Apollo 18 (Page 2 of 2)

Regarding the movie, it was crap for sure. Found footage is a bit of a paradox for me, because while I would define it as one of my favorite genres of horror, the vast majority of found footage movies I see I think are crap. But when it's done right, I think it's an awesome mechanic. Blair Witch was obviously the first one that saw any kind of mainstream success, but even that film doesn't really hold up that well for me upon later rewatching even though I thought it was great the first time I saw it. The earliest one I know of is an obscure indie film called "The Last Broadcast" that was about the Jersey Devil. It's not great, to be honest, but it was pretty experimental for its time. Since then, there have been a plethora of shitty FF movies that have come out (this one included) and the stuff you guys said about it being a massive cost saving measure is interesting and something I never considered. It's sad that it ends up getting used in that fashion, because I think it can be used to great effect when the story is designed around the concept.

I've seen a ton, but the only ones I've really thought were good were:

[Rec] (but not the US remake at all) This one was creepy as hell, but the US version fell flat in pretty much every way. It's one of many examples of how horror (like comedy) is such a delicate formula and if just one element is out of place the entire thing can fall apart.
[Rec2] to a lesser extent but overall it did a lot of things right like [Rec]
Blair Witch
The Last Exorcism (not the scariest but the story was really interesting)
V/H/S 1 and 2 (fun stories and with the first film even though it was almost two hours I would have happy to watch another story)
I'm watching V/H/S 3 right now but I'm not sure if it's as much fun as the previous installments.

The Paranormal Activity movies are ok at best, but they follow a very set formula. Weird shit happens, a little bit at first then more frequently. Only one person actually buys it for a while until around the end of the second act when it escalates, then in the third act most of the characters believe and get killed. I haven't seen the 4th, but the 3rd was the first one that I actually liked because it was the first one that had likeable characters. Pro tip: If you want your horror movie to work, make the characters relatable and likeable or else the audience won't care what happens to them.

What (if any) found footage films have you guys enjoyed?

The mockumentary style is a bit of a turnoff for me because I feel like it pretty much spoils the ending. Obviously, unless at least part of the story isn't anecdotal, you already know who makes it through intact and who doesn't and that reduces the tension for me. Lake Mungo, The Bay, Europa Report, etc all have this issue because it doesn't take long for you to figure out who did and didn't make it and then you're spending the rest of the film waiting to see -what- happens to them, but the certainty over their fate kinda kills it for me.

When it works for me is in an example like Last Ecorcist or [REC] where a news report or documentary is the pretense for filming, but there are no "post event" interviews and the movie is just the "found footage".