During the dying embers of the last millennium, found footage horror made an unmistakable mark on cinema. And yet, as we'll spookily discover, its existence as an art form significantly predates any rise in cultural prominence.
But what makes the found footage formula such an intriguing global phenomenon, and when did the gritty genre establish its roots amidst the glossy glitz and polished glamour of the film industry?
Origins of Found Footage horror | From Dracula to Peeping Tom
To trace the chilling origins of found footage horror is to traverse cinema's primordial love affair with literature itself.
After all, even the scribbled diary extracts from Bram Stoker's Dracula share similarities with the documentary-style format later adopted in found footage.
But like most motion pictures, the way in which we perceive objects and people within a moving frame remains at the forefront of the filmmaker's mind as a fundamental focal point of found footage.
Only through found footage horror,
however, does the director's lens become a creepy conduit for a far more intrusive breed of terror.
Perhaps more than any other medium, this lifelike first-person viewpoint presents a thrillingly raw portrayal of reality - a compelling illusion too visceral to dispel as events seemingly play out in real time. Offering a fresh pair of eyes on traditional filmmaking tropes, found footage feels organically authentic in ways other genres simply fail to emulate.
One of the first notable examples of found footage horror was conceived in Michael Powell's hugely controversial 1960's psychological horror-thriller Peeping Tom, which offers a disturbingly voyeuristic viewpoint into the twisted mindset of a perverted serial killer. A warped psychopath who malevolently subjects his victims to the stark reflection of their own terror as he kills them in cold blood.
Only in successive years following its release would Peeping Tom acquire the acclaim it so rightfully merited. Alongside the likes of Alfred Hitchcock's infamous Psycho shower scene, it proved instrumental in ushering in the slasher genre.
Thus, paving a path for gritty grindhouse flicks like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and John Carpenter's classic stalker thriller Halloween. Interestingly, both employed familiar first-person techniques that would later become synonymous with the sub-genre.
Discovered Found Footage Horror & The Chilling Case of Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
At the turn of the '80s, it was Ruggero Deodato's chillingly raw Canibal Holocaust that set a disturbing benchmark for the sub-genre later known as "discovered footage," in which rolling tape would reflect the last living moments of those missing - presumed deceased.
Gritty and gruesome in equal portions, Canibal Holocaust - with its shaky, live-action style, visceraly gut-wrenching effects, uncensored explicitness, and convincing documentary-esque set-up, would contentiously muddy the waters separating fact and fiction.
Blending distressing snuff footage of true-to-life Nigerian criminal executions, cleverly conceived practical effects painstaking enough to evoke suspicion and brutally graphic depictions of actually animal cruelty, the culmination of these elements produced a harrowing slice of exploitation cinema never before seen on film.
Resembling the last surviving record of events, witnessing the final testimonies of those in frame proved too irresistible a formula to neglect.
In the 80s, the advent of home computers and handheld cameras, brought on by cheaper, more accessible technology, presented amateur indie filmmakers with a unique opportunity to produce low-budget movies.
During this period of homebrewed experimentation and creative spark, two of found footage horror's most notable works would flourish. Both coinciding within a year of each other - fundamentally altering the found footage landscape forever.
The McPherson Tape (1989) | Extraterrestrial Exploitation Horror
Initially deemed real-life footage of a genuine alien encounter, Dean Alioto's 1989 no-budget handheld horror "The McPherson Tape" appeared to display disturbing evidence of extraterrestrial life.
Though this was later disproved, it presented a convincingly acted, yet amateur-like homemade foray into the found footage formula as one of its earliest archetypes.
Even today, The McPherson Tape still stands as an important landmark not just within the realm of exploitation cinema but as an influential relic of found footage horror history as a whole.
Found Footage Horror | The Last Broadcast & The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project, often praised for popularizing the found footage genre, would utilize an internet in its infancy, creating metaverse mythology on associated websites to extend the reach of its lore. Therefore, fermenting its documented myth in the minds of an unsuspecting audience.
Even so, the film proved a triumphant success, made all the more impressive by its minimalist production scale and meager budget. Thanks to compellingly convincing performances and an eerie premise, The Blair Witch Project became an instant hit at the box office, providing evidence that the handheld format had finally found its footing.
Conversely, The Last Broadcast presented a mockumentary-type affair, documenting the mysterious deaths of paranormal investigators killed while embarking on an expedition in search of the mythical Jersey Devil.
Combining grainy, low-grade footage with compelling narration, eyewitness accounts, and the testimonies of expert analysts, it cleverly explored, via an immersive lens, the potential for exploitation bias within the world of media.
Examining how visual footage could, in corrupted hands, be deceptively presented to manipulate the minds of the masses and, by extension, manufacture consent. Thus, essentially blurring any distinction between fact and fiction.
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