Top 10 Found Footage Horror Films

Found footage horror is a much-maligned sub-genre but with more and more of these films appearing in cinemas every year, there seems to be no sign of the technique running out of tape anytime soon.  Recent efforts have taken the horror out of found footage with the superhero themed Chronicle and partying teens of Project X but horror is still very much at the heart of the genre (just ask anyone who sat through Project X).  There may be more straight-to-DVD offerings than you could point a shaky camera at but the films that use the found footage aesthetic well, and in interesting and often new and exciting ways can be hugely profitable and offer audiences a unique and immersive thrill like few other horror films. Time to dust off those lost tapes and take a look at the best found footage horror films of all time.

10. TrollHunter (2010)

You’ll believe it when you see it ran the tagline for this Norwegian found footage oddity. Not quite, but the sight of giant trolls tearing through the countryside is made slightly more believable by the clever mythology and handheld camerawork of the documentary crew that decides to follow the titular troll hunter. On a low budget, director André Øvredal has his characters capture the fantastical sight of these awe-inspiring but ugly creatures as they attempt to make a documentary about Otto Jespersen’s grouchy Hans. Many argued the mock-doc format was getting old and stale by this point but the blend of impressive visual effects to create the trolls and the well-judged moments of comedy made up for the lack of genuine horror and left many with the feeling that there was life in the found footage film yet.

9. Diary of the Dead (2007)

George A. Romero’s second return to the original ‘Dead’ trilogy after Land of the Dead follows film students as they capture the beginnings of the zombie apocalypse. Using a range of found footage from news reports to webcams and videos uploaded to MySpace (remember that?), Diary of the Dead is a typical Romero film with plenty of blood, guts and subtext. With so many characters with cameras, it gives all new meaning to the idea of shooting the dead. There are also some great little additions to the found footage format with a scene where a character is filming while charging his camera at a plug socket and is therefore limited in his movements as zombies close in on him.  Romero seems to bemoan the rise of bloggers and vloggers taking over the airwaves as the mainstream media crumbles during the apocalypse. The jumbled transmissions of thousands of people with access to sharing their thoughts over the internet are more of a concern than the traditional shuffling zombies.

8. REC 2 (2009)

The only sequel on this list is a deserved entry into the found footage sub-genre with cops with helmet cameras attempting to survive in an apartment block full of repossessed zombies.  Following from its predecessor, the squad enters the quarantined Barcelonan apartment block to find more rabid, rapid zombies sprinting manically around the claustrophobic confines and we get front row seats, positioned as we are on the helmets of our heroes. It’s a mad rollercoaster ride of a film and just when the action seems like it might get a bit repetitive, we switch to seeing from the point-of-view of the camera of a group of kids who have made the fatal mistake of also entering the possessed residence.  Taking the story further than the first film and adding to the mythology can’t hide the fact that there is nothing that can compare to the terrifying final scene of the first film. But if you want the cinematic equivalent of a first-person shooter game like Doom, look no further!

7. Man Bites Dog (1992)

Ever wanted to get under the skin of a sociopath killer; find out what makes him tick, what he does in his down time between random slayings and the odd bit of rape? Well meet Ben, part time thief, full time psycho. A film crew follows him around as he robs, kills and rambles on and on about art, music and society. It soon becomes apparent that this film crew is becoming more than just documentary makers as they become embroiled deeper and more explicitly in Ben’s crimes. The line between watching and participating becomes increasingly blurred, implicating you in the audience as you keep watching this most realistic of Belgian mock-docs. Don’t be fooled by Ben’s apparently amiable nature, this is one sick puppy that bites as much as he barks.

6. Paranormal Activity (2007)

Arguably more influential than the number one film on this list, a couple of suburbanites Katie and Micah fall foul of a poltergeist/demon as creepy occurrences are caught on tape by Micah’s trusty camcorder. Bedroom antics are filmed for scares, not pleasure, as the nights get tenser with an unwanted entity attacking the pair in their bed. Filmed on a tiny budget and distributed by DreamWorks, this reminded young and poor filmmakers what could be achieved by the found footage horror genre when it’s done right. It started the biggest found footage franchise, out-grossing (but not grossing out) the Saw sequels and only just seems to have wrapped up with the (supposedly) final film in 2015.

5. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Banned until recently, this is easily one of the sickest, most despicable films you will ever see. So realistic the director was nearly tried for murder, Ruggero Deodato eventually had to bring his cast out of hiding to face the media so that the authorities would really believe he hadn’t killed them. How could a film be this realistic? Well, this is where found footage really began. After a team of morally challenged documentary makers disappear in the Amazon, their footage is later recovered. What the rolls of film reveal is that the local tribes didn’t take too kindly to having their homes destroyed by the documentary makers who were craving a bit of sensationalism. The inclusion of real scenes of animal cruelty makes this extremely hard to watch and deeply disturbing but if that doesn’t upset you enough, try the grueling and realistic depictions of abortion, rape and castration. That should do it.

4. Cloverfield (2008)

When a giant rampaging beast (think Godzilla but scarier) hits the streets of New York, ruining the leaving party of young professional Rob, his best friend Hud decides to document the night on camcorder. Taking the imagery of 9/11 - crumbling buildings, severed landmarks, dusty streets and a city in panic – and keeping the amateur aesthetic of so many 9/11 YouTube videos is exploitative but incredibly exciting. Director Matt Reeves (Let Me In) and writer Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) care little for the flimsy characters but Hud’s cinematography mixed with the destructive power of a truly awesome monster keeps you on the edge of your seat until the explosive climax.

3. REC (2007)

A TV presenter and her camera operator get more thrills than they bargained for when they follow a crew of firefighters into a zombie infested Barcelonan apartment block.  Quickly quarantined by the authorities, the fire crew and the presenter must work with the residents in order to stay alive while the camera operator keeps filming. These aren’t the shuffling zombies of Romero’s films; these are the speedy, terrifying zombies of modern horror. Think 28 Days Later but all shot by one of the characters in the story and all trapped in one claustrophobic location. The final scene filmed in total darkness with only the night vision camera allowing the characters to see is one of the tensest and scariest things you will ever witness.

2. Zero Day (2003)

Based on actual tapes created by the Columbine high school killers, two teenage boys create video diaries capturing their preparation for a school shooting massacre. The footage they produce is a scary, fascinating portrait of the banality of evil. These two kids are close friends, a little introverted and insular but pretty normal. But they are planning an unspeakable crime and are documenting their thoughts and actions as they prepare for their big day. It’s a worrying insight into how two seemingly normal teenagers can deceive the world and consider committing a terrifying act without a care for the consequences. Switching from their own camcorder captured footage to the CCTV in their school for the final scene, it’s a bleak, chilling reenactment of a frighteningly real phenomena. 

1. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

In October of 1994 three student filmmakers went down to the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary… the rest is cinematic history. Heather, Mike and Josh get lost, hungry and scared in their quest to get to the bottom of the Blair Witch mythology. Roaming in circles with no way out of the woods, they are surrounded by strange noises in the night as they try to sleep.  Then objects appear outside their tents, the sound of distant children crying wakes them and then one of the students disappears. Though the witch might never be seen, less is definitely more in this most influential of found footage films. The actors really shot the film themselves and with the directors only giving minor instructions and the actors’ genuine hunger, frustration and fear burn through the screen. One of the scariest films ever made. Please consider buying a copy of my book on The Blair Witch Project here.

5 others to find if you’re not feeling sick of shaky-cam action:

Paranormal Entity 2 a.k.a Gacy House (2010) See this if you loved Paranormal Activity.

The Magician (2005) See this if you loved Man Bites Dog.

Exhibit A (2007) See this is you loved Zero Day.

The Last Exorcism (2010) See this if you loved REC 2.

The Last Broadcast (1998) See this if you loved The Blair Witch Project.

Why I Love Cloverfield

There is a lot of nonsense in Cloverfield. Beyond the fact that a giant alien monster creature lands in Manhattan and trashes the entire city, there are also a great deal of puzzling narrative missteps. The story might have its flaws and the characters are not much to write home about but this is a film where style is king and wow is it a breathless ride.

Director Matt Reeves created something truly visceral, immediate and immersive. If a monster did land in Manhattan and someone was there to film it, this is what it would be like. It clearly borrows (some would argue highly insensitively) from the horrific amateur videos of 9/11 that were broadcast on the news, in documentaries and have now found their homes on YouTube. The destruction of buildings and iconic landmarks, dust covered streets and people, and the emergency services seeming completely out of their depth are all recognisable elements from the handheld home videos of people who grabbed their cameras on September 11th 2001.

