The Blair Witch Project: 25th Anniversary- Where Found Footage Found Footing
Quick Take: I remember the hype. Kids these days don’t actually remember what it was like when films actually came out, but people actually really believed this was some weird snuff film. People thought they had really died. Found footage, as a major genre for mass consumption, really wasn’t a thing. Then a few film students from my Alma mater decided to take some cameras out into the woods, and change history. For better or worse, this movie is responsible for the found footage genre, but also really the concept that a movie with such a small budget could turn such a huge profit.
In initial release, people were dealing with motion sickness, because they hadn’t seen found footage on the big screen. I remember when the cast started doing interviews, and one of them mentioned that their family thought they had died, because the world was so convinced this was real. That curtain was pulled back pretty quickly once the film made a bunch of money, but people kept showing up. This movie legged out extraordinarily well for the now defunct Artisan, who immediately commissioned a sequel.
I’ve never found this movie scary. I’ve seen it more times than I would like. I appreciate the ingenuity of getting out there and making this, and then building so much lore that everyone believed it was real. What the filmmakers did, is truly worth being engrained, but the hype is what makes the film scary. The belief the Blair witch is real. the cast feel like real people, and the people they interview do nice work. It just has never scared me. A pile of rocks! What does it all mean? Who knows. It is the woods. Anyone could have put that there for any number of reasons. I wouldn’t have thought twice.
But, I can’t believe it is 25 years old. It has stood the test of time, deserves to, and one day should be in the National Film registry just for what it accomplished. Possibly, the most successful indie film ever. For more, check out my video.
