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The Blair Witch Project

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The Blair Witch Project
Theatrical Poster
Directed byDaniel Myrick
Eduardo Sánchez
Written byDaniel Myrick
Eduardo Sánchez
Produced byRobin Cowie
Gregg Hale
StarringHeather Donahue
Joshua Leonard
Michael C. Williams
CinematographyNeal Fredericks
Edited byDaniel Myrick
Eduardo Sánchez
Music byAntonio Cora
Production
company
Haxan Films
Distributed byArtisan Entertainment
Release dates
United States
January 25, 1999
(Sundance Film Festival)
July 16, 1999
(Limited)
July 30, 1999
(Wide)
United Kingdom
October 8, 1999
(Raindance Film Festival)
October 22, 1999
(Wide)
Thailand
November 5, 1999
Australia & New Zealand
December 9, 1999
Running time
86 min.
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
Budget$22,000
Box office$248,639,099

The Blair Witch Project is an American horror film released in 1999. The narrative is presented as a documentary pieced together from amateur footage, filmed in real time. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three young student filmmakers (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams) who hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch, and subsequently go missing. The viewer is told that the three were never found, although their video and sound equipment (along with most of the footage they shot) was discovered a year later. This "recovered footage" is presented as the film the viewer is watching. [1] It is considered a predecessor to the Fourthwall Cinema movement.

A sequel to The Blair Witch Project was released on October 27, 2000 entitled Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. A third installment was planned for the following year, but did not materialize. On September 2, 2009, it was announced that co-directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick were pitching a second sequel.[2]

Plot

In 1994, film students Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard set out to produce a documentary about the fabled Blair Witch. They travel to Burkittsville, Maryland, formerly Blair, and interview locals about the legend of the Blair Witch. The locals tell them of a hermit named Rustin Parr who kidnapped seven children and brought them to his house in the forests. Parr brought the children into his basement in twos. He felt that their eyes were staring into his soul when he was being watched, so he would kill one child while the other faced a corner. He would then kill the corner child. Parr eventually turned himself in to the police, later pleading insanity, saying that the spirit of a witch killed in the 18th century had convinced him to kill the seven children. The trio interviews Mary Brown, an eccentric older woman who tells them that she had an encounter with the Blair Witch as a young girl.

The second day, the students begin to explore the woods in north Burkittsville to look for evidence of the Blair Witch. Along the way, a fisherman warns them that the woods are haunted. The students hike to Coffin Rock, where five men were found ritualistically murdered in the 19th century, and then camp for the night. The next day they move deeper into the Black Hills, despite being uncertain of their exact location on the map. They eventually locate what appears to be an old cemetery with seven small cairns. They set up camp nearby and then return to the cemetery after dark. One of the students accidentally disturbs a cairn, and Heather hastily repairs it. Later, they hear strange cracking sounds in the darkness; they cannot locate the source and assume it was animals or someone following them.

The following day they attempt to return to their vehicle; they fail to find it before darkness falls and are forced to set camp. That night, they again hear cracking noises, but cannot see anything. The next morning they find three small cairns have been built around their tent during the night. As they continue to try and find their way out of the woods, Heather realizes that her map is missing, and Mike later reveals that he kicked it into a creek out of frustration the previous day. Josh and Heather attack Mike out of a fit of intense rage. They then realize they are now thoroughly lost, and decide to simply head south. Soon, they discover a multitude of humanoid stick figures made of woven sticks and branches suspended from trees. Although viewers could not know until later in the film, Heather cut one of them down before they left. That night, they hear more strange noises, including the sounds of children, and unknown entities brush against the sides of their tent. They flee their tent in panic and hide in the dark woods until dawn. Upon returning to their tent, they find that their possessions have been rifled through, and Josh's equipment is covered with a somewhat blue slime causing him to panic. As the day wears on, they mysteriously pass a log that was identical to a log they had passed earlier, despite having traveled directly south all day, and again set camp completely demoralized at having wasted the entire day.

The next morning, Josh has disappeared. After trying in vain to find him, Mike and Heather eventually break camp and slowly move on. That night, they hear Josh's screams in pain around the darkness, but are not able to find him. The next morning, Heather finds a bundle of sticks and fabric outside their tent. Later inspection reveals it to contain blood-soaked scraps of clothing and what appears to be fragments of Josh's unknown body parts, but she does not mention this to Mike.

That night, Heather makes a tape of herself apologizing to the others and her family and breaks down crying while she says, "we're gonna die out here tonight...". Later, they hear Josh's agonized cries for help again, but this time they follow them to an abandoned house in the woods. Mike races throughout the house while Heather tries to follow, and claims he hears Josh in the basement. He follows the sound and after what seems to be a struggle, goes silent and drops his camera to the floor. Heather frantically goes down to the basement still screaming for Mike but gets no answer. She then enters the basement looking for both men, and her camera sees a glimpse of Mike facing the corner. Ear splitting screams are heard from Heather as she drops her camera, her footsteps are heard running towards Mike, and the screams die out. There is only silence while the camera goes out.