Found footage films often have a problem with believability despite their aesthetics being designed to convince you of their veracity. The main problem is that no one believes that a character would keep filming when faced with imminent danger and especially the very real prospect of their own demise. However, this is another area where Cloverfield excels. In giving the duty of camera operating to funny guy Hud, the audience can totally buy in to the idea that this guy just wants to keep filming. First he is reluctant when offered the job of documenting the leaving party of Rob. Then he quickly finds it fun and assumes the responsibility that has been handed to him. Even after the party is rudely interrupted by a giant monster tearing off the head of the Statue of Liberty and throwing it down a street, Hud decides it is still his duty to document the events in which he finds himself a participant.

His continued filming is completely believable. In light of all the videos from 9/11, we know that people desire to film and share this kind of extraordinary footage. Like Hud says, people WILL want to see how it all went down. His reactions from behind the camera feel real. He screams, repeats his cries to God over and over again, and his confusion and fear are constantly palpable. His filming is not the work of a calm professional but instead the haphazard flailing of a terrified individual.

Like Heather from The Blair Witch Project who was determined to keep making that goddam documentary even when she was losing her mind, (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!) Hud keeps filming right until his death. His last surviving friends realise the importance of the camera in capturing their legacy and record their last messages to the world before being blown to smithereens. It's a wonderfully bleak ending that leaves the audience to decide if the bombing actually managed to kill the monster. In a final bit of bitter irony, the previously recorded Coney Island day trip of lovers Rob and Beth flashes up on the screen as Beth says to camera 'I had a good day'. If you look carefully, you will see something crash into the ocean in the distance. It's a perfect bit of non-linear storytelling that ends the film on a deeply sad note (even if you don't care much for the hipster characters) by taking us back to the beginning of the story just as all is lost.

For all its flaws, I love Cloverfield nearly as much as I love The Blair Witch Project. Forget any versions of Godzilla, Cloverfield is the definitive monster movie of our generation.

More from I Love That Film:

Buy my book on The Blair Witch Project

Deconstructing Cinema: Cloverfield

Characters With Cameras 

Results for the Best Found Footage Film 

New York at The Movies

Referenced in a book on Found Footage Horror

Yesterday I discovered that an article of mine has been referenced in the book Found Footage Horror Films by Alex Heller-Nicholas @FoundHorror. I bought this book last week as it sounds perfect for my PHD thesis and when I was looking through the bibliography, much to my surprise I saw this!

You can read the article here entitled Zero Day and Cloverfield: Shooting America's Scars here:

Message from Side By Side Producer

On the plus side, after having Game of Thrones spoiled for me, I also on the same day received this lovely message from the producer of the fantastic documentary Side By Side which I reviewed for Filmoria here and also compared to the documentary Sound City here. The producer is Justin Szasla and he sent me an email saying exactly this:

Hi Peter--I am the producer of the doc SIDE BY SIDE and I just happened to read your DVD review today. Thanks for writing such an intelligent, conscientious and thoughtful piece. -Justin Szlasa

How cool is that? Firstly to think that he stumbled upon my review at Filmoria and secondly that he would take a moment to say such a kind thing. What a gentleman! 

It's only the second time I've had a filmmaker contact me about a review and the first time was less pleasant. Once upon a time Jonathan Newman, the director of a film called Foster, tweeted to me saying my review was "interesting". It was a (generous) two star review and I said back to him that I wished I could put in every review 'but at least this guy got a film made which is an incredible achievement' but I thought people would get bored of reading that.

Anyway now I'm on a roll there was also the time one of the stars of My Brother the Devil tweeted this:

Thx 2 @filmoria 4 giving @mbtdfilm an Amazing review! *powerful performances nearing perfection* *endlessly complex* *purely entertaining*
— James Floyd (@iJamesFloyd) October 30, 2012

And the time Matt Reeves director of Cloverfield tweeted this:

@pturner1010 Really enjoyed your article, Peter.
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) March 5, 2011

Have you had any feedback from the wonderful people that make the movies we all love to watch and write about? Did you get as excited as me?

Becoming a Found Footage Horror Expert: Media Interview

Have you ever been interviewed for TV or radio? I've done a couple of bits and pieces in the past but never have I been called as an expert to discuss something that I am supposed to know a lot about. As part of my training for my PhD on found footage horror movies, Oxford Brookes University put on a media training workshop.

The idea of the workshop is to prepare academic students for being approached by the media and specifically journalists looking for an expert on a particular subject. We had to consider what exactly about our research might make an interesting story and what specific aspects of our findings would interest journalists.

Usually in these training workshops I sit very silently at the back, hoping that no one will ask me what my research is on. Usually the other PhD students in attendance are doing amazing research that will no doubt help the world in some huge and brilliant way. Then there's me and I have to talk about found footage movies. It gets a bit embarrassing when people are doing such incredible research into things that really really matter and could change lives. I usually come away feeling a bit depressed and useless.

