The Unnamed Footage Festival is an annual film festival that specializes in all aspects of found footage, anything from faux documentaries to screen life. The 8th volume of the festival had one of its best programs yet, showcasing the sophomore film from The Outwaters director Robbie Banfitch as well as Johannes Grenzfurthner’s newest project. Here’s a list of the 5 best found-footage movies I watched at UFF 8 and that you should be looking out for.
5. “The Lost Episode” (2025)
I’m surprised there hasn’t been a found-footage horror film that resembles an episode of *Cops*, but now there is. This movie follows two police officers on a standard shift on Halloween night in 2004. From the first call they respond to, things start to feel off, and every subsequent call intensifies the strangeness. “The Lost Episode” wastes no time from the second it starts to the moment it ends; every moment is significant, and everything comes full circle in a finale that will excite any found-footage fan. Director Nick Wernham may have just secured his place in a future *V/H/S* project with this impressive outing, “The Lost Episode.” Score 3.5/5
4. Solvent (2024)
Johannes Grenzfurthner is quickly becoming one of my favorite filmmakers after watching Solvent and 2022’s Razzennest. Solvent follows a team of experts, led by Jon Gries from The White Lotus, as they attempt to uncover lost Nazi artifacts and documents. While exploring the grounds of an Austrian farmhouse, the team discovers a tunnel that leads them to a hidden mystery. The film contains a significant amount of social commentary related to history, war, and politics, portrayed through the character Gunner S. Holbrook (Jon Gries). His fascination with this hidden mystery draws him into a realm of Lovecraftian body horror that you’d need to see to believe. Score: 3.5/5
3. Dooba Dooba (2024)
Ehrland Hollingsworth’s sophomore film, Dooba Dooba, is the wildest movie I saw at the festival. It follows Amna (Amna Vegha), an aspiring singer who takes on babysitting to earn extra money. Little does Amna know that she will be caring for Monroe (Betsy Sligh), a 16-year-old grappling with severe anxiety who requires the safe word Dooba Dooba before she can make any human contact. This film feels like a fusion of Be My Cat and Creep with a nostalgic twist that makes it seem as though it was edited on a Windows 95 computer—it’s amazing. Betsy Sligh’s performance as Monroe is one of a kind and so transformative that it’s hard to believe she’s acting at all. Score: 4/5
2. Dream Eater (2025)
Dream Eater is a prime example of why the found-footage genre will never go away. Directed by the trio of Jay Drakulic, Mallory Drumm, and Alex Lee Williams, the film follows a documentarian named Mallory (Mallory Drumm) as she records her boyfriend (Alex Lee Williams), who suffers from parasomnia. This movie has everything: an isolated location, sounds that blur the line between diegetic and non-diegetic, and realistic performances. It’s the second film I’ve seen that explores parasomnia, but it’s the most effective. The combination of seeking to understand the condition while hinting at something more sinister makes Dream Eater a must-see for any found-footage fan. Score: 4/5
1. Tinsman Road (2025)
I’ll be the first to admit that I was not a fan of Robbie Banfitch’s The Outwaters. But I’ll also be the first to announce that Tinsman Road may be one of the closest things we’ve had to a masterpiece in found footage for some time. Tinsman Road follows Robbie Lyle (Robbie Banfitch) as he travels from California to his hometown in New Jersey to document and understand the circumstances surrounding his sister’s disappearance years earlier. The film is a masterclass in themes of grief, remembrance, and belief. Banfitch pivots from the abstract, fast-paced style of The Outwaters to a deliberately slower pace reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project. In a time where found-footage often embraces maximalism and innovation, Tinsman Road takes a barebones, nostalgic approach and reminds us why found-footage remains one of the scariest sub-genres in horror. Score: 4.5/5
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Ever since my mom took me to go see The Blair Witch Project in theaters when I was 7 years old I’ve been obsessed with not just movies but the horror genre. When I’m not watching movies you can find me thrifting, attending a local horror convention, or collecting physical media. I attended the University of Central Florida with a degree in Cinema Studies and use my degree to rant about movies online.
MY FAVORITE MOVIES: The Cabin in the Woods, Cabaret, Seven Samurai, The Blair Witch Project, Inglourious Basterds