Production

Development

The Blair Witch Project was developed in 1988[3] by the filmmakers. The script began with a 67 page outline, with the dialogue to be improvised.[3] Accordingly, the directors advertised in Back Stage magazine for actors with strong improvisational abilities.[4] There was a very informal improvisational audition process to narrow the pool of 2,000 actors.[5][6] In developing the mythology behind the movie, the filmmakers used many inspirations. Several character names are near-anagrams; Elly Kedward (The Blair Witch) is Edward Kelley, a 16th century mystic. Rustin Parr, the fictional 1940s child-murderer, began as an anagram for Rasputin.[7] In talks with investors, they presented an eight-minute documentary along with newspapers and news footage.[8]This documentary, originally called "The Blair Witch Project: The Story of Black Hills Disappearances"[9] was produced by Haxan Films.

Filming

Filming began in October 1997 and went for eight days.[4][10] Most of the movie was filmed in tiny Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, although a few scenes were filmed in the real town of Burkittsville.[11] The townspeople interviewed in the film were not actors, and some claimed to have heard about the Blair Witch. Donahue had never operated a camera before, and spent two days in a "crash course", but her newness with camera control may have influenced the film's shakiness. Donahue said she modeled her character after a director she once worked with, citing the character's self assuredness when everything went as planned, and confusion during crisis.[12]

During filming, the actors were given clues as to their next location through messages given in milk crates found with Global Positioning Satellite systems. They were given individual instructions that they would use to help improvise the action of the day.[4] The directors rationed the food of the cast, causing Donahue to suffer eczema outbreaks as filming progressed. Teeth were obtained from a Maryland dentist for use as human remains in the film.[4] Influenced by producer Gregg Hale's memories of his military training, in which "enemy soldiers" would hunt a trainee through wild terrain for three days, the directors moved the characters far during the day, harassing them by night and depriving them of food.[8]

Almost 19 hours of usable footage was recorded which had to be edited down to 90 minutes.[6] The editing in post production took more than eight months. Originally it was hoped that the movie would make it on to cable television, and the filmmakers did not anticipate wide release.[3] The initial investment by the three University of Central Florida filmmakers was about US$35,000. Artisan acquired the film for US$1.1 million but spent US$25 million to market it.[13] The actors signed a "small" agreement to receive some of the profits from the film's release.[14]

Budget

A list of production budget figures have circulated over the years, appearing as low as $20,000. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sánchez revealed the truth about the budget. When principal photography first wrapped, approximately $20,000 to $25,000 had been spent.

Release

The Blair Witch Project was shown at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, and released by Artisan on 30 July 1999 after months of publicity, including a ground-breaking campaign by the studio to use the Internet and suggest that the film was a real event. The distribution strategy for The Blair Witch Project was created and implemented by Artisan studio executive Steven Rothenberg.[15][16] It was positively received by critics and went on to gross over US$248 million worldwide,[17] making it the 3rd most successful independent film of all time (after Paranormal Activity and Mad Max). The DVD was released in December 1999 and presented only in Fullscreen.

Reaction

The Blair Witch Project grossed $248,639,099 worldwide,[18] compared to its final budget which ranged between $500,000 and $750,000.[19]

The Rotten Tomatoes website provides links to 127 reviews for the film, with 85% of these reviews being favorable.[20] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film four stars, calling it "an extraordinarily effective horror film".[21] It was listed on Filmcritic.com as the 50th best movie ending of all time.[22] Critics in particular praised Donahue's apology to the camera near the end of the movie, saying it would cause "nightmares for years to come", and which Ebert compared to Robert Scott's final journal entries as he froze to death in the Antarctic.[21][23] Donahue has stated that there was a considerable backlash against the film, which she claims led to her having threatening encounters and difficulty obtaining employment.[24]

The Blair Witch Project is thought to be the first widely released film marketed primarily on the Internet.[25] A sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, was released in the autumn of 2000, but was poorly received by most critics.[26] A third installment announced that same year did not materialize.[27]

The Blair Witch Project was given a Global Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay[28] and won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award Conversely, the film was nominated for the 1999 Razzie Award for Worst Picture. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly named The Blair Witch Project one of the "The 100 best films from 1983 to 2008", ranking it at #99.[29] In 2006, Chicago Film Critics Association listed it as one of the "Top 100 Scariest Movies", ranking it #12[30].

