The Found Footage Genre
 

So I was watching the movie cloverfield. And I had somehow forgotten that the movie is a found footage film. Then again, it feels like forever since I seen it. Feels like I'm watching for the first time again.

Anyway, when watching it, I remembered that at some point somebody had told me that the found footage genre rarely works. It tends to be a cop out for a film that doesn't have a lot going for it. Don't know if I agree with that. What do you guys think?

I don't agree with the notion that it doesn't work, because i've seen plenty of films in that genre that work really well. I can't think of one off the top of my head, but it was a found footage film (not based on a true story) and I quite liked it. It's a different spin for a movie and I feel like I get a lot more engaged in it.

In the years following Blair Witch it became a cheap gimmick, but I think that like everything else it has the potential to be great. I thought that The Taking of Deborah Leigh, the go pro zombie segment from VHS 2, and Lake Mungo all took a good direction with it.

Can it be good? Sure. The problem isn't the found footage genre though, it's the fact that it became an overused technique simply because it allowed film makers to have an excuse for incredibly lame and bland camera work. I agree with Frown on his list of good examples, but they were, for the most part, well written and gave a reason for why the film is "found footage." I think the V/H/S series is a prime example of how to do found footage right, even though a few segments are kind of lacklustre.

I heard Chronicle was pretty kick-ass. I only saw Clovrfield, though. And I hear Blair Witch wasn't that great. Critics liked it, but I hear its pretty overrated.

Chronicle was okay, yeah. At least far superior to the other stuff Max Landis has written. I'm not a big Blair Witch fan, there's definitely a division of opinions with some people absolutely loving it and others (me) considering it to be one of the most overrated horror movies perhaps of all-time.

Tbh while I wouldn't say I love it, Blair Witch is one of the most overhated films in horror.

Cloverfield was pretty good. My family didn't like it, but I thought it had something going for it. It was well directed, even if it was a little predictable. But I guess what struck me was that it was actually a realistic look on the average bystander's role in a common alien attack rather than the great hero who saves the world.

Eh. Maybe I'm a bit weird. But the hopelessness of the ending is what got me. After watching them go through hell to save this girls life and escape New York that's the ending I get. No happy ending? I think it was a movie in need of a happy ending.

Funny, I just re-watched Cloverfield the other night after finally seeing 10 Cloverfield Lane. Loved it when it first came out and still love it. It's found footage filming done perfectly in my opinion.

Blair Witch was a weird experience. It was pretty groundbreaking at the time of it's release. The ending scene gave me massive goosebumps. Very effective.

There's plenty of good and plenty of bad. Along with Frown's mentions I'll nominate the Poughkeepsie Tapes, As Above So Below, Grave Encounters, and Creep as some other strong examples. And this one's very divisive but I liked Unfriended a lot too, which takes place completely on a girl's computer screen and dialogue happens through messages and Skype

I thought Creep was great.

**** Unfriended but I also enjoyed Creep.

Is that any good?

I'd say it's good but not great. If you're interested in the genre though you should check out basically everything that's been suggested in this thread.