10 Found Footage Movies Better Than The Blair Witch Project

While The Blair Witch Project is famous for popularizing the found footage horror style, it wasn’t actually the first film to use it. Though earlier movies experimented with this technique, The Blair Witch Project was the one that really brought it to a wide audience and made it well-known.

A low-budget film became a huge international hit because of a clever online marketing campaign that spread quickly across the early internet, building a strong following. This success inspired other filmmakers, and the ‘found footage’ style became popular in the 2000s. Since then, many horror movies have built on and improved this technique.

While The Blair Witch Project is definitely a defining movie of the 1990s, its impact is often more about how it was made and advertised than the film itself. Although the ‘found footage’ style is a bit of a trick, other horror movies using this technique manage to create a more solid and satisfying viewing experience.

The Taking Of Deborah Logan (2014)

Found footage films are great for imaginative storytelling, and The Taking of Deborah Logan really captures what makes the genre so effective. The film follows a student making a documentary about a woman with Alzheimer’s, and things quickly take a frightening turn. It’s a slow-burn horror movie that steadily builds suspense and delivers genuine scares.

A common criticism of The Blair Witch Project is its ambiguous ending, which can feel unsatisfying. The Taking of Deborah Logan avoids this by delivering a bold, though somewhat over-the-top, finale that’s definitely memorable. The film is consistently intense and full of ideas, never feeling slow or empty.

The Sacrament (2013)

Inspired by the tragic events at Jonestown, The Sacrament helped establish Ti West as a notable horror director. The film follows investigators who visit a secluded religious community, only to be met with distrust and aggression from its leader. While slow-burning, The Sacrament delivers its shocking moments with precision and impact.

Many movies have explored the story of Jonestown, but The Sacrament uniquely captures how truly terrifying it was. Though it’s not as groundbreaking as The Blair Witch Project, it’s a better-made film because the found footage style has improved over the years. The fact that Ti West has made other successful horror films proves The Sacrament wasn’t a one-time achievement.

The Bay (2012)

Director Barry Levinson experimented with the found footage style in his film, The Bay. The movie is about a small coastal town that’s hit by a strange and deadly disease spreading through their water. While it uses the typical found footage approach, The Bay also stands out with its particularly shocking and disturbing scares.

While The Blair Witch Project relied on tricks and deception, The Bay immediately dives into intense horror. Although the ‘found footage’ style feels a little forced, it doesn’t detract from the genuinely frightening story about environmental disaster. The Bay stands out as surprisingly original in a genre that often feels repetitive.

REC (2007)

After The Blair Witch Project popularized the found footage style, it took some time for other filmmakers to adopt it. REC was one of the first to do so. This Spanish film follows a television reporter who becomes trapped in an apartment building during a zombie outbreak. Cleverly combining the found footage format with zombie horror, REC skillfully utilizes elements from both genres.

Beyond simply being frightening, REC stands out for how realistic it feels. While many films try to mimic the style of The Blair Witch Project by blending reality with fiction, REC actually pulls it off more effectively. It’s a step up from similar movies because the scares feel truly intense, and the found footage format enhances, rather than detracts from, the horror experience.

Creep (2014)

Mark Duplass, known for his work in independent film, was heavily involved in creating Creep, a unique horror comedy presented as found footage. The film centers on a filmmaker who agrees to document a man’s final message to his soon-to-be-born son, but the situation quickly becomes strange and unsettling. It’s scary because of the disturbing premise, but also surprisingly funny due to its over-the-top nature.

While The Blair Witch Project felt sincere but simple, Creep is a clever and complex take on horror. It brilliantly twists the usual found footage style and blends it with comedy, and it’s genuinely scary, largely thanks to Mark Duplass’s unsettling performance. It’s easy to see why Creep spawned a series of sequels.

V/H/S (2012)

When the popularity of “found footage” horror films was starting to fade, V/H/S came along and revitalized the genre. This anthology movie follows a group of thieves hired to steal a video tape, but they discover it contains dozens of strange and unsettling recordings. Because it uses several different perspectives, V/H/S offers a variety of scares and isn’t confined to a single style.

Unlike earlier found footage movies such as The Blair Witch Project, which simply presented the footage itself, V/H/S focuses on the story of how the footage was found. This makes the mystery surrounding the tapes just as compelling as what’s on them. Plus, V/H/S is a really entertaining and quickly-moving horror film with lots of different scares.

Lake Mungo (2008)

Both The Blair Witch Project and Lake Mungo use the ‘found footage’ technique to create a sense of realism in horror. Lake Mungo tells the story of a family grappling with the death of their daughter, piecing together events through home videos and documentary-style interviews. But beneath the scares, the film is a deeply moving exploration of grief and loss.

While not a typical found footage horror film, Lake Mungo builds tension more effectively than The Blair Witch Project. Both movies might leave viewers wanting more action, but Lake Mungo is ultimately more unsettling and thought-provoking, even though it shares a similar dreamlike quality. Both create a strong atmosphere, but Lake Mungo goes beyond just being scary – it has a message.

The Visit (2015)

M. Night Shyamalan, known for his often surprising horror movies, continues to spark debate with The Visit. The film follows two children who go to spend time with their grandparents, only to discover things aren’t what they expected. True to Shyamalan’s style, The Visit features a signature twist ending, making it distinctly his work.

Even though the movie’s ‘found footage’ style feels a bit forced, it effectively keeps the story focused and makes the over-the-top scares feel more believable. It’s reminiscent of the raw, unsettling horror films from earlier years, but unlike The Blair Witch Project, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. While it might not be as frightening, The Visit is more enjoyable to watch again and again.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

While The Blair Witch Project helped create the found footage style of filmmaking, Paranormal Activity made it incredibly popular in the early 2010s. The movie follows a couple who start recording strange events in their new home, believing it’s haunted. Clever marketing created a buzz and frightened viewers even before the film’s release.

Both films marked a change in horror, appearing as home video cameras became more common. While both build tension, Paranormal Activity ultimately delivers on the suspense it creates. Although the Paranormal Activity sequels weren’t as good, the first movie remains genuinely scary.

As Above, So Below (2014)

Okay, let me tell you about As Above, So Below. Critics really didn’t like this one when it came out, but honestly, I think it’s one of the best found footage movies ever made. The story follows a group of treasure hunters who descend into the catacombs beneath Paris, and they quickly stumble into something truly terrifying. What I really appreciated is how the found footage style works here – it doesn’t feel gimmicky, and it cranks up the claustrophobia to eleven. It’s a genuine nightmare, and I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of the genre.

Although the movie tries to seem clever, it’s actually quite simple, but it shares a similar heartfelt feeling with The Blair Witch Project. It’s better than that film, though, because it delivers some truly frightening scenes and features a thought-provoking idea that’s interesting and original without being confusingly obscure.

2025-11-18 21:24