Found footage (film technique)

Not to be confused with Found footage (appropriation).

An example of a found footage film frame

Found footage is a cinematic technique and film genre in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work, improvisation and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.

The most common use of the technique is in horror films such as The Blair Witch Project , The Last Broadcast , Cannibal Holocaust , Paranormal Activity , Diary of the Dead , Rec , Cloverfield , Trollhunter , V/H/S, Incantation , Be My Cat: A Film for Anne , As Above, So Below , Lake Mungo or Late Night with the Devil , in which the footage is purported to be the only surviving record of the events, with the participants now missing or dead. It has also been used in science fiction such as Chronicle , Project Almanac or Europa Report , drama such as Zero Day and Exhibit A , comedy such as Project X , crime mockumentary such as Trailer Park Boys , family such as Earth to Echo , experimental arthouse such as The Connection , The Outwaters or Masking Threshold and war films such as 84C MoPic .

Some pseudo-documentary films such as Lake Mungo or Noroi: The Curse , most screenlife films such as Unfriended , its sequel Dark Web , Profile or Searching, a few POV films such as Hardcore Henry or Presence, most livestream and "live TV" films such as Ghostwatch , as well as films where the footage is presented as originating from surveillance or dashboard cameras such as Taxi or Spree, are also often considered to fall under the found footage umbrella, despite the fact that technically the footage is not presented as "lost and found", but only as long as the camera is implied to be a part of the film and not a fourth wall the way it is in traditional films. ^{[1] [2]}

History

As a storytelling technique, found footage has precedents in literature, particularly in the trope of found manuscript, ^[3] as well as epistolary novel, which typically consists of either correspondence or diary entries, purportedly written by a character central to the events. Like found footage, the epistolary technique has often been employed in horror fiction: both Dracula and Frankenstein are epistolary novels, as is The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft.

Italian director Ruggero Deodato revolutionized the found footage style of narrative filmmaking with Cannibal Holocaust (1980), the first horror film using this technique.

In filmmaking, the 1980 cult horror feature Cannibal Holocaust is often claimed to be the first example of found footage. ^[4] However, Shirley Clarke's arthouse film The Connection (1961) and the Orson Welles directed The Other Side of the Wind , a found footage movie shot in the early 1970s but released in 2018, predate Cannibal Holocaust. ^[5] Les Documents Interdits(1989), segment titled “The Ferguson Case” has recently surfaced to be seen as one of the first examples to feature the found-footage style in a horror setting. Specifically its use of the footage being found in a scenario where the people who have shot it have gone missing from the circumstances at hand. This style predating films The Blair Witch Project (1999) and The Last Broadcast (1998) who popularized the genre style by nearly a decade. ^[6] America's Deadliest Home Video (1991), remains a potent use of the format as well as an unsung groundbreaker in the found-footage field - an ahead-of-its-time application of the vérité-video form to the horror/crime genre. ^[7] The device was popularised by The Blair Witch Project (1999). ^[8] Found footage has since been used in other commercially successful films, including Paranormal Activity (2007), Rec (2007), Cloverfield (2008), Chronicle (2012), Creep (2014) and Late Night with the Devil (2024). ^[9] Reviewing V/H/S for The A.V. Club , Scott Tobias notes that the genre "has since become to the '00s and '10s what slasher movies were to the '80s." ^[10]

The genre appeals to some film producers because of its lower cost, as it is believed the illusion of amateur documentary style allows lower production values than would be accepted on a conventional film. Other filmmakers choose it for creative reasons.

Writer-director Christopher B. Landon, who has made several found footage horror films, as well as filmmaker Adrian Țofei in his found footage manifesto, posit that the genre is likely to successfully extend outside horror in the future. ^{[11] [2]}

Analysis

Found-footage films typically employ one or more of six cinematic techniques—first-person perspective, pseudo-documentary, mockumentary, news footage, surveillance footage, or screenlife—according to an analysis of 500 found-footage films conducted by Found Footage Critic. ^[12]

The film magazine Variety has used the term "faux found-footage" to describe the technique. Film scholar David Bordwell criticizes the usage, arguing that it sows confusion, and instead prefers the term "discovered footage" for the narrative gimmick. ^[13]

