War of the Worldshas shaped up to be one of the most infamously bad movies of 2025 thanks to, among other things, its cheesy screen-recording gimmick. But many other films have been able to make a similar format work, proving that the fault of the film lies in many other places, including the sleepy performances, lazy editing, and hilariously bad dialogue.
The latestfilm based on H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi novel,War of the Worldstakes place entirely on a recorded computer monitor, with all the action being diegetically explained by in-universe footage and video calls. While this novelty might seem gimmicky,it has worked very well in a variety of other moviesthat take better advantage of modern technology to tell a story.
10Searching
One of the most impressive things about movies taking place entirely on computer screens is how much they can accomplish on such modest budgets.Enter 2018’sSearching, a lean thriller made for just $880,000that follows John Cho’s David, a father who searches his missing daughter’s computer for answers on her whereabouts.
Searchingmakes the most of its format as amissing persons film, using the video screens not only to convey the desperation of the grieving parent, butto slowly unearth new pieces of evidence as well. Cho’s tentpole performance is able to carry such sparse cinematography choices contained entirely within drab computer windows.
9Missing
A spiritual sequel toSearchingtaking place within the same universe,Missingflips the script on the original movie. Rather than centering on a parent trying to find their child,Missingstars Storm Reid as a young girl who scours the internet for answers when her mother never returns from her vacation to Colombia with her new boyfriend.
It takes what works about its predecessor anddials up the tension to new heights, creating a deeper, sprawling network of lies to navigate through as the investigation continues. Reid puts in an impressive performance at just 20 years old, selling the believable bond between her character and her mother that drives her pursuit of the truth.
8The Den
The short-lived popularity of video chat sites like Omegle or Chatroulette that matched users up randomly with strangers inspired the creation of the 2013 thrillerThe Den.When a young woman uses a similar fictitious website, the titular “Den”, she witnesses a murder that changes her life forever.
The Dencalls to mind the success ofAlfred Hitchcock’s classic thrillers, such asRear Window, updating their stories for modern sensibilities. Asa cutting examination of the disposable nature of social mediaand what modern digital infrastructure allows us to hide,The Denpunches far above its weight class in terms of sheer quality.
7Ratter
A lesser-known film,Ratteris one of the most intense uses of the particular kind of screen-recorded found-footage cinematographyWar of the Worldsshould’ve paid more attention to. After a rough break-up, a young woman moves to New York only to have her devices hacked by a mysterious stalker.
The elusive creep’s behavior slowly ramps up from digital surveillance to full-on physical assault, and the wayRatterjumps from device to device helps keep up the tension. With each scene that unfolds,the ambiguity of whose hands the camera is truly in sets a spine-chilling precedentfor the genre and the unique storytelling medium.
6Unfriended
Perhaps the most famousfound-footage horror movieto get plenty of mileage out of the idea of screen recordings,Unfriendedblends a typical possession plot with modern-day modes of communication. During a routine Skype call with a group of friends, the ghost of a suicide victim suddenly joins as an anonymous profile and forces the participants to take part in deadly games.
A cutting-edge concept at the time,Unfriendedhas since become something of a time capsule for its era of the internet, being charmingly unique to the specific time period of the 2010s. That’s not to say the film isn’t genuinely scary at times, witha particularly gruesome death involving a blender still standing outas uniquely twisted.
5Unfriended: Dark Web
Like most horror movies that enjoyed sweeping popularity,Unfriendedenjoyed a second installment four years later withUnfriended: Dark Web.However, in a similar manner toHalloween III: Season of the Witch,Unfriended: Dark Webhas nothing to do with the original, instead focusing on a new friend group who run afoul of a terrifying cabal on the dark web.
Despite being totally divorced from the more supernatural scares of the original,Unfriended: Dark Webhas its own strength asa terrifying testament to the evils that lurk beneath the surface of the internetin the real world. Just as gory as its predecessor while being inventive enough to take the screen-recording idea to new heights, itis an excellent follow-up.
4Face 2 Face
As great as the screen-recorded subgenre is for horror movies and thrillers,Face 2 Faceproves that the format can work just as well in aheartfelt coming-of-age romance. The plot centers on a pair of former high school friends that reconnect after one moves across the country,allowing love to slowly blossom over a series of video calls.
Face 2 Faceisa great argument for the positive power of social media and technologyin a sea of so many films that demonize them, exploring the beauty of long-distance romance in the digital age. The film also tackles hefty subjects like abuse and mental health without feeling cheap, sappy, or reliant on shock value, giving it a rare quality all its own.
3Profile
Inspired by the real-life works of a French journalist who investigated the digital tactics used by the terrorist group ISIS to recruit new members,Profiletakes a faux-documentary approach to difficult political topics. In the movie, a British journalist poses as a recent convert to Islam in hopes of being recruited into the terrorist organization to learn more about their indoctrination methods.
However, before long,the documentarian protagonist finds herself being shockingly caught up in her new zealous life, struggling more and more to separate her false persona from her real thoughts and feelings.Profileis a stunning dissection of the efficacy of propaganda in the modern age, examining how groups like ISIS form and thrive in digital infrastructure.
2Spree
Pivoting back into horror,Spreeis a shocking screen-recorded slasher thatuses the format to put its villain front-and-center as the protagonist.Stranger Thingscastmember Joe Keery stars as Kurt Kunkle, a deranged rideshare driver who hopes to achieve a level of disturbing viral fame by murdering his passengers for an audience on the internet.
Keery may be better known as the cocky, yet lovable Steve Harrington, but as Kurt, he’s a delightful terror. His charisma truly sells the disturbed nature of extreme clout-chasing some internet personalities really go to in the real world in hopes of eating up their 15 minutes of fame, andSpreemines Keery’s performance for both laughs and genuine scares.
1Host
Bearing a lot of similar DNA toUnfriended,Hostis another horror movie that combines supernatural threats with modern-day conveniences. During the COVID-19 lockdown,a group of teenagers performing a seance together online inadvertently summon a demon, and get picked off one-by-one as the profane entity travels to each of their homes.
Zoom calls became a daily part of life because of COVID-19, andHosttaps into the ambient terror of that uncertain time by amplifying it with a typical spooky demon. UnlikeWar of the Worlds,Hostunderstands what needs to be done to make a non-human entity feel genuinely threatening from the confines of a series of computer monitors.
