The Blair Witch Project
Directed by	Daniel Myrick Eduardo Sánchez
Written by	Daniel Myrick Eduardo Sánchez
Starring	Heather Donahue Joshua Leonard Michael C. Williams
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment
Release dates	July 14, 1999 (limited); July 30, 1999 (USA wide)
Running time	86 min.
Language	English
Budget	US$22,000
Box office	$248,639,099 (as of January 20, 2008)

The Blair Witch Project is a low-budget American horror film released in 1999. The narrative is presented as a documentary pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company.

The film tells the story of three young student filmmakers (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams) who supposedly go into the Black Hills of Burkittsville, Maryland to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch. The three students never came back. The viewer is told that neither the students nor their bodies were ever found, although their video and sound equipment (along with most of the footage they shot) were discovered a year later.

A sequel to The Blair Witch Project was released on October 27, 2000 entitled Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. A second sequel was planned but has not materialized.

Plot synopsis

Film students Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard go missing in October 1994 while making a documentary about the Blair Witch, a legendary creature believed to haunt the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland. They disappear soon after, and their bodies are never found. A year later, the footage the students shot has been recovered, and the film in its entirety is composed of fragments of that footage.

Shot in a mixture of color and black and white, with shaky handheld camera movements and only natural lighting, the footage includes material that was intended to be used in the documentary, but the bulk of the film shows the experience of the three students as they wander through the woods. Occasionally, the view switches out to a kind of "mood footage" (footage of no characters, just video of the environment) while the audio track continues.

Soon after setting out, they become hopelessly lost; their situation worsens when Michael, in frustration, kicks their only map of the area into the river without telling the others. Over a period of several days, a number of terrifying, mysterious, and possibly supernatural events occur. In one scene, the crew hikes for more than half of the day only to end up in the same spot where they had started.

Much of the plot is open to the viewer's interpretation, including the finale; few concrete indications are given as to the eventual fate of the three filmmakers.

Detailed summary

Film student Heather sets out to produce a documentary about the fabled Blair Witch, accompanied by fellow students Josh and Mike. They travel to Burkittsville (formerly Blair), Maryland and interview locals about the legend of the Blair Witch. Two locals tell them of a hermit named Rustin Parr who kidnapped seven children in his house in the woods from 1940 to 1941. Parr brought the children into his basement in pairs, killing one child while one stood with their face toward a corner. He would then kill the corner child. Parr eventually handed himself into the police, later pleading insanity, saying that the spirit of a witch killed in the 17th century had convinced him to kill the seven children. They also interview Mary Brown, an eccentric older woman who tells them that she had an encounter with the Blair Witch as a young girl. Heather notes Mary’s odd house gate made of woven sticks and branches.

The next day, the students begin to explore the woods near 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 ritually murdered in the nineteenth century, and then camp for the night. The next day they move deeper into the woods, 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 them accidentally disturbs one of the cairns, and Heather hastily repairs it. Later, they hear strange cracking sounds in the darkness, but cannot locate the source.

The next day they attempt to return to their vehicle, but fail to find it before darkness falls, and they are forced to set camp. That night, they again hear cracking noises, but cannot see anything. The next morning they find that three small cairns have been built around their tent during the night. As they continue to try to find their way out of the woods, Heather realizes that her map is missing, and Mike reveals that he kicked it into a creek out of frustration the previous day. They realize that they are now thoroughly lost, and decide to simply head south. Soon they discover a set of humanoid stick figures made of woven sticks and branches suspended from trees. 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 slime. As the day wears on, they realize that they are completely disoriented and going in circles, and set camp.

The next morning, Josh has disappeared. After trying in vain to find Josh, Mike and Heather eventually break camp and slowly move on. That night, they hear Josh’s screams in the darkness, but cannot 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 bloody human teeth and tissue, but she does not mention this to Mike. That night, they hear Josh’s agonized cries for help and follow them to an abandoned house in the woods. Mike races down into the basement and after what seems to be a struggle, goes silent and drops his camera to the floor. Heather then enters the basement and sees Mike facing a corner. Then Heather drops her camera, and her screams suddenly fall silent.

Production

The Blair Witch Project was developed in 1993^[1] by the filmmakers, who desired to create a movie where the characters are lost in the woods.^[2] The script began with a 35 page outline, with the dialogue to be improvised.^[1] Accordingly, the directors advertised in Back Stage Magazine for actors with strong improvisational abilities.^[3] There was a very informal improvisational audition process to narrow the pool of 2,000 actors.^[4][2] 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 medieval mystic. Rustin Parr, the fictional 1940's child-murderer, began as an anagram for Rasputin.^[5] In talks with investors, they presented an eight-minute documentary presenting the Blair Witch legend as though it was real, along with newspapers and news footage.^[6]

Filming began in October 1997 and went for eight days.^[7][3] Most of the movie was filmed in Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, although a few scenes were filmed in the real town of Burkittsville.^[8] Many of the townspeople interviewed in the film were not actors, and some claimed to have heard about the Blair Witch, though the story is fictitious. 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.^[9]

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.^[3] 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.^[3] Influenced by producer Greg 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.^[6]

Almost 19 hours of usable footage was recorded which had to be edited down to 90 minutes.^[4] 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.^[1] The initial investment by the three Central Florida filmmakers was about US$35,000. Artisan acquired the film for US$1.1 million and spent only US$25 million to market it.^[10] The actors signed a "small" agreement to receive some of the profits from the film's release.^[3]

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. It was positively received by critics and went on to gross over US$248 million worldwide,^[11] making it the most successful independent film at the time. It also had the highest ratio of box office sales to production cost in American filmmaking history.

