REVIEW: The Found Footage Phenomenon (2021): A solid look at this genre of horror films.

Come along and join me, I'm ready to dig into this genre. There are so many films that encompass this style.

Have you ever found a random film reel lying in the woods covered in dirt and leaves? Perhaps an unmarked VHS tape was left on a park bench? You might have even stumbled across a beat up looking USB flash drive with strange writing on it spelling out 'WATCH ME'.

Whatever the case may be this is what's considered found footage and it's a well known genre for the horror aficionado. Bring along your suspension of disbelief as it's required even though it might say "Based on real events".

The Found Footage Phenomenon (2021) is a new documentary coming from Sarah Appleton and Phillip Escott. A shudder original documentary as it's being touted. For those that don't know Shudder is a streaming service for horror lovers and is apparently owned by AMC Networks, this I wasn't aware of until now.

Here's a talking head name Oren Peli. You may not know him but you might have heard of a little film called Paranormal Activity.

As with any documentary we have the obligatory talking heads and there are many to be found from the genre in this one that stretches across the decades. All the heavy hitters are making an appearance including The Last Broadcast, The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity to name a few of the big well known films and many smaller or obscure ones along the way.

The anecdotes are what pull me into these films about film which is a whole genre of documentaries I love to watch. I want to hear about the behind the story details about how a project came to life. There are always some crazy incidents about the people involved or the situations they find themselves in.

Ruggero Deodato's thoughts on his film Cannibal Holocaust.
I agree, this film is never an easy watch and is one of the big, earlier found footage films I think of in the genre.

One of the standout interviews was with Ruggero Deodato and his thoughts behind the making of Cannibal Holocaust (1980). Italian cannibal films were generally tapering off at this point and it was a niche genre within horror mainly during its high point in the 1970's. This movie isn't for the faint of heart as there are many scenes of explicit violence. Although the violence against the characters is one thing, there are a lot of scenes of actual animals being killed throughout and that's what always gets me on a viewing.

This film is very much within the found footage arena as a group of reporters go to the Amazon attempting to document cannibal tribes of the region. Everything goes sideways as the documentarians start involving themselves and are in fact the real villains of the film.

Deodato mentions that his son told him to turn off the news often as it was always a bloody affair. This got him thinking about how a news reporter can document and show almost anything on the nightly news. In contrast, his films which are fiction often get an X rating, are heavily cut or never see the light of day. This was the inspiration for his divisive film Cannibal Holocaust.

Documenting or participating? The lines blur quickly in the Amazon rainforest.

There's even an aside when Sergio Leone mentions viewing a cut of his film and saying the following

"The first part is good, well-made. The second half is a masterpiece but you'll get into a lot of trouble".

He sure did as Deodato was arrested for obscenity charges in Italy and charged with multiple counts of murder as prosecutors believed the actors were actually murdered on film! There are many moments like this throughout the documentary and I found this very interesting to hear directly from the source.

I still get goosebumps viewing The Blair Witch Project. Another heavy hitter within this style of filmmaking.

The genre has been around for a long time and not just with common view that it all started with The Blair Witch Project. I'm glad to see they point out the early Peeping Tom (1960) that rarely gets a mention in this genre. One of the great creepy portrayals of a murderer. The use of the camera makes the viewer feel like they are right there with the characters witnessing everything.

Thankfully the filmmakers have rounded up a good overall showcase of films within the genre. There were a decent amount of newer films that I haven't seen and will need to add to my watch list.

Psycho and Peeping Tom were both were released in the same year, 1960. One's considered art and the other trash. Who's really to say here?

Technology and the democratization of it is what will often be associated with the genre. Each new advance makes it easier for someone to make a film and especially in this genre. Some great points were made about the mass adoption of the internet and how everyone is accustomed to seeing found footage as this is what people are sharing on a daily basis. YouTube in particular brought this to the mainstream along with any platform that streams video these days.

Found footage brought into the modern age. Can you make something scary sitting in front of screen? Yes, you can.

Discussion about different types of cameras and their usage was interesting to hear. Cutting from handheld point of view shots to security camera footage or phone footage is common. This used to be jarring in the earlier days as most audiences were not familiar with the concept. Now we have movies that take place entirely via Zoom or whatever flavor du jour will be popular in the years to come.

I was also pleased to see some of the more obscure picks in here that people often miss. Fred Vogel's disturbing August Underground films makes a brief appearance. They touch on the snuff genre such as the groundbreaking film Snuff (1975) and more modern mainstream films like 8MM (1999).

Take me to your leader. Blurry, out of focus footage of aliens.
This only adds to the overall effect for me.

There is a lot to digest in this documentary that runs 105 minutes. My attention was held but there were sound issues here. A few of the interviews sounded like they're happening in a small bathroom and that make it a chore to hear so I'd throw on the subtitles just in case you don't want to miss anything.

For those that love horror I'd give it a watch. You should learn a thing or two and have some new films to watch. I'd like to think I know the genre pretty well and happily learned many new things. That's the best I can hope for in a documentary such as this.

Don't forget to watch any random footage that might show up before you. This might be good or bad advice, you'll never know until you do.

Thanks for the read 🙂

All media captured by myself from the original source.

Sleep well and I hope you don't experience any bumps in the night. If you do, make sure to tape it as you might have the next big hit on your hands.