It’s Halloween tonight, and nothing is better than grabbing some popcorn and curling up in the dark to watch scary movies to really get those spooky vibes flowing!

I absolutely LOVE the horror genre, and Halloween is the perfect excuse to hit play on all my favourite scares. With such an extensive catalogue of horror films, it can be a little tricky to know what film to choose. So, I’m going to treat you with some spooky recommendations to add to your Halloween watchlist.

Now, as I mentioned, there is an extensive catalogue of horror films, and I couldn’t possible narrow down all my favourites, especially with so many sub-genres in the horror genre. So, I am going to give you a list of some of my favourite scares in my favourite sub-genre… found footage.

Found footage is one of my favourite sub-genres in the horror category. It is a cinematic technique in which a film is presented as if it were video recordings made by the characters in the story, and that footage is later “found.” This is such a psychologically terrifying use of cinema because it gives the story such an intense sense of realism. After all, we tend to believe what we can see, and what better way to perceive someone’s story as real than by seeing it happen.

There are so many fantastic found footage films, but these titles brought me genuine entertainment and instilled a deep fear that still lives with me today.

So, whether you need something spooky for date night, a watch party with your friends, a family movie night, or a solo spooky night, there is sure to be something on this list to get those spooky vibes flowing no matter the occasion.

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The Blair Witch Project is probably one of the most famous found footage films ever made. It is undoubtedly one of my favourite horror films of all time.

Although the story seems completely real, it is entirely fictional, including the legend of the Blair Witch, which the creators conceived solely for the film. The story follows three student filmmakers – Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard – as they hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, USA, in 1994 to film a documentary about the local myth of the Blair Witch. They find themselves lost in the depths of the woods and as time goes on they begin to encounter some strange and scary things. As their fear peaks, so too does the story. The three of them disappear, but their equipment was found a year later, along with their footage that shows every horrifying detail of what happened to them.

This film instilled a fear like no other deep into my core, and that fear has stuck with me ever since my first viewing. Every time I go for a walk through the bush or a forest, I have an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach that I am being watched, and if I hear a branch or stick crack or tumbling of rocks, then you better believe that I am sprinting my way to the end of the track; and every time I go downstairs into a creepy basement or garage I check all the corners and I do not spend one second more than necessary down there before I RUN back up the stairs. Also, camping is on my not-to-do list not because of this movie.

Although this film was made in the late 90’s, there is something truly special about it that makes its fear timeless. The juxtaposition between the footage is really inspired for the time; the documentary footage that the students captured added an element of audience-perceived truth to what they were investigating, setting up our beliefs for what was to come, and the behind-the-scenes point-of-view footage gives a raw and intense sense of reality to what we were watching.

I was absolutely convinced that this was real, and I will unashamedly confess that I believed it for YEARS. That is how good this movie is; it is just so believable and it feels real.

There is also a movie titled Blair Witch that was made in 2016 and is a direct sequel to the original 1999 film. With advances in technology and cinematic equipment, this film is almost just as terrifying as the original. I highly recommend adding both to your watch list if you want something to watch that is so scary that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Another highly popular film in the found footage genre is Paranormal Activity, and it is also high up on my favourite horror film list with The Blair Witch Project. Nothing has scared me quite the same way that The Blair Witch Project did until I saw Paranormal Activity.

The story follows Katie and Micah as they move in together, taking the next step in their relationship. After some strange things happen, Katie reveals to Micah that an evil presence has haunted her since childhood and must have followed her to their house. Micah sets up a camera in their bedroom to capture any paranormal activity that may be occurring while they are sleeping. After a visit from a psychic, it is suggested that the entity haunting Katie is a demon and is feeding off the negative energy that is resulting from its tormenting behaviours. Katie recalls that something similar happened to her and her younger sister Kristi when they were kids. The psychic then recommends that they do not communicate with the demon without the help of a demonologist, however Micah continues to film and seek it out. The camera captures many strange occurrences throughout the night, starting small with flickering lights and moving doors, but over time escalates to intense and violent actions.

This film has a massive scare factor and has instilled a fear that has stuck with me. The realness created by the home video style footage makes it feel, well, real. Also, the thought of having an entity haunting you and following you throughout your life, waiting for the perfect moment to make its move to torment you and take you, is absolutely terrifying; something that you can feel and see evidence of its presence but not actually see it… that just sends chills down my spine.

I think the film’s simplicity is another aspect that makes it so scary; it’s just two people in love and happy as they take the next step in their lives together, and it all takes place in their home. There are no extravagant sets, and there are no unnecessary special effects… it’s just raw footage filmed from their home camera, capturing their point of view. It feels real and it is scary.

