The Blair Witch Project
Article by Eve Curley
The Blair Witch Project came at us in 1999 and I’m not sure we were all ready. It was different, unusual…! This statement will give away my age….a year where the films I consumed still unlock core memories. American Pie, Cruel Intentions and a supernatural horror film so real that the eerie, grainy camcorder footage and fear laden breathing, sobbing and terror in those film students’ eyes still gives me the shivers. It was (still is) unsettling and an experience on its own.
I mean heck, the promotional poster was a missing persons poster and the build-up was epic. I was invested in this film in 1998. It felt real. This had never been done before and it never will be….because, well, the marketing wouldn’t get through. Fake news anyone?
When The Blair Witch Project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival at midnight on January 23, 1999, its promotional marketing campaign listed the actors as either "missing" or "deceased". Clever. I was hooked.
It was genius really with a reasonably short running time to ensure impact. If you like supernatural horror, mystery, and of course witchcraft, take the time to check this out on the big screen. You need those extreme close ups and detail. Also don’t be surprised if you come out with slight motion sickness, it is well worth it though! If the budget was higher it would have been detrimental to the sheer grittiness and realness of this mysterious yet hectic film. Low budget. High intensity.
The plot. Heather, Mike and Josh are our mates, our kids or they are indeed they are us! In October 1994, they set out to produce a documentary about the mythical Blair Witch. The film suggests to be footage found in the cameras of three young filmmakers who had gone missing.
This is a film that you don’t want to go into with too much hype or info, so I’ll keep it brief. Less is more. Embrace its documentary style and step into these young cocky filmmakers’ soggy shoes. Oh and the noises. The sheer terror and screams. Sometimes you really don’t need gore for a film to be horrifying.
Written, directed and edited by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, the duo definitely drew inspiration from filmmakers such as Val Lewton, best known for low budget horror movies, and of course Alfred Hitchcock. This Hitchcock quote is fitting!
“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”
Classic horror, urban legends, burial grounds, Halloween throughout a small town, camp fires, some seriously ominous woods and that one stubborn friend who gets you lost. Seems cliché, but this one is different and it’s hard to look away. What is that saying “curiosity killed the cat?”
As the three friends walk away from their car parked by the side of the road, it is the first of many poignant moments, fading smiles and fear that effectively ruins them (and Heather’s neat lipstick for her pieces to camera).
Cocky film students talking about shots and weed in the first few minutes, and witchcraft shot with a camcorder that see people unravel slowly and painfully. Strap in.
Screening at Rewind as part of Horrorfest, you can catch The Blair Witch Project on Sunday the 1st of October and Saturday 7th of October.