Found Footage 3D (2016) User Reviews

Meta Over Movie

[scythertitus · 6/10 · 15 January 2019]

As the title of the film might suggest, this is a critique of the found footage genre and makes some good points. Howeverost of the meta commentary comes at the cost of making an actually enjoyable movie.

There are some points that stand out but it probably would have worked better if they had leaned into comedy a bit more than drama. Satire generally works by lampooning its subject so trying instead to show what would happen in real life is a confusion that doesn't come across right. Clearly there are parts where they leave the camera behind because that's what would really happen, but it doesn't exactly make for compelling watching. Instead you could have used comedy to justify ridiculous circumstance and still have made things entertaining and self aware.

Overall this isn't a terrible movie, it just muddies its point and labours over trying to both saturise and honestly critique the genre to the point where it is less enjoyable than it could be. Probably best to be watched academically rather than for fun.

Takes too long to build into the fear

[killercharm · 5/10 · 4 February 2022]

Unbeknownst to the entire crew/cast of the first ever 3d found footage horror movie they have come to a haunted venue in the Texas countryside to make their groundbreaking cinema. A scary black specter haunts the set of Spectre of Death. This found footage flick takes too long to build into the fear. Once it does get good and scary it loses its way with all the running in the woods, until the last second that is.

Found Footage 3D

[a_baron · 6/10 · 15 November 2017]

This is a film very much in the spirit of "The Blair Witch Project", the low budget effort that can properly be said to have started the genre. Quite likely it has a semi-improvised script, at least it certainly gives that impression.

A small group of film-makers - professionals but far from A List - go out into the sticks to make the first ever found footage film in 3D. Almost from the very beginning, things start going wrong in their isolated cabin, leaving aside the fact that there are already certain tensions within the group, personal and sexual. The first question that must be asked is, this is a set up, right, most likely by the guy whose idea it was? Once that has been answered with a resounding no, things can only get worse, and they do.

Not a lot more can be said, except that the viewer can expect a gorefest. The people behind this actual film deserve A for effort if not originality. The special effects are thematic, but don't expect to come away either satisfied or comprehending.

Insipid FF Film is too self-aware for its own good

[sean-42199 · 3/10 · 13 October 2017]

I love found footage movies; I can find something good in the most incompetently-shot, horribly-acted found footage film. So let's get that out of the way: this movie has one really inspired scene of gore. The actors also do the best they can with what they're given - they are competent (particularly Beardy Sound Guy - love him), and they deserve better.

Now, the bad: this movie, in an attempt to be edgy and self-aware, has its characters constantly pointing out the flaws in found footage movies. How they're all so terrible, how there's no reason to be filming all of this, how jump scares are dumb, and so on. It then goes on to indulge in all of those flaws, as though lampshading their use somehow forgives the filmmaker's transgressions.

Spoiler: it does not. If this movie took those found footage tropes and turned them on their head, or put a novel spin on them, all of this winking at the audience could be forgiven. Instead, the filmmaker chooses to dutifully plod through FF clichés, to the point of lifting lines and shots from other, better films. They also commit the cardinal sin of naming better movies. Look, guys, if your movie sucks, you should not shout out to other movies -- it just reminds the audience that they could be spending their time with a better quality of entertainment.

And, unfortunately, if you take out all of this winking and sneering, what you are left with is a very bland film. The scares are non-existent. The monster is the definition of boring. The characters are the worst kind of clichés, so much so that I don't know any of their names -- they are simply THE DOUCHE, THE PRIMA DONNA, THE QUIET GUY, THE DORK, THE OTHER GIRL, THE PRODUCER WHO INSISTED ON A SPEAKING ROLE, and Beardy Sound Guy, who I really liked. You'd think that as much time as the characters spend shouting out each others' names, one would have stuck, but nope.

The best thing you can say about this film is that it is "competent". There are words, and they sound like they were spoken by humans. There are pictures, and you can generally see them. There is a location, and it looks like a place in the real world. But, honestly, I am willing to tolerate a bit of incompetence for some inventiveness, and that is one thing that this film SORELY lacks. I think I understand what they were going for, but for me, it didn't work. Unless the goal was to point out how bland, illogical, and uninspired found footage movies have become by making a bland, illogical, uninspired found footage movie...in which case, good job!

