10 Most Polarising Horror Movies Of All Time

Cannibal Holocaust might be the first "found footage" horror movies of all time, but it would take another two decades before The Blair Witch Project came along to blow the horror competition out of the water and project the sub-genre to new highs (soon followed by inevitable lows). Made for just $60,000, it went on to gross a whopping $248 million and became a cultural phenomenon when it hit theatres in 1999.

Its minimalist approach to horror was seen as revolutionary by many, particularly those who were lucky enough to catch it before the (admittedly ingenious) marketing hype kicked in. Co-directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez were praised for the results of their guerilla-style of filmmaking, which involved sending their non-professional actors out into the woods and scaring them witless in the dead of night, shaking their tents, leaving strange wooden emblems in their camp and finally luring them into an old, abandoned house.

Not everyone was impressed with their "groundbreaking" approach to horror. The constant handheld camerawork from the cast was for some the only thing about The Blair Witch Project which made them feel sick, while others found lead actress Heather Donague's performance especially grating (a performance which proved to be so polarizing that she was nominated for Best Actress award for the Online Film Critics Society as well as worst actress at the Golden Raspberry Awards).