According to filmmaker Adrian Țofei in his found footage manifesto, a found footage film is technically a pseudo-documentary or fake documentary film, in which all or a substantial part of the picture is presented as being composed of recordings of real life events, seen through cameras that are part of the events. He defines found footage as a "filmmaking concept" with the goal of giving audiences the illusion that they're not watching a movie made by filmmakers and actors, but genuine life events recorded by people like them who were part of the events, which would allow audiences to be fully immersed in the movie experience. ^[2]

In a 2016 article for Cinema Journal, Cecilia Sayad explores the relationship between the found footage genre and reality. She asserts that the genre’s metaphorical framing, convincing audiences that films contain true unscripted footage, and its technical framing, mimicking amateur home videos and security footage, are key to what creates fear in the audience, dissolving the traditional boundaries between what is part of the film and real life. ^[14]

Sayad highlights how the found footage genre invites the audience to “to anxiously scan the image for threatening presences”, blurring the boundary between what is on screen and what is real. For example, The Paranormal Activity series’ inclusion of the timestamps on each clip of footage “empowers the audience”, encouraging watchers to analyze evidence in real time. ^[14] Typical found footage techniques, like shaky handheld sequences and sudden zooms, create the illusion that the camera frame is unable to contain the evil of any film’s antagonist to the screen. The selective choice to not center major action sequences on camera, like during the climax of the Paranormal Activity (2007), also contributes to this effect. Sayad notes that “the sense of lurking danger is enhanced as much by our fear about seeing things as by our anxiety about what we do not see”. ^[14]

Importantly, Sayad notes that there is an important distinction between found footage horror films and other “self-aware” horror films, like 1996’s Scream . She writes,

“Scream is pastiche of classics packages the film as artifice, keeping the relationship between movies and reality safely locked in the realm of fiction. The found-footage movie, in contrast, presents itself as real, whereas its characteristically unstable camera work suggests that the film can neither lock things in nor keep them out. ^[14]

Examples

Films

For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Found footage films and Category:Found footage films about psychopaths and sociopaths.

The following entries are notable films in the found footage genre, though some were only partially made in that style.

