Mockumentaries and found footage
Not on Flixster: Ghostwatch, Collinsville, Canadian Conspiracy, The Collingswood Story
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| cacutshaw's Rating | My Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
This Is Spinal Tap (1984, R) |
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| 2 |
Cannibal Holocaust (1979, NC-17) |
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| 3 |
The Blair Witch Project (1999, R)
I remember going to see a special screening of this and really enjoying it, while maybe being a tad cynical. However, the images and scenes from the film did not go away. in fact, scenes like babies crying outside tents, childrens' handprints on the walls and victims crying in the distance haunted me more once the movie was over. The whole mythology was excellent, and the ending is an absolute knockout. I think people were resistant going into the movie, the same way I would be going on a scary rollercoaster, not letting themselves get too into it, standing back and viewing it like a voyeur. In fact, I would think the idea of telling a horror story in first person, with the camera just recording the horror, making the audience more of a participant than a usual horror film would work more, but in the theater I was in people immediately started complaining. What film did they think they were going to see? |
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| 4 |
Waiting for Guffman (1996, R) |
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| 5 |
C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog) (It Happened in Your Neighborhood) (1992, NC-17)
Horrifying and hilarious mockumentary about a film crew following around a murderer. Still the best of the genre, it veers between being highly watchable to gut wrenching horror to pure vileness in the course of a couple scenes. If you like your films disturbing and haven't seen this one, do yourself a favour and go rent the Criterion DVD. It's uncut and includes both the infamous scenes. |
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| 6 |
Les Hurdes (Land Without Bread) (1933, Unrated) |
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| 7 |
Bob Roberts (1992, R) |
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| 8 |
Real Life (1979, PG)
Albert Brooks can just look into the camera and I crack up. Here he is at his best, doing a reality show (far ahead of it's time) on Charles Grodin's family. Brook's ego demands that he take center stage (shades of Michael Moore?) and he winds up distorting the reality of what he is filming. Very prophetic along with being very, very funny. |
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| 9 |
Forgotten Silver (1997, Unrated)
Peter Jackson does a perfect job telling the story of a filmmaker who rivals Erich Von Stroheim and D.W. Griffith in the epic department. Though I find it did get a little too audacious (would a movie with that much of a budget and so many extras really be forgotten?) it still played very well. Plus, I knew it wasn't true when I watched it, so I could nitpick. |
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| 10 |
Dai-Nipponjin (Big Man Japan) (2009, PG-13)
Brilliant! Expertly done take on the monster movie, mixed with a downbeat docudrama of a very unhappy man. I've heard some mention the slow pace as a criticism, but I thought it was perfect in setting the mood for the whole piece. I enjoyed the camera following the lead to the power factory on his motorcycle (with a beautiful score) as much as I loved the fight once he "powered up". I loved the interviews as much as I loved the ludicrous monsters. Hell, I just loved it. Touches of black humour (the scene with his daughter) do elicit laughs, without interrupting the downbeat drama aspect of the film. Simply fantastic. And oh what an ending. |
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| 11 |
Cloverfield (2008, PG-13)
You put a giant rampaging monster in your movie = you get my money. |
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| 12 |
My Little Eye (2002, R)
Great, slow burn horror film about a bunch of young adults staying in an isolated cottage to win a contest. Their every move is being recorded for the internet and if someone leaves, they all lose. I thought the film was pretty good on first viewing, but it's on of those rare films that the more I see it the more I love it. |
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| 13 |
Best in Show (2000, PG-13) |
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| 14 |
Zelig (1983, PG) |
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| 15 |
Incident at Loch Ness (2004, PG-13) |
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| 16 |
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006, R) |
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| 17 |
Noroi the Curse (2005, Unrated) |
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| 18 |
[Rec] (2007, R)
A great improvement over the mediocre Fragiles and a return to form for director Balaguero (that's right, I loved Darkness. Take that so called "horror fans"). Good characters, great action and horror and an excellent ending that makes the film feel more cultural as a Spanish film, which was an interesting take on the zombie genre. The whole cinema verite shooting works really well and adds a whole other element that Zombie Diaries and Diary of the Dead completely missed. An excellent film and I look quite forward to the remake by the director himself. |
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| 19 |
Paranormal Activity (2009, R)
Almost 3 years after hearing about how good this film was, being told it was being shelved to make way for a remake and then finding out it's getting a tiny, tiny release, I finally got to see it. Though it will inevitably be compared to Blair Witch I found it much closer in tone and spirit to The Collingswood Story and Ghostwatch, both of which I enjoyed tremendously. Unfortunately with PA, I had been looking forward to it so much and for so long I was expecting a masterpiece and what I saw was "only" a very good film. There isn't really anything (I should discuss anyway) that I had any problem with, and I would consider it a must see for anyone who enjoys any of the previously mentioned films. |