Found Footage 3D is a decent enough found footage horror movie with a bad title.

[thisseatofmars · 6/10 · 30 October 2017]

You've got your cast: jerk husband, wife, ingenue, dork, camera dude, and big bearded pig: who set out to make a found footage movie. Their hook is that their movie will be the first FF production to be in 3D. Simple enough, but confusing for the audience, as the title makes this movie sound like a documentary or even a class on making 3D found footage movies: and the actual movie itself is not in 3D (not the version I saw, anyway).

I'm no actor, and I know that it's easy to critique (tear apart) work that people have put effort into, BUT I'd have to rate this cast a 60%-70%. The jerk husband character can be too loud and showy and the ingenue is annoyingly young and innocent, but she's used sparingly so it's not really an issue. My teeth itch, however, when the jerk husband and dork director characters argue, and when the jerk husband later gets into a physical "fight" with the camera guy. That fistfight was so obviously staged it made me think of that scene from Napoleon Dynamite where he has to feed Tina the llama (for some reason). But the actors are all good enough, and this movie does feature a few legit scares.

There're some pacing issues: the scene where they go to the bar could probably have been cut, for example, but I suppose it adds tension. Found footage movies usually benefit from a slow build.

But the whole concept, and even title, hurts the film. The camera crew set out to make a found footage horror movie set in a cabin in the woods (yeah) and wind up, themselves, in an actual found footage movie. Right. Maybe the concept would work better if not for the title. It should've been called "The Specter Tapes" or something; I don't know. "Found Footage 3D" and the entire premise is too meta, too on the nose; leaves too little to the imagination. But I do enjoy this subgenre of horror, so I don't regret seeing it. So there.

Complete waste of time

[brianmccarthy-09778 · 3/10 · 9 August 2021]

The 3D gimmick is the only selling point for this movie, and it isn't even good. The acting is better than you'd expect for a low-budget horror movie--that's the only reason I gave it a 3. The problem is the SFX are terrible and the bigger issue is that the main characters are completely unlikable. I'm all for a decent found footage film so long as i care about what's happening. I didn't give a hoot about the three main characters. The other three I found more likable, but there wasn't enough there to make them more interesting.

There's also no build-up or suspense, just 90 minutes of people yelling at each other and making bad decisions until the last 20 minutes.

SKIP.

Carl was right...

[ilikeweirdstuffs · 6/10 · 27 February 2019]

Found footage movies have one rule but holy sh** is it boring and conformist to not see it broken.

This could've been to found footage what cabin in the woods was to horror.

Being a subversion of the genre might be most poignant when the movie itself adheres to all the rules of the genre itself and thus manages to be a great member of the genre in addition to being a good parody.

However this isnt the case when the rules themselves are strenuously dumb to uphold. Like a found footage cameraman being blind to the found footage genre.

And besides even Cabin in the Woods broke some horror rules to surprise us.

This would have been a much better movie with a "twist" ending of there not being a twist. The final 8 minutes robbed at least two stars from this movie imo.

Despicable characters and an amorphous, smoky blob. Interested?

[WisdomsHammer · 3/10 · 12 December 2017]

Watch Jerky McJerkface fumble his way through making a movie he hasn't even finished the script for. He figures "winging it" will be fine, I mean, how stupid are people who watch this crap anyway? (Yes, this is a line from the movie, insulting its own audience.) Add his ex to the cast to make things really awkward. Watch a lot of character development that makes you care LESS about the characters and when you want the movie to get on with it already, watch each character interviewed at length! Watch every inch of the screen for anything even remotely interesting to happen. Did you just see those couple of pixels get blurry for a second?? Oooh, spooky! Watch as the vague things that don't look like anything are pointed out as something interesting. Watch a cast member get hit with a shovel without anyone trying to figure out how that even happened! (Okay, that was pretty hilarious.) Watch the crew get so fed up that they quit, one by one, and leave a remote location without any transportation. What? Did they walk? And if you're still watching when things start to get interesting, try to figure out what the whimpering, whispering cast is saying without subtitles. Not that it really matters... the dialogue is pretty bad. Also, as a disclaimer, I did not watch this in 3D. I really don't think that matters either. Not even in the shovel scene. I like found footage movies that are worth a damn. This one isn't.

Not the worst of the genre.

