10 Found Footage Horror Movies Set In The Woods – Terror in the Trees
Welcome to Ranking Horror. We have been checking out a lot of Found Footage horror lately and today we are heading into the wilderness to check out 10 Found Footage Horror Movies Set In The Woods – Terror in the Trees .
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I love horror movies set in the woods. There is something about that sense of isolation and vulnerability that makes the characters feel so small. After all, anything could be out there and, on top of that, they have to contend with both a lack of resources and the decline of their own mental state.
Combining the woods with found footage horror can only be a good thing, right? I mean, what better way to make it feel all the more real? Well, as it stands, this is a pretty barren category when it comes to actually effective movies. Despite that fact, we are going to take a look at 10 found footage horror movies set in the woods. Some are great, others… not so much. Let’s go.
| Rank | Movie Title (Year) | The Isolation Factor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troll Hunter (2010) | Giant Cryptid Hunting |
| 2 | The Blair Witch Project (1999) | The Genre Definer |
| 3 | Man Vs. (2015) | Survival Show Gone Wrong |
| 4 | Leaving D.C. (2012) | Auditory Paranoia |
| 5 | The Last Broadcast (1998) | Jersey Devil Mockumentary |
10. Something Walks in the Woods (2023) – A Walk in the Park
- Director: William J Howard III
- Cast: Bill Howard, Hudson Meeks
- Runtime: 82 minutes
- IMDb: 3.8/10
Why it Ranked: Ouch! Something Walks in the Woods, written by, starring, produced by, directed by – you get the picture – William J Howard III, is an exceptionally dull movie. Still, it is a found footage horror and it is set in the woods so it counts. Literally, nothing happens in this film. The most exciting part is when William accidentally cuts his arm and decides to feature it as a plot point. Relentlessly boring and with nothing to offer. I am including this because found footage horror fans are the most optimistic of all horror fans so some may enjoy it.
Synopsis: A paranormal investigator spends a night in the woods to investigate the source of a spooky viral video, only to find the silence of the forest more deafening than any ghost.
Where to Watch: Tubi, Amazon (Rent/Buy)
9. Chest (2022) – Appalachian Mystery
- Director: Aaron Irons
- Cast: Dean Copkov, G.E. Gallahue
- Runtime: 108 minutes
- IMDb: 3.8/10
Why it Ranked: Aaron Irons’ Chest has a lot more going on than the above movie but it is still a complete mess. Seemingly made by people who have no idea how to actually use a video camera, it is an ugly film to look at and devolves into some seriously strange goings-on in the later stages. This movie takes chances, later on, that some may actually enjoy. For the most part, however, it is a poor man’s version of The Blair Witch Project and not a lot of fun.
Synopsis: A documentary film crew heads deep into the Appalachian woods in search of a mysterious box hidden in a cave, known only as “The Chest.”
Where to Watch: Tubi, Amazon (Rent/Buy)
8. Survive The Hollow Shoals (2018) – Solo Survival
- Director: Jonathon Klimek
- Cast: Julian Lowenthal
- Runtime: 79 minutes
- IMDb: 4.7/10
Why it Ranked: I enjoyed Survive The Hollow Shoals a bit more than I expected. For the most part, it is a movie centred on a single person’s journey into the woods to test their survival skills, only to be met with some supernatural goings-on. Where similarly minimalist movies fail by being extremely boring, director Jonathon Klimek succeeds by actually giving us some spooky occurrences and a few scenes that are, actually, pretty effective. It is nothing ground-breaking but I think a decent amount was achieved here with very little budget and facilities. Totally watchable.
Synopsis: To prove his survival skills, a man heads into the isolated Hollow Shoals region for 60 days, only to find himself hunted by a malevolent entity.
Where to Watch: Tubi, Amazon Prime
7. Willow Creek (2013) – Bigfoot’s Back Yard
- Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
- Cast: Alexie Gilmore, Bryce Johnson
- Runtime: 80 minutes
- IMDb: 5.1/10
Why it Ranked: We are moving up in budget a little bit with our next Found Footage movie set in the woods. It is also the first movie on our list to focus on a legendary cryptid. Directed by well-liked comedian, actor, and Bigfoot enthusiast Bobcat Goldthwait, Willow Creek sees a couple heading into the woods to spend a night of camping in the alleged home of the big hairy bugger himself. I am always surprised to see how much of a lukewarm reception Willow Creek gets. It transforms into something of a one-location horror later on with a bunch of tent-based shenanigans, but I find it to be pretty creepy and well acted. Fans of cryptids will love this one.
Synopsis: A couple travels to Northern California’s Trinity National Forest to visit the site of the famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film footage of Bigfoot, only to find themselves terrorised by the legendary beast.
Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy), Tubi
6. Exists (2014) – Creature Feature
- Director: Eduardo Sánchez
- Cast: Chris Osborn, Dora Madison
- Runtime: 81 minutes
- IMDb: 5.2/10
Why it Ranked: Directed by Found Footage horror pioneer Eduardo Sánchez, Exists sees a group of friends heading for a party in the woods, only to find themselves hunted by Bigfoot himself. This movie was pretty badly panned on release, so you can imagine my surprise when I found myself quite enjoying it. Well, that is until the lacklustre second half but I think Exists is still worth a watch. Sánchez simply takes much of what worked well in The Blair Witch Project and condenses it down to a shorter time period while slapping on a hairy Bigfoot theme. It is not perfect by any stretch, but it deserves more praise than it gets.
Synopsis: Five friends venture into the remote woods of East Texas for a weekend of fun, but their camping trip turns into a nightmare when they are stalked by a clan of Bigfoot.
