Real or Not? The Power of Found Footage Films
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project + Paranormal Activity (USA) vs. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (Korea) + The Possessed (China)
What if what you’re watching isn’t just a movie? What if it really happened?
That’s the chilling magic of found footage horror—films that use shaky cameras, on-screen timestamps, and unscripted chaos to make fear feel real. They blur the line between fiction and reality, pulling you into the screen like you’re part of the nightmare.
📹 Found Footage in the West: Making Fear Look Real
When The Blair Witch Project (1999) hit theaters, people genuinely thought it was real. With a micro-budget and no big-name actors, the film’s raw documentary style made the horror feel uncomfortably close. The same goes for Paranormal Activity—another low-budget hit that used static home camera footage to make the supernatural feel like something that could happen in your own bedroom.
“What makes found footage powerful,” Professor John Hall explained, “is how it removes the distance between you and the horror. You’re not just watching—you’re experiencing it.”
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
These films thrive on simplicity, suggestion, and suspense, letting the audience fill in the blanks and have a strong impact on the filmmaking career.
👁️ Found Footage in Asia: Urban Legends & Livestreamed Terror
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
Asian horror brings its own twist to the format. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018) follows a group of YouTubers livestreaming their ghost-hunting trip inside a real abandoned psychiatric hospital. It’s fast-paced, terrifying, and full of social commentary on fame-chasing in the digital age.
Meanwhile, The Possessed (China) leans more into spiritual possession and traditional exorcism, but uses first-person camera angles and handheld footage to ground the experience in realism.
The possessed (2016)
Unlike the quiet dread of Paranormal Activity, these films tend to be faster, louder, and more chaotic, tapping into urban legends, livestream culture, and fears of the unknown lurking in forgotten spaces.
📲 Final Thoughts
Found footage horror works because it feels real. Whether it’s a forest in Maryland, a bedroom in San Diego, or an abandoned asylum in Seoul, these films remind us that sometimes the scariest things are what we don’t see—and what we can’t explain.
As Professor Hall noted, “For Gen Z audiences raised in digital environments, these formats aren’t gimmicks—they’re familiar. Horror that looks like your everyday screen is more immersive than ever.”
Next week, we’ll unravel the psychology behind transmissible horror—when fear itself is the disease.
Let’s watch The Possessed on Youtube, a blend of Chinese folklore and found footage.
