10 Found Footage Horror Movies You Should See Before You Die
5. Cloverfield
Like The Blair Witch Project and Cannibal Holocaust, Cloverfield is one of the biggest and most influential found footage horrors. Breaking out to become a genuine blockbuster outside of the genre, its viral marketing made it a cultural sensation
What earns it a spot on this list, though, is that it's more than just a flash-in-the-pan success of marketing but actually an effective monster movie that holds up nearly 15 years later.
Its straightforward tale of a Godzilla-style creature feature as told from the POV of one cameraman caught on the ground has no need for gimmicks. This is all killer no filler from the get go: the monster's attacks feel overwhelming in scale, and the chaos on the ground sells the destruction on display.
To not become repetitive, director Matt Reeves keeps the set-pieces varied too. From claustrophobic subway assaults to scaling a destroyed building, the terror and suspense comes from more than the characters wildly throwing the camera around and screaming.
Add in some genuinely emotional performances and an engaging story hook about one man looking for his trapped girlfriend, and you're left with a found footage movie that lives up to its reputation.