Reaction

The Blair Witch Project grossed over US$ 160 million in the United States and totaled $248 million worldwide.^[12] The film was featured in the Guinness Book of Records as having the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture ever, making back over US$10,000 dollars for every dollar spent.^{[citation needed]}

The Rotten Tomatoes website provides links to 123 reviews for the film, with 85 percent of these reviews being favorable.^[13] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film four stars, calling it "an extraordinarily effective horror film".^[14] It was listed on Filmcritic.com as the 50th best movie ending of all time.^[15] Critics in particular praised Donahue's apology to the camera near the end of the movie, noting its ability to 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.^[16][14] 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.^[17]

The Blair Witch Project is thought to be the first widely released film marketed primarily on the internet.^[18] A sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, was released in the autumn of 2000, but was poorly received by most critics.^[19] A third installment was announced that same year but has not yet materialized.^[20]

The Blair Witch Project was given a Global Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay.^[21] Conversely, the film was also nominated for the 1999 Razzie Award for Worst Picture and Heather Donahue won that award as the year's Worst Actress.

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.^[2] They were also influenced by The Shining, The Omen, and Jaws for the technique of showing the antagonist as little as possible to create suspense.^[1]

The concept of incorporating the camera and crew into the film's plot is not entirely new. Other films to utilize this technique include the Danish Dogme95 movies, and most notably, the Belgian pseudodocumentary Man Bites Dog. In addition, The Blair Witch Project bears many similarities to the film The Last Broadcast (1998), written and directed by Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler. Both are faux-documentaries dealing with characters who set off into the wilderness in search of legendary figures (in this case, the mythical Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey) and vanish; however, the endings are quite different. It is unclear whether The Blair Witch Project was inspired by The Last Broadcast, or if they were conceived separately in isolation.^[22]

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.^[23]

In popular culture

The Blair Witch Project's success led to many spoofs and references in other media: for example, The Blair Witch Rejects^[24] and the The Tony Blair Witch Project.^[25]

One frequently-referenced moment from the film is the scene in which Donahue points the camera directly up at her face, with the camera's light shining in her teary eyes, as she apologizes and admits how frightened she is. Numerous television shows and movies have lampooned this popular scene.

Curse of the Blair Witch

Curse of the Blair Witch was a mockumentary produced for the Sci Fi channel in 1999. Set just after the events of the original movie, the program incorporated mock interviews with the townspeople, scientists and the students' teachers, as well as mock news clips regarding the search effort for the filmmakers. Historical "evidence", including the legend of The Bell Witch, is used as background material.

The Massacre of the Burkitsville Seven

The Massacre of the Burkitsville Seven was a second mockumentary produced for Showtime that aired in 2000. The story takes place after The Blair Witch Project and centers around the serial killer Rustin Parr mentioned in the film.^[26][27]

Soundtrack

None of the songs featured on Josh's Blair Witch Mix actually appear in the movie. 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, supposedly after the events of the movie 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 of 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 tales (an additional "dossier" was created for Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2). Stern also wrote the 2000 novel "Blair Witch: The Secret Confessions of Rustin Parr" and in 2004, revisted the franchise with the novel "Blair Witch: Graveyard Shift", featuring all original characters and plot.

From 2000 to 2001, Bantam Books released a series of eight young adult novels, entitled "The Blair Witch Files", all written by Cade Merrill. The books center around a fictional version of Merill, who researches reported incidents surrounding the Blair Witch in an attempt to discover what happened to his older cousin Heather Donahue.

Comic books

In August of 1999, Oni Press released a one-shot comic promoting the film, simply entitled "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 of 2000, coinciding with the release of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Image Comics released a one-shot entitled "Blair Witch: Dark Testaments", drawn by Charlie Adlard and written by Ian Edginton.

Computer games

In October of 1999, Pangea Software released "The Blair Witch Project: The Unofficial Interactive Companion", a CD-ROM that included all of the fictional background information regarding the film's mythology and a Heather Donahue mousepad.

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.^[28] 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 effectively creepy atmosphere; some reviewers even claimed the game was scarier than the movie^[29]. The following volumes were less well-received, with PC Gamer naming Volume 2's only saving grace was its cheap price^[30] and calling Volume 3 "amazingly mediocre"^[31].

Music

A song entitled "Elly's Dementia" appears on the album "Supernatural Addiction" by thrash/death metal band Deceased. The song narrates the story of Elly Kedward and follows the Blair Witch story very closely.

DVD release

The Blair Witch Project was released on DVD and VHS on October 27, 1999, presented in fullscreen format. The DVD was generally well received, though by the nature of the film, it does not exploit the full quality of the DVD format in either video or audio.^[32] However, the DVD included a number of special features, including "The Curse of the Blair Witch" and "The Blair Witch Legacy" featurettes, deleted ("newly discovered") footage, director and producer commentary, production notes and trailers.

References

External links

• Official website
• Woods Movie - The Making of The Blair Witch Project
• The Blair Witch Project at IMDb
• The Blair Witch Project at AllMovie
• Blair Witch, an external wiki
• The Blair Witch at Bow Office Mojo