Title	Release year	Director(s)	Production company	Ref(s)
The Connection	1961	Shirley Clarke	The Connection Company
Coming Apart	1969	Milton Moses Ginsberg	Kaleidoscope Films
Cannibal Holocaust	1980	Ruggero Deodato	F.D. Cinematografica
Special Bulletin	1983	Edward Zwick	Ohlmeyer Communications Company
Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment	1985	Satoru Ogura	Sai Enterprise
UFO Abduction	1989	Dean Alioto	IndieSyndicate Productions
84C MoPic		Patrick Sheane Duncan	New Century Vista Film Company
Man Bites Dog	1993	Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde	Les Artistes Anonymes
Forgotten Silver	1995	Peter Jackson	WingNut Films
Little Sister		Robert Jan Westdijk	Grote Broer Filmwerken CV
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County	1998	Dean Alioto	Dick Clark Productions
The Last Broadcast		Stefan Avalos Lance Weiler	FFM Productions
The Blair Witch Project	1999	Daniel Myrick Eduardo Sánchez	Haxan Films
The St. Francisville Experiment	2000	Ted Nicolaou	The Kushner-Locke Company
Gang Tapes	2001	Adam Ripp	Lionsgate
August Underground		Fred Vogel	Absu Films Toetag Pictures
The Collingswood Story	2002	Mike Costanza	Cinerebel Media
August Underground's Mordum	2003	Fred Vogel Killjoy Cristie Whiles Jerami Cruise Michael T. Schneider	Toetag Pictures
The Great American Snuff Film		Sean Tretta	Ominous Productions
The Last Horror Movie		Julian Richards	Prolific Films Snakehair Productions
Zero Day		Ben Coccio	Professor Bright Films
Incident at Loch Ness	2004	Zak Penn	Eden Rock Media
September Tapes		Christian Johnston	Complex Films Raz Productions Raz Entertainment Persistent Entertainment
LolliLove		Jenna Fischer	LolliLove Productions
Noroi: The Curse	2005	Kōji Shiraishi	Xanadeux Company
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon	2006	Scott Glosserman	GlenEcho Entertainment Code Entertainment
Alone with Her		Eric Nicholas	Pin Hole Productions LLC The Weinstein Company
The Zombie Diaries		Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett	Off World Films Bleeding Edge Films
State's Evidence		Benjamin Louis	Terra Entertainment
The Hunt	2007	Fritz Kiersch	Graymark Productions Azisa Pictures
Welcome to the Jungle		Jonathan Hensleigh	Steelbridge Film Works Bauer Martinez Studios Valhalla Motion Pictures
The Poughkeepsie Tapes		John Erick Dowdle	Brothers Dowdle Productions Poughkeepsie Films
August Underground's Penance		Fred Vogel	Toetag Pictures
Redacted		Brian De Palma	Magnolia Pictures
Long Pigs		Chris Power	Clowns After Midnight Productions Jordan Entertainment Chris Bridges Effects Studio
Head Case		Anthony Spadaccini	Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc.
Exhibit A		Dom Rotheroe	Warp Films
Paranormal Activity		Oren Peli	Blumhouse Productions
Death of a Ghost Hunter		Sean Tretta	Ominous Productions
Live!		Bill Guttentag	Atlas Entertainment
Rec		Jaume Balagueró Paco Plaza	Castelao Producciones Filmax
Look		Adam Rifkin	Captured Films
Surf's Up		Ash Brannon Chris Buck	Sony Pictures Animation	[15]
Monster	2008	Erik Estenberg	The Asylum
Cloverfield		Matt Reeves	Bad Robot
Diary of the Dead		George A. Romero	Artfire Films Romero-Grunwald Productions
Lake Mungo		Joel Anderson	Screen Australia
Home Movie		Christopher Denham	Modernciné
Bryan Loves You		Seth Landau	Seth Landau
Quarantine		John Erick Dowdle	Vertigo Entertainment Andale Pictures Filmax Entertainment
Occult	2009	Kōji Shiraishi	Image Rings Creative Axa Company Ltd.
Evil Things		Dominic Perez	Go Show Media
District 9		Neill Blomkamp	QED International WingNut Films
The Ritual		Anthony Spadaccini	Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc.
Trash Humpers		Harmony Korine	Alcove Entertainment Warp Films O' Salvation
Rec 2		Jaume Balagueró Paco Plaza	Castelao Producciones Filmax
Murder Collection V.1		Fred Vogel	Toetag Pictures	[16]
Paranormal Entity		Shane Van Dyke	The Asylum
Bachiatari Bōryoku Ningen	2010	Kōji Shiraishi	Creative AXA
Lunopolis		Matthew Avant	Media Savant
Love Sex aur Dhokha		Dibakar Banerjee	Freshwater Films
