The Blair Witch project - Still "Scary as Hell"
1994. Three young documentarians travel to Burkittsville, Maryland in search of the Blair Witch; an age-old legend about missing children and unexplainable happenings. Equipped with cameras and camping gear, these filmmakers set out into the forest, never to be seen again. In the summer of 1999, a film was released, a film depicting the last known traces of Heather, Josh, and Mike. A film that offered no answers. A film that only posed more questions and adding to the legend of the Blair Witch.
This movie, of course, is The Blair Witch Project released in July of 1999. It is a movie that spawned a love for the found footage sub-genre of horror, opening the door for other films like Grave Encounters and the Paranormal Activity and Hell House, LLC. franchises (check out our Hell House reviews HERE and HERE). At the time of its release, it was unique, having moviegoers question its validity. Was this a staged performance or was this truly a film depicting the disappearance of three young, aspiring filmmakers? With only $60,000 at their disposal, directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez created a phenomenon that terrified viewers.
So why did this movie have such a visceral effect on the viewers? Was it the raw, gritty filming style? The authentic terror the actors portrayed? Or the marketing campaign that was used to promote the movie? It is said that the studio made a great effort to keep the actors out of the public light for a while after the release. This is something that got Cannibal Holocaust director Ruggero Deodato into hot water with authorities. The Blair Witch Project is also the first film I remember having a website further promoting the disappearance of the filmmakers. It’s still active today. Take a look HERE. While promoting the film, missing posters were handed out during film festivals, asking for information about the whereabouts of Heather, Mike, and Josh. Hell, even iMDB listed the actors as missing or deceased. This marketing campaign created a serious buzz for the film, something that had never been seen before.
I remember seeing this in the theaters when it was released. The images of the twig fetishes hanging in the trees, the teeth wrapped in a piece of Josh’s blood-soaked flannel, and the final image of Mike standing in the corner stayed with me. There are a few older movies that upon re-watching I say hold up and still work today, and The Blair Witch Project is one of them. Taken at face value, for what it was, what it represented, and the lasting impact that it has had on the sub-genre of found footage films, I still think this movie can terrify 20 years later.
