Found Footage Films: 10 Spine-Chilling Facts Revealed

Many movie buffs think The Blair Witch Project was the first found footage horror film to terrify audiences. However, the controversial film, Cannibal Holocaust, is often considered the first in the horror genre. The 1961 film, Connection, is considered the first found footage film outside of horror. This film style found a new fanbase with The Blair Witch Project and the later release of the highly popular Paranormal Activity.

Here are some interesting facts about found footage movies you probably haven’t heard. Be warned, there may be spoilers ahead!

10 The Gallows (2015)

The Gallows wasn’t a hit with viewers or critics, but it still earned a decent profit with $43 million made from its tiny $100,000 budget. This movie is about a high school tragedy during a performance of “The Gallows.” An accident caused student Charlie Grimille to be hanged. The anniversary of this tragedy is then commemorated.

The film is based on a story that filmmaker Chris Lofing’s father told him about a teen who died on stage. According to Lofing’s fellow filmmaker, Travis Cluff, there were other creepy events during and after the production of The Gallows, including accidental hangings in Beatrice, Nebraska, where the film takes place, and around the world.

9 The Devil Inside (2012)

This found footage horror movie is about a woman who gets involved in a series of exorcisms. She is trying to understand what really happened to her mother, who, possessed by a demon, murdered three priests. The movie did well commercially but got bad reviews, mostly because of its controversial ending.

The movie ends with the mother possessed by several demons who then possess the daughter and the people helping her. The man filming a documentary about the mother gets possessed and swerves into oncoming traffic while driving to see an exorcism expert with the daughter. Then a title card appears, saying, “The facts surrounding the Rossi case remain unresolved. For more information about the ongoing investigation visit www.TheRossiFiles.com.”

Critics and viewers were not impressed with the sudden ending, and some called it the worst ending ever.

8 [REC] (2007)

[REC] is a scary Spanish movie that feels like a documentary. It doesn’t have much of a soundtrack. It’s about a news reporter and her cameraman covering a firefighter intervention in Barcelona. They soon realize that a virus is spreading among the people, turning them into zombies. The movie did well, leading to three sequels. An American version, Quarantine, was released in 2008.

The first movie in the series didn’t have a script, and the actors didn’t know what they would be filming each day. By the time the last movie came out, the franchise also had a comic book called REC Historias Ineditas. It has 5 stories that explain where the virus came from that started the first movie.

7 Trollhunter (2010)

Most found footage movies are horror, but some break the mold. Trollhunter is a Norwegian dark fantasy film made as a found footage mockumentary. The movie shows giant trolls that turn to stone when sunlight touches them. The movie is about bear killings and a troll hunter.

Writer-director André Øvredal said in an interview that he always loved the pictures of trolls in a fairytale book his parents used to read to him. He used this as inspiration for the trolls in the movie. The Norwegian government funded much of the film. In 2011, there were plans for an American remake.

6 Unfriended (2014)

Unfriended isn’t exactly ‘found footage’ but more ‘online video chatting’ footage. The movie shows the terrifying results of cyber-bullying. During a press conference in 2015, the filmmakers shared facts about the movie. It was filmed almost like a play in a single take. The script kept changing as they improvised during shooting. The ‘Never Have I Ever’ game was written the day before it was filmed.

Fans thought the movie was based on a true story. The website Snopes had to post an article saying the rumors were false. Screenwriter Nelson Greaves said the movie was based on an idea by producer Timur Bekmambetov, who wanted to “make a movie that’s just on the computer.”

5 The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

The Taking of Deborah Logan is an underrated Netflix movie about a mother and daughter. It tells the story of a film crew documenting a woman (Deborah) with Alzheimer’s who discovers something evil.

As the movie progresses, Deborah’s dementia worsens, and she kidnaps a cancer patient to sacrifice her. Deborah is possessed by an evil spirit who wants to complete the sacrifice to gain immortality. In a shocking scene, Deborah tries to eat the young cancer patient, Cara, like a snake. Her daughter, Sarah, has no choice but to shoot her mother. Deborah doesn’t die, and Sarah comforts her as the movie ends.

Months later, Cara celebrates her tenth birthday, and her cancer is in remission. Her creepy smile makes viewers think she has been possessed by the spirit that was once inside Deborah. Movie fans also believe that the snake represents the changes in Deborah as she spits venom and bites while possessed.

The film’s director, Adam Robitel, has always been terrified of Alzheimer’s and thinks the disease is ‘a pretty organic metaphor for possession.’

4 Jeruzalem (2015)

This Israeli supernatural found footage horror film starts with a quote from the Talmud that says there are three gates to hell: one in the sea, one in the desert, and one in Jerusalem. The movie is about a zombie apocalypse in the Old City and was filmed there. The zombies in the movie are different because they bite and scratch humans to turn them into demons. Some viewers may not have noticed that a Skyrim steel sword was used in a scene where a zombie is stabbed.

Jeruzalem was inspired by the Talmud and had a small budget of $160,000, mostly raised by the producers. Doron Paz and Yoav Paz sold the film to many countries, and in 2016, they announced a sequel that would take place 10 years after the first movie.

3 Megan is Missing (2011)

This disturbing film is about the events leading up to the disappearance of Megan Steward, played by Rachel Quinn. The movie is based on real child abduction cases and was supported by Marc Klaas, the father of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1993.

Megan is Missing was controversial and was banned in New Zealand after being marketed as an educational film. Critics heavily criticized it for sexualizing adolescents and using confrontational violence.

Writer/director Michael Goi knew the film would upset many people and made sure the young cast’s parents were on set during shooting, so they knew what would happen in the controversial scenes. Goi wrote the script in 10 days and filmed it in 7 days. It quickly became known as ‘2011’s scariest horror film’.

2 The Possession of Michael King (2014)

The Possession of Michael King is about a widower who doesn’t believe in supernatural forces. After his wife dies from bad advice from a medium, he offers himself to be possessed by demons to prove that demons, angels, God, or the devil don’t exist. Of course, terrifying scenes happen.

In one scene, Michael sits next to a TV to see his image on the screen while being filmed. He asks himself questions, and when he turns away, his image on the screen seems to turn to face him.

To make the timing perfect, actor Shane Johnson pre-taped part of the scene and played it back. He matched his performance until a certain point, then stopped. From that point, his performance on the TV screen kept going, making it look like the face was separating from Shane’s as it ‘turned to look at him.’

1 As Above, So Below (2014)

As Above, So Below isn’t based on a true story, but the location where it was filmed has a terrifying story.

In the early 90s, a man explored The Catacombs of Paris alone. He never came back, but his camcorder and cassette were found. The footage shows the man panicking when he sees ‘something’ and running. He drops the camcorder, which keeps filming, while the man disappears. The incident was shown in a documentary on ABC Family, which claimed the man disappeared at the entrance to the “Gates of Hell.”

The movie takes viewers into The Catacombs, which are believed to have been built for religious purposes. These underground ossuaries contain the remains of more than six million people and were mostly forgotten until they became a popular location for parties and events in the nineteenth century. Director John Erick called the catacombs “an extremely creepy place” and said, “It really tweaks at the mind.”

Found footage films offer a unique, immersive horror experience, blurring the line between reality and fiction. The genre continues to evolve, finding new ways to scare and intrigue audiences.