The other thing I find very difficult is talking in an academic way, using all the fancy language and articulating my thoughts in a professional and intelligent way. I'm much better at writing than talking but I'm not a natural academic that's for sure!

But in this session run by Tim and Lily from media players international, we were encouraged to not use overly complex and detailed language and to be able to speak simply and plainly about our research. The idea is that we are communicating with a mass audience who know next to nothing about what we are talking about and we have to simplify and explain and keep to the point of the story.

We got loads of great tips from Tim and Lily and the whole day culminated in a couple of mock interviews. Lily had prepared questions to ask me as if she was a journalist interested in my studies. They were very interesting questions and she's clearly done her research which made the interviews really fun!

I'm not even going to go in to how much I hate the silly facial expressions I pull but overall I think I did ok at talking about my research in a very basic and easy to understand and (hopefully) vaguely interesting way. Please give them a watch and let me know what you think! Please be gentle though!

The Many Methods of Movie Marketing: Part 2

The second of four parts that will cover all the different methods of movie marketing. This is mainly for my film students who are looking at the relationship between film producers and audiences. First we looked at how producers get information from audiences and now we move on to how producers give information to audiences. You can find part one on posters and trailers here.

Films with large marketing budgets can also afford to do radio and television advertising. These TV and radio spots are very short mini-trailers for the films and are expensive but tell a large audience about the films. They can be targeted by the programmes and times that they appear in the media. A film can have several different TV spots that target different audiences by highlighting different elements of the film. For example Shaun of the Dead had TV spots that emphasised the romantic comedy elements and others that accentuated the zombie conventions. Some TV spots highlighted the critics reaction to the film by including quotes (see below). Distributors can also place adverts in other types of media such as magazines and newspapers. Film magazines in particular will feature many mini-posters for new release films.

 

Increasingly film producers and distributors are using the internet to market films. This can be similar to other media advertising with banners and other images from the film appearing around websites. For example at the top of the Total Film website on 7^th December 2012, there was a banner for The Dark Knight Rises out now to buy on iTunes. 

Also YouTube and other video sharing websites have become some of the best places to watch trailers. Not only are they all uploaded by either fans or the studios, but often before people watch a video on YouTube, they have to watch an advert which could be a trailer for a film. Studios also fork out for an official website for their films. For example The Hobbit has a site that has an image gallery, videos, and special features and downloads and these official sites also often include games, particularly if it is a family film. It also features the official worldwide release dates. 

The Blair Witch Project was an excellent example of a website that built interest in a film. The makers had not a lot of money to promote their film and so created a detailed backstory about the events in the film and made the website appear as if all the events in the film were true. It got people talking and allowed them to explore the mythology further. 

Other films have since made fake websites to help sell the film. This viral marketing is becoming one of the most popular ways of building interest in a film long before it is released. The idea is that people get involved with the marketing and share it and discover it themselves. Cloverfield had fake websites including one for the fake drink Slusho that tied into the film (http://www.slusho.jp/). Warner Brothers also created fake campaign websites for the character Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. They even went much further:

‘On December 3rd a new page appeared at whysoserious.com/steprightup with a hammer game and some teddy bear toys. Each toy had an address on it located in a number of cities around the US. The note on the game told people to go to that address and say their name was "Robin Banks" (get it, "Robbing Banks") and they'd get something there. It was first come, first serve, and each location was a bakery. What they were given was a cake with a phone number written on it. Now here's the best part: inside the cake was an evidence bag (complete with Gotham City Police printing) that contained a cell phone, a charger, a Joker playing card and a note with instructions.’ (http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/the-dark-knights-viral-marketing-gets-very-real-cakes-cell-phones-and-all/)

Another type of marketing is using other companies to create promotional tie-ins. The hope is that if the film studios let a fast food or drinks company use their logo, it will increase consumer awareness and the company hopes to increase sales of their product through association with the film. This is like branding and increasing brand recognition. Burger King and Warner Brothers joined forces to create the The Dark Whopper and a cinema and television advertising campaign promoting the product and the film. 

More recently Volvo teamed up with the producers of the Twilight Saga: 

‘Volvo launched the Lost In Forks online contest, in which Twilight fans navigate an XC60 through the town of Forks, Washington following clues that lead to Edward’s home. It doesn’t matter that many of the contest participants won’t be old enough to drive in real life. Volvo said moms will take a look at the XC60 based on their kids’ enthusiasm’ (http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/06/twilight-fans-root-for-team-volvo/)

 Part 3 on merchandising and premieres coming soon! 

