HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Published October 30, 2014 | By Folklore

This is the movie that changed everything.

Whenever Halloween approaches as a horror fan you start to reminisce about all the classics, such as: ‘The Evil Dead’, ‘Halloween’, ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and so on, all tremendous movies in their own right.

In my opinion ‘The Exorcist’ is one of the finest pieces of cinema to date, not just horror but in overall film history and ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ is possibly the most real, although I’d say Fred Vogel’s ‘August Underground’ gives it a good run for its money.

All of the above are not from the category ‘Found Footage’ though, a strand of the genre that splits so many fans. Found footage movies are nothing new, they date back to movies like ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ and ‘The Last Broadcast’ and in modern cinema The ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise and movies resembling them have flooded the market. These movies make a lot of money at the box office but are often hated on by true horror fans. Whilst the PG13-horror isn’t my thing either I certainly don’t hate found footage films as long as it’s done right. Only this year we have had the fabulous ‘The Borderlands’, which was a quintessential very simple tale, but the found footage was used in effective and believable way. ‘The Houses October Built’ was another strong release using found footage effectively, but none of them use the medium of found footage as well or so effectively than ‘THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT’.

Released in 1999 by filmmakers Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, the story is about 3 student filmmakers who whilst shooting a documentary in 1994 in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland about a local urban legend, disappeared with only their camera equipment and subsequently the footage being found. The footage is presented to the audience for them to make their own judgements.

Sanchez & Myrick have done for woodlands what Spielberg did for water with ‘Jaws’.

The footage shows the 3 students traveling around Burkittsville interviewing locals about their views and beliefs on the fable, the legendary Blair Witch. Its here they learn about a local hermit called Rustin Parr who in the 1940’s kidnapped 7 children from the area and took them back to his cabin in the woods and eventually tortured and murdered them. When arrested Parr claimed he was made to it through the influence of voices in his head of the late Elly Kedward, a witch hanged in the area in the 18th century. They also learn of the haunted woodland and Coffin Rock where in the 19th century five men were found ritualistically murdered.

It’s through these investigations and interviews with the townsfolk that the movie really comes alive. I’ll be damned if anyone watching it for the first time asked themselves if there was an element of truth in it all. The mythology the filmmakers create is nothing I’ve ever seen before or since. There is a genius in its simplicity. Everything that is presented to the audience feels organic and never feels staged. The movie relies on suggestion and senses at all times which is quite brilliant and you’ll never feel at ease again strolling through the woods. Sanchez & Myrick have done for woodlands what Spielberg did for water with ‘Jaws’. There is genuine fear incorporated in ‘The Blair Witch’, that no matter how many times you re-visit the film, it’s still there.

Since the film’s release I’ve heard so many people claim they were disappointed with its ending, personally I thought it was sensational. The mythology that was relentlessly built brought me right up to that climax in the cabin; I couldn’t keep my eyes of the screen. This is where the directors nailed it. If a creature was to jump out or some shoddy CGI floating around, it would have had me punching the screen, but they didn’t do any of that rubbish. I’m aware there is a huge audience that like that sort of thing, but I love the element of ‘less is more’ and these directors obviously do as well. What I witnessed with the films end sequence totally spooked me out and truly stayed authentic to the narrative. It made me discuss it endlessly after the closing credits and fall in love even more with the film and the mythology.

The companions accompanying the movie’s mythology are fabulous also such as the documentaries ‘The Curse of the Blair Witch’ and ‘The Blair Witch Legacy’ which give greater insight to the events in the movie. I believe these companions are as important as the movie itself.

All in all ‘The Blair Witch Project’ is possibly the perfect horror movie. It’s frightening, atmospheric and creates a world that hasn’t been matched since. It’s the indie movie that changed everything and still has the same power after all these years.