[suzannebainbridge · 7/10 · 16 August 2020]

Yes done on a budget and sometimes I had to turn the film up to try to hear what was being said and then quickly down when a jump scene blasts out.

A bit of a slow burner but it got there in the end.

Found Footage 3D Becomes Too Meta For It's Own Good

[ApocalypticDemise · 3/10 · 23 August 2016]

The big world premiere for Bruce Campbell's Horror Film Fest was Found Footage 3D, a film years in the making that had gained quite a bit of traction online. Does this film live up to the hype it has created or fall into the same troupes most films of this genre have? Found Footage 3D follows a small group of people wanting to make the first ever 3D found footage film, to make their place in the genre. When arriving at their film site which is a old cabin with a shady past they soon start to realize that there is something actually happening in that cabin to them turning their movie shoot into a actual horror found footage film.

It's a simple enough premise and not something I'd call truly groundbreaking but what this film tries to do is almost spoof the found footage genre. They constantly call out the troupes of the genre in a joking or mocking fashion. The problem is that then the film falls right back into those troupes. You can't mock something so much then make the same mistake the films you are going at do. It's the case of being too meta for it's own good. It doesn't help either that so much of the film is just set ups, character developments, and a good amount of dialog that by the end when the events finally unfold that everything just goes to waste and feels rushed.

Another big problem is like most 3D films I feel like this was just added so they could claim it as 3D. Only at the beginning when the characters were first toying with their new 3D cameras did any of it actually have a 3D feel to it. Otherwise it just gave the normal 3D effect of giving the film a more circular view instead of looking at it on a flat surface. The film will be able to claim itself as the first 3D film but I feel like it wasn't truly worth it. I will say as well that this is the only 3D movie ever to make me feel a little nauseous in a few scenes. The shaky cam along with 3D effects can be hard to take in as well as the few scenes involving two go pros.

I will give it to the film however for having a few good gore scenes along with some very funny dialog. The characters banter between each other can be quite entertaining and is by far the biggest highlight of the film. It is humorous to hear them go on about the horrible things other films do and how to make their own better even if you only end up disappointed in the actions they take. I'll also give them credit for making me truly hate a character that being Derek (played by Carter Roy). (Also bonus points for Scott Weinberg).

Unrelated to the review before the film director Steven DeGennaro did come and speak to a nearly sold out theater for the world premiere of his first full length film. After the movie a full Q&A was held by the director and full cast for the audience to ask about the making of the film.

Overall I really went into this film with how hopes and instead left feeling like this was no better then all the other found footage films being released today. It just boiled down to unnecessary 3D, slow pacing, and being too meta for it's own good.

Score : 3/10 https://apocalypticdemise.com/2016/08/23/found-footage-3d-review/

Scream for the found footage genre!

[theskylerroberts · 8/10 · 27 March 2018]

Found Footage 3D is a breath of fresh air for the found footage genre.

My personal opinion is that the critical viewers missed the point of the movie. The film is supposed to break down the genre while adding in an element that in theory would make it worse. Yet, the joke is pulled off nicely and actually adds to the story. Granted, I haven't seen in 3D but those who have seem to think the 3D was a strongpoint of the film.

Something I worry about is that this may be the nail in the coffin for found footage films. Similar to how Scream was for slasher films, after the deconstruction was done, there hasn't really been a resurgence with the exception of Hatchet and a some select remakes.

I understand that the majority is sick of found footage, but I believe many films can benefit from them. I think of films like Cloverfield, VHS, and The Taking of Deborah Logan which were all great films and I don't think would have the same effect if they weren't found footage.

More comedy than horror

[brunovanael · 7/10 · 21 November 2020]

Listed as a horror movie, but you might feel disappointed if you expect that. More a horror comedy. I really liked this. A very good script of a found footage movie mocking the found footage movies. So funny how they actually squeezed in some literal scenes from the Blair Witch Project.

The title itself shows the lack of imagination in this project

[derekjager · 5/10 · 31 October 2017]

I saw the 2D version but any film must be told by the story, not the 3D gimmick.

The cast is fine, the acting is fine. The problem is there is really no script. While everyone talks about making a GREAT FF film, they have no original idea. The script/story takes place in a cabin. Um, what? They think filming in 3D will make all the difference...but there is ZERO effort on their part to use the silly 3D gimmicks. You never hear or see them trying to make 3D scenes; throwing or poking stuff at the camera. It's so odd because that would have been fun/funny to see.

