The Blair Witch Project 10th Anniversary Retrospect
By: Jeff Otto

Can you believe it's been ten years since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT took the world by storm?

Remember the build-up? Those mysterious posters months before release making everyone think it was a documentary? “In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary... A year later their footage was found,” read the eerie teaser.



Hack quote extraordinaire Peter Travers famously declared, “I have seen the new face of movie horror and its name is THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.” Rumors flooded the net and had horror fans debating the authenticity of the footage. And this was all months before the movie even hit screens. It was the birth of viral marketing and the first evidence that the internet itself was a viable marketing tool.

Personally, the film itself didn't do a lot for me. The hype was really the best part. I watched a bootleg copy on VHS sitting on my couch in the middle of the afternoon and, to be fair, I knew the footage wasn’t real before I saw it. Still, with all the buildup, I don't know, I was just expecting something more. It didn't scare me and, more than that, with all the shaky, out-of-focus camera work, I had a hard time figuring out what the hell was going on. It seemed to me like they just threw together sticks, stones, eerie sound effects, a runny nose and called it a movie.

I gave it a second chance in theaters once it really caught fire and though I had much the same feelings regarding the film itself, watching the audience reaction was all the entertainment I needed - seats squeaking with every jump, screams and gasps as the shaky black-and-white “found” footage blurred through those final mysterious scenes. Audiences were truly taken with this simple little indie film.



No matter what your opinion of BLAIR WITCH, it's important for the groundbreaking marketing and its contribution to the independent film movement.

After all, BLAIR may not usually get mentioned in the same breath as CLERKS or John Waters and Jim Jarmusch flicks, but taking a $60,000 production budget and pulling in a cool $248 mil in total box office (not including home video) is quite an accomplishment.

And let’s not forget, this movie had no stars, unknown directors and was shot on handheld camcorders. No doubt, filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez deserve accolades on this year’s tenth anniversary. Perhaps they even deserve a little slack on BLAIR WITCH 2. Not a lot, but a little. What they pulled off was nothing short of astounding, even if it did eventually mean every dou*hebag with a camcorder thought they could make a movie.





In the ten years since those innovative sticks and stones, more than a few horror movies have tried to recapture that same lightening in a bottle.

As BD’s own Brian Collins aptly put it, "Every shot-on DV indie in the past decade owes its existence to BLAIR.” Most have fallen flat on their face never to see the light of day, but a few have taken the teachings of BLAIR's success and found similar success. Now, let’s take a look at some of the highlights (or low lights, depending on your perspective).



In 2002, MY LITTLE EYE split reactions from critics and fans (much like BLAIR), but its innovative plot was a spin on both BLAIR and more lame reality TV programs than I care to name here.

In the story, the relatively unknown cast (at the time, at least, though it was one of the early film roles for Bradley Cooper) move into an isolated mansion where they have agreed to be filmed around the clock for six months. The prize for survival is a million bucks. If anyone leaves, they all lose. Of course, as might be expected, there is more to the game than just lounging around the house. Someone soon starts playing a series of mean-spirited bloody tricks on the house guests and cold, dead bodies start to hang around.



The next year, OPEN WATER became the next docu-style thriller to chill audiences on the cheap. Unlike BLAIR, WATER actually was based on a true story, albeit in very loose form.

Instead of evil spirits and demonic witches, WATER goes back to the trusty sharp-toothed baddies of the sea when a husband and wife are accidentally left behind by their boat in shark-infested waters. To the occasionally hokey story’s credit, it is fairly relentless and, though the fate of our heroes is sealed almost from the get-go, director Chris Kentis appears to enjoy toying with them as audiences squirm.



A few years later THE ZOMBIE DIARIES took a cue from BLAIR and George Romero in a post-apocalyptic story told in shaky handheld DV documentary-style footage from three perspectives that gradually explain the plague’s spread across the planet.



In 2007, the Spanish horror film REC (and its 2008 American remake, QUARANTINE) takes the found footage angle and gives it a twist in its story of a TV news reporter that unwittingly stumbles on the story of a lifetime. When all hell breaks loose at the quarantined apartment building, Angela Vidal is the only reporter of record and her footage later becomes the only explanation for the stories mysterious events.



