2. Marble Hornets
This example is cheating a bit - its more of a web-series, but in my mind it is remarkable enough to count as an outstanding example. Roger Ebert even called it remarkably well done, and perhaps it isnt cheating to use this as an example - many films are now distributed over the Internet, start life on the Internet, are marketed exclusively over the Internet Marble Hornets is the brainchild of Troy Wagner, Tim Sutton and Joseph DeLage, based on The Slenderman Mythos (imagine a Caucasian Mr. Tickle in a suit, with no face, who kills children) which has become one of the most successful memes born on the Internet. Everything about this series makes it a child of the Internet, so it truly is cutting-edge, even feeding into social media, and a creepy YouTube channel (ToTheArk) that posts video responses to certain video entries. The basic set-up is that Jay (Wagner) uncovers tapes from a student film he was working on with his friend Alex (DeLage), which Alex mysteriously abandoned - needless to say, Jay gets wrapped in something terrifying that he cant escape as he struggles to uncover the secrets of The Operator. It has kept me hooked, and some of the entries have been genuinely very scary. Its a genuine surprise that Wagner, DeLage and Sutton havent made a feature by now - Marble Hornets is YouTubes answer to Blair Witch, and actually is a damn better film. Everything is secret, no spoilers are revealed, and they have created a totally immersive and believable world. There are so many questions to be answered, and you never know what is going to happen next. It is, in my opinion, the best thing on YouTube, and the best ongoing horror series currently out there. Sure, it has its flaws, but any budding Internet filmmaker should follow the example of Marble Hornets. Its apparently nearing the end, and if it turns out right, will be one of the most anticipated and satisfying finales I wouldve ever seen to a horror film. How many big-screen equivalents can boast that? Take note, movie studios