10 Found Footage Movies That Are Actually Worth Your Time

Proof that a movie based solely on a gimmicks rarely deserves a sequel - let alone an all-out franchise - the original Paranormal Activity is nonetheless an exercise in minimalism and tension-building that recalls the more subdued, original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It is that much of a classic? Well, no, but it earned every bit of praise it received for its patient (and spooky) storytelling.

When a couple notices something amiss with their new suburban home, they set up cameras to catch what they suspect might be a demonic presence. Over the next few nights, the spooky happenings increase in both frequency and intensity. Demonologists are consulted, Home Alone-style traps are used, and at one point a Ouija Board is even brought into the mix.

If that all sounds a tad on the ridiculous side, rest assured it all blends together in a suitably chilling manner and culminates in one of the most genuinely unsettling endings in recent history.

It's the things you can't see that will end up sticking with you after the film is finished. And although each succeeding sequel has tried to maintain the original's signature style, none have done it quite as masterfully.