10 Brilliant Movies With A Terrible Concept

7. Chronicle

Swiss Army Man Daniel Radcliffe
20th Century Fox

The Concept: In the run-up to the release of Chronicle, the general reaction to it was a sarcastic "Yay! Another found footage movie!"

Even back in 2012, the genre had been done to death - Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project, Quarantine and the numerous Paranormal Activity movies had killed the novelty of the format - so Chronicle, even though it was marketed as a superhero origin story, just seemed like another way to repackage a movie we'd seen a million times before.

The Movie: While Chronicle did contain several issues that have plagued found-footage movies since the beginning (why are they still filming this? Who managed to find all these clips and cut them together?) none of that mattered - its story was gripping, intense and surprising, from start to finish.

Featuring a trifecta of great lead performances, its characters are so engrossing that you'll probably forget you're even watching a found footage movie. Chronicle is utterly focused on the relationships between these three young men, the powers they gain, and the trouble that causes, and that story would be great no matter how it was filmed.

Contributor
Contributor

WhoCulture Channel Manager/Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture. Can confirm that bow ties are cool.