If you’re not a fan of 'The Blair Witch Project', you simply don’t know enough about it.
The 1999 film was shot in eight days, but the film makers Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, spent six years preparing for it. Their first step was to fabricate the legend of the Blair Witch. Once they had their story, they spread it into our collective consciousness via a website, mockumentary (which was originally presented as a genuine documentary), fake news articles and a dossier of fake police reports, interviews, articles and even (incredibly creepy) songs about the legend of the witch and the people who went missing in the woods.
When the film was finally released, it was advertised with missing person posters for the actors (who agreed to live in hiding for a period of time to add to the mystique).
As a child, I followed all of this with intense fascination. It all felt so real. And that was the film makers’ intent. If you were exposed to all of the elements, it was an immersive, multi-faceted experience of fear that no-one else has ever had the inclination to create.
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Following the incredible success of the first film, there were some woeful sequels of which no more will be said. After these flaccid attempts at turning the film into a franchise, the whole thing just dissolved into the ether.
Then, 17 years later, without warning, it re-emerged. Unlike 'Suicide Squad', which spent way too long building up to its release, 'Blair Witch' only made itself known when it was complete and ready to be watched.
As the simple yet creepy posters suggest, the new 'Blair Witch' is a lot like the old one. While they may be stocked up with fancier technology, the new set of students end up spiralling into the same predicament as the old ones.
Despite this similarity, 'Blair Witch' lacked some of the atmosphere of the first film. It could be that the new director missed something or it could be that, in the 17 years between the two instalments, this reviewer has watched far too many horror movies and developed some kind of immunity.
I did spend a lot of time shrieking and flinching, but this was mostly due to an overabundance of jump scares. Sudden shot changes and glitches in the footage created the same effect as someone creeping up behind you and saying “boo”. It gets a reaction but feels, to the horror connoisseur, like a cheap trick. Sometimes though, the cheap thrills can be fun. An odd but beautiful connection grew amongst the 'Blair Witch' audience as we all jumped, screamed and giggled together.
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The new film gave more of a glimpse into the nature of the witch than the first one did. In the first film, we never saw what was hunting the students, which allowed our respective imaginations to fill in the gaps. And since your imagination knows what scares you the most, it’s always going to come up with something far more terrifying than any movie ever could.
This effect was abandoned in the new movie but replaced with something equally brain-stimulating. What they allow you to see opens your mind up to some pretty out-there theories. But, by not over-explaining everything, 'Blair Witch' gives you the deliciously terrifying freedom of yet again filling in the gaps yourself. My brain immediately jumped to aliens, but it tends to do that with a lot of things, so I wouldn’t be surprised if yours goes somewhere completely different.
While it didn’t quite hit the same chords as its originator, I love the fact that the Blair Witch projects itself out of the traditional filmic confines, its tendrils creeping out into the real world, creating a multi-dimensional horror experience.