Where to Watch: Peacock, Tubi
📹 Survival Guide: Rules for Surviving a Found Footage Movie
Planning a trip to the woods with a camcorder? Here is how to ensure your footage doesn’t end up in an evidence locker:
- 🔋 Check Your Tech: If your battery is below 20%, go home. Nothing good happens when the low battery light starts flashing. Also, does anyone actually bring spare batteries? No. Be the first.
- 🗺️ Read the Map (Correctly): If you kick the map into the river because you are frustrated, you deserve to get eaten by the witch. It’s just natural selection at that point.
- ⛺ Tent Etiquette: If something hits your tent at 3 AM, do not go outside to check. It’s not a squirrel. It’s never a squirrel.
- 🏃 Drop the Camera: If you are being chased by an interdimensional entity, stop filming! The cinematography isn’t worth your life. Just run!
- 🚫 Ignore the Locals: If the weird guy at the gas station tells you “people go in but they don’t come out”, listen to him. He isn’t just making conversation.
Follow these rules and you might just make it to the sequel.
5. The Last Broadcast (1998) – Digital Pioneer
- Director: Stefan Avalos, Lance Weiler
- Cast: David Beard, James Seward
- Runtime: 86 minutes
- IMDb: 5.3/10
Why it Ranked: Believe it or not, The Last Broadcast, from 1998, is the first film to ever be produced, filmed, and edited on commercially available equipment. The Last Broadcast follows a documentary crew heading into the woods in search of the mythical Jersey Devil. Much of the movie is presented as a documentary so you could also class this as one of the first horror mockumentaries. Unfortunately, this movie never really manages to live up to its vast potential, turning into a bit of a snooze fest at times. Still, it is worth checking out purely for its horror significance.
Synopsis: A documentary filmmaker investigates the mysterious deaths of a team of public access TV hosts who ventured into the Pine Barrens in search of the Jersey Devil.
Where to Watch: Tubi, Amazon (Rent/Buy)
4. Leaving D.C. (2012) – Audio Anomalies
- Director: Josh Criss
- Cast: Josh Criss
- Runtime: 88 minutes
- IMDb: 5.7/10
Why it Ranked: This one is just a tad bit different from the others. You see, our protagonist in Josh Criss’s Leaving D.C. isn’t exactly exposed in the middle of the woods. In fact, he is in a house that just so happens to be surrounded by trees and woodland. The big problem is that those aforementioned surroundings are haunted by something incredibly sinister. I really enjoyed this very D.I.Y found footage horror movie. Following the story of a man who leaves the big city to find refuge in a remote house in the woods, only to be haunted by a malevolent presence every night.
Synopsis: An OCD sufferer escapes the city for a quiet life in the country, but his new home in the woods is plagued by strange sounds and disturbing nocturnal visits.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
3. Man Vs. (2015) – Predator or Prey?
- Director: Adam Massey
- Cast: Chris Diamantopoulos
- Runtime: 87 minutes
- IMDb: 5.4/10
Why it Ranked: This one is definitely cheating but I wanted to include a few things that you may not have heard of and Man Vs. is definitely one of them. Much of the movie is filmed very traditionally. It isn’t until we get into the woods that the found footage approach takes over. This is a legitimately suspenseful movie for much of its length. Man Vs really brings to life those thoughts you have about what could happen when you are alone in the woods, managing to effectively key in on that very specific fear that comes from isolation and not realising that you aren’t quite as alone as you might think.
Synopsis: A survival host is dropped into the remote Canadian wilderness for his TV show, but he soon discovers he is being hunted by an intelligent, non-human adversary.
Where to Watch: Tubi, Freevee
2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) – The Legend
- Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
- Cast: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams
- Runtime: 81 minutes
- IMDb: 6.5/10
Why it Ranked: It had to be on here, right? Not mentioning The Blair Witch Project on a list of found footage horror movies set in the woods would be doing the entire subject a massive injustice. Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez put their cast through hell to make this movie as authentic as possible, depriving them of food and sleep while harassing them throughout the night to keep them off base. The reactions are some of the most realistic in found footage horror history, the woods have rarely been so imposing, and the scares are some of the best. Still holds up great to this day. Genre defining is an understatement.
Synopsis: Three film students vanish after traveling into the Maryland woods to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.
Where to Watch: Peacock, Amazon (Rent/Buy)
1. Troll Hunter (2010) – Nordic Nightmare
- Director: André Øvredal
- Cast: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg
- Runtime: 103 minutes
- IMDb: 6.9/10
Why it Ranked: André Øvredal’s sensational Norwegian found footage horror movie, Troll Hunter, takes the number one spot on this list simply because it is one of the greatest found footage horrors ever made. Obviously this is another cryptid horror and the woods take a little more of a back seat than they do in the other movies, giving way to a variety of gorgeous locations. Plenty of the action in Troll Hunter, however, takes place in amongst the trees so it definitely counts. Troll Hunter is funny, intense, exciting, compelling, and just a damn good horror movie. Skip the trailer and just go in blind. You will have a great time.
Synopsis: A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, only to discover that the culprit is actually a variety of giant trolls being managed by a secretive government agency.
Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy), Max, Hoopla
Don’t Go Into The Woods
There we have it, 10 found footage horror movies set in the woods that range from the absolute classics to the downright skippable. If this list has taught us anything, it is that if you find a strange stick figure hanging from a tree or hear a weird noise outside your tent, you should probably just pack up and go home.
I’ll be back soon with more lists. In the meantime, check out some of our other found footage rankings. Stay spooky.
🌲 Quick Picks: Woodland Found Footage Essentials
- 🏆 The Masterpiece: Troll Hunter (2010)
- 📹 The Classic: The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- 👣 The Bigfoot Pick: Willow Creek (2013)
- 📺 The Survival Twist: Man Vs. (2015)
- 👻 The Haunted House: Leaving D.C. (2012)
