30 July: The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project

After a remarkable advertising campaign, the producers put The Blair Witch Project into wide release in the United States on 30 July 1999.

I realize that many people will disagree with me. And those people are wrong. I suspect that when the film was released, those people were part of the overwhelming number of viewers who quite liked it.

But something happened. And I watched that something. It’s summed up by a joke I remember a late-night comedian making. It went something like this, “A new extended cut of The Blair Witch Project has been released with an additional 7 minutes where nothing happens.”

Get it? It’s funny because nothing happens in the film! Except, of course, that lots happens in the film.

Highly Effective Horror

I still remember the visceral terror of the scene where they come out of their tent to piles of rocks around them. It’s true that nothing on screen happened. But it tells a story of this malevolent force that is constantly around them but never seen.

That’s also true of the stick figures scene:

I’ve watched the film again recently just to see if it really is as good as I remember. And even if you ignore all the horror elements of it, it’s still a fascinating look at three young people losing their minds.

Changing Opinions

It would be fascinating to look at the ratings of The Blair Witch Project over time. I think you would find that they go ever downward. That really should happen to all films because over time they lose their context and people can’t see what made them interesting.

Now with so many “found footage” films around, there’s a tendency to blame The Blair Witch Project. I think that’s a shame. For one thing, I rather like the found footage genre. That’s even true when they break the form like in The Last Broadcast or when it is used to muddy the view like in V/H/S.

Like any genre, there are good ones and bad ones. But at their best, they can be very immediate. (Check out Ouija Blood Ritual.) See what Bomberguy and Strucci have to say about The power of VHS.

Watch The Blair Witch Project

You should revisit The Blair Witch Project. I think you will find that you like it in a totally different way than you did the first time.

You might also like Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County. It is also available for free on Archive.

Other 30 July Anniversaries

Filmmakers

Films

  • The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse (1938): Doctor becomes criminal to study criminality.
  • Ghosts on the Loose (1943): East Side Kids fix up a house for newlyweds but they are next door to a “haunted” house.
  • Mothra (1961): Explorers discover a race of tiny women who worship a giant moth.
  • Willard (1971): A young man uses his rats to get revenge.
  • Flesh Gordon (1974): Sexy send-up of science fiction with some cool effects.
  • Squirm (1976): Man-eating worms!
  • House (1977): Schoolgirls visit an aunt who lives in a haunted house. Spectacularly bizarre!
  • So I Married An Axe Murderer (1993): Boy meets girl; boy begins to wonder if she is a serial killer.
  • The Dead Talk Back (1994): A scientist has a radio that can talk to the dead, which he uses to solve a recent murder with a crossbow. The film was made in 1957 but not released until 1994 on TV. It’s a strange film but other than the ending, it’s pretty dull.
  • Gozu (2003): A Yakuza grunt must deliver a colleague to be assassinated.
  • Thunderbirds (2004): Live-action film based on the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson show.
  • The Village (2004): A remote village exists in a truce with surrounding monsters.

The Blair Witch Project via Amazon under Fair Use.

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