There’s something uniquely unnerving about found footage horror. The shaky cam, the grainy realism, the creeping dread that what you’re seeing might be real—all of it works together to unsettle in ways polished productions often can’t touch. While mainstream hits like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity brought the subgenre into the spotlight, the real gems often lurk in the shadows.

Here are 15 underrated found footage horror films that deserve a second look—or a first, if you’ve somehow missed them. Raw, eerie, and often unforgettable, these films prove that sometimes the scariest stories are the ones that feel closest to home.

1. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

A disturbing descent into the mind of a serial killer, this faux-documentary assembles “recovered” tapes from an abandoned house, chronicling the methodical, horrifying acts of a sadistic predator. It’s not just the violence that lingers—it’s the chilling calm behind it. Unrelentingly bleak and deeply unsettling, The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a slow-burn nightmare that crawls under your skin and stays there.

2. Noroi: The Curse (2005)

This Japanese cult favorite unfolds like a real investigative documentary, slowly unraveling a web of supernatural terror tied to an ancient curse. Its pacing is deliberate, its scares creeping and cumulative. The brilliance of Noroi lies in how real it all feels—making the inevitable descent into horror that much more terrifying.

3. Hell House LLC (2015)

A haunted house attraction in a derelict hotel goes fatally wrong. Through security footage and interviews, Hell House LLC builds a suffocating atmosphere from the start, escalating to some genuinely spine-tingling moments. It's low-budget horror done right: tight, eerie, and terrifying in all the right ways.

4. The Last Exorcism (2010)

What begins as a documentary by a cynical preacher aiming to debunk exorcisms turns into something far more sinister. The Last Exorcism walks a fine line between skepticism and supernatural dread, delivering a sharp, twisty take on possession horror that sticks the landing with a finale that’s genuinely chilling.

5. The Bay (2012)

A rare eco-horror entry, The Bay is told through a patchwork of government files, news footage, and personal videos to chronicle an outbreak of deadly parasites in a seaside town. The scares are grounded in biological terror, and the documentary approach makes it all feel horrifyingly plausible.

6. As Above, So Below (2014)

Set in the catacombs of Paris, this claustrophobic journey starts as an archaeological adventure and morphs into a personal descent into hell. The camera rarely lets up as tunnels twist, fears manifest, and reality fractures. As Above, So Below is found footage at its most nightmarishly surreal.

7. Grave Encounters (2011)

Ghost hunters filming a reality show lock themselves inside an abandoned asylum—and regret it. At first cheeky and meta, Grave Encounters gradually morphs into something much darker. The jump scares hit hard, the setting is suffocating, and the unraveling of time and sanity is deliciously disorienting.

8. Afflicted (2013)

What starts as a backpacking vlog between friends becomes a horrifying transformation tale after one of them is bitten by... something. Afflicted is a high-octane mix of travel diary and body horror, using found footage to reimagine the vampire myth in a surprisingly emotional and inventive way.

9. The Den (2013)

This cyber-horror entry unfolds entirely through a laptop screen, following a grad student whose innocent online research spirals into deadly voyeurism. The Den predates the now-popular “screenlife” format, and its grounded, voyeuristic horror still feels disturbingly relevant in the age of livestreams and surveillance.

10. Atrocious (2010)

A brother and sister set out to document a local legend while vacationing in their family's rural home—but what they uncover is far darker. Spanish horror Atrocious uses atmosphere and ambiguity to build dread, culminating in a chilling reveal that recontextualizes everything that came before.

11. The Borderlands (2013)

Also known as Final Prayer, this British sleeper hit follows a team of Vatican investigators probing strange activity at a remote church. Religious dread, folklore, and cosmic horror collide in a film that’s as philosophical as it is terrifying. The final ten minutes? Pure nightmare fuel.

12. Willow Creek (2013)

A couple documenting the legend of Bigfoot in Northern California finds far more than they bargained for. Directed by comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, Willow Creek builds its scares slowly, then traps you in an agonizingly long, terrifying sequence of minimalist horror that proves less really can be more.

13. Home Movie (2008)

Told through a series of intimate family videos, Home Movie charts the chilling decline of a seemingly normal household where something is clearly very wrong with the children. The performances are haunting, the tension unbearable, and the lack of overt supernatural elements only deepens the dread.

14. The Tunnel (2011)

A team of journalists investigates a government cover-up in the tunnels beneath Sydney. The deeper they go, the darker it gets—both literally and figuratively. The Tunnel turns its shoestring budget into an advantage, relying on eerie silence, flickering lights, and unseen terror to get under your skin.

15. The Blackwell Ghost (2017)

Presented as a real paranormal investigation, The Blackwell Ghost is unnervingly subtle. There are no flashy effects or monsters—just a single camera, a haunted house, and a creeping sense of something watching. It’s this restraint that makes it so effective. Less spectacle, more slow-burn dread.

Found footage isn’t for everyone—but for those who love it, these under-the-radar picks are proof of the genre’s staying power. Raw, immersive, and often terrifyingly real, they tap into our deepest fears in ways no other style can. So if you're brave enough, turn off the lights, grab your camera, and press play.

For the freaks, by the freaks. Thanks for reading. Stay strange.

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