Skip to main content

50 Greatest Found Footage Moments

Scream 2 (1998)

The Moment: Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette) watch a tape in a campus lecture hall, only to discover that it’s footage shot by the Ghostface killer of all of his victims thus far.

Why It's Great: The final shot of this grisly montage is a live feed of Gale and Dewey's backs, signalling that they are the killer’s next intended victims - and he's right behind them.

We got chills.

The Dinosaur Project (2012)

The Moment: Stranded in the Congo while hunting dinosaurs, a group of explorers gets a taste of the wild side when bat-like dinos attack in the night, killing hunter Liz (Natasha Loring).

Why It's Great: From the beginning, it looks like Liz is being set up as a love interest for young stowaway Luke (Matt Kane).

Except then she’s torn limb from limb (off screen, naturally), putting the kibosh on that theory.

Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon (2006)

The Moment: Post-grad documentary filmmaker Taylor (Angela Goethals) narrates to camera, detailing the grisly crimes of legendary serial killers Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger.

She then tells us we’re about to meet the next in-line for the slasher crown…

Why It's Great: The film immediately sets itself up as a slasher with brains, dropping us into a mindfuck world where Myers, Krueger and co are all real.

Quarantine (2008)

The Moment: Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and cameraman Scott Percival (Steve Harris) search the apartment of a member of the doomsday cult.

When Scott pops the camera up into the attic, scoping it out, an infected boy jumps out of nowhere, screaming…

Why It's Great: We all love a good jump scare, and this one’s guaranteed to have you lurching out of your seat.

The Last Horror Movie (2003)

The Moment: The fourth wall is broken as serial killer Max Parry (Kevin Howarth) murders two people, except we hear instead of see the deaths.

“I bet a part of you wanted to see that, and if you didn't, why are you still watching?” teases Parry.

Why It's Great: It’s as much of a comment on horror movies as it is on horror audiences.

Just why do we love watching this stuff?

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

The Moment: In a clear nod to [REC] , Alex’s (Kathryn Newton) movements are caught in POV night vision as she goes to Katie’s house and watches her dad being dragged through the hallways.

Then, just before the closing credits, she’s confronted by a veritable army of demonic women before Katie bears down on her…

Why It's Great: All of the PA movies end on a big blow-out, and this one’s a decent spine-tingler.

My Little Eye (2002)

The Moment: Matt (Sean Cw Johnson) unexpectedly talks to camera before smothering Charlie (Jennifer Sky) with a plastic bag.

Why It's Great: It signals the film’s spiral into seriously brutal territory, with Matt hacking his way through the other contestants in suitably messy fashion.

Apollo 18 (2011)

The Moment: Our last snippet of space footage takes Apollo 18 out in style as astronaut Anderson (Warren Christie) enters Earth’s orbit, only for the reduced gravity to make small moon rocks in the spacecraft float.

Except they aren’t just rocks, they’re alien creatures…

Why It's Great: Like most found footage movies, Apollo 18 is all about the slow burn and the big pay-off.

And it doesn’t get much bigger than rock aliens…

Grave Encounters (2011)

The Moment: With Matt (Juan Riedinger) missing, the film crew make their way through the hospital.

On their way, they encounter a girl who turns to look at them, her face contorting horribly…

Why It's Great: It’s one of the film’s most memorably creepy images, and the last thing you’re expecting.

The Fourth Kind (2009)

The Moment: Dr Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) visits Scott Stracinsky (Enzo Cilenti), who’s bed-bound and ranting like a loon.

He suddenly sits up in bed, screaming, and levitates off the mattress…

Why It's Great: The film’s not exactly subtle, and this is one of its finer moments, not least because Cilenti really sells it.