15 Worthwhile Found Footage Thrillers You've Never Seen
14. Zero Day (2003)
--> Arriving at the height of finger-wagging hysteria concerning school shootings, Ben Coccios Zero Day joined Lionel Shrivers We Need To Talk About Kevin (the novel) and Gus Van Sants Elephant as meditations on the phenomena of high-school murder sprees. The notable thing about Zero Day is the way it strips the film of any particular intended message, and simply observes its subjects, two teenage boys planning an massacre at their Connecticut high school, as they move towards their deadly objective.
Calvin Robertson and Andre Keuck walk through their days in two modes; one as normal kids enjoying the sorts of things most young boys do, and the second as would-be assassins, involved in meticulous sessions detailing how their assault will go down. Although it was drawing mostly on the stylings of The Blair Witch Project (there were very few found footage films back in 2003), Zero Day sets its own malicious rhythm and stands apart from any genre trappings that would dilute its impact. Cocchio is specifically trying to separate the reality of such an event from the inevitable media symbolism and explanation that always follows. The final result is rather terrifying in the way it feels more honest than most of the news reporting on Columbine did at the time.
Incidentally, the films shooting scene caused a ruckus on Youtube when alarmists mistook it for the real thing.