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Disturbingly Scary Found Footage Horror Films Now Streaming On Netflix

By Cia Young

From the archive: published Nov 6, 2016, 10 years ago. Details may have changed since.

Netflix is now streaming a number of scary found footage horror films, with those below being some of the more disturbing and chill-inducing movies in the genre.

Creep (2014) Rated R

This film is aptly titled as Mark Duplass (The Mindy Project, The League ) is eerily creepy as a very odd man named Josef who hires Aaron (Patrick Brice), a videographer, to document his life for his unborn child. Josef claims he once had cancer, which he beat, but now has a brain tumor that is sure to take his life. According to Josef, his wife, Angela (Duplass’ real life wife, Katie Aselton), is currently pregnant, thus the urgency to obtain these recordings is of the utmost importance.

After some quite disturbing revelations during Aaron’s visit with Josef, a terrified Aaron leaves Josef’s somewhat remote home and decides to end all ties with him. Josef does not feel the same and unsettling horror ensues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYx5R6kbJTQ

The Sacrament (2013) Rated R

This movie was directed by Ti West (The ABC’s of Death, V/H/S, The House of the Devil ), who’s no stranger to the found footage genre, and involves the investigation of a Christian-based religious cult. The story is told through the lens of a reporter, Sam (A.J. Bowen), his cameraman, Jake (Joe Swanberg), and photographer Patrick (Kentucky Audley), whose sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) has joined the cult called Eden Parish. Patrick is desperate to locate Caroline, a recovering drug addict.

The cult or commune itself is reminiscent of Jonestown with armed guards patrolling the grounds and a Jim Jones-type leader who is called Father (Gene Jones). Although most of the members of Eden Parish appear to be happy and well taken care of in their remote paradise only accessible by helicopter, a few disturbing events reveal all may not be as it seems.

V/H/S (2012) Rated R

V/H/S is the first film in a series of found footage escapades and begins with a group of thugs hired to steal an extremely rare VHS tape from a weird, remotely located house. When they enter the strange, dark home, they find what looks like a dead body in a chair that is sitting in front of a bunch of old televisions.

As they search for the VHS tape they are seeking, they view disturbing footage featuring a variety of horrific images and scenarios. From zombies to monsters, and murder to a frightening exorcism, this found-footage compilation is one that viewers won’t soon forget.

V/H/S/2 (2013) Rated R

Just as the first installment in the V/H/S series began with an interesting premise, it’s sequel does so as well. The fun begins when a woman hires two private investigators to find her missing son, a college student. In their search, the PIs break into his dorm room and find a ton of VHS tapes and his laptop that seems to be recording footage.

The four stories that follow involve a very spooky tale about an ocular implant, a zombie nightmare, a bloody and disgusting Indonesian cult, and an alien invasion. Although many have not given V/H/S 2 the recognition V/H/S has enjoyed, it is a thrilling watch for found footage fanatics.

V/H/S: Viral (2014) Rated R

On the heels of V/H/S 2 came V/H/S Viral with 4 more stories of disturbing found footage horror. According to Crave, the initial segment “does little to set up the other entries” that follow, but has “manic intensity.” As such, the film starts off with a high-speed chase in Los Angeles and the strange consequences that result. The second segment involves an illusionist who garners power from the cloak of the one and only Houdini, which results in deadly consequences. Demons and a pornographic snuff film are part of the third story, while the final tale involves skateboarders, also in search of making a snuff film, who end up in an unsettling, scary situation in Mexico.

This installment of the V/H/S franchise is worth viewing and is “the most consistently scary yet,” according to Crave.

The Den (2013) Rated R

The Den is a cautionary tale about interactive sites, akin to Chatroulette, where people randomly interact with one another over a webcam. The story involves graduate student Elizabeth Benton (Melanie Papalia) who is studying a similar type of website called “The Den” to understand why people find such interaction popular. Her experiences with the site go from fun and intriguing to horrific and dangerous after her account is hacked by evildoers.

This disturbing found footage film offers up a bunch of scares, and as Horror Freak News writes it forces “the viewer to take a second look at normality with new eyes towards there being something sinister lurking there…,” but also notes, “The mood of the film gives way to generic ‘look behind you’ jump scares over and over again…”

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