Cinematic and literary allusions

In the film, the Blair Witch is, according to legend, the ghost of Elly Kedward, a woman banished for witchcraft in 1785 in the Blair Township (latter-day Burkittsville). The directors incorporated that part of the legend, along with allusions to the Salem Witch Trials and The Crucible, to play on the themes of injustice done on those who were called witches.[5] They were influenced by The Shining, Alien, The Omen, and Jaws. [3]

The Blair Witch Project bears many similarities to the 1998 film The Last Broadcast. Both are faux-documentaries dealing with characters who set off into the wilderness in search of legendary figures and vanish; the endings are quite different. It is unclear whether The Blair Witch Project was inspired by The Last Broadcast.[31]

Jim Knipfel of the New York Press has noted the similarities between Blair Witch and the widely-banned 1980 Italian exploitation film Cannibal Holocaust. In the first part of this film, a rescue team ventures into the jungles of South America to search for a missing group of filmmakers who previously traveled there to film a documentary about cannibalistic tribes. Their footage is eventually found and viewed, which makes up the second half of the film.[32]

Soundtrack

None of the songs featured on Josh's Blair Witch Mix actually appear in the movie. However "The Cellar" is played during the credits and the DVD menu. This collection of mostly goth rock and industrial tracks is supposedly from a mix tape made by ill-fated film student Joshua Leonard. In the story, the tape was found in his car after his disappearance. Some of the songs featured on the soundtrack were released after 1994, after the events of the movie supposedly have taken place. Several of them feature dialogue from the movie as well.

  1. "Gloomy Sunday" – Lydia Lunch
  2. "The Order of Death" – Public Image Ltd.
  3. "Draining Faces" – Skinny Puppy
  4. "Kingdom's Coming" – Bauhaus
  5. "Don't Go to Sleep Without Me" – The Creatures
  6. "God Is God" – Laibach
  7. "Beware" – The Afghan Whigs
  8. "Laughing Pain" – Front Line Assembly
  9. "Haunted" – Type O Negative
  10. "She's Unreal" – Meat Beat Manifesto
  11. "Movement of Fear" – Tones on Tail
  12. "The Cellar" – Antonio Cora

Media tie-ins

Books

In September 1999, D.A. Stern compiled The Blair Witch Project: A Dossier. Perpetuating the film's "true story" angle, the dossier consisted of fabricated police reports, pictures, interviews and newspaper articles presenting the movie's premise as fact, as well as further elaboration on the Elly Kedward and Rustin Parr legends (an additional "dossier" was created for Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2). Stern wrote the 2000 novel Blair Witch: The Secret Confessions of Rustin Parr and in 2004, revisited the franchise with the novel Blair Witch: Graveyard Shift, featuring all original characters and plot.

In May 1999, a Photonovel adaptation of The Blair Witch Project was written by Claire Forbes and was released by Fotonovel Publications.

The Blair Witch Files

A series of eight young adult books entitled The Blair Witch Files were released by Random subsidiary Bantam from 2000 to 2001. The books center around Cade Merill, a fictional cousin of Heather Donahue, who investigates phenomena related to the Blair Witch in attempt to discover what really happened to Heather, Mike and Josh. [33]

  1. Blair Witch Files 1 – The Witch's Daughter
  2. Blair Witch Files 2 – The Dark Room
  3. Blair Witch Files 3 – The Drowning Ghost
  4. Blair Witch Files 4 – Blood Nightmare
  5. Blair Witch Files 5 – The Death Card
  6. Blair Witch Files 6 – The Prisoner
  7. Blair Witch Files 7 – The Night Shifters
  8. Blair Witch Files 8 – The Obsession

Comic books

In August 1999, Oni Press released a one-shot comic promoting the film, simply titled The Blair Witch Project. Written by Jen Van Meter and drawn by Bernie Mireault, Guy Davis and Tommy Lee Edwards, the comic featured three short stories elaborating on the mythology of the Blair Witch. In mid-2000, the same group worked on a four-issue series called The Blair Witch Chronicles.

In October 2000, coinciding with the release of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Image Comics released a one-shot called Blair Witch: Dark Testaments, drawn by Charlie Adlard and written by Ian Edginton.

Computer games

In 2000 Gathering of Developers released a trilogy of computer games based on the film, which greatly expanded on the myths first suggested in the film. The graphics engine and characters were all derived from the producer's earlier game, Nocturne.[34] Each game, developed by a different team, focused on different aspects of the Blair Witch mythology: Rustin Parr, Coffin Rock and Elly Kedward, respectively.

