“Some legends are true…and better left unknown.”

When the term “found footage horror” is brought up, the first to do it was Cannibal Holocaust.  In 1999, a low budget independent film changed the face of cinema and reinvented “found footage” into modern day pop culture.  That movie is none other than The Blair Witch Project!  Shot entirely on hand-held cameras by the actors themselves and filmed on a very low budget, it became one of the highest grossing indie films of all time.  Co-written and co-directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, it has become an instant cult classic and will go down as one of the scariest films of all time.  The plot is simple.  Three documentary film students disappear into the woods, and a year later their footage was found.

THE PLOT

Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams are three student filmmakers heading to the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland to make a documentary of the legend of the Blair Witch.  Before heading into the woods, the three first decide to interview some of the locals and get their insight and impressions on the Blair Witch legend.  Most of what they say is somewhat silly, but still a little eerie.  Regardless if it’s just a legend or not, the townspeople strongly believe in it and advise against anyone entering the woods to investigate.  After learning of the legend and ready to get started, the trio enthusiastically makes their way into the woods leaving the car behind on a back-road.  Following a map that Heather is sure is accurate, they head deep into the woods to film a few locations before returning to the car.  As night falls and it starts to rain, they decide to tent up for the night, but neither of them gets much sleep.  The following morning, they all claim to have heard strange noises during the night, and Josh swears he heard a cackling.

As they head deeper into the woods searching for an old graveyard, eventually they come to the realization that they’re lost.  Despite Heