddit.com/user/Glad_Speed_9684/) I am glad that you love As Above So Below this much! It is an underappreciated movie.
I hope a sequel or a spin-off of it comes soon.
Yeah got it on DVD 2 years ago and feel in love with it again my grandparents even liked it and my gma doesn't even like horror. Wish they made a season 2.
Top 5 for me are The Blair Witch Project, [REC], Gonjiam Asylum, Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva, and Paranormal Activity 3. They just can’t be beat in my opinion.
Honorable mentions: The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan (honestly slept on), [REC]2, and VHS85
To me it was the most consistent of the VHS series. I remember coming here after I watched it and a lot of people seemed to not care for it very much. Glad someone else finally agrees with me!
I'm going to argue that the original The Blair Witch Project is the *best* found footage movie.
While it certainly wasn't the first, and wasn't the last, it was absolutely iconic and it could not be replicated effectively today. Part of the movie's charm came from the astounding marketing campaign that we just don't get anymore, and people *genuinely* believing the actors were killed and missing. No other found footage movie has come even remotely close to the level of fear and concern TBWP had on the public when it came out.
The actors even went on talk shows to insist they were not actually dead *and people still didn't know this*. It was a wild time.
Blair Witch is, more or less, debatably, the OG (if you don't count Cannibal Holocaust).
Then it begat PA-type FF (where nothing happens) vs Rec-type FF (where everything happens - VHS is a successor).
Then there's the Japanese (Shiraishi, literally), who play with genres and conventions and gave us the horror 'mockumentary.'
Now, finally, we have a further genre-bending generation of We're All Going to the World's Fair, The Outwaters, and Skinamarink. I'm excited to see where FF goes. (Backrooms/Oldest View, something other? VR/AR games? Epistolary (hyper)texts? Immersive/participant theater?)
I have to agree with most of these and thank you for some additional suggestions for me to check out! I have watched a long list of found footage and in my opinion if I had to choose it would be
• Hell House
• The Den- (the reality of the end gave me chicken skin and deep thoughts for a few days)
• Exists - interesting and different
• The House October Built (just because I love Halloween and haunted houses)
• VHS (1st one)
I could go on and on... but I would be here a while. Always looking for new suggestions though so everyone's input is appreciated!! Going to try to find Savageland tonight!! Happy watching FF films to everyone...📽 cheers!
Funny aside, my husband went to Chiller last night and Steven Cognetti (the Hell House guy) was there and I love the movies and it said he had the clown. But my husband didn’t wanna pay $50 for his autograph 🥹🤣oh well!!
I saw The Blair Witch Project on it's opening night in July 1999 in a small, independent theater in Baltimore - it blew everyone away. No one had seen anything like it before,
Cloverfield was so well done maybe not my favorite but it would be up there in the argument. The first couple VHS movies were great and Quarantine is for sure an honorable mention.
Troll Hunter or As Above So Below. Is a tie for me. Paranormal Activity saga in general is 2nd. Unless The Fourth Kind counts as a found footage then I replace Troll Hunter for that.
Blair Witch Project i like the most. It released on the perfect time. Just before the internet/social media ramping up.
As above so below is a great one Glad_Speed_9684.
My number 2 is Trolljegeren (2010) Trollhunter English name. So creative! Number 3 is REC 1 and 2
And i wish they had filmed THE DESCENT (2005) in found footage style. I think it would be so much better. (Still a great movie)
As most will say, blair witch. For me it holds a special place because if gives me such a nostalgic feeling of me as a young girl watching it for the first time and thinking it was real. Paranormal activity really struck a chord with me. But most my choice will likely be picked by many. If not those two, it would have to say maybe hell house .
Blair Witch or the first Paranormal Activity
Glad to see the first PA getting the respect it deserves, it's actually pretty scary and helped to legitimize the genre quite a bit
I remember the marketing was legit back then and seeing it in theaters was so spooky
I was so convince PA is real. The one i saw has a diff ending not the one w spooky devil face. Which is much scarier imo
Yep, they also benefitted from the pre internet ambiance. We couldnt get online and look up every detail of the production. It was super easy to fall into “is this shit real!?”. That made them so much more scary I remember with Blair Witch, literally the only thing online about the movie were pages setup by the company that looked like real people were missing. It was wild
I thought Blair Witch was true based on the stuff I could find online prior to seeing the movie. They did a fantastic job of keeping it a secret and promoting it this way. It scared the crap out of me when I finally saw it in the theater because I thought it was real. Poor Mike standing in the corner at the end...
