7 Underrated Found Footage Horror Movies That Deserve to Become Cult Classics

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Found footage horror films are a well-liked subgenre, though many deserving movies don’t get the recognition they deserve. Their appeal is clear for both viewers and filmmakers. Audiences enjoy the immersive, first-person perspective, feeling like they’re experiencing the horror alongside the characters as they try to escape danger. The format makes everything feel incredibly realistic. From a studio standpoint, these films are incredibly inexpensive to make. Even if a found footage movie isn’t a blockbuster, it can still be profitable because of its low production costs.

The ‘found footage’ style has given us some incredibly popular and beloved horror films like *The Blair Witch Project*, the *Paranormal Activity* series, and the *V/H/S* movies. While not every film using this technique has been a hit, many deserve more recognition than they’ve received. Here are seven of the most underrated found footage horror movies.

7) Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

The *Paranormal Activity* series was most successful with 2011’s *Paranormal Activity 3*, but it continued to deliver effective scares, particularly in the 2014 spin-off *Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones*. The film follows Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) after he graduates high school. After participating in an occult ritual with friends, Jesse appears to develop supernatural powers, but soon realizes he’s actually being turned into a demon. *The Marked Ones* expands the series’ mythology by bringing back Ali Rey (Molly Ephraim) from *Paranormal Activity 2*, now an expert in demonology due to his family’s past experiences. The movie offers a spooky atmosphere, plenty of jump scares, and a surprising connection to the earlier films in its final moments.

6) Apollo 18

The 2011 film *Apollo 18* pioneered a new direction for found footage horror, telling a chilling story about NASA’s secretly abandoned final mission to the moon. The movie expertly creates a sense of paranoia as astronauts Ben Anderson and Nate Walker discover a disturbing, alien threat lurking within the moon’s rocks. The intense isolation of their lunar module, combined with the eerie silence of the moon itself, makes *Apollo 18* consistently suspenseful. Like many found footage films, the tension steadily builds to a frightening climax, but the lunar setting adds an extra layer of difficulty to the astronauts’ desperate fight for survival, resulting in a truly chilling cinematic experience.

5) Quarantine

The 2008 film *Quarantine* is a remake of the 2007 Spanish horror movie *REC*. Though often compared to the original, it’s a solid remake that stands on its own. The story follows journalist Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) as she accompanies the Los Angeles Fire Department on a routine night, which quickly turns into a terrifying fight for survival when a zombie outbreak traps them inside an apartment building. While *Quarantine* doesn’t significantly change the formula established in *REC*, it delivers a consistently scary and intense experience, notably recreating one of the original’s most frightening scenes using night vision.

4) Paranormal Activity 4

Following the cliffhangers in the 2010 film *Paranormal Activity 2*, *Paranormal Activity 4* (released in 2012) attempts to resolve some of those storylines while still delivering some frightening moments. The film, set in November 2011, focuses on the Nelson family, who are experiencing a haunting. Their teenage daughter, Alex (played by Kathryn Newton), investigates the strange occurrences, but her younger brother, Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp), becomes the primary focus of the demonic activity.

While *Paranormal Activity 4* doesn’t quite reach the heights of the first three *Paranormal Activity* films – especially with its quick ending – it’s still a better movie than many people give it credit for. A drawn-out scene involving a kitchen knife delivers one of the most genuinely frightening jump scares in the entire series. The film also notably brings back Katie Featherston, the original *Paranormal Activity* star, as a truly terrifying villain, solidifying her status as a memorable horror icon.

3) The Gallows

Released in 2015, *The Gallows* came out during a slump for found footage horror films, before the genre saw a comeback thanks to movies like *V/H/S*. Despite being a genuinely well-made found footage film, this timing hurt its reception. The movie centers around a high school where a tragic accident occurred during a play twenty years prior. When a group of students attempt to damage the rebuilt set of that play, they find themselves trapped in a deadly game. *The Gallows* feels like a flawlessly executed stage play filmed in the found footage style, delivering consistent scares and a surprisingly clever twist at the end.

2) V/H/S/85

Given the success of the *V/H/S* series, it’s surprising that 2023’s *V/H/S/85* hasn’t gotten more attention. This installment continues the strong run of found footage horror with a collection of excellent short films woven together by a central story. Like recent *V/H/S* movies, it has a unifying theme – in this case, the year 1985. Standout segments include “Dreamkill,” directed by Scott Derrickson, and David Bruckner’s framing story, “Total Copy,” but the entire film is packed with scary and enjoyable moments.

1) Blair Witch (2016)

Released in 2016, *Blair Witch* attempts to recapture the magic of the groundbreaking 1999 film, *The Blair Witch Project*, and succeeds more than you might expect. The story follows James Donahue, along with his girlfriend Ashley, and friends Lisa and Peter, as they venture into the Black Hills Woods in 2014. They’re determined to uncover the fate of James’s sister, Heather, who disappeared years earlier.

As a fan of the original, I was really curious about the new *Blair Witch* movie. It definitely feels familiar, following a similar path to *The Blair Witch Project*, but it still managed to scare me! The ending was a total thrill ride, packed with jump scares. And honestly, even though some purists might disagree with it, I thought *showing* the Blair Witch was a smart move. Seeing her actually on screen, and how terrifying she looked while chasing after everyone, was surprisingly effective considering she was always just a mysterious presence in the woods before.

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2025-09-18 04:11