Eyes in the Dark		Bjorn Anderson	Emerald City Pictures
Hotel Hollywood		Param Gill	G S Productions
Shirome		Kōji Shiraishi	Stardust Promotion Shirome Project Partners
The Last Exorcism		Daniel Stamm	Strike Entertainment StudioCanal Arcade Pictures
Undocumented		Chris Peckover	Sheperd Glen Productions
The Virginity Hit		Huck Botko Andrew Gurland	Gary Sanchez Productions
8213: Gacy House		Anthony Fankhauser	The Asylum
Atrocious		Fernando Barreda Luna	Nabu Films Silencio Rodamos Programa Ibermedia
Paranormal Activity 2		Tod Williams	Blumhouse Productions
Trollhunter		André Øvredal	Filmkameratene A/S Film Fund FUZZ
Unaware		Sean Bardin Robert Cooley	Cooley Productions
Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night		Toshikazu Nagae	Presidio Corporation
Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes	2011	Jude Gerard Prest	The Asylum
The Tunnel		Carlo Ledesma	DLSHS Film Distracted Media Zapruder's Other Films
Megan Is Missing		Michael Goi	Trio Pictures
Grave Encounters		The Vicious Brothers	Twin Engine Films
World of the Dead: The Zombie Diaries 2		Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett	Off World Films Bleeding Edge Films Straightwire Entertainment Group
Hollow		Michael Axelgaard	Hollow Pictures Tribeca Film
Untitled		Shaun Troke	Shaunywa Films
Apollo 18		Gonzalo López-Gallego	Bazelevs
The Tapes		Scott Bates Lee Alliston	Darkside Pictures Pure Film Productions
Paranormal Activity 3		Henry Joost Ariel Schulman	Blumhouse
The Amityville Haunting		Geoff Meed	The Asylum Taut Productions
Chō Akunin		Kōji Shiraishi	Tokyo Raiders
The Devil Inside	2012	William Brent Bell	Insurge Pictures
V/H/S		Ti West Joe Swanberg David Buckner Adam Wingard Glenn McQuaid	Radio Silence Productions The Collective Bloody Disgusting
Area 407		Dale Fabrigar Everette Wallin	Suzanne DeLaurentiis Productions Cloud Nine Pictures Entertainment Factory
Chronicle		Josh Trank	Davis Entertainment
Project X		Nima Nourizadeh	Silver Pictures Green Hat Films
Evidence		Howie Askins	RynoRyder Productions
Hate Crime		James Cullen Bressack	Psykik Junky Pictures
Apartment 143		Carles Torrens	Werc Werk Works Kasdan Pictures Likely Story
100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck		Martin Anderson	The Asylum
The Dinosaur Project		Sid Bennett	Moonlighting Films
Shopping Tour		Michael Brashinsky	Duty-Free Productions	[17]
A Night in the Woods		Richard Parry	Vertigo Films
End of Watch		David Ayer	StudioCanal
The Conspiracy		Christopher MacBride	Resolute Films and Entertainment
Grave Encounters 2		John Poliquin	Arclight Films
Paranormal Activity 4		Henry Joost Ariel Schulman	Room 101
The Bay		Barry Levinson	Lionsgate
A Haunted House	2013	Michael Tiddes	Open Road Films
The Upper Footage		Justin Cole
Dabbe: Curse of the Jinn		Hasan Karacadağ	Hasan Karacadağ
Devil's Pass		Renny Harlin	Aldamisa Entertainment Non-Stop Productions Midnight Sun Pictures K. Jam Media
The Frankenstein Theory		Andrew Weiner	Rocket Inner Station Therapy Content Arctic Film Group
Cult		Kōji Shiraishi
Willow Creek		Bobcat Goldthwait	Jerkschool Productions
V/H/S/2		Simon Barrett Jason Eisener Gareth Evans Gregg Hale Eduardo Sánchez Timo Tjahjanto Adam Wingard	The Collective Bloody Disgusting 8383 Productions Snoot Entertainment Haxan Films Yer Dead Productions
Europa Report		Sebastián Cordero	Wayfare Entertainment Ventures
The Borderlands		Elliot Goldner	Metrodome Distribution
The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill		Kevin Gates Michael Bartlett	Second Sight Films
Head Cases: Serial Killers in the Delaware Valley		Anthony Spadaccini	Fleet Street Films B.P.A. Productions Group, Inc.
The Dirties		Matt Johnson	SModcast Pictures
Frankenstein's Army		Richard Raaphorst	Dark Sky Films Pellicola XYZ Films
Sx Tape		Bernard Rose	Aeroplano La.Lune Entertainment
Hooked Up		Pablo Larcuen	Uncork'd Entertainment
WNUF Halloween Special		Chris LaMartina James Branscome Shawn Jones Scott Maccubbin Lonnie Martin Matthew Menter Andy Schoeb	Midnight Crew Studios
Skinwalker Ranch		Devin McGinn Steve Berg	DeepStudios
