The Blair Witch Project (1999) – Film Review

Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Cast: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

It may not have been the first example of a ‘found footage’ horror movie, but The Blair Witch Project is the one that opened the floodgates for a slew of others.

It was also a ridiculously massive box office hit. Released in 1999 after a successful Sundance campaign, it went on to gross almost $250million worldwide on a budget of under a million. Not bad, right?

Many of those who saw it first claimed it was the scariest film they’d ever seen, others thought it was an actual documentary. Their responses probably drove millions more to head to their local multiplex to see if it would live up to the hype. It did.

“Local myth”

Despite being a seasoned horror fan, even I was taken aback by it. I can’t say I felt sick like some claimed (although that may have been due to the handheld camera footage), or even terrified, but there is certainly something undeniably unsettling about it, not least because of the performances of its lead actors, Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard.

They were unknowns back then, which added to the documentary feel of the entire enterprise, but they quickly became familiar the world over. Although they didn’t come up with the initial idea, that honour goes to co-writers and directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, who created the fictional legend of the Blair Witch in 1993, the actors deserve some credit, because they largely improvised the dialogue while filming.

They play characters who share their real first names, students who venture into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, ostensibly to make a documentary about a local myth. We then follow them as they film their adventure, which soon turns into a nightmare as a series of inexplicable events occur.

“Unsettling”

Sometimes the most simple ideas are the best, and that’s certainly the case here. There’s nothing fancy about The Blair Witch Project; the low budget is its strength, not its weakness. Anything the least bit flash and it just wouldn’t work. What you don’t see is truly what makes it unsettling.

The film was shot mostly on handheld cameras using Hi8 video and 16mm film, which was then transferred onto 35mm film so it could be shown in cinemas. But now, thanks to Second Sight Films, we’re getting to see it as its makers intended, the new Blu-ray having been created by retransferring the original tapes. Unless you’re an obsessive fan, you may not notice, but we’re assured this is the best version available for 25 years.

What’s more, there’s a bonus disc full of special features, including a blow-by-blow account of the film’s creation. Deleted scenes and alternative endings are also included. Just don’t watch alone – and stay out of the woods, too…