The trilogy received mixed reviews from critics, with most criticism being directed towards the very linear gameplay, clumsy controls and camera angles, and short length. The first volume, Rustin Parr, received the most praise, ranging from moderate to positive, with critics commending its storyline, graphics and atmosphere; some reviewers even claimed the game was scarier than the movie.[35] The following volumes were less well-received, with PC Gamer saying Volume 2's only saving grace was its cheap price[36] and calling Volume 3 "amazingly mediocre".[37]

Music

Thrash/death metal band Deceased, on the album Supernatural Addiction, released a song titled "Elly's Dementia", which follows the Blair Witch legend.[citation needed]

DVD release

The Blair Witch Project was released on DVD and VHS on October 27, 1999, presented in fullscreen format.[38] The DVD included a number of special features, including "The Curse of the Blair Witch" and "The Blair Witch Legacy" featurettes, newly discovered footage, director and producer commentary, production notes and trailers.

Remake

In late 2009, film director Stacy Hopkins was scheduled to start the shooting of the Scottish remake The Blair Witch.[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ Editorial: Paranormal Activity Shadows The Blair Witch
  2. ^ "The legend of the Witch lives on". BBC News. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  3. ^ a b c d Klein, Joshua (1999-07-22). "Interview – The Blair Witch Project". avclub.com. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  4. ^ a b c d "Heather Donohue – Blair Witch Project". KAOS 2000 Magazine. 1999-01-01. Retrieved 2006-07-30. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b Aloi, Peg (1999-07-11). "Blair Witch Project – an Interview with the Directors". Witchvox.com. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
  6. ^ a b Mannes, Brett (1999-07-13). "Something wicked". Salon.com. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
  7. ^ Blake, Scott (2000-07-17). "An Interview With The Burkittsville 7's Ben Rock". IGN.com. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  8. ^ a b Conroy, Tom (1999-07-14). "The Do-It-Yourself Witch Hunt". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2006-08-02.
  9. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWi8uBblQbc&feature=related
  10. ^ Corliss, Richard (1999-08-16). "Blair Witch Craft". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  11. ^ Kaufman, Anthony (1999-07-14). "Season of the Witch". Village Voice. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
  12. ^ Lim, Dennis (1999-07-14). "Heather Donahue Casts A Spell". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
  13. ^ Stanley, T.L. (1999-09-27). "High-Tech Throwback – marketing of "Blair Witch Project" – Statistical Data Included – Interview". Brandweek. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
  14. ^ "Heather Donohue – Blair Witch Project". KAOS 2000 Magazine. 1999-01-01. Retrieved 2006-07-30. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ DiOrio, Carl (2009-07-19). "Steve Rothenberg dies at 50". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  16. ^ "Lionsgate's Steven Rothenberg dies". Variety Magazine. 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  17. ^ "The Blair Witch Project". Box Office Mojo.com. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
  18. ^ "The Blair Witch Project". Box Office Mojo.com. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
  19. ^ John Young (July 9, 2009). "'The Blair Witch Project' 10 years later: Catching up with the directors of the horror sensation". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  20. ^ "The Blair Witch Project". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
  21. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (1999-07-16). "The Blair Witch Project". Roger Ebert.com. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
  22. ^ Null, Christopher (2006-01-01). "The Top 50 Movie Endings of All Time". filmcritic.com. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  23. ^ Ressner, Jeffrey (1999-08-12). "Out Of Nowhere And Into Blair". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  24. ^ Chaw, Walter (2003-08-13). "Witchy Woman". Film Freak Central. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  25. ^ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (2006-07-13). "When fans hissed, he listened". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  26. ^ B., Scott (2001-08-21). "Blair Witch Project 3 to Happen?". IGN.com. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  27. ^ "Blair Witch 3". Yahoo Movies. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
  28. ^ www.globalfilmcritics.com
  29. ^ The New Classics: Movies | EW 1000: Movies | Movies | The EW 1000 | Entertainment Weekly
  30. ^ Filmspotting, Scariest Movies, Film, Podcast, Reviews, DVDs, Adam Kempenaar
  31. ^ Denning, Mark. "The Last Broadcast". New York Times/nytimes.com. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  32. ^ Knipfel, Jim (2005-07-22). "Cannibal Holocaust". nypress.com. Retrieved 2006-09-23.
  33. ^ Merill, Cade (2000). "Cade Merill's The Blair Witch Files". Random House. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  34. ^ Smith, Jeff. 'Blair Witch Project Interview' IGN.com. April 14, 2000.
  35. ^ 'Metacritic: Blair Witch Volume 1: Rustin Parr'. Metacritic.
  36. ^ 'Metacritic – Blair Witch Volume 2' Metacritic.
  37. ^ 'Metacritic – Blair Witch Volume 3' Metacritic.
  38. ^ IGN staff. 'DVD Review of "The Blair Witch Project"' IGN.com. December 16, 1999.
  39. ^ A Faux Remake of 'The Blair Witch Project'?
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