4) The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Famously shot on a shoe-string budget of around $60,000, The Blair Witch Project was a pretty groundbreaking lo-fi found-footage horror from the relatively inexperienced filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. I say pretty groundbreaking because it wasn’t actually the first found-footage movie ever released like many believe it to be. Instead, that honour goes to the 1980’s horror “documentary” Cannibal Holocaust. That said, The Blair Witch Project’s use of recovered camera footage felt incredibly fresh in the late ’90s and its mysterious mythos and savvy marketing led many to believe it to be authentically “real.”
The movie focuses on three student filmmakers who hike out into the remote Black Hills in Maryland to shoot a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch. Inexplicably, only their camera footage is what’s left after the three disappear on their travels.
This is a raw, cunningly crafted horror flick that gives way to a hauntingly panic-inducing finale. Much of its horrific impact stems from what you don’t see, which is always the sign of a strong horror film. Its success sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood and spawned a myriad of found-footage copycats, but arguably none have hit home quite like The Blair Witch Project.