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| 20 |
...And God Spoke (The Making of '...And God Spoke') (1994, R) |
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| 21 |
Is There Sex After Death? (Is There Love After Death) (1971, Unrated) |
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| 22 |
FUBAR (2002, R) |
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| 23 |
Home Movie (2008, PG) |
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| 24 |
The Last Broadcast (1998, Unrated) |
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| 25 |
Alone with Her (2007, Unrated) |
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| 26 |
The Last Horror Movie (2004, R) |
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| 27 |
Welcome to the Jungle (2007, Unrated)
This movie is terrible until the pretty cool ending. We spend close to an hour with totally unlikable characters before anything of real importance happens (and I know the characters in Cannibal Holocaust are unlikable too, but at least they were evil along with being assholes), but when the payoff comes, it's pretty satisfying. Director Hensleigh made the same mistake with his Punisher film, showing way, way too much horseshit before getting to the meat of the movie (wow, seriously, that pun was not intended) and losing half the audience. It's okay if you're developing story or characters, but this is just padding, and annoying padding at that. I wish padding were more like Pad Thai, I love Pad Thai. Nevertheless, I don't remember any Jungle Cannibal movies that I dislike and I would hate to break that record, hell I even liked the awful Cannibal Terror. Until the cannibal genre is run into the dirt along with it's kin the zombie film, I shall still watch, and probably love and cherish, every cannibal opus to be released. Have I mentioned Pad Thai? I love it. |
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| 28 |
Slashers (2001, R) |
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| 29 |
Series 7: The Contenders (2001, R) |
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| 30 |
The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2009, R)
I didn't know whether audiences would ever see this one. I remember it being advertised over a year ago, then disappearing completely. Maybe it would have worked better back then, though I doubt it. |
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| 31 |
The Zombie Diaries (2007, Unrated)This movie makes the mistake of making the film about characters rather than using a formulaic plot, and then doesn't ever really develop them. I was constantly forgetting who was who and the people I did recognize, I really never knew that much about. Too bad, being the first to essentially rip off the Z War novel could've given them a much cooler place in zombie cinema history. |
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| 32 |
Hard Core Logo (2000, R) |
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| 33 |
Brutal Massacre: A Comedy (2007, Unrated)
If you were to get a phone call telling you that your most loved person on the face of the planet was dying from ebola, and by the way, you have aids, that would be funnier than this film. A look at a film shoot going wrong that seems like it was written by someone very new to film. Nothing is that funny, and character's reactions to potentially humourous situations dispel any attempt at comedy. Really seems like someone's student film. |
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| 34 |
The St. Francisville Experiment (2000, PG-13) |
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| 35 |
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006, R)
Laugh...paint drying...chuckle....more paint drying...laugh...is it dry yet? Borat stretched out to 85 mins really overstays his welcome. Sure there are a couple of laughs, but the overall story is so boring and the jokes become repetitive. Like a dirty version of Yakov Shmirnoff. Plus I find there is a certain amount of smugness and superiority Cohen feels towards the other people. For example, I never once bought he was "really" Borat (the character) so when he broke a bunch of stuff in an antique store I was thinking more, "What an asshole" than finding it funny. Tom Green and The Jackass crew seem to be having fun, even when poking fun, Cohen really just seems like an asshole in this film. |
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| 36 |
Sei dai tinwong (The Heavenly Kings) (2006, Unrated) |
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| 37 |
Diary of the Dead (2007, R)
Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought this film would be so terrible. Romero uses the whole cinema vérité gimmick to the worst effect I've ever seen. There is nothing at all natural about the actors let alone even slightly realistic. I did not believe I was watching anything but a movie during the whole film, and a bad movie at that. Preachy, pretentious with an unlikable cast of characters that Romero actually expects you to like. I'm a huge Romero fan, I even loved Land (which everyone to my surprise hates), seeing it as Romero finally bringing his original "Day" script to life with an all adult cast doing things people would really do and fun social commentary and gore. This is trash Romero thinks audiences want to see after Lands failure. Awful and since my disappointment is so massive this is easily the worst film of 2007. A better title would have been Diarrhea of the Dead. |


















![[Rec]](http://content6.flixster.com/movie/10/52/28/10522876_tmb.jpg)
















