Hello. This is Motion Visual Japan Inc. The hot days continue. We usually talk about video shooting and its techniques, but today we're changing things up a bit with a feature titled "Mockumentary Feature with Excellent Camera Work," where we'll introduce some wonderful films that showcase camera work and ideas. During the hot summer, it might be a good idea to cool off a bit.
What Exactly is a Mockumentary?
A "mockumentary" is a fictional film made to look like a real documentary. Many mockumentaries are more realistic than typical horror films and are therefore scarier. Because mockumentaries unfold entirely from a first-person perspective, they have an overwhelming sense of presence.
A Mockumentary Essential: 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
This is a horror film about students who enter a forest to shoot a movie and have a terrifying experience. The footage, mainly shot with a handheld camera, is depicted as if it were a real-life terrifying experience.
Furthermore, the narration sounds as if there's a real legend behind it, and the actors are all unfamiliar faces, giving it a sense of amateurism in a good way. Because of this, many people are probably fooled into thinking it's a true story. The story unfolds a bit slowly at first, but the terror descends like a storm in the latter half. The screen shakes quite a bit, which enhances the fear. It's a great example of how changing the shooting method based on how you want to move the audience's emotions, not just shooting beautifully, can be effective.
Mockumentary 'The Fourth Kind' (2009) Shines with Skillful Psychological Portrayal and Composition
This work depicts a psychologist protagonist who encounters an unbelievable truth while investigating the cause of her husband's death. The film interweaves real-looking footage with the movie's visuals, creating a high degree of realism.
It's likely made so meticulously that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you researched it or were told. While it's a horror film, it's not overly scary, so even those who dislike horror should be able to enjoy it.
Even Spielberg raved about this cornerstone of mockumentary, "Paranormal Activity" (2007).
Titled after the meaning of "paranormal phenomena," this work tells the story of a couple who try to record what they feel is "strange" in their home, only to end up documenting supernatural occurrences. You will see most of the scenes from a fixed video perspective.
Considering its extremely low budget, the horror is well-executed, not unnecessarily exaggerated, and features a simple, realistic story. Steven Spielberg himself praised this direction. Although they truly acquired the remake rights, it is said that due to its high level of perfection, even Hollywood's top talent believed it impossible to surpass the horror of this work and gave up. However, it is said that the ending was changed from the original based on Spielberg's advice.
The mockumentary "Gonjiam" (2018) with a realistic ending that was truly scary.
The story is about seven young people who visit a psychiatric hospital, which was closed due to a mass suicide of patients and the disappearance of the hospital director, and had been inaccessible for a long time, to stream videos, only to get caught up in strange events.
Although it's a Korean film, once one of the characters becomes possessed midway through, unlike other productions, they start speaking rapidly and muttering with their eyes rolled back, rather than showing white eyes. It's truly nothing but terrifying.
And this filming location, the abandoned hospital. It's actually a real abandoned hospital. Was that the reason it didn't go well, or was it a complete coincidence? The director's younger brother passed away.
5th Place: The mockumentary "Noroi" (2005), whose clever promotion and concept made it mistaken for a film about real people.
A Japanese mockumentary horror that introduces a documentary completed by paranormal real-life writer Masafumi Kobayashi before his disappearance. The seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents that Kobayashi investigates are connected by the word "Kagutaba," related to a ritual in a certain village. At the time of its release, promotions such as actually creating an official website for Masafumi Kobayashi were carried out.
The investigative program featuring a psychic girl and the paranormal spot program where the comedy duo Ungirls and actress Marika Matsumoto appear as themselves are also authentic. The script, centered on unique mystery-solving, is superb and keeps you watching until the end. Director Koji Shiraishi has also worked on similar works like "Occult" and many documentary-style ghost videos, but this work, produced in 2005, is his breakthrough piece.
How was it? All the movies I've introduced this time are works with excellent ideas and camera work. It's also a summer pleasure to cool down a bit with terrifying footage that will blow away the summer heat.
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