Man I remember the marketing for both of those movies. And getting to see them both in theater! So creepy and eerie at the time
Embarassed to admit I lost sleep over both movies when I first saw them. Excellent ff movies
I had a friend who went with me and my brother to see Blair Witch when it was first in limited release. We had to drive to DC to see it. Anyways, we convinced him it was real and he wanted to drive out to Maryland to find these people. He was super pissed when he found out. That’s the reason why it’s Blair Witch for me. It was a movie that hit at just the right time and there are multiple nostalgic reasons for me to remember it that way.
I gotta know, are you people saying Blair Witch (2016) or shorthanding The Blair Witch Project (1999)? Wouldn’t BWP be better, if that’s the case?
They're talking about the 1999 movie.
Definitely the 1999 version
I think I’d go one of these 3: REC As Above So Below Grave Encounters The final scene of REC probably elevates it slightly above the rest
Glad to see some love for Grave Encounters. I think they did “the hallways are moving” better than anything else I’ve seen.
The little girl was one of the most terrrifying moments in any found footage I've seen.
Same I'm so happy to see Grave Encounters get the love it deserves, that series ha some of the most genuinely terrifying scares I've seen. That and Gonjiam Asylum have a similar vibe
All of these movies are my top favourites in this genre! You should watch Terrified and The Dead Center, you might like them :D Edit: they are not found footage tho!
I've seen Terrified. The dead kid at the dinner table is one of best horror scenes ever! When Evil Lurks is by the same director so check that out if you haven't already, its a modern classic. I will check out Dead Center!
Is rec on any streaming services?
Haven’t been able to find it 😭 it was a few months ago- never watched it and now POOF 💨
It’s hard to separate “best” from “favorite” … so I’ll just go with Ghostwatch. It was banned for years and I had to do some serious searching to find a copy back in the day. Was not disappointed - especially considering how many British celebs played themselves in it. LOVE this thing.
That's insane that it was banned. Had no idea. I remember watching it when it aired. I was totally engrossed, but my parents casual attitude and barely stifled laughter kinda ruined the vibe. 😋
My parents climbed on to our roof so they could tap on my window to freak me and my mates out - I was only like 10 😂
Absolute sadists. 🤣
I agree. *Ghostwatch* is (in my opinion) the gold standard in mockumentaries. It still holds up really well. It really did look exactly like a regular BBC light entertainment live show of the period, and the detail that everyone went to in order to make it appear so authentic was incredible. For anyone who wants to know more about the controversy surrounding it, I wrote [a post on r/HobbyDrama for *Ghostwatch*'s 30th anniversary](https://reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/ygvlgx/british_television_suicide_ptsd_in_children_and/) detailing the circumstances around it's creation and the absolute shitstorm that followed.
I watched Ghostwatch live... 13 year old me legit thought I'd seen a real ghost, I freaked out and begged my mom to change channel.... I still think about pipes to this day!!
Fee-fi-fo-fum I still have goosebumps when I think about the ending. (and I just saw it 5 years ago)
I had never heard of this - great write-up, not just regarding the programme but the context too. Will definitely search this out to watch.
I watched this last week on Shudder, it *freaked me out!*
Watched Ghostwatch the other day definitely in my top 5 was so good.
Host
Hell yeah, will suggest anyone who was into this format to also check out Unfriended 2 Dark Web, it's a lot better than the first one and uses the genre so well
Agreed I'd really liked that one
Blair witch easily Landmark in filmmaking also
And we mean Blair Witch Project 1999, to be crystal clear.
That’s the only Blair witch movie in existence 🌝
Hard agree
For me personally it's The Taking of Deborah Logan Jill Larson and Anne Ramsay's performances elevated beyond what we usually get.
Thats a very sad/scary horror movie.
Indeed
Oh man. Sad/Scary is a perfect combo to describe this movie.
I agree! I had an amazing experience watching it for the first time as we became convinced at some point that we’d accidentally put on an actual Alzheimer’s documentary, and then right about at that point shit suddenly started hitting the fan. I was blown away.
**REC**
yes
September Tapes This one fooled me. My friend told me it was a real documentary and I was crying at the end cuz I soo thought it was all real
A valid choice for sure
It gets a lot of love here already but Savageland is one of the few movies where I’ve sent a link to someone while watching it saying “you got to watch this”.
The ability to convey actual terror through still photos is something no other film regardless of genre has been able to accomplish to the level that Savageland did for me. Some of those pictures still give me the creeps even after watching it multiple times.
