The found footage genre involves films that are wholly or partly shot through the medium of discovered video recordings, archival footage, and other unconventional camera formats. These films are supposed to look like amateur recordings on purpose. While found footage began as a subgenre in the 80s, it is the 1999 debut of the horror film The Blair Witch Project which made this technique a staple for several horror films.
Paranormal Activity, Creep, Cam, VHS, and many others have shown that found footage can be reinterpreted in several ways. However, the last two decades have spurn out a diverse array of found footage films in other genres too. Here are 10 such found footage films that are not horror.
End Of Watch
David Ayer might be known in the mainstream for movies like Suicide Squad and Bright. But before these, Ayer directed the cop thriller End Of Watch, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. It has no gritty villains, plot twists, and car chase sequences. Rather, it is a reality check inside the world of LAPD.
Shot in documentary-style, it explores the two protagonists’ bromance in such a way that the viewers actually start emphasizing for them and fearing for their lives, anytime when they are under threat. There is action in the movie but there is a certain philosophy too behind each gunshot, and each raid making it in a realistic nail-biter of a film.
Chronicle
One of the edgiest superhero films ever made, Chronicle is shot from a teenager’s handheld camera’s view. Andrew (played by Dane DeHaan) and his two friends discover a set of new superpowers which gives them the ability to fly, manipulate objects through telekinesis, and many other powers straight out of a comic book. What feels like fun and games eventually turns into something dark as Andrew starts misusing his abilities. Destruction and mayhem follow.
The film feels like a low budget indie venture in terms of scale and visual effects. The camera shakes, goes blurry at times, to create a unique watching experience. It’s a pity that director Josh Trank’s follow-up to this cult classic was the universally panned Fantastic Four reboot.
Project X
If The Hangover and Superbad had a lovechild, it would be Project X. In the same vein as Chronicle, this found footage movie also stars three teenagers who wish to throw a wild party to end all parties. Needless to say, things go awry.
The film plays out as if it’s a home video recorded by one of the partygoers, documenting the night’s happenings. Apparently, the movie inspired many other large-scale parties to be documented in such a manner!
Searching
Searching is a complicated work of art, presented entirely on computer screens, smartphones, and news footage. This thriller details the attempts of a father to piece together a mystery around his missing daughter.
Initially, director Aneesh Chaganty was reluctant of making a full-length feature with found footage as he felt this would make his film look gimmicky. But the end product surpassed all found footage tropes. It hardly feels like a found-footage documentary, but rather a compelling thriller with several plot twists. The equipment for this film involved various cameras like GoPros, helicopter drones, and Chaganty’s own iPhone’s camera!
The Other Side Of The Wind
This experimental Netflix film isn’t made for everyone. Directed by the legendary Orson Welles and released posthumously, the film details a director’s last days and the last film he’s working on. The film-inside-a-film concept might perplex some viewers but there is some smart satire hidden in the film.
Shot in the style of a mockumentary, the movie subtly takes shot at how pretentious some of the New Wave directors of Europe might have been with their philosophical concepts behind filmmaking. The film employs the found footage technique also because it has had a troubled history of production and editing, with some parts of the movie still missing. It was finally in 2018 that the movie could be completed and released.
Into The Storm
This is one of those disaster films that might be so bad that they’re good. As a series of tornadoes strike a fictional Oklahoma town, a storm chaser decides to investigate in an adventure that’s very reminiscent of Twister.
It’s shot from the perspective of the storm chaser’s cameras but apart from a few thrills, the movie has little to offer in terms of story. But then maybe, such movies are enjoyed best without paying much thought to the plot!
Earth To Echo
What’s with found footage dramas and three teen friends involved always (four in this case)? Shot from multiple perspectives of the friends, the plot centers around this extra-terrestrial, robotic alien called Echo whom they encounter.
Developed and produced by Walt Disney Studios, there was some hype around the film but it managed to fall flat, with viewers often comparing it to E.T.
Zero Day
Zero Day is a dark indie gem shot in the form of video diaries. It chronicles the plan of two boys who plan up to shoot down their school and be remembered as heroes for their deed. It’s a scary rendition of the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999.
The shooting at the school is also shown through CCTV footage, in a manner similar to the Columbine massacre. Because of its sensitive content and the realistic depiction of misguided youth, Zero Day isn’t a comfortable watch.
Forgotten Silver
Just like its title, many might have forgotten about this little-known New Zealand archival mockumentary film. This film was one of the earliest works by Peter Jackson who later helmed the direction of the Lord of the Rings franchise. The film depicts the life of a fictional movie director and his legacy.
It also features mock interviews with several actors commenting on this director. Out of the people interviewed, even Harvey Weinstein was featured!
District 9
Featuring fictional news footage, interviews, and documentary-like videography, District 9 is an unconventional take on the sci-fi genre. There are aliens in its world but there are no Michael Bay-influenced explosions or any MCU-level armed confrontations. Based in South Africa, the malnourished aliens are detained in a district separated from the rest of the society. One such alien’s interactions with a diplomat form the remainder of the movie.
Through this extra-terrestrial premise, director-writer Neil Blomkamp explores themes of xenophobia and segregation, as he indirectly compares this situation to the era of Apartheid in South Africa. The movie received universal acclaim for its themes and filmmaking with some critics hailing it as one of the best science fiction films of the 2000s.