Instead, there is some bad, splotchy CGI of a black ink stain wandering around. There is no backstory every given about this particular haunted cabin other than a guy killed his wife and left the body in the lake...or was that in the script? Regardless, it's never mentioned again, no watery ghost, etc.

So we're left with them shooting scenes from a movie that has no plot we're able to follow, accidents happen that...are not explained or talked about much. Why does a shovel fall on a cast member? Why does one women get bloody scratch marks on her arm? Why do they go out drinking at a bar and when they return home and find some things "wrong" in the cabin? These are ll tropes used in FF films--and basic horror films--so it's clear they didn't even TRY to shake things up. The climax also is just what we expect, running in the woods in the dark, a final lunge at the camera by the monster.

Because the acting is fine, I was engaged the first 40 mins but then sensed that was it; the premise was set up but they weren't going to do anything but make the same old same old FF film. Which is fine--I like them, but if you're going to boast about making some new and different, that deliver. Or at least try to. Beginning with the title.

Clever but lacking in execution

[adeleysim · 4/10 · 10 February 2019]

The movie was pretty entertaining at first, with many ironic moments about found footage movies. Then the ending really dragged, and it was so tedious just to finish it.

Found Footage

[jfgibson73 · 6/10 · 2 February 2020]

I've never been put off by the found footage genre. I've liked way more of them than I've disliked. So I was glad to find one that was fairly well rated. It had a couple good jump scares. It's about a group of filmmakers documenting the making of a horror films. The premises they are worked on is haunted or cursed or something. It kept me interested right up to the end, but it isn't anything that I expect to watch back again.

Cheesy effects make this unwatchable for me.

[frankblack-79961 · 2/10 · 11 September 2020]

Read the reviews here and thought I would watch to see why all the reviews were all over the place on this film. First off, the first 30 min are soooo slow. After the second appearance of the entity I called it. Way too cheesy for this to be interesting for me. If they would have had nothing there it would have been watchable. Effects are bad. Really bad. Acting was pretty bad too for most of the cast.

Where's the bandage

[eightbitevo · 7/10 · 24 September 2021]

I actually really liked it. Demon/ Spirit looked a little off or digital but I did watch the 2D version. Where the hell is Amy's bandage and or scratches right before the big scene while she is saying that she is sorry. Really loved the climax scene though.

Predictable and unremarkable

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 9 July 2018]

FOUND FOOTAGE 3D is another predictable and unremarkable addition to the cycle of found footage movies. Once again the setting is a cabin in the woods, haunted by the usual curse or alike, with a crew of filmmakers heading off to investigate. After a while they're attacked by a dodgy CGI 'ink blot' which has come out of the very film they're making. Yes, a few meta-additions to the story mark this as a very 21st century phenomenon, but otherwise it's business as usual and absolutely nothing that hasn't been seen or done before.

Problematic if still somewhat enjoyable found-footage effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 21 December 2017]

Attempting to make a found-footage movie, the crew sets out to film at a remote cabin in the woods only for tensions to run high when they start to notice odd behaviors around the set and when it transpires that something in the movie is interacting in the real world set out to stop it.

This one ended up being a rather bland is slightly enjoyable effort overall. Among it's better qualities is the fact that there's some fun to be had with the concept of their shoot which is exceptionally strong. Even though it veers towards the silly at times, the way this one generates the initial setup of the group preparing for the shoot and then going out into the field in order to start in manages to get this going on a strong note. Moving through their early setup, the manner of the scenes being shot at the very beginning of the shoot creates some engaging setups to be found as they begin to blur the lines between their real-life and the shoot. Once it starts getting into the hauntings to be inflicted upon them in the middle of their shoot, the film generates some really strong moments here with the utterly chilling sequence in the kitchen where the dishes go flying out or the accident in the farmhouse which comes on the heels of an argument about the same thing happening in the movie. The centerpiece scene in the editing room where they review the footage with the specter and find the source of a series of wounds while clearing showing an otherworldly force coming after them that is an exceptionally chilling sequence. Even the rousing finale where it turns into the confrontations against the spirit released against them makes for a great time which gives this a solid final note to go out on. While these here make this work, there are a few flaws with this one. Among the biggest issues here is the fact that the supposedly humorous parts suggesting the whole project is a mockumentary aren't that funny. The meetings to be had with the production officer who keeps trying to suggest the changes to the story or the filmmaking techniques don't make him out to be a comically misguided individual as instead he simply comes off as someone who far underestimates the situation due to lame ideas being presented as unique and creative. This one makes the mistake of that process constantly which really doesn't make this funny at all, and that can make the film come off as incredibly boring at times. The fact that there's nothing in the majority of the film featuring any kind of strong action for a large section of the film as they're simply out shooting or basically just goofing around the house just make this feel way too long for its own good as it enhances the boredom as well as the bland pacing here. These here are the film's major problems overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and a brief sex scene.