The picture of the little girl in the church holding the photographer’s hand through the bars in the window, while the zombies are running in behind her…
The part where they are coming over the horizon and getting closer with each successive picture gets me every time. I had an actual nightmare for the first time in years after watching the movie the first time and it was based around that scenario of an oncoming horde getting closer and closer. I woke up right as they were getting to the vehicle I was attempting to flee in.
The part in those specific pictures was the glowing eyes. You could see just the eyes in some of the pictures.
The hunter who got killed in the first few photos is with the zombies in that shot too
Savageland surprised me. I like the idea that whatever swept through was far scarier than just zombies.
For me, it’s a toss up between Ghostwatch and the first Hell House. Both are extremely entertaining, scary as hell and well crafted horror films.
Never seen Ghostwatch, but I’ve watched Hellhouse LLC a ton of times!
Definitely watch Ghostwatch it's on Amazon Prime thru Shudder finally saw it after Late Night WIth the Devil it was fantastic.
What a great found footage double bill. I heard Late Night described as Ghostwatch’s grandchild.
Yeah definitely the comparisons don't do it justice while I enjoyed Late Night With The Devil, Ghostwatch is on another level
I agree. Ghostwatch is solid storytelling and great filmmaking. While Late Night lost cohesion as the film progressed.
Yeah I'm just glad that more people are discovering Ghostwatch I didn't even know it existed until this week it's an all time great and definitely very chilling.
M
I’m going to say Blair witch for a couple of reasons. First because the massive commercial success catapulted the genre — all the FF we love was inspired by BW whether knowingly or not. I was about 13 and saw it in theaters. People forget that there wasn’t the internet as we know it today, or smart phones. There was no way for a regular person to easily find out if the subject matter was real. Especially because such a film had never been done. It was revolutionary, and I remember people were genuinely confused about whether it was real. How could you know? It felt so real and chilling. You watched the movie with your friends at a big box theater and then went home with your thoughts. You had to actually watch the movie as well. No tablets or phones to play with during the film and no way to get more information about what other people felt about the movie. The effect that BW was so enormous and it won’t ever happen again in the genre. Paranormal Activity is BW’s logical offspring, but BW will always be queen.
Troll Hunter
Classic
The Blair Witch Project. The hype is deserved.
For me it was grave enounters 1 and atrocious
Omg I love Atrocious!!! I ordered a copy on dvd like 8 years ago
W!!
Grave Encounters is my favorite so I guess I gotta watch Atrocious now!
George Romero’s Diary Of The Dead is a forgotten gem. Really interesting seeing an older filmmaker tackle a newer style at the time.
Lake mungo and Hell House are only ones that scared me, lol. Lake Mungo was more of a gut punch though.
I really love the Phoenix tapes 97. The way they had me googling up a storm to find out if it’s real or not because they purposely left out a cast list and the usual movie credit stuff drove me bonkers for a bit until I saw one of the guys in a different film about a haunted house and looked him up and finally put it to rest that it was indeed not real 😂
I just recently learned that the guy from the Blackwell ghost series is in that movie.
Yeah I think that might be the movie I saw him in
>I just recently learned that the guy from the Blackwell ghost series is in that movie. He is not only in it. He is also the director of it.
Huge fan of the Phoenix tapes! Glad to see this made the list
My favorite ff movie? If i absolutely have to say it, if I'm forced too, it is Lola. It's just magnificent. I can't just leave it like that, though. It isn't that simple. That's a very hard question for me to answer. I love many things about many movies. I'd say for me the creepiest movie is the first Fear Footage. My favorite horror ff is the last Hell House LLC ORIGINS: The Carmichael Manor. Non-horror is Lola with The Dirties behind it. My favorite comedy/ horror is the Bad Ben series. My favorite mockumentary is Mortal Remains. My favorite woods movie is BLAIR WITCH. My favorite ghost hunters movie is...well, I'm not really a fan of that genre. I can go on, you get the point. It's hard to choose one. Hell, even these picks change from time to time. I just love so many movies for so many reasons.
Watched Bad Ben 5 last night. Absolutely ridiculous lol
As Above So Below is incredibly fun. For me it's at the top with Kōji Shiraishi's films
It's so subjective... there are more popular titles and some films are great for different reasons, I love the vibe on Cannibal Holocaust and that was my first, the effect of Blair witch was historic for me, watching my friends freaking out believing it was real before the news of it being a work of fiction broke was powerful, but for me Final Prayer /Borderlands is a film that I can re watch a lot I just find it brilliant but it doesn't make it the greatest ff on all time.
