Thursday, October 1, 2020

The Blair Witch Project (1999) directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez


"You gonna write us a happy ending, Heather?"

Very few films can be attributed to reviving an entire subgenre and particularly in horror, the found-footage style had been long dead up until 1999. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez's The Blair Witch Project is an absolutely groundbreaking film that did just that, however, and continues to be the blueprint for found-footage to this day. This absolutely innovative horror film set the standard for both cinematic tension and what filmmakers can achieve using nothing but their creativity due to a minuscule budget. While the technical limitations behind the production of this film makes for a riveting story in and of itself, Myrick and Sánchez find their strengths in what they can show in front of the camera - or more accurately, what they refuse to show.

In October of 1994, three student documentary filmmakers named Heather (Heather Donahue), Josh (Joshua Leonard), and Mike (Michael C. Williams) made their way deep into the forests of Maryland to chase down a rumor of the supposed Blair Witch. As the group of friends venture further and further away from civilization, they eventually find themselves lost, turning on each other, and stalked by an unknown force.

Read my full piece for Cineccentric's 31 Days of Fright here!

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