6-5=2		KS Ashoka	Swarnalatha Production	[18]
Best Night Ever		Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer	Magnet Releasing
What We Do in the Shadows	2014	Jemaine Clement Taika Waititi	Resnick Interactive Development Unison Films Defender Films New Zealand Film Commission
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones		Christopher Landon	Paramount Pictures
Devil's Due		Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Tyler Gillett	Davis Entertainment Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Black Water Vampire		Evan Tramel	BWV Productions Ruthless Pictures
Exists		Eduardo Sánchez	Lionsgate Haxan Films Court Five
The Den		Zachary Donohue	Cliffbrook Films Onset Films
Mr. Jones		Karl Mueller	Preferred Content Preferred Film & TV
Open Windows		Nacho Vigalondo	Antena 3 Films Apaches Entertainment Spiderwood Studios Wild Bunch SpectreVision
The Den		Zachary Donohue	Cliffbrook Films Onset Films
Afflicted		Derek Lee Clif Prowse	Automatik Entertainment Téléfilm Canada
Babysitting		Nicolas Benamou Philippe Lacheau	Axel Films Madame Films Cinéfrance 1888 Good Lap Production
A Haunted House 2		Michael Tiddes	IM Global Octane Wayans Bros. Entertainment Baby Way Productions
The Sacrament		Ti West	Worldview Entertainment Arcade Pictures
Alien Abduction		Matty Beckerman	Exclusive Media Group Big Picture Next Entertainment Lawrence Bender Productions Mob Scene Creative Productions
Inner Demons		Seth Grossman	Schorr Pictures
Earth to Echo		Dave Green	Relativity Media
Into the Storm		Steven Quale	New Line Cinema Village Roadshow Pictures
The Possession of Michael King		David Jung	Gold Circle Films Quickfire Films
As Above, So Below		John Erick Dowdle	Universal Pictures Legendary Pictures
The Hunted		Josh Stewart	Fortress Features Allegheny Image Factory
The Houses October Built		Bobby Roe	Room 101 Foreboding Films
Gore, Quebec		Jean Benoit Lauzon	Green Lake Films	[19]
The Taking of Deborah Logan		Adam Robitel	Eagle Films Millennium Entertainment
Hangar 10		Daniel Simpson	Newscope Films
V/H/S: Viral		Nacho Vigalondo Marcel Sarmiento Gregg Bishop Justin Benson Todd Lincoln	Bloody Disgusting The Collective Haxan Films
The Pyramid		Grégory Levasseur	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
The Atticus Institute	2015	Chris Sparling	SND Groupe M6
Project Almanac		Dean Israelite	Insurge Pictures Platinum Dunes MTV Films
Ratter		Branden Kramer	Start Motion Pictures
Digging Up the Marrow		Adam Green	Ariescope Pictures
Creep		Patrick Brice	Blumhouse Productions
Nightlight		Scott Beck Bryan Woods	Herrick Entertainment	[20]
The Final Project		Taylor Ri'chard	Cavu Pictures	[21]
Unfriended		Levan Gabriadze	Universal Studios Blumhouse Productions
Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story		James Moran	Mosaic Good Universe GraceSam LLC
Area 51		Oren Peli	Paramount Pictures
The Phoenix Incident		Keith Arem	PCB Productions
The Cutting Room		Warren Dudley	Itchy Fish Film
The Gallows		Travis Cluff Chris Lofing	New Line Cinema Blumhouse Productions Management 360 Tremendum Pictures
JeruZalem		Doron Paz Yoav Paz	Universal Pictures
The Visit		M. Night Shyamalan	Blinding Edge Pictures Blumhouse Productions Universal Pictures
Hell House LLC		Stephen Cognetti	Cognetti Films
Savageland		Phil Guidry Simon Herbert David Whelan	The Massive Film Company
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension		Gregory Plotkin	Paramount Pictures
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne		Adrian Țofei	Adrian Țofei
Unlisted Owner	2016	Jed Brian	Lawford County Productions
Aksbandh		Emran Hussain	Cinematic Media
Population Zero		Adam Levins	A71 Entertainment
Operation Avalanche		Matt Johnson	Vice Films
Blair Witch		Adam Wingard	Lionsgate Pictures
Capture Kill Release		Nick McAnulty Brian Allan Stewart
The Dark Tapes	2017	Michael McQuown	Epic Pictures Group
Phoenix Forgotten		Justin Barber	Cinelou Films Scott Free Productions
The Houses October Built 2		Bobby Roe	Foreboding Films
#FromJennifer		Frank Merle	Lone Morsel Productions
