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‘The Blair Witch Project’ Turns 20 in January, and I Still Hadn’t Seen It

Published

6 years ago

August 29, 2018

This January, The Blair Witch Project will be 20 years old. I remember my parents renting it when I was around ten, and being unnerved but not quite following what was going on.

It’s popped in and out of my mind several times, but I never got around to rewatching it. Until, that is, I found the DVD in the five dollar bin at Walmart. A few months shy of its 20th birthday, I would finally be watching the infamous Blair Witch Project.

The Blair Witch Project owes much of its success to its innovative marketing campaign. Found footage, though not new, was new to the vast majority of American audiences of the time.

The actors were believed by the public to be dead, with missing persons posters made up for the lead actors, and Heather’s Journals released on an official website for the “documentary”. IMDb listed them as missing, presumed dead for the first year after the movie debuted. There was even a mockumentary called The Curse of the Blair Witch, which debuted on the SciFi Network before the theatrical release of the film.

These strategies lead to much debate over the truth behind The Blair Witch Project. Was it another movie, or something real? Audiences had to see for themselves, leading to the film becoming one of the most high earning independent films of all time and establishing the found footage genre, leading the way for movies like Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity.

When the time came to finally sit down and watch the movie, I hit play with a surprising amount of trepidation. Even knowing the movie was fake, there was something unsettling about the found footage aspect of the film.

My empathy for the doomed trio waned thin within the first few minutes of the movie. Heather was obnoxious and I couldn’t tell the two men apart until eighteen minutes into the movie (yes, I counted).

I also found myself confused by the stories the locals were telling. Who is the villain here? They talk about a witch, banished in the 1700s for practicing witchcraft, while also going into detail about a hermit who kidnapped eight children in the 1940s. Legend says he would bring them into the basement in twos and have one stand in the corner while he murdered the other (if you don’t remember the ending of the movie, keep this in mind.) So who haunts the woods?

via IMDb

The movie is supposed to start getting scary about 26 minutes in, but I wasn’t feeling the tension. The group hears sounds all around them in the woods, but all the audience can hear is Heather screaming “Hello!?” into the dark. After daybreak, the group moves on.

The movie gets monotonous at this point; the day scenes contain zero scares, just a lot of people wasting time considering they’re in a hurry. In the night scenes, we hear the protagonists talk about the noises in the woods rather than being able to hear the noises for ourselves.

Forty minutes in, Mike reveals that he kicked the map into the river, because “he was frustrated and it wasn’t helping.” Right. Shorty after that, we meet the stick figure from the movie poster, which looks creepy but was never given any meaning.

Josh disappears, and the next night his screams can be heard throughout the woods. Mike and Heather wake up to a bundle of sticks at their door like an Amazon Prime package, which Heather looks at more closely to find it stuffed with Josh’s blood, hair, and other accoutrements.

Night falls and we’re treated to the famous selfie monologue. I experienced a bit of the Mandela Effect during this scene, because I always thought she said “I’m so scared”, but that phrase never comes up.

via AudiencesEverywhere

The movie then reaches its climax as they follow Josh’s screams to an abandoned house, where Mike runs to the basement. Heather follows, and the last thing we see is Mike standing in the corner before Heather is knocked over and the movie ends.

The Blair Witch Project asks us to be scared but doesn’t give us anything to be afraid of. It’s hard to feel the fear of the characters when you can’t hear what’s scaring them. We’re shown piles of rocks and hanging stick figures but never told what they signify. They seem to imply witchcraft, but the ending shows Mike in the corner, the hallmark of the murdering hermit, not the fabled Blair Witch.

While some of the imagery was creepy, there was nothing to fear from the plot. But in spite of its shortcomings, The Blair Witch Project did something important. It proved that found footage movies could succeed, and was the start of a sub-genre that is still turning out quality movies decades later. We owe it a rewatch for its 20th birthday.

For more on The Blair Witch Project, check out our article on the wild theory about the film’s REAL killers.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

6 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

9 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.