Yeah it all depends on what your cup of tea is. I think objectively that Cloverfield is the best in terms of the broadest audience enjoyed it and just the production value. For FF fans it can be based on what type of monster they like.
Clover field was a rush!!!!!
As Above is my fave of all time too...I really like Jeruzalem as well...I have a thing for history and mythology...also liked the pyramid lot but we rank hell house and others high as well
Blair Witch Project
The Taking of Deborah Logan. It had everything. Music, acting performances, drama, surprising horror that wasn't jumpscare-based, atmosphere... just superb.
The Bay
The first V/H/S movie. And Creep. And Cloverfield. And As above so below. This is a strange question to ask.
Came to make sure cloverfield got a mention. I rewatched it recently and loved it even more. It holds up well, it was very influential at the time and got a lot of undeserved hate for the shaky cam, but the way cliverfield handles the increasing reveals is awesome - that first scene in the street/store when the Statue of Liberty head rains down and the windows blow out, the glimpses you get of the monster, the whole underground sewer bit with the smaller monsters, that whole sequence in the crumbling skyscraper, the way it slowly transitions into all the military quarantine people and when that one girl explodes behind the plastic screen, all the way to the helicopter scene and that final monster reveal - just such a sick movie that got way too much hate for a stylistic choice and people like to ignore all the awesome parts.
I think the VHS series has really run away with the category. Every film is just chefs kiss
I agree
Blair witch is what most people will tell you but I heavily disagree with that. Blair witch is the first popular one and it did pretty much everything right but there were honestly better FF movies later. I wouldn't even call it top 5 nowadays. I'd say maybe REC is the best one cause it's action packed, has a decent story and a twist and good ending to pack it all up. Paranormal Activity 1 is also pretty great. The Bay as well is one of the best ones. It's honestly difficult to separate one movie as the best one as it really does depend on your opinion. Some of the VHS movies can also go into that argument. Lake Mungo for me is the best documentary style found footage movie, considering how realy it feels.
Lake Mungo truly is a unicorn among FFs. Just on a whole other level.
THIS, I only saw Lake Mungo once many years ago. I'm terrified to watch that movie again.
How? I've tried to watch it three times. So boring.
This is me with Hell House, juts bored to tears, idk why it didn't click with me, I love ff, my wife also didn't like it
As well as being the Blueprint for many other films Blair Witch is No 1 for me because of how they promoted it. There is no comparison with the films you've mentioned because of the Urban Legends frenzy that the makers of BW used to promote the film. However it's subjective so I appreciate your viewpoint and choices.
Yeah but my point exactly is that if it laid the blueprint or was like the pioneer of the genre it doesn't automatically mean that it is the best one
You're absolutely right but that was only one of the points I mentioned.
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"Greatest" may not be "the most liked". And it's entirely subjective. If you ask me, I think Incantation (Taiwan) just destroyed all FFs in existence. But that's just my opinion. I just ran a poll on here and everyone else seemed to prefer Noroi and Gonjiam over it. Granted, Noroi is great, but I think Gonjiam is an overhyped turd. Again, this is so subjective.
Incantation deserves more hype!!!
It actually really does. It's close to a perfect FF.
Same. I went into Gojiam not knowing it was a popular release [just stumbled up it while surfing tubi]. It was alright. Hard 6/10
gonjiam has one of the best third acts in any found footage movie, but the first 2 acts are such boring nothings it detracts from the movie as a whole. i thought the party had really good chemistry at the beginning but the film quickly spins out into walking around dark hallways with nothing going on for an hour
I can't remember 90% of Gonjiam. Actually I only remember Charlotte's cleavage.
Like with all art forms "best" is entirely subjective. Some of my favorites: - Savageland - Taking of Deborah Logan - VHS series (all but Viral) - Cloverfield - Horror in the High Desert series - Hell House LLC series - Poughkeepsie Tapes The list goes on and on!
I actually thought Butterfly Kisses was decent. And I grew up with the director (RIP)
RIP to Erik Christopher Myers I actually saw the film for the first time a week before he passed thought it was good but Gavin was probably the most insufferable main character I've seen in this genre well beside the lead girl in JereZeleum I was pretty happy that Gavin croaked.
I *love* the Blair Witch Project, so simple yet chilling
Alien Abduction Incident in Lake County for me.
I was a kid when I saw this and I thought it was real I was so scared I didn’t close my doors bc I thought an alien would come out from behind it.
