The found footage genre is growing a little stale at this point, what with the countless Paranormal Activity sequels and the use of the form in films that really don't benefit from it (seriously, the fact that everyone's wielding camcorders in police drama End Of Watch doesn't make a lick of sense), in the same way that there's countless crummy horror movies out there vying for your attention. Put aside the crappy horror films, and then the crappy found footage films, and you're not left with a whole lot - The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, pretty much - but that's only because not nearly enough people are aware of Grave Encounters. Which is a shame, because it might be the best found footage horror ever made. Presented as a lost episode of the eponymous show, a sort of up-market American version of Most Haunted, as the investigations into a supposedly ghost-filled abandoned asylum get more and more fraught, you begin to realise why the crew never got the show to the air. A cast of relative nobodies helps the level of immersion alongside the documentary style, much like Behind The Mask, and the constant use of night vision as they stalk the darkened hallways constantly keeps the audience on edge. Chances are if you have seen bits of Grave Encounters before, it's as animated gifs, which makes sense since the film is basically one long series of jump scare videos.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
