11 Things You Learn From Watching 336 Films In 2014

4. Found Footage Isn't As Terrible As You Might Think

If Paranormal Activity has proved one thing, it's that everyone with a camcorder now thinks they can make a horror movie. They can't, but by God that hasn't stopped them from still trying, resulting in some devastatingly poor films that do nothing but drag down the good name of horror movies, which is already the genre most like your slightly odd uncle who everyone seems to eye with suspicion. But some 2014 movies - and mostly horror ones, because that one with the tornadoes and Richard Armitage was about as fun as being in a washing machine on spin dry - actually managed to prove that found footage can mean something other than wanting to pull your eyes off their stalks. Creep was great, so too were Afflicted and Willow Creek, and The Sacrament even proved that you could invest more money in found footage and not abandon the personal appeal of shooting that way. It's still going to be classified as a lesser sub-genre, no doubt, but if you're willing to sit through lots of really bad ones that will make you sad for humanity, there are genuinely some gems.