Chronicle (2012)

It's divisive. Only 50% of audiences liked it, by Google's archived audience score. Critics rated it higher at 77%, but audiences were less impressed.

Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over. Wikipedia ↗

Chronicle is a 2012 American found-footage science fiction thriller directed by Josh Trank in his feature debut. Three Seattle teenagers — the troubled, abused Andrew played by Dane DeHaan, his cousin Matt played by Alex Russell, and the popular Steve played by Michael B. Jordan — discover a mysterious crystalline object in a hole in the ground that grants them telekinetic powers.

As they experiment with their abilities — flying, moving objects, creating force fields — Andrew's increasingly unstable mental state and his desire for revenge against the bullies and abusive father who have tormented him transform him from an awkward outsider into a genuinely dangerous threat. Chronicle was a superhero origin story told as a found-footage teen drama, and the combination gave both genres unexpected power. Dane DeHaan's Andrew was a heartbreaking creation — a kid who finally gets power and uses it the way any damaged, angry teenager realistically would, with catastrophic consequences.

The climactic battle through downtown Seattle was the found-footage genre's most spectacular set piece. Chronicle earned $126 million worldwide on a $12 million budget.