Found Footage 3D		Steven DeGennaro	The Ubiquitous Studio 42
Creep 2		Patrick Brice	Blumhouse Productions Netflix
One Cut of the Dead		Shin'ichirō Ueda	Enbu Seminar
Unfriended: Dark Web	2018	Stephen Susco	BH Productions Universal Studios
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum		Jung Bum-shik	Hive Mediacorp
The Devil's Doorway		Aislinn Clarke	23ten
The Other Side of the Wind		Orson Welles	Royal Road Entertainment
Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel		Stephen Cognetti	Terror Films Cognetti Films
Butterfly Kisses		Erik Kristopher Myers	Four-Fingered Films Cyfuno Ventures
Death of a Vlogger	2019	Graham Hughes
Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire		Stephen Cognetti	Terror Films Cognetti Films
Insanity	2020	Miska Kajanus	Piilo Productions Black Lion Pictures	[22]
Hacksaw		Anthony Leone	Leone Films
Host		Rob Savage	Shadowhouse Films Shudder
Human Hibachi		Mario Cerrito
M.O.M. Mothers of Monsters		Tucia Lyman
Spree		Eugene Kotlyarenko	RLJE Films
Scary Stories: Dark Web		Bryan Renaud	Random Acts
The Widow		Ivan Minin	QS Films
Horror in the High Desert	2021	Dutch Marich	Luminol Entertainment Maya Aerials
Curse of Aurore		Mehran C. Torgoley	Cult Cinema Productions
The Medium		Banjong Pisanthanakun	GDH 559 Showbox
Vazhiye		Nirmal Baby Varghese	Casablanca Film Factory
Untitled Horror Movie		Nick Simon	Bronwyn Cornelius Productions Spectrum Studios Anarchy Post
Fresh Hell		Ryan Imhoff Matt Neal	Purr Boy Productions
V/H/S/94		Jennifer Reeder Chloe Okuno Simon Barrett Timo Tjahjanto Ryan Prows	Radio Silence Productions Bloody Disgusting Films Shudder Original Films Cinepocalypse Productions Studio71 Raven Banner Entertainment
Dwellers		Drew Fortier	Ellefson Films
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin		William Eubank	Paramount Pictures
Dashcam		Rob Savage	Blumhouse Productions
Masking Threshold		Johannes Grenzfurthner	Monochrom
Incantation	2022	Kevin Ko
The Outwaters		Robbie Banfitch	5100 Films Fathom Film Company	[23] [24]
LOLA		Andrew Legge	Cowtown Pictures
Everybody Dies by the End		Ian Tripp Ryan Schafer	Children of Celluoid
Razzennest		Johannes Grenzfurthner	Monochrom
Deadstream		Joseph Hunter	Winterspectre Entertainment Cook Filmworks Stonehaven Entertainment
V/H/S/99		Johannes Roberts Vanessa & Joseph Winter Maggie Levin Tyler MacIntyre Flying Lotus	Bloody Disgusting Soapbox Films Cinepocalypse Productions Radio Silence Productions Studio71 Shudder Original Films
Vazhiye		Nirmal Baby Varghese	Casablanca Film Factory
Late Night with the Devil	2023	Colin Cairnes Cameron Cairnes	Image Nation Abu Dhabi VicScreen AGC Studios Cinetic Media Good Fiend Films Future Pictures Spooky Pictures
Blue Hour: The Disappearance of Nick Brandreth		Dan Bowhers	Glass House Distribution
Livescreamers		Michelle Iannantuono	Octopunk Media
V/H/S/85		David Bruckner Scott Derrickson Gigi Saul Guerrero Natasha Kermani Mike P. Nelson	Bloody Disgusting Cinepocalypse Productions Radio Silence Productions Studio71 Shudder Original Films
Invoking Yell		Patricio Valladares	Welcome Villain
Hostile Dimensions		Graham Hughes	Enlightened Monster
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor		Stephen Cognetti	Cognetti Films Marylous' Boys
Solvent	2024	Johannes Grenzfurthner	Monochrom
V/H/S/Beyond		Jordan Downey Christian Long Justin Long Justin Martinez Virat Pal Kate Siegel Jay Cheel	Bloody Disgusting Cinepocalypse Productions Radio Silence Productions Studio71 Shudder Original Films
Footage		Saiju Sreedharan	Bineesh Chandran Saiju Sreedharan
Hunting Matthew Nichols		Markian Tarasiuk	Dropshock Pictures
Strange Harvest		Stuart Ortiz
Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital		Kerwin Go	Reality MM Studios Creative Leaders Group 8
Bloat	2025	Pablo Absento	Bazelevs Company Flag Overland Pictures Pulsar Content XYZ Films
V/H/S/Halloween		Bryan M. Ferguson Casper Kelly Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman Alex Ross Perry Paco Plaza Anna Zlokovic	Bloody Disgusting Radio Silence Productions Shudder Original Films