Also in ’07, horror maestro George Romero even took a cue from the BLAIR WITCH with his independently produced fifth DEAD zombie flick, DIARY OF THE DEAD.

In the film a group of student filmmakers are shooting a horror film of their own when the hell of the zombie apocalypse breaks loose. One of the aspiring filmmakers senses an opportunity and decides to turn the cameras on the chaos for a documentary style chronicle of the zombie takeover.




2008‘s CLOVERFIELD probably took the concept the furthest since BLAIR and produced the most successful result, both critically and commercially.

Like BLAIR, CLOVERFIELD was shot handheld to look like found footage, this time chronically a monster’s smashing up New York City RAMPAGE-style. Of course, with a more extensive production budget and casting money for the likes of sexy Odette Yustman and studly Mike Vogel, CLOVERFIELD had a much more polished, slick look.

With that said, the idea was nearly identical. Abrams and crew mimicked BLAIR’s innovative marketing campaign to similar fan fair. Teaser posters showing only the now-iconic image of a beheaded Lady Liberty and the date 1-18-08 brilliantly teased audiences who wondered aloud, “What the hell is this all about?”

Paramount followed with a series of hint-driven web sites and a great trailer resulting in feverish anticipation by the time the 18th of ’08 finally rolled around. It worked like a dream and the little monster movie that could raked in $170 million worldwide.





This past summer, Neil Blomkamp’s well-reviewed DISTRICT 9 eclipsed its meager $30 million production budget with a $37 million dollar opening weekend.

Sure, that production budget doesn’t include the cost of the clever marketing campaign (which surely eclipsed production costs) but with $123 million box office so far and counting, I’d say all involved are doing just fine.

Blomkamp’s original concept paralleled actual events that took place in South Africa during apartheid and threw in alien invaders. Like CLOVERFIELD, DIARY and, of course, BLAIR, Blomkamp’s alien invasion flick used the faux-documentary style, this time weaving in footage compiled from video surveillance cameras, news reports and interviews.




Even on this year of the tenth anniversary, the influence of BLAIR is never far off.

The forthcoming PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, which has been compared to BLAIR almost relentlessly, probably wouldn’t exist without those sticks and stones.

In the most recent trailer for the film, green night vision footage (a la A NIGHT IN PARIS) shows the audience jumping, screaming and clutching one another while sitting through an early viewing.

Shot in handheld form, the story tells the tale of a young couple in their new suburban starter home and their brushes with supernatural occurrences. Early buzz is strong and even (ahem, pause for shameless plug) BD’s own notoriously picky Brad Miska raves that it is “one of the scariest movies of all time.”





BLAIR WITCH’s influence on the horror genre and independent filmmaking in general is unmistakable and it’s hard to find a similar break out since.

BLAIR truly came out of the blue, which was what really made the whole experience so exciting. It wasn’t developed by marketing execs in a studio, but by creative minds with a great idea who threw what little cash they had down on the table and just made a movie. For every story like Sanchez and Myrick’s profound success, there are a million little failures that never saw the light of day.



Love it or loathe it, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was a sizable accomplishment and remains an important release to the horror genre and to the independent film movement at large.

Bloody-Disgusting salutes everyone involved in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT on this 10th anniversary.

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/interview/592

I saw this in the movies and saw it because I heard it was supposed to be really, really scary.

It didn't do anything for me, either. When the movie was over, I thought "Where were the scary parts??"

I saw this in the movies and saw it because I heard it was supposed to be really, really scary.

It didn't do anything for me, either. When the movie was over, I thought "Where were the scary parts??"

I also saw this upon original release and I liked it at the time. I was about 14 or so when this came out and we all thought (my circle of friends) that it was real.

I don't think there will ever be another movie that will have this level of successful marketing. I mean down the road there will probably be more creative levels of marketing coming up but I don't think Blair Witch's success can happen again for another movie like this.


At the time I remember they went all out for this. They had the cast listed on IMDB as "Missing, Presumed Dead" on their actor profiles and they also had a few documentaries passed off as being real (mockumentaries) about the story.


