The Blair Witch Project (1999)

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The Blair Witch Project (1999)

1999 | Horror

84 mins

Found video footage tells the tale of three film students (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams) who've traveled to a small town to collect documentary footage about the Blair Witch, a legendary local murderer. Over the course of several days, the students interview townspeople and gather clues to support the tale's veracity. But the project takes a frightening turn when the students lose their way in the woods and begin hearing horrific noises.



Produced by Artisan Pictures
Director Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick
Writer Daniel Myrick
Cast Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard, Bob Griffith, Jim King, Sandra Sánchez, Ed Swanson and Patricia Decou

Background Image Courtesy: Artisan Pictures.
Images And Data Courtesy Of: Artisan Pictures.
This content (including text, images, videos and other media) is published and used in accordance with Fair Use.

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Sarah

Added this item on Feb 23, 2017

The Blair Witch Project (1999) Reviews & Ratings (32)
9-10
12.5% (4)
7-8
43.8% (14)
5-6
25.0% (8)
3-4
12.5% (4)
1-2
6.3% (2)

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The Blair Witch Project (1999) reviews from people you don't follow
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Andy K (10823 KP) rated

Oct 18, 2019  
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
1999 | Horror
While this film is credited as being the first "found footage" film ever made, it is not true. I found several websites even saying the same thing. Not true. That award goes to Cannibal Holocaust (I am pretty sure) which was release almost two decades earlier (1980 vs. 1999).

The film begins with sort of standard documentary fare showing interviews with the Maryland locals discussing if they have heard of the legend of the Blair Witch. For those that had, they recalled their own memories of the stories they had heard from others or from their childhood. Eventually, the documentary filmmakers meet the odd-looking Mary Brown who details her first hand experience with the demon recalling its weird hairy appearance.

Heather, Josh and Michael then decide to go for an outdoor wooded adventure in an attempt to locate and document evidence of the existence of the local legend themselves, not knowing what lies ahead for them. The journey starts out pretty normal with Heather doing most of the onscreen explanations, the other two mostly relegated to replying to her whims or arguing with her about various topics.

Eventually, a few bad thing start to happen including the loss of their woodland map and hearing strange sounds during the blackness of night. They now wander the woods becoming increasingly agitated with each other and their situation when it is revealed they may be walking in circles and are no closer to completing their quest or finding their way out. They see various various stick and rock formations which are not naturally occurring which means someone else is out there with them.



I remember sitting in a darkened theatre in 1999 hearing about this film briefly before its release. Not much was known at the time, and I recall this being one of the first films to have significant internet buzz beforehand. The internet was only a few years old at the time, so this was also a relatively new concept. Modern audiences are spoiled with so much content for every film available online, that everyone almost loses the feeling of being completely surprised by a film you knew virtually nothing about going in.

For Blair Witch, the added element of the "found footage" style was foreign to pretty much everyone which added to the hype and box office success of the film. Virtually the entire viewing public were not completely sure if what they were watching actually happened or this was fiction. It helped that writer/directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez used an unknown cast so seeing someone they recognized onscreen would not ruin the experience of believing its authenticity.

I am down on sloppy modern moviemakers most of the time these days relying so heavily on CGI and making movies look like pretty perfection rather than focusing on the most important thing for a horror film (or any film) a good screenplay and implied tension. For Blair Witch, it has been said some scenes were improvised or given a general direction but not a full script; however, that doesn't detract from the authentic nature of the situation.

The 2nd half of the film has some truly terrifying moments which happen in the background or off-screen showing you don't need to spend all your money on a CGI monster, just make it scary. The scene and keyart for the film showing the top half of Heather's head which she speaks into the camera explaining her terror and anguish is so believable and mesmerizing it send chills down my spine every time I watch it.

The film also get bagged for the ending which might be considered too short or anti-climactic; however, I think it's perfect and really the only way the movie could have gone.

(6)   
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Andy K (10823 KP) Oct 18, 2019

Interesting. Haven't heard of that one. I will certainly check it out. Thanks!
(1)

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Awix (3310 KP) Oct 18, 2019

You're welcome.
(2)

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Emily (1430 KP) rated

Jul 13, 2020  
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
1999 | Horror
Everything (1 more)
Tedious, repetitive, not scary
Possibly the worst film I've ever seen. Definitely the worst out of the films that are highly rated by critics.

I just found it dull. The idea of 'found footage' could have been good, but it was poorly executed, leading to a disjointed film that didn't engage me in the slightest and didn't make me feel for any of the characters, who get increasingly hysterical over noises that could be anything.

The best thing about the film was that it (finally!) ended.
(1)   
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Oren Peli recommended (curated)

 
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
1999 | Horror

"One of the scariest movies I’ve seen, and a direct inspiration to make Paranormal Activity."

Source
  
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Mayhawke (97 KP) rated

Feb 7, 2018 (Updated Feb 7, 2018)  
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
1999 | Horror
The premise (1 more)
The last thirty seconds
The camera work (6 more)
The characters
Her snotty nose
The alleged plot
It's not actually a 'found film'
The length of it
The alleged 'script'
Blair Waste Product
Possibly the worst film I have ever seen.

If you are thinking of watching this film try this instead:

Buy a tin of paint.
Pour it on the floor.
Watch it dry.

A lot more intersting and a hell of a lot less irritating.
  
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Mayhawke (97 KP) Feb 7, 2018

Hi Andy, yeah, I saw it in the cinema, and I remember all the fuss when it came out. In fact it wasn't the first "found footage" film - that idea dates back to at least 1980 (Cannibal Holocaust), but it certainly did popularise the concept. As I said - the premise was good. Sadly the execution wasn't
(1)

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Andy K (10823 KP) Feb 7, 2018

I liked Cannibal Holocaust also. I should watch that again.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) reviews from people you don't follow
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Andy K (10823 KP) created a video

Dec 6, 2017 (Updated Dec 8, 2017)  
Video

I Don't Have the Map

  
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Andy K (10823 KP) created a video

Dec 6, 2017 (Updated Dec 8, 2017)  
Video

The house

  
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Sarah (7800 KP) created a video

Aug 12, 2017 (Updated Aug 12, 2017)  
Video

Trailer

  
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Dean (6927 KP) rated

May 8, 2017  
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
1999 | Horror
Original idea at the time (1 more)
The media campaign leading up to the release
Shaky camera footage (1 more)
A long slow build up to the finale
Don't go down to the woods today