10 Horror Movie Scenes That Broke The Camera

4. Camera Falls From A Spaceship - Phoenix Forgotten

Resident Evil Afterlife
Cinelou Films

2017's found footage sci-fi horror flick Phoenix Forgotten concludes with the central characters being abducted by an alien spacecraft, after which their camera falls back down to Earth from space.

In a thrilling sequence, the camera tumbles through the sky for a considerable amount of time before eventually impacting on the ground, then the end credits roll with the damaged camera continuing to record the sunset.

But that damage wasn't an effect added in post-production - director Justin Barber did it 100% for real.

That scene was shot by attaching a JVC camcorder to a small weather balloon and simply letting it fall back to Earth once the balloon popped. The ground impact caused severe damage to the camera's body and totally shattered the lens, yet to the filmmaker's surprise, the camera's internal mechanics were still operational and continued to film.

So, the cracked lens that's visible in the final shot? It was completely legit.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.