It's been a while since I've seen this. I think I saw it last back in 2003 and I didn't like it upon second viewing. I might want to pop it again sometime soon since it's been a while.

I didn't care for the sequel at all. Saw it once back then and that was it.

I can't believe it has been ten years. I didn't see it in theaters. I did see it right away when it was released on video. I remember I watched with a couple of my cousins. It did freak us out in a lot of ways. We all grew up in rural areas in New Mexico. The area around the house I grew up was very wooded and sometimes it was sort or scary to walk around night.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking through movie trailers on YouTube and I saw a trailer for The Fourth Kind. It sort of seems they are using the Blair Witch angle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVRHOhLP-aA

It's been THAT long already? Man, I feel old. :eek: :lol:

Directors Ed Sánchez and Dan Myrick Discuss Blair Witch Influence
Friday, October 16, 2009
By: Jeff Otto

This year The Blair Witch Project celebrates its 10th Anniversary.

Earlier this month we brought you our retrospective discussing BLAIR’s influence on the horror genre and indie filmmaking at large. Today BLOODY-DISGUSTING goes to the men behind BLAIR WITCH, co-directors Ed Sánchez and Dan Myrick, to talk about their recollections of the phenomenon and discuss the ongoing legacy of their ground-breaking little DV movie that could.

Both men are currently working on their own projects and discussing a BLAIR WITCH sequel idea that they plan to take to Lionsgate before the end of the year.





BLAIR WITCH was released in late July 1999, but BLAIR had been garnering buzz for months before theatrical release, from mysterious bootleg tapes to web sites hinting the documentary-style footage was uncovered in relation to a missing persons case.

The internet was just coming into its own and Sánchez, who designed the brilliant web site, found just the right ingredients to tap into a new (and free) promotional tool.

"I was in charge of the site because I’d had some web-building experience and I had the most time," Sánchez told Bloody-Disgusting with a chuckle.

"I was the only one that didn’t have a girlfriend at the time. I would edit and then I would just basically work on the web site and that was my life. The reaction I was getting from the sh*t I was putting on the web site, for a completely unknown filmmaker from Orlando, FL, it was like, ‘We’re really hitting a nerve with this.’"


"It certainly legitimized [internet viral marketing]," says Myrick.

"It showed that if you’ve got a compelling idea and you approach it in the right way, it can catch fire and you can let the audience do the work for you."





Along with the web site, the filmmakers sent VHS copies of the movie to festivals that were subsequently pirated and distributed just about everywhere (one even got into the hands of this humble writer in mid-1999).

"I started getting emails from people that had seen the movie," says Sánchez.

"The tapes we had sent to Sundance and other festivals, people had copied them. I got an email from a guy in Japan. The reaction we were getting from those bootleg copies was just ridiculous."



Even with all the buzz, Ed and Dan weren’t sure exactly what they had. It was getting strong response at the festivals, but the question of whether the movie would get the chance at mainstream success still loomed large.

"We did a platform release and Ed and I were at the Angelika Theater in New York," Myrick tells BD.

"Just out of curiosity, we went up to the box office to watch people buying tickets for our movie and every showing was sold out until like 1 a.m. I’m like, ‘Okay, this is weird.’ We’ve got something here.’"





As the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and BLAIR soon received lots of flattery.

"All the parodies that came after "BLAIR WITCH" were ridiculous," laughs Sánchez.

"Some of them were funny. We stopped watching them after a while because there were so many. You know, it was such an easy movie to spoof."


Not long after that, a new and steady stream of BLAIR-influenced features, TV shows and shorts started popping up, from those utilizing the shaky-cam home video ideal to first person narratives.

"There was a TV series that came out shortly after "BLAIR"," says Myrick.

"I’m trying to think of the name of it, but it was first person. They would try to set up a scary scenario and they would send each person in with a first person camera. I was like, ‘That’s a straight line from "BLAIR WITCH" to this TV show."





Perhaps the first mainstream breakout with a direct connection to BLAIR was 2003’s OPEN WATER.

"I’m sure they were influenced by "BLAIR", but I think more by the low budget kind of attitude," says Sánchez.


"The thing with "OPEN WATER" that it had similar to "BLAIR WITCH" was a great core nugget idea," adds Myrick.