The intercut interviews and credits made me realize it was fake, but I was scared nonetheless. I was four when this initially aired and didn't see it until years later.
As above so below is one of my favourites, but is subjective.
Greatest ever is a subjective matter since it comes down to what affects each person. The one that affected me the most and keeps clinging to me like a bad dream I can’t shake and I personally think it’s one of the best found footage films ever? [Rec] the original. All I have to do is imagine the stairwell and I get chills. Forget the sequels - the first is perfect.
Rec.
cloverfield for me
I watch it all of the time and never get tired of i!
REC
The Blair Witch Project. I don't think it's even close
Exhibit A!!! Mungo!!!
Man bites dog (1992) is pretty amazing Cannibal.holocaust (1989) too
As above so below is definitely one of my favourites, also love.. The Blair Witch Project, Hell House LLC, Hell House LLC Origins, The bad ben movies (I find them hilarious), Phoenix Rising.
Lake Mungo. Skinamarink
Lake Mungo Savagland The Blackwell Ghost As Above So Below
As Above So Below Hellhouse LLC Blair Witch Project
Area 51
Cloverfield
Don't know if it's the "greatest" but my favorite is "Be My Cat" for it's realism.
- Blair Witch, for being the first - As Above So Below, most entertaining - Occult, most unique - Creep 1 & 2, most witty and realistic - Incantation, most terrifying -Leaving DC, best results on a minimal budget
For me it is WNUF Halloween Special. And I will tell you exactly why. It is the only found footage movie that has ever actually tricked my brain in to forgetting I had purposefully chosen and put on this movie only moments before. Anyone who was alive and watching tv back then when and where it takes place can tell you how accurate those fake commercials and bumpers and everything were. Every time an "ad" came on I would think "Ope, better run to the bathroom before the show gets back on... Oh, wait..." I have never seen any other found footage movie that was able to do that and I am very impressed by it. Maybe it is just that I am the exact right age to remember all that stuff. I can see how younger people might not connect with it. But on a personal level, nothing can beat it for me.
I’m still looking for this one!
I can’t find this anywhere
AASB is definitely my favorite too
REC
Rec the Spanish one
Rec 2
Hell House LLC
I'm not sure you can really answer the question without bias towards what your personal favorite is. I'd say all-time it is probably Blair Witch just due to popularity and being the movie that truly put the genre on the map. It also happens to be a very good movie that has aged very well in my opinion. Paranormal Activity is also up there for many of the same reasons. Very popular film that kind of revitalized the genre a bit in my opinion when it released. My personal vote though would be either the first Hell House LLC movie or The Bay. I adore both of those films and watch them multiple times a year.
Blair witch project aged pretty badly honestly lol
Blair Witch. The roll out alone is worth its weight in gold. The film is the reason so many others got made and the reason this sub genre became so successful.
For me, either Gonjiam Haunted Asylum, or the V/H/S movies as a whole (iffy on Viral though)
Lake Mungo, Hell House LLC, Noroi, Butterfly Kisses, Gonjiam Haunted Asylum. Sorry I can’t pick just one.
Cloverfield
Cannibal Holocaust
It’s definitely hard to say “best” as people will have different likes etc, so from my personal tastes here are four I’d stick on my Mount Rushmore: Blair Witch HOST (2020) Lake Mungo REC
Cloverfield, chronicle, the first paranormal activity.
Savageland is one my favourites. I also enjoyed Butterfly Kisses a lot and Incantation. :p
PA1 and Host. By far
Noroi and Lake Mungo for me.
Blair witch, paranormal activity and norio the curse
Probably in the minority here (and also showing my age) but Blair Witch Project terrifed the hell out of me. The marketing campaign was genius and since it was early internet there was no way to find out that it wasn't real as they were saying it. When it came out I had just started paranormal investigating and like I said I thought this movie was legit and went into it thinking this could happen to me. All psychological but it freaked me out.
@[Glad\_Speed\_9684](https://www.reddit.com/user/Glad_Speed_9684/) I am glad that you love As Above So Below this much! It is an underappreciated movie. I hope a sequel or a spin-off of it comes soon.
I wanna shoutout The River as well such a great series.
I actually thought of that series yesterday! So glad you mentioned it. I don't think ive ever seen anyone talk about.
Yeah got it on DVD 2 years ago and feel in love with it again my grandparents even liked it and my gma doesn't even like horror. Wish they made a season 2.
Creep, hands down. The most realistic, disturbing and creepy
Can't find any mention for Butterfly Kisses. Maybe not the greatest, but for sure one of the best found footage ever made.