Results for the Best Found Footage Film

A while back I asked you to vote for your favourite found footage movies. You can see the results in full here. There were exactly 80 votes in total so a massive thanks to everybody who voted!  I know it's an unpopular sub-genre but people mostly seem to like a few of these so I gave all voters the chance of picking their top 3.

Diary of the Dead, The Last Broadcast, The Magician and The Last Horror Movie were the big losers racking up an impressive zero votes each. The Last Horror Movie is quite a good little British horror and I suspect not a lot of people have seen it. The Magician is like an Australian version of Man Bites Dog and I imagine this is again little seen. Diary of the Dead is Romero's attempt at found footage and has some interesting moments but overall is nothing compared to his original 'Dead' trilogy. The Last Broadcast is the film that came out the same year as Blair Witch but ultimately got forgotten by history.

Zero Day (one of my favourites), The Last Exorcism, Project X and Grave Encounters all got one vote. I haven't seen Project X and am curious despite the hostility I heard towards it. Grave Encounters went on a little long and lost its way but had some effective scares and has a great set up. Zero Day is excellent but needs to be seen by a wider audience.

Quarantine, the American remake of Rec, just beat Rec 2 and Man Bites Dog by getting 3 votes to their 2 votes each. Paranormal Activity just beat the daddy of found footage Cannibal Holocaust with 5 votes to 4. Rec towered above all of these with 9 votes.

For the most part, it looked like there might be a tie between Chronicle, Cloverfield, Troll Hunter and Blair Witch. Eventually however Troll Hunter failed to compete and fell behind ending up with 11 votes. Blair Witch and Chronicle pulled ahead with 13 votes but Matt Reeves' New York trashing monster managed to pip all the competition by taking home 14 votes and is therefore the overall winner!

So there you have it. Cloverfield is officially the greatest found footage film ever (as voted for by 80 people). Let's hope they get round to making an equally as thrilling sequel or prequel one day without tarnishing the original. Or maybe they should just leave it alone?

Writing for Static Mass Emporium

In my continuing quest to make a portfolio of all my online scribblings, I am now moving from the interviews and news stories I have written for Filmoria to my writing for another fantastic film website Static Mass Emporium.

This site takes a slightly more academic but also personal approach to film criticism and analysis.  There are many different sections on the site including those on cult cinema, new releases, directors, and deconstructing cinema one scene at a time.  It is a great honour to be published alongside the other works on there.

The first ever article I had published was on the work of director Michael Moore and had already appeared in Media Magazine. This is the only article I have had published for the Director's Chair part of the site but I am very keen to contribute something on Danny Boyle in the future.

The article on Michael Moore is here.

I have contributed three articles for the Deconstructing Cinema section so far. The first was on the monster attack scene in Cloverfield where the statue of liberty is beheaded.  The next were on the open ending of La Haine and the dinner table scenein American History X.

Cloverfield

La Haine

American History X 

I have written some reviews for the Cult Cinema section mainly leading up to Halloween and focusing on some horror classics:

Night of the Living Dead

28 Days Later

Saw

For the New Releases section, I have contributed the following:

Grabbers

Safety Not Guaranteed
 

Life of Pi

End of Watch

Sightseers

The Hunt

And my first article for The Emporium section is a review of Dangerous Minds.

I will update this post as I have more articles published over at Static Mass Emporium.  For now head over and check out some of the other brilliant articles there.

Vote for the Best Found Footage Film

As part of my PhD thesis research I'd like to know what are the most popular found footage films to you my lovely readers!  I've put a list of the most commonly known ones here but please feel free to let me know if there are others you prefer!

Please vote for your top 3 and if you fancy leaving a comment on why they are your favourites, I would really appreciate it.  I know most people seem to hate found footage but I bet you've all seen a few of these and I bet you've even quite liked at least a couple of them.

If you hate found footage with a passion, then please feel free to just vote for the three that you least hate.  I'd love to get as many responses as possible to this so please feel free to share with anyone and everyone!  This is the first ever poll at I Love That Film and I hope it won't be the last.

I was tempted to put End of Watch on here but I don't think it really counts as there is so much in it that it is not shot from the camcorders that the characters carry.  Same as REC 3.  I haven't seen Lovely Molly yet so not sure where that sits either.

