Next week, audiences will be able to go to the theater and see the first Blair Witch movie made in about 16 years. But before you buy your tickets and head in early to grab a good seat, Honest Trailers is here to remind you that the original Blair Witch Project back in 1999 had just a few key problems. Revisit them below!
The folks at Honest Trailers definitely don't play kind when it comes to the movie that wound up basically birthing the genre we now know as Found Footage. In particular, the parody isn't too happy with the notorious shaky cam, as well as the fact that not a whole lot of stuff actually happens during the 80 runtime -- with most of the film basically watching three people wander around in the woods. But that's all before focusing on what they ultimately see as the true villain of the piece: the viral marketing campaign, which not only left a lot of people feeling duped, but has been imitated by major blockbusters ever since.
It's fun to mock The Blair Witch Project because it wound up creating such a huge phenomenon around something both fictional and silly (not too dissimilar to Y2K, which existed in the same era) -- but the truth is that the movie also deserves a whole lot of credit. There are certainly many film fans nowadays who loathe found footage because of its ubiquity and perceived cheapness, but there is no denying that director's Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez's horror flick was groundbreaking.
Perhaps more importantly, The Blair Witch Project is also incredibly unnerving, and scary -- even without the question of whether or not it's real. It's true that the film doesn't exactly have what can be called traditional plot points, but the naturalism of the storytelling adds to the atmosphere and building tension, and it is emotionally gripping to watch the relationship between Heather, Mike and Josh deteriorate as the Blair Witch screws with their minds before killing them off. If you haven't watched it recently, you should do yourself the favor before checking out the upcoming sequel (though you can definitely feel free to skip Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2).
Speaking of which, the third feature in the series -- titled simply Blair Witch - arrives in theaters on September 16th. The film is directed by Adam Wingard and scripted by Simon Barrett, the same team behind You're Next, segments of V/H/S, and The Guest. You can read my reaction to the movie from its premiere at San Diego Comic-Con here, and stay tuned in the coming weeks for much more about the new horror flick!
