20 Best Found Footage Horror Movies Ever

Found footage is one of the most iconic subgenres in all of horror, and though it certainly isn't for everyone, it would be tough to deny the many unforgettable movies the medium has spawned.

Found footage occupies a fascinating space in both horror and cinema as a whole, given that its rough-hewn, ultra-immersive style has allowed filmmakers with little money to produce their own works, regardless. Of course, the early successes incentivised Hollywood to invest in the occasional bigger-budget found footage movie, even if the subgenre remains a popular haven to this day for artists working on shoestring budgets.

While, like any flavour of cinema, there are tons of also-ran entries you needn't bother with, found footage has nevertheless been a fertile breeding ground for talented horror filmmakers to demonstrate their chops, perhaps before venturing onto bigger and better things. And so, over the past few decades, the following 20 offerings are the standout found footage movies; the ones that, above all others, staked their claim with their originality, ingenious technical execution, and the sheer influence they've had on horror as a whole.

Though found footage films are typically known for their low budgets, we're kicking this list off with the genre's one bona fide blockbuster project, which cost a whopping $30 million.

The J.J. Abrams-produced Cloverfield is one of the most ingeniously marketed movies of the 21st century, introduced to audiences amid a cloak of secrecy, where many suspected it to be a secret Godzilla or Voltron film. But ultimately, Cloverfield was an original monster movie shot in the found footage style, and one which used the format to convey the utter chaos of an alien invasion unfolding in one of the world's most populous locales, New York City.

Clocking in at a pacy 85 minutes and lithely vaulting from one thrilling set-piece to the next, Cloverfield offers an incredible amount of bang for its found footage buck, and though it makes you wait a sweet time to get a good look at its central creature, when you finally do, it's definitely worth it.

Given the film's critical and commercial success, it's frankly shocking that a direct sequel in the found footage style still hasn't materialised almost 20 years later.