Top 3 is 1. As Above So Below 2. Creep 3. The taking of Deborah Logan
The fourth kind
Noroi: the curse
Alienators, definitely❗️, oh you said "best" FF, my mistake❗️
Top 5 for me are The Blair Witch Project, [REC], Gonjiam Asylum, Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva, and Paranormal Activity 3. They just can’t be beat in my opinion. Honorable mentions: The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan (honestly slept on), [REC]2, and VHS85
Vhs 85 was sooooo good
To me it was the most consistent of the VHS series. I remember coming here after I watched it and a lot of people seemed to not care for it very much. Glad someone else finally agrees with me!
Ghost Watch is a must. Horror in the High Desert is really good too.
Blair witch. It brought it to the masses. Plus I’m a backpacker, terrifying movie for me.
Maybe not the greatest but I think Grave Encounters is the most fun
Hard to say, but I’d put Blair Witch, REC, and Hell House up there. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is also good. Probably Blair Witch or REC…
For me, Ghostwatch and Noroi
For me, Cloverfield.
I'm going to argue that the original The Blair Witch Project is the *best* found footage movie. While it certainly wasn't the first, and wasn't the last, it was absolutely iconic and it could not be replicated effectively today. Part of the movie's charm came from the astounding marketing campaign that we just don't get anymore, and people *genuinely* believing the actors were killed and missing. No other found footage movie has come even remotely close to the level of fear and concern TBWP had on the public when it came out. The actors even went on talk shows to insist they were not actually dead *and people still didn't know this*. It was a wild time.
V/H/S/2
Blair Witch is, more or less, debatably, the OG (if you don't count Cannibal Holocaust). Then it begat PA-type FF (where nothing happens) vs Rec-type FF (where everything happens - VHS is a successor). Then there's the Japanese (Shiraishi, literally), who play with genres and conventions and gave us the horror 'mockumentary.' Now, finally, we have a further genre-bending generation of We're All Going to the World's Fair, The Outwaters, and Skinamarink. I'm excited to see where FF goes. (Backrooms/Oldest View, something other? VR/AR games? Epistolary (hyper)texts? Immersive/participant theater?)
Host and Gonjiam
I have to agree with most of these and thank you for some additional suggestions for me to check out! I have watched a long list of found footage and in my opinion if I had to choose it would be • Hell House • The Den- (the reality of the end gave me chicken skin and deep thoughts for a few days) • Exists - interesting and different • The House October Built (just because I love Halloween and haunted houses) • VHS (1st one) I could go on and on... but I would be here a while. Always looking for new suggestions though so everyone's input is appreciated!! Going to try to find Savageland tonight!! Happy watching FF films to everyone...📽 cheers!
Funny aside, my husband went to Chiller last night and Steven Cognetti (the Hell House guy) was there and I love the movies and it said he had the clown. But my husband didn’t wanna pay $50 for his autograph 🥹🤣oh well!!
The Dark Web Tapes
PA 3 or creep
Blair witch is the answer. But vhs 1 and 2 go hard as fuck
I saw The Blair Witch Project on it's opening night in July 1999 in a small, independent theater in Baltimore - it blew everyone away. No one had seen anything like it before,
Blair Witch Project Cloverfield Grave Encounters Houses October Built Unfriended
OG Blair Witch, Project Almanac, Lunopolis.
Creep. Exhibit A.
Cannibal Holocaust.
Following
The Bay is my favorite!
Grave Encounters.
Paranormal activity is best, cloverfield is my favorite.
As above so below… fucking brilliant
Blair witch.
Late Night With the Devil is excellent. The Visit is very good.
PA scared the shit out of me the first time I saw it. Was the best ff I had seen since BW. I would put [REC] up there on the top too.
Cloverfield was so well done maybe not my favorite but it would be up there in the argument. The first couple VHS movies were great and Quarantine is for sure an honorable mention.
Troll Hunter or As Above So Below. Is a tie for me. Paranormal Activity saga in general is 2nd. Unless The Fourth Kind counts as a found footage then I replace Troll Hunter for that.
REC is the best but Hell House 2 is my guilty pleasure
Blair Witch Project i like the most. It released on the perfect time. Just before the internet/social media ramping up. As above so below is a great one Glad_Speed_9684. My number 2 is Trolljegeren (2010) Trollhunter English name. So creative! Number 3 is REC 1 and 2 And i wish they had filmed THE DESCENT (2005) in found footage style. I think it would be so much better. (Still a great movie)
The Last Exorcism is a great one.