It's in the title

[carbonebrendan · 2/10 · 2 August 2018]

The title says it all. There is no need for a 3D found footage movie and this movie showed exactly why. Lousy ending jumpscare put the cherry on top of a straight to dvd movie.

Not To Shabby.

[rdvanbuskirkiii · 8/10 · 2 September 2018]

I enjoyed this movie. It layed out all the cliques of a found footage movie but went somewhere new with it. I watched it in 3D and the only problem I had was I had to take breaks from watching it to rest my eyes. Must see for any horror fan out there.

Cool Concept To Breathe Life Into Found Footage

[icocleric · 6/10 · 21 September 2022]

I really enjoyed the "meta" aspect of this film, because I liked the fact you could see the weird here, and there as the footage was being played back when they're editing. I think the actor interviews were a great way to include extra story, and plot between the characters.

I also liked the fact they had an excuse to use points with nicer clearer footage, because they're meant to be filming. But it's also really cool there's a range of filming quality for the feeling of found footage. And still have it be believable

I did how think the ending dragged a little, but overall there were some really cool special effects, and decent acting. I thought it had some nice touches to make it stans out from the sea of terrible found footage films out there.

Wow, was this a mess

[selfdestructo · 1/10 · 17 April 2023]

First of all, absolutely zero reason to shoot this movie in 3D. I gave up the glasses after 30 minutes. Not only is it poorly done, but it becomes real cumbersome. How many scenes are filmed in the dark? Yeah, great 3D.

So, they're filming their own found footage movie, in 3D, and their making-of documentary, also in 3D, is haunted by some CGI evil spirit? Yikes. The trailer makes it look like they have fun with found footage tropes. This I was looking forward to. In actuality, they're just USING the tropes. There isn't an original idea in this flick, it is a hodgepodge of all the found footage (as well as ghost/possession) movies this writer/director has seen.

I have a tip for the writer/director: There is such a thing as motivation. Every ounce of anger and tension in this movie is 100% manufactured. There is seemingly no reason, at all, for people to fly off the handle. Yet, Found Footage 3D is packed with it. Also, they telegraph the ending for the entire final 15 minutes. How else is it going to end? What a waste of time on everyone's part.

Really bad, amateurish mess

[Real-Paul-Feig · 1/10 · 11 February 2018]

Saw this movie finally after seeing one of the Producers talk at an event - boy did Scott E Weinberg talk up a turd! This is one of the worst movies out there but plays out like a guy learning how to use his camcorder. Mr. Weinberg took most of the credit for this film saying he basically directed it too, that the director was always too high to direct. And it shows! Avoid like the plague.

Spoiler Alert - NOTHING HAPPENS - Worst Found Footage Film EVER!

[John_Dohh · 1/10 · 30 October 2017]

I love found footage films but this one is just a complete waste of my time which I wont get back :(

Short version: Its basically a documentary film on how to totally suck at trying to make a found footage film - and they cant even get that right!

Im 40 minutes in and i'm already wanting to throw something at my TV... i'm done!.. I can't stand to watch anymore - rage boredom has now set in!!!

There is nothing about this film that makes it interesting or different! They spend far too much time talking about 3D cameras, in fact they spend far too much time talking full stop! Non of the talking is relevant - This should be in the talk show / fail documentary section next to the section of films that have been massively over-hyped and overrated by those who are behind them.

The only horror behind this is the poor acting, crud story line and the fact they have the cheek to call it a horror film.

If like watching those with self-importance then this is for you.

Don't say you weren't warned!