Personally I love voting at your blogs so I hope you will enjoy contributing to this one.  Here's the poll!  Voting closes on 30th November!  Happy voting!

Film Review – Paranormal Activity 4

Has the Paranormal Activity franchise still got what it takes to scare audiences silly?  Have horror fans seen one too many found footage films now?  Head on over to Filmoria for my full review of Paranormal Activity 4.

As most people who occasionally read this blog will know, I am the fool who is currently doing a thesis on the found footage sub-genre in modern horror and so I have to watch every single one of these films as they are ejected into cinemas or more commonly straight onto DVD. 

The big question is, does this fourth installment in the low budget put very profitable franchise come close to recent developments of the found footage trend in other genres such as the superhero themed Chronicle?  And can Paranormal Activity 4 live up to expectations set incredibly high by films like The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield? 

Common consensus was that the previous installment in the series managed to bring back a bit of the first film's magic after the disappointment of the second film.  Star of the series so far Katie Featherston returns in this sequel that brings audiences more supernatural shenanigans to give you sleepless nights.  I interviewed her before the special gala screening and you can read the interview here. 

Please check out my review at Filmoria to find out what I thought about the highly anticipated Paranormal Activity 4 which was released in cinemas today.

And please let me know in the comments below what you think of the review or the film if you've seen it.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will Rise with Matt Reeves

 Matt Reeves, the director of found footage monster mash Cloverfield and horror remake Let Me In is confirmed to helm the Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes sequel. The follow up, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is scheduled for a 2014 release.

After the news broke that original director Rupert Wyatt would not be returning for more ape action in the sequel, Fox drew up a short list of potential directors. Matt Reeves was always reportedly the favourite and obviously seems unfazed by the tight production schedule as he prepares to shoot for a summer 2014 release.  Many will be disappointed after the promising inclusion of such directors as Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Rian Johnson (Looper) on the original wish list...

Read more of this story at Filmoria.

Deconstructing Cinema: Cloverfield

Six years after 9/11, a mysterious teaser trailer appeared in cinemas before screenings of Michael Bay’s explosive but empty Transformers (2007) film. With no title, just a release date and the name of producer J.J. Abrams, the teaser showed a party full of young professionals being disrupted by huge roars and a distant explosion. The trailer culminated with the head of the Statue of Liberty flying through the air and bouncing down a street full of terrified people. Backed up by a viral marketing campaign that leaked limited information about the monster featured in the film, Cloverfield built up a strong following before it was released in January 2008...

Read the rest of this article at Static Mass Emporium. 

Finding the Fun in Found Footage

Please go and take a moment to check out my first article for Boolean Flix all about why you shouldn't hate on the found footage fad in modern horror!  Let me know what you think either here or over at Boolean Flix.

Found Footage PhD Update

Been a bit quiet on the blogging front and that's because for the last week I've been working on clarifying what my thesis is actually aiming to do.  It's taken me eight drafts to get this right.  I won't bore you with the details but for anyone who is interested.  This is the nuts and bolts of what I've been researching for the last year and a half and what I will be working on for the next three and half years:

Identification, Self-Consciousness and Proof in the ‘First-Person’ Contemporary Horror Film 

 My investigation will focus on the use of the mock-documentary format in contemporary horror cinema, and more specifically on those films such as The Blair Witch Project (Myrick and Sanchez, 1999), Paranormal Activity (Peli, 2007) and Cloverfield (Reeves, 2008) that create the impression of a character within the film being in control of the camera. It is my aim to analyse the aesthetic, technological and perceptual elements of these films in order to:

 

• Ascertain all the key influences on the body of films studied here as concerns production, reception and aesthetics
• Establish who or what the audience is encouraged to identify with when viewing the films and why this identification occurs
• Establish the aesthetic, technological and psychological means by which the audience is primed for the viewing experience of these films
• Ascertain how the level of self-consciousness (e.g. the characters’ awareness that they are being filmed) impacts on the viewing experience and thought processes of the viewer 
• Determine how video recording technology is used as a method to gain proof and often fails in the task of collecting evidence of the supernatural by the characters in the film 

 So that's it bascially.  That's what I'm spending five years of my life and a shitload of money on.  If anyone does have an interest in seriously academic analysis, I will try and do the occasional update on this but I can completely understand if you think this sounds desperately boring and pretentious.  And if so, my humble apologies!



Meanwhile in completely unrelated news, have you seen the Skyfall teaser?


   

What do you reckon, best Bond ever?  Well until Nolan grabs the reins (fingers crossed)!