"I remember everybody kind of sitting at lunch and going, ‘Aw, man, what a great kind of right on the bulls-eye concept.’ You’ve gotta go see that. That was what "BLAIR" had and I think that’s why "OPEN WATER" generated so much buzz, even though when you watch the film it was obviously a narrative. It wasn’t shot in the same first person conceit, but you didn’t care. It had that same kind of low tech light to it and it worked."





Over the years, countless releases can probably be connected in some little way to BLAIR.

In our retrospective, we mentioned OPEN WATER along with MY LITTLE EYE, ZOMBIE DIARIES, REC and even Romero’s DIARY OF THE DEAD.

For both Sánchez and Myrick, the films they consider most closely connected to BLAIR didn’t hit screens until much, much later.


"I think a lot of people involved with the filmmaking process regrettably didn’t really understand why "BLAIR" worked," explains Myrick.

"[They] didn’t really understand how much work went into making it look like no work went into it. We auditioned over 2,000 actors until we finally nailed down the three that worked. That’s the hard theory to get across to some of these people. It’s still storytelling, it’s still a narrative, it’s still execution. The conceit behind "BLAIR WITCH" was very methodically planned out and we went to great pains to make sure it looked very real and authentic. When you disrespect or simply don’t understand why BLAIR worked you wind up making bad copies of it."



""CLOVERFIELD" to me was the first one that I was really like, ‘Wow,’" Sánchez tells BD.

"Why did it take people so long? I loved the idea that it could be done on such a big scale. It was a different kind of film. [It] was scripted out. They made it feel very natural, but all the things that were being caught in that party, all the little moments, there’s no way that could really happen unless you had ten cameras in that party. But they did it well. The audio, you can tell it’s like manufactured to sound bad. With "BLAIR WITCH", that’s all the audio we had. So there’s a little bit of a difference. There’s a little bit too much convenience in "CLOVERFIELD", at least for me."


"I was quite envious [of "CLOVERFIELD"] actually," says Myrick.

"Many times after "BLAIR WITCH" I’ve said to myself, ‘I would love to take the "BLAIR WITCH" conceit, this first person camera thing, and apply it to like a big Sci-Fi movie or something like that where you don’t have these super-pretty Michael Bay visual effects. It’s all down and dirty kind of documentary-style visual effects."





This year PARANORMAL ACTIVITY has taken more than a few pages from the BLAIR history book, both in terms of the film’s look and the marketing, in which it is proudly being proclaimed, "the next BLAIR WITCH PROJECT."

"Whenever I see a project where they’re saying, ‘This is the next "BLAIR WITCH PROJECT"’ there’s a part of me that smiles and a part of me that cringes a little bit," admits Myrick.

"You know, that was a once in a lifetime, lightning in a bottle kind of thing and I don’t know if I would make that claim quite yet."


""PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" is probably the most true to style as far as "BLAIR"," says Sánchez.

"It just feels very real. I like the idea of randomness in these movies. "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" is a little too convenient sometimes. For me, the big thing about first person cinema is, ‘Why is the camera still running? Why are these characters still taping themselves being chased by ****?’ For us in "BLAIR", that was a big struggle for us, especially the end. It’s like, ‘Why the hell would they still have the cameras?’ But at that point you’re so wrapped up in the film, they don’t notice that."


"It’s kind of come full circle," adds Sánchez.

"I know the "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" guys were inspired by "BLAIR WITCH" and after watching their film it’s kind of inspired me to do something kind of in the same genre but put my own twist on it. That’s what my next film, "POSSESSION", is."





Ten years removed from the phenomenon that was THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, we asked Ed and Dan what they would do differently if they were to make BLAIR now for the first time.

Dan: "I would pay everybody a little bit better, but honestly I don’t think we would’ve or would do anything differently. "BLAIR WITCH" took the typical shortcomings of low budget filmmaking and turned them into strengths, so I wouldn’t want to undermine those strengths."

Ed: "I would have ruined it, really. The whole idea of "BLAIR WITCH" was an idea based on economics. We had to no money and I think the problem now would be we would have access to money and we just wouldn’t do it the same way. We would **** it up somehow."

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17735