Cinéma vérité and horror
There is a film style known as Cinéma vérité which is a style of documentary film making, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camera work, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It also recently has become more and more popular with the horror film industry. It's the first person of cinema essentially.
So with this in mind I am listing my top 5 horror films that were shot in this style.
In order of rank
#1. Zombie Diaries - Probably my favorite film in this style. It was shot for a modest budget in Britain and probably the most realistic of of this style. A group of film makers are shooting a documentary and are forced to keep shooting during a zombie invasion.
#2. Quarantine - This came out last year (and just recently came out on DVD). It deals with an outbreak of a mysterious rabies illness that causes occupants, including a film crew, to be sealed in an apartment fighting for their lives.
#3. Cloverfield- This was the major epic film released last year dealing with big monsters. My biggest complaint was that they made the camera whirl about so much I got motion sickness while watching it. It did have effective scenes even though the believable aspect of it was pretty far-fetched.
#4. Blair Witch Project - This one was such a fluke it was amazing it ever was released. It's essentially a set of directors grabbing a camera and some actors and yelling and screaming in the dark on a camping trip. This also gave me motion-sickness. Which is dumb because modern cameras all have motion stability. It was somewhat effective but if you watch it today it doesn't hold up. Perhaps we have become jaded?
#5. Diary of the Dead - This came out in 2007 and directed by the grand daddy of zombies George Romero. While I love Romero the idea of this film was good but it lacked a realistic feel to it. I think if it was budgeted for less it could have been a lot more effective and realistic.
I don't know if this style should continue or not. I rather like the whole third person feel of a film...the traditional layout. You can see more and still feel like you are in the movie instead of seeing it through just a single camera lens. Plus the premise of a cameraman from the film continuously shooting is starting to get stretched out. There are only so many story lines that start off with "The footage you are about to see was discovered near site #323 and are known to be of true events".
So with this in mind I am listing my top 5 horror films that were shot in this style.
In order of rank
#1. Zombie Diaries - Probably my favorite film in this style. It was shot for a modest budget in Britain and probably the most realistic of of this style. A group of film makers are shooting a documentary and are forced to keep shooting during a zombie invasion.
#2. Quarantine - This came out last year (and just recently came out on DVD). It deals with an outbreak of a mysterious rabies illness that causes occupants, including a film crew, to be sealed in an apartment fighting for their lives.
#3. Cloverfield- This was the major epic film released last year dealing with big monsters. My biggest complaint was that they made the camera whirl about so much I got motion sickness while watching it. It did have effective scenes even though the believable aspect of it was pretty far-fetched.
#4. Blair Witch Project - This one was such a fluke it was amazing it ever was released. It's essentially a set of directors grabbing a camera and some actors and yelling and screaming in the dark on a camping trip. This also gave me motion-sickness. Which is dumb because modern cameras all have motion stability. It was somewhat effective but if you watch it today it doesn't hold up. Perhaps we have become jaded?
#5. Diary of the Dead - This came out in 2007 and directed by the grand daddy of zombies George Romero. While I love Romero the idea of this film was good but it lacked a realistic feel to it. I think if it was budgeted for less it could have been a lot more effective and realistic.
I don't know if this style should continue or not. I rather like the whole third person feel of a film...the traditional layout. You can see more and still feel like you are in the movie instead of seeing it through just a single camera lens. Plus the premise of a cameraman from the film continuously shooting is starting to get stretched out. There are only so many story lines that start off with "The footage you are about to see was discovered near site #323 and are known to be of true events".