The Handheld Innovation

I'm sure we're all familiar with this little horror flick gem:

For those that don't know, it's a still from the 1999 film 'The Blair Witch Project'. A film that caused audiences around the world to collectively mess their pants by doing very little.


To say it was an innovation to not use the standard 35mm film, and instead employ cheap 16mm and home movie style video formats for professional use would be wrong. Compact film cameras have been used since their invention by the Lumière brothers in the 1890's, and revived again and also favored by directors during movements such as the French New Wave.


However, it is the way that handheld cameras are implemented in film that gives it it's foregrounding, especially in the horror genre. If you've never seen The Blair Witch Project then I recommend that you see it. Thinking about it you realise that there's very little that actually goes on in the film. Some trees rustle, some stick arrangements are found, but mostly we're just witnessing the fear and mental degradation of a bunch of teens out in the woods. And that right there is the simple yet effective fear factor. Paranormal Activity (2007) also does this. Turns out that a few things going bump in the night can scare the hell out of a teen and adult audience.


All we simply do as the audience in most films is passively sit there and watch. That's it. We watch the adventures of others unfold. Most films do not expect us to engage or partake. I don't mean literally partake, hopefully nobody ever stood up during the finale of the last Lord of The Rings film and charged with a sword towards the screen, hoping to cut down some orcs. But partake in the sense that we engage with the story and characters. Blair Witch broke down a barrier. By making the film first person instead of third we in some senses become the character/s, looking through their eyes and being as frantic and as helpless as they are.

Realism is another factor.

Rec 1 and 2 is the Spanish cousin of The Blair Witch Project. Appearing in 2007 it again excited some people that enjoy the horror genre. But the film is about zombies (or 'infected', whatever) and many of us just aren't that scared of zombies anymore. I've gunned down thousands of them in Left 4 Dead and hamster-balled a few in Dead Rising 2. So why are the zombies in Rec scary? Perhaps the realism that comes with a first person camera experience makes it so. Claustrophobia also plays a part in Rec, and the use of lighting as well. The feeling of no escape and that they could be behind any corner is always there.

The frustrating element that we can't control the camera or characters is well used in horror. It's a great social experience making us shout things at the screen such as: "For god's sake it's behind you! Turn Around!" in an almost panto style. 1978's Halloween opening has us in first person, looking through the eyes of Michael Myers as he goes upstairs to try out his shiny new kitchen knife, again we have the same experience.

Other films such as Cloverfield (2008), District 9 (2009) and Chronicle (2012) all take part in the handheld style. It's quite a clever yet simple technique that I personally really enjoy seeing in certain films. I'm not usually a fan of horror films, I find them bland, boring and predictable, but put it in first person on a cheap camcorder and you'll grab my attention.