Film
Exists
Exists is a found-footage Bigfoot horror film that trades cryptozoology fascination for genuine creature-in-the-woods dread. Shot largely through helmet cams and phone screens, it commits fully to the format without irony. Lean and nasty rather than clever, it's for people who find the idea of something large and unseen in dark forests genuinely unsettling.
If you liked this
The Blair Witch Project1999
The template for found-footage horror that actually works: isolation, dread built from nothing, and the camera becoming a character. What it taught everyone else to do.
But Deliberately shapeless and slow. If you need a clear monster and plot momentum, this will feel like nothing happening for ninety minutes.
Backcountry2015
A couple alone in Canadian wilderness hunted by a bear. The film trusts the premise absolutely—no fake scares, just the math of who survives when nature wants you dead.
But Grim and relentless without much hope or levity. It ends where it logically goes, which is bleak.
The Ritual2017
Friends hiking in Swedish forests encounter something that wants them dead. Sharp direction, real tension between characters, and a creature design that lingers. Properly scary.
But The middle section is slow burn forest trudging. It earns the payoff, but you have to sit through atmosphere-building first.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Exists
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Lake Mungo2009
Both use found footage not as novelty but as a way to trap you with what the camera can and cannot see. In Lake Mungo, that limitation becomes grief. In Exists, it becomes predator awareness.
A family grieves their daughter who drowned. Then they find footage of her on the lake afterward, and the horror unfolds through documentary-style interviews and haunting video clips. Genuinely unsettling in ways that sneak up on you.
But Slow, Australian, and the 'found footage' is scattered throughout rather than continuous. It's a mood piece about loss wearing a ghost story's clothes, which might frustrate people seeking conventional scares.
More like this (7)
A Quiet Place2018
A family hunted by creatures they can only avoid by making no sound. The premise generates genuine suspense and forces creativity in filmmaking. Tense and clever.
But The emotional beats are broad. If you're after subtlety, the family drama feels slightly oversimplified.
10 Cloverfield Lane2016
Three people in a bunker during an alien invasion. Claustrophobic, paranoid, and driven by excellent performances. The uncertainty about what's happening outside is the whole game.
But Slower than its premise promises, and the ending divides people harshly. Some find it earned, others feel cheated.
Anaconda1997
A crew journeys upriver to document a legendary snake. Absurd and unpretentious, it's creature-feature fun with a perfectly committed Jon Voight chewing scenery.
But The CGI is dated and the plot is basic. It works best if you're in the mood for schlock, not if you want serious stakes.
Troll Hunter2010
A Norwegian found-footage film about a man who hunts trolls for the government. Clever premise, good humour, and a world-building approach that makes the mythology feel lived-in.
But Subtitled, and the troll designs vary in quality. Some moments are too silly for the horror beats to land properly.
The Woods2006
A group of girls at summer camp discover something ancient and hostile in the surrounding forest. Atmospheric and wilfully strange, a European take on American cabin horror.
But The pacing is uneven and the final act pivots into something you won't see coming—which you might hate. Also hard to find.
Killing Ground2017
Both are lean, brutal, and about groups of friends in wilderness who discover they're not the apex predator. Neither offers comfort or a satisfying final stand.
A couple camping in an Australian national park stumbles onto a scene of violence already in progress. A brutal, uncompromising survival film that doesn't flinch or offer easy catharsis.
But Violent toward its characters in ways that feel sadistic rather than necessary. Not an easy film to live with; some viewers will hate it on principle.
The Vast of Night2019
Both capture the specific dread of something present and unseen, but The Vast of Night locates it in radio static and the dark sky rather than the dark woods, making it a completely different kind of creature horror—what if the monster is signals we don't understand?
Two radio operators in 1950s New Mexico investigate an strange frequency interrupting their broadcast. A mystery unfolding in real time, shot like a love letter to early science fiction and the unknown. Beautiful filmmaking about the thrill of not knowing.
But Ambiguous and deliberately old-fashioned in structure. If you need answers tied up, the ending will frustrate you. Also sly, not scary—a completely different register.
People
Cast
Denise WilliamsonElizabeth
Samuel DavisMatt
Roger EdwardsTodd
Chris OsbornBrian
Dora MadisonDora
Brian SteeleSasquatch
Jeff SchwanUncle Bob- George P. Gakoumis Jr.Firework Salesman
- Stefanie Sanchez911 Operator (voice)
Directing
- Eduardo SánchezDirector
Writing
- Eduardo SánchezStory
- Jamie NashWriter
Production
- Gregg HaleExecutive Producer
- Andy JenkinsProducer
- Jane FlemingProducer
- Mark OrdeskyProducer
- Robin CowieProducer