This takes me to the second film…

Paranormal Activity 2 is a parallel sequel to Paranormal Activity. Most of the film’s events occur two months before the first film’s events, focusing on Kristi and her family after the birth of her son, Hunter. They begin to experience some strange activity after Hunter is born.

This film is presented as footage captured from the security cameras around their home and some hand-held camera footage to film the activity occurring in the house. The hand-held camera – as I have established – is such a brilliant technique to provoke fear due to how real it makes it feel, but the addition of the security camera footage was an incredibly terrifying (and intelligent) element. It added a voyeuristic element as the viewer watches these people go about their lives in their home, and added an immense fear factor upon the realisation that these people were not alone, especially when you noticed a presence before they did. The kitchen scene TO THIS DAY is one of the most terrifying scenes in a movie I have ever seen – I won’t spoil it by giving details if you haven’t seen it, but if you have seen it is definitely an IYKYK kind of scene.

I feel like this is the scariest film in the series, but there are still a lot of questions from both films that remain unanswered. Which takes me to the third film…

Paranormal Activity 3 takes place in 1988, focusing on Katie and Kristi as children. In this film, they first experience the demon entity that was attached to them in the first films, a demon that becomes known as “Tobi.” The footage is captured by a series of cameras set up throughout the house, a hand-held camera, and a camera attached to an oscillating fan to capture the kitchen and the living room and thus creating some of the most terrifying atmospheric tension and fear in the film.

This film gives the backstory to the first two films and honestly the film series could have finished here. However, there are 4 more films. Paranormal Activity 4 brings things back to the current modern timeline, and it does have links to the other three films so it is worth watching if you want to complete the Katie story arch, but I honestly think that the first three are the best and are complete enough. The other three films – Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, and Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin – while scary, are a bit meh. However, if I had to pick any of those to watch, The Ghost Dimension would have the biggest fear factor.

Paranormal Activity is a film and a film series that have given me severe heebie-jeebies over the years. It is definitely a great addition to a Halloween watch list.

DASHCAM is an interesting take on the found footage genre. The footage isn’t “found” after the events; instead, it is “found” during the events. How does this work? Well, the main character – Annie – is live-streaming her experience.

The story follows Annie as she leaves the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit her friend in London, England. After she takes her friend’s car and give a ride to a strange elderly woman, she finds herself in a terrifying situation as a series of nightmarish events occur.

This was an entertaining style of found footage film. The live-streaming aspect added an extra level of fear to the film, watching everything unfolding in “real-time” and getting more and more terrifying as the night went on.

There is a really good aspect of atmospheric fear, too. You’ll find yourself looking at all areas of the screen as you try to figure out if Annie is safe or if there is more danger heading her way.

This is a great addition to your Halloween watch list.

We’ve all heard all sorts of creepy stories from people answering online ads, but the story in this film takes the cake.

The film follows Aaron after he answers an online ad and goes to a stranger’s house to film him for the day. The man claims that he wants to make a film for his unborn child. However, his requests become more and more bizarre as the day goes on.

When I say that things get weird, I mean they get weird… but it is the best kind of weird that you could want in a movie like this.

CREEP is actually one of the creepiest movies I have ever seen. The psychological aspect alone will reinforce the “stranger danger” rule in your head. It’s the perfect addition to your Halloween watchlist if you’re after a psychological scare.

Oh, and there is also a sequel if you’re up for increasing the creep factor for your evening.

Hell House LLC is the first of four films, with a fifth scheduled for release in October 2025. Honestly, this is one of the scariest film series I have seen in the found-footage genre.

The story of Hell House LLC is filmed in a documentary style of found footage. It follows a documentary crew as they investigate and uncover what really happened to cause the deaths of fifteen people in the haunted house experience five years ago.

The movie is filled with many creepy occurrences that build to create some seriously scary moments, and together with the atmospheric fear that builds throughout the film, makes for a very scary movie.

The first three films revolve around the abandoned haunted house Hell House LLC, originally known as the Abaddon Hotel (all entirely fictitious, which is sometimes hard to remember with how real found footage films can feel). The entire series investigates and details the hotel’s history, and it is all very scary.

Whether you want to have a scare-a-thon or just watch one, Hell House LLC is great to add to your watchlist on Halloween.

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I hope this list has given you some ideas for your Halloween watch list. I’d love to know your thoughts if you watch any of them, or if you have already seen them. I would also love to know any of your found footage film recommendations.

Have a spooky Halloween!

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