10 Great Horror Movies That Are Ugly On Purpose
5. Lake Mungo
You could include the entire found-footage genre on this list, as the whole purpose of the style is to appear realistic and homemade. Whether it's a handheld video camera experience or a mockumentary spliced with "real footage", all of these movies are ugly in a way. Still, of all the ones to choose, Lake Mungo stands out thanks to some astute visual choices.
This sombre film uses a mockumentary format to explore the grief of a family who has lost a loved one and the following supernatural events. It's got all the typical docufilm tropes with talking head interviews, home-video-style tapes and handheld camera shots to the max. But where it thrives is it's use of pareidolia.
Pareidolia is the tendency to see meaningful images in ambiguous patterns (such as faces in shadows). Lake Mungo uses this to constantly make you think you're seeing something - or someone - in the background of passing shots. This plays into the visuals perfectly as the amateur camera quality makes you question whether you saw something or if it's just the blurry camera footage.
It's one of the smartest uses of the found-footage genre, and a clever way to make the movie's ugliness essential.