The latest horror film, Shelby Oaks, has had some mixed reviews since its release, but isn’t that the case with most found footage-style horror films? Some of which are now labeled as horror classics.
Either way, and suffice it to say: Shelby Oaks has reignited a craving horror fans haven’t scratched for years—the kind of fear that feels like it could happen to anyone, anywhere.
The Best Found Footage-Style Horror Films Like Shelby Oaks
This isn’t a movie that hides behind slick effects or studio polish. Instead, it leans into realism, unease, and raw emotional truth. The stripped-down approach horror fans love so dearly places Shelby Oaks in the same haunting lineage that blends reality and fiction until the audience is never entirely sure what they’re witnessing.
For horror fans who are drawn to that unnerving sense of authenticity, here are five of the best found footage-style horror films that capture the same pulse of dread as Shelby Oaks.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Found Footage-Style Horror Films – The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project practically invented this entire style category of film. Suffice it to say, it definitely put it on the map. Shot with handheld cameras and improvised dialogue, this no-budget indie experiment in the Maryland woods had audiences convinced the footage was real. Every shaky frame, panicked breath, and rustle in the dark felt eerily natural.
Viewers can almost feel the direct line to Shelby Oaks: the tension, the mystery, and the part of the imagination the filmmakers rely on to do half the terrifying work.
Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Channel, Fandango at Home Free with Ads.
The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
The Taking of Deborah Logan is a mockumentary-style horror about an Alzheimer’s patient who slowly spirals into a nightmare, and it feels disturbingly authentic. Grounded performances and a chilling escalation from tragedy to terror make every horrifying moment hit close to home.
Like Shelby Oaks, it’s about how relatable and horrifying it can be to watch someone helplessly slip away from themselves, in the most terrifying way.
Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, AMC+, Apple TV Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Philo, Shudder, Screambox.
Hell House LLC (2015)
A team of haunted house designers sets up an attraction in an abandoned hotel—only to discover that the building’s history is darker than anything they imagined. Told through recovered footage and interviews, the film’s realism never feels forced.
The subtle, creeping dread and natural performances in Hell House LLC prove that horror often thrives in the details viewers almost miss.
Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, AMC+, Shudder, Philo, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel (free with ads).
The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
Few films unsettle like The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Using a true-crime documentary structure, it pieces together police interviews and “found” recordings from a fictional serial killer. The terror isn’t what is seen—it’s the suggestion that something like this could exist in the real world.
Shelby Oaks taps into that same primal unease, leaving the imagination to fill in the most horrifying gaps.
Streaming Platforms: The Roku Channel (free with ads), Amazon Prime Video (with ads), Hoopla, Tubi.
The Paranormal Activity Franchise (2007–2021)
The Paranormal Activity Franchise
The Paranormal Activity franchise didn’t just modernize found footage horror—it turned it into a global phenomenon. Across its films, from the original’s quiet suburban terror to the more expansive mythology of The Marked Ones and Next of Kin, the series captures the creeping dread of something unseen invading the everyday.
What made the first Paranormal Activity so effective still runs through the franchise: the stillness before the storm, the low hum of domestic normalcy, and the terrifying suggestion that evil doesn’t need to appear—it only needs to be felt. Each installment pulls you back into the same vulnerable space, where every door creak or flickering light feels like a warning.
Like Shelby Oaks, the Paranormal Activity films thrive on what’s barely visible—the faint shadows, the distorted sounds, the small moments that make you question what’s real. Together, they remind us that horror isn’t just about what’s on screen—it’s about what lingers in your home after the credits roll.
Streaming Platforms: Paramount+ (including Amazon and Roku channels).
Why Found Footage-Style Horror Films Still Work
Found footage horror films have a timeless appeal. When the camera shakes, when the light flickers, when someone whispers just off-screen, it feels like viewers are getting into something they shouldn’t —but can’t turn away from. This format doesn’t need overproduced effects; it thrives on what’s unseen, what’s unspoken.
Shelby Oaks proves that found footage-style horror movies still have teeth. Its realism pulls viewers into a world that feels disturbingly plausible, where every shadow could be hiding something true, and emotions are raw and unfiltered. It’s why The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity continue to haunt audiences decades later—the fear is earned, never forced.
The power of Shelby Oaks lies in reviving one of horror’s oldest tricks: convincing us we’re witnessing something real. Found footage-style horror films do the same, each in its own unnerving way, reminding viewers that horror doesn’t need perfection—it just needs honesty.
Browse through the Reel Movie Junkie site to find more reviews, what to watch recommendations, and seasonal roundups that keep fans talking.