TV series, made-for-TV specials and TV episodes

• Alternative 3 (1977)
• Without Warning (1994)
• Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?) (1995)
• Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998) – UPN aired a 60-minute version with more interviews
• Godzilla: The Series , episode: "S.C.A.L.E." (2000). Though animated, the episode has no background music and alternates between footage from various security cameras.
• Jeopardy (2002) (BBC series)
• Ed, Edd n Eddy , episode: "An Ed is Born". In this episode where Eddy decides to make a home movie of himself to show his brother how 'grown up' he has become by using Ed's video camera. (2002) ^{[note 1]}
• The Comeback (2003) (series)
• Flag (2006)
• Lost Tapes (2008–2010) (series)
• The River (2012) (series)
• The Simpsons , episode: Treehouse of Horror XXIII (2012). The 2nd segment "Unnormal Activity" is a parody of the Paranormal Activity franchise.
• Ultimate Spider-Man , episode: "Exclusive" (2012) ^{[note 1]}
• Lassie Jerky, an episode of Psych that was partially filmed as found footage (2013)
• Sleep No More , the ninth episode of Doctor Who Series 9 (2015)
• American Horror Story: Roanoke (2016) (FX series)
• Steven Universe , episode: "The Big Show" (2018) ^{[note 1]}
• Inside No. 9 , episode: "Cold Comfort". A story about a call centre, told through the CCTV camera. (2018)
• Clarence , episode: "Clarence The Movie" (2018) ^{[note 1]}
• Succession : Main title theme (2018–2023) (HBO series)

Music videos

• "Drag the Waters" by Pantera (1996)
• "Babalon A.D." by Cradle of Filth (2003)
• "Decency Defied" by Cannibal Corpse (2004)
• "Walk with Me in Hell" by Lamb of God (2006)
• "Dull Boy" by Mudvayne (2007)
• "Beauty and a Beat" by Justin Bieber ft. Nicki Minaj (2012)
• "I Need Your Love" by Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding (2012)
• "Run on Love" by Tove Lo ft. Lucas Nord (2013)
• "One Last Time" by Ariana Grande (2015)
• "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran (2015)
• "Run Away with Me" by Carly Rae Jepsen (2015)
• "All Night" by The Vamps (2016)
• "All We Know" by The Chainsmokers ft. Phoebe Ryan (2016)
• "Galway Girl" by Ed Sheeran (2017)
• "What Lovers Do" (Lyric Video) by Maroon 5 ft. SZA (2017)
• "Christmas Tree Farm" by Taylor Swift (2019)
• "Nobody's Love" by Maroon 5 (2020)
• "Glimpse of Us" by Joji (2022)

Web series

• Backrooms (2022–present)
• Ben Drowned (2010–2012; 2020)
• Gemini Home Entertainment (2019–present)
• GREYLOCK (2023–present)
• Local 58 (2015–present)
• Petscop (2017–2019)
• No Through Road (2009–2012) ^{[25] [26]}
• Marble Hornets (2009–2014)
• The Mandela Catalogue (2021–present)

See also

• Analog horror
• Cinéma vérité
• Epistolary novel
• Fictional book
• Hoax
• Mockumentary
• Point-of-view cinema
• Pseudo-documentary
• Screenlife

Notes

1. Though the episode was animated, it is done in the style of found footage.

References

1. "100 Best Found Footage Movies". editorial.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
2. "Found Footage Manifesto". Adrian Țofei • Official Site. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
3. Sawczuk, Tomasz (2020). "Taking Horror as You Find It: From Found Manuscripts to Found Footage Aesthetics". Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture (10): 223–235. ISSN   2083-2931.
4. "Visual Trends: A History of the Found Footage Genre". Videomaker. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
5. McBride, Joseph (2017-03-17). "Before the Beginning and After the End: An Insider's Look at the Saga of 'The Other Side of the Wind'". Wellesnet | Orson Welles Web Resource. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
6. ‘WATCH CAREFULLY WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN’: LES DOCUMENTS INTERDITS (1989-1991) AND THE INTERROGATION OF FRANCE’S CULTURAL MEMORY
7. Editorial: DVD Review: America's Deadliest HomeVideo - Fangoria
8. Eggertsen, Chris. "From 'Blair Witch' to 'Project Almanac': A history of the found footage genre". HitFix . Retrieved 22 February 2016.
9. "Editorial: An Apologist's Rant: In Defense of Found Footage". Dread Central. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
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External links

• Top 100 Best Found Footage Movies on Rotten Tomatoes
• The 22 Best Found Footage Movies on IndieWire
• 10 Terrifying Found Footage Films (and 5 That Should’ve Stayed Lost) on Variety
• The 25 best found footage movies of all time on Entertainment Weekly
• 10 great found-footage films at the British Film Institute
• Found Footage Horror Reviews at Category:Found footage films