Found Footage Films: Which are Good & Which are Bad

[skuts]

They all suck. It's the worst trend in movies ever.

[InformationGeek]

Don't watch Blair Witch Project 2, its not a found footage film strangely enough.

Just noticed this.  If it isn't found footage film, what the hell is the point then!?

They all suck. It's the worst trend in movies ever.

Really?  I always found the monster/killer still alive at the very last second of the movie to be the worst trend we have in movies ever.  They sure know how to end a movie on a groan or yell of "Oh come on!" from the audience.

[Archivist]

Found footage movies have their precedents in literature.  A number of HP Lovecraft's classic stories were written in this way, often starting with 'text found in a bottle off the coast of Norway' or 'audio recordings recovered from last known base of Exploration Team 415Alpha'.  And this was in the 1920's and 30's.  I seem to recall Edgar Allan Poe writing at least one as well.  I wonder how much further back 'found stories' go?

[Rev. Powell]

Found footage movies have their precedents in literature.  A number of HP Lovecraft's classic stories were written in this way, often starting with 'text found in a bottle off the coast of Norway' or 'audio recordings recovered from last known base of Exploration Team 415Alpha'.  And this was in the 1920's and 30's.  I seem to recall Edgar Allan Poe writing at least one as well.  I wonder how much further back 'found stories' go?

How about "Letters of a Portuguese Nun" from 1669?  (Sort of remade by Jess Franco as a nunsploitation porno).

The earliest novels were often/usually printed as a collection of "found" letters or documents. ("Dracula"--1897--is another example).

[Flick James]

Found footage movies have their precedents in literature.  A number of HP Lovecraft's classic stories were written in this way, often starting with 'text found in a bottle off the coast of Norway' or 'audio recordings recovered from last known base of Exploration Team 415Alpha'.  And this was in the 1920's and 30's.  I seem to recall Edgar Allan Poe writing at least one as well.  I wonder how much further back 'found stories' go?

How about "Letters of a Portuguese Nun" from 1669?  (Sort of remade by Jess Franco as a nunsploitation porno).

The earliest novels were often/usually printed as a collection of "found" letters or documents. ("Dracula"--1897--is another example).

Good posts, both of you. I don't see an inherent problem with the sub-genre. It's all in the execution, always. They are a challenge to execute well, however. At least for me. The challenge comes in justifying the camera rolling as much as it does. This is difficult to do, and so most of them tend to fail.