A Reel 25: THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

“I’m scared to close my eyes…”

This month marks the 25th anniversary of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. 

 

Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was a low-budget, independent horror film which would be a box office hit, a cultural milestone, and would launch a new sub-genre of horror. It told the story of three student filmmakers (Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard), who vanish in the deep woods of Maryland while filming a documentary about a witch…only to have their footage found years later. 

 

The idea for THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was born in 1993, when student filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez were inspired by documentaries on paranormal phenomena which they found to be more scary than traditional horror films. They conceived of a film that combined documentary and fictional horror movies, intending to film in isolated areas with improvised dialogue. 

 

Filming began in 1997 in Maryland with local townspeople appearing in the film. Realism was the goal, and the three actors were given crash-courses in hand-held-camera techniques as they would be doing all the filming themselves. Myrick and Sanchez were going for real reactions, and didn’t tell the actors about events that would be happening. For example, when one of the students vanish without a trace, it was done without the knowledge of the remaining two…earning genuine fearful performances. The directors moved their actors a long way through the woods, harassing them by night and depriving them of food. Total filming took only eight days, with 20 hours of footage that would be cut down to 81 minutes. 

 

Prior to release, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT had a unique marketing technique, and it is one of the first to be showcased via the internet; it was “viral” long before the term would become common. The film’s official website showed “missing” posters and newsreel-style interviews which had many people believing that the footage was real. So real that Heather Donahue’s mother received sympathy cards from people who believed her daughter was dead or missing. 

 

The efforts paid off. After a premiere at Sundance and plenty of buzz about “a record of real events”, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT would earn $248 million total, over 4,000 times its original budget. It would be the 10^th highest grossing film of year and would earn the reputation as a sleeper hit. It would draw positive reviews from critics and would start the found-footage genre, with film franchises such as PARANOMAL ACTIVITY and CLOVERFIELD taking inspirations. 

 

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 One of the biggest arguments to be had in the summer of 1999 was over THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT; was it real or fake? This was an age before the internet with its Reddit and X apps could uncover the truth, which left us all barking at each other in circles. There is an argument to be made that the lead-up to the film was better than the film itself, but those making that claim would be depriving themselves of what was a great and scary cinematic experience. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT on the screen was one scary S.O.B., with the realistic performances from the cast striking hard, and the murky dark home-video footage adding to the dread. And by using the JAWS-like technique of never seeing the monster in the dark, our imaginations were left to run in terrifying circles. Was it real? No…but the fear was. 

 

“You gonna write us a happy ending, Heather?”