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Found Footage for Beginners: 15 Essential Films

Found footage tells its story through cameras that exist inside the film: lost tapes, home videos, news footage, webcams and video calls. It can look raw, cheap or shaky - but at its best it is the most immersive kind of fear there is.

If you are new to the genre, start with these 15. We picked the films that show up again and again in fan rankings on Letterboxd and in critics' lists, and made sure they cover almost every style: a fake live broadcast, lost tapes in the woods, haunted houses, possession, catacombs, video calls and curses. They are listed in release order.

  1. 01

    Ghostwatch (1992)

    Directed by Lesley Manning · 1h 31m

    A fake live BBC broadcast from "the most haunted house in Britain" that fooled a nation on Halloween 1992. The BBC received around 30,000 calls and never showed it again.

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  2. 02

    The Blair Witch Project (1999)

    Directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez · 1h 21m

    The film that made found footage a worldwide phenomenon. Three students, a camera and the woods - it still shows how much fear you can create with almost nothing.

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  3. 03

    Noroi: The Curse (2005)

    Directed by Koji Shiraishi · 1h 55m

    A Japanese mockumentary that pieces together seemingly unrelated cases into one creeping curse. Slow, layered and deeply unsettling - a cult favourite for good reason.

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  4. 04

    Paranormal Activity (2007)

    Directed by Oren Peli · 1h 26m

    A couple, a bedroom and a camera on a tripod. Its static night-time shots turned a tiny indie film into a huge horror franchise.

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  5. 05

    [REC] (2007)

    Directed by Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza · 1h 18m

    Spanish horror at its most relentless: a TV crew trapped in a sealed-off Barcelona apartment building. Short, loud and terrifying from start to finish.

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  6. 06

    Cloverfield (2008)

    Directed by Matt Reeves · 1h 25m

    A monster attacks New York, seen from the ground through one handheld camera from a farewell party. The blockbuster version of found footage.

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  7. 07

    Lake Mungo (2008)

    Directed by Joel Anderson · 1h 27m

    Less scary than haunting: a grieving family, a documentary and secrets hidden in photos and videos. Quiet, sad and impossible to forget.

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  8. 08

    The Borderlands (2013)

    Directed by Elliot Goldner · 1h 29m

    A Vatican team investigates a reported miracle at a remote English church, with head cameras running around the clock. A slow-burning British fan favourite, released in the US as Final Prayer.

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  9. 09

    V/H/S/2 (2013)

    Directed by Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sánchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener · 1h 36m

    Four cursed tapes, including a cyclist's helmet-cam zombie outbreak and a documentary crew inside an Indonesian cult. Often named the strongest entry of the V/H/S series.

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  10. 10

    Creep (2014)

    Directed by Patrick Brice · 1h 18m

    A videographer, a cabin and a very strange client. A small, uncomfortable character study that shows how scary an overly friendly person can be.

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  11. 11

    As Above, So Below (2014)

    Directed by John Erick Dowdle · 1h 33m

    An expedition into the bone-lined catacombs beneath Paris in search of the philosopher's stone. Claustrophobic, fast and a real crowd-pleaser.

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  12. 12

    The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)

    Directed by Adam Robitel · 1h 30m

    A student crew documents an elderly woman's struggle with Alzheimer's - until her illness stops being the only thing taking hold of her. One of the creepiest possession films in the format.

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  13. 13

    Hell House LLC (2015)

    Directed by Stephen Cognetti · 1h 33m

    The footage behind a Halloween haunted-house attraction that ended in tragedy. One of the most talked-about indie found footage films, and the start of a whole series.

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  14. 14

    Host (2020)

    Directed by Rob Savage · 57m

    Friends hold a séance on a video call during lockdown - and something answers. Under an hour long and scarier than most films twice its length.

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  15. 15

    Incantation (2022)

    Directed by Kevin Ko · 1h 51m

    A mother who broke a religious taboo asks you, the viewer, for help. One of the most disturbing found footage films of recent years, and a Netflix hit.

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More lists

12 filmsBest of the 2020sOur picks for the best found footage films of the 2020s so far, from a séance on a video call to lost tapes in the desert and a talk show gone to hell.19 filmsAround the WorldFound footage isn't just American: haunted asylums in South Korea, curses in Japan and Taiwan, trolls in Norway and lost tapes from Spain to Chile.17 filmsBeyond HorrorFound footage isn't only horror. Superpowers, moon landings, wild parties, war dramas and screen thrillers - the best non-horror films told through cameras inside the story.16 filmsScreenlife MoviesFilms that play out entirely on computer and phone screens: video calls, livestreams, chats and webcams. From The Collingswood Story and Unfriended to Searching and Host.20 filmsThe 20 ScariestThe scariest found footage movies, ranked by how often they appear across 14 critics' and fan rankings - from The Blair Witch Project and Lake Mungo to [REC], Noroi and Host.17 filmsAlien Found FootageThe best found footage movies about aliens and UFOs: alien abductions, strange lights in the sky, close encounters and missions into space - from The McPherson Tape to Phoenix Forgotten.18 filmsGhost HuntingFound footage movies about ghost hunters, paranormal TV crews and livestreamers who spend the night in haunted places - from Ghostwatch and Grave Encounters to Gonjiam and Deadstream.14 filmsMonsters and CryptidsFound footage monster movies: Bigfoot, trolls, cryptids and creatures caught on camera - from Cloverfield and Trollhunter to Willow Creek, Exists and Frogman.15 filmsInspired by True EventsFound footage movies inspired by real events and real places: the Dyatlov Pass incident, the Phoenix Lights, the Cecil Hotel, the Rendlesham UFO sighting and more.14 filmsLost in the WoodsFound footage horror set in the woods: camping trips, cabins and forests where something is watching - from The Blair Witch Project to Willow Creek, Exists and Crone Wood.