War of the Worlds has 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 latest film based on H.G. Wells’ classic sci-fi novel, War of the Worlds takes 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 movies that take better advantage of modern technology to tell a story.

10

Searching

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’s Searching, a lean thriller made for just $880,000 that follows John Cho’s David, a father who searches his missing daughter’s computer for answers on her whereabouts.

Searching makes the most of its format as a missing persons film, using the video screens not only to convey the desperation of the grieving parent, but to 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.

9

Missing

A spiritual sequel to Searching taking place within the same universe, Missing flips the script on the original movie. Rather than centering on a parent trying to find their child, Missing stars 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 and dials 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.

8

The 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 thriller The Den. When a young woman uses a similar ficтιтious website, the тιтular “Den”, she witnesses a murder that changes her life forever.

The Den calls to mind the success of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thrillers, such as Rear Window, updating their stories for modern sensibilities. As a cutting examination of the disposable nature of social media and what modern digital infrastructure allows us to hide, The Den punches far above its weight class in terms of sheer quality.

7

Ratter

A lesser-known film, Ratter is one of the most intense uses of the particular kind of screen-recorded found-footage cinematography War of the Worlds should’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 ᴀssault, and the way Ratter jumps 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 precedent for the genre and the unique storytelling medium.

6

Unfriended

Perhaps the most famous found-footage horror movie to get plenty of mileage out of the idea of screen recordings, Unfriended blends 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 ᴅᴇᴀᴅly games.

A cutting-edge concept at the time, Unfriended has 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, with a particularly gruesome death involving a blender still standing out as uniquely twisted.

5

Unfriended: Dark Web

Like most horror movies that enjoyed sweeping popularity, Unfriended enjoyed a second installment four years later with Unfriended: Dark Web. However, in a similar manner to Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Unfriended: Dark Web has 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 Web has its own strength as a terrifying testament to the evils that lurk beneath the surface of the internet in the real world. Just as gory as its predecessor while being inventive enough to take the screen-recording idea to new heights, it is an excellent follow-up.

4

Face 2 Face

As great as the screen-recorded subgenre is for horror movies and thrillers, Face 2 Face proves that the format can work just as well in a heartfelt 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 Face is a great argument for the positive power of social media and technology in 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.

3

Profile

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, Profile takes 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. Profile is a stunning dissection of the efficacy of propaganda in the modern age, examining how groups like ISIS form and thrive in digital infrastructure.

2

Spree

Pivoting back into horror, Spree is a shocking screen-recorded slasher that uses the format to put its villain front-and-center as the protagonist. Stranger Things cast member Joe Keery stars as Kurt Kunkle, a deranged rideshare driver who hopes to achieve a level of disturbing viral fame by murdering his pᴀssengers 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, and Spree mines Keery’s performance for both laughs and genuine scares.

1

Host

Bearing a lot of similar DNA to Unfriended, Host is 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 enтιтy travels to each of their homes.

Zoom calls became a daily part of life because of COVID-19, and Host taps into the ambient terror of that uncertain time by amplifying it with a typical spooky demon. Unlike War of the Worlds, Host understands what needs to be done to make a non-human enтιтy feel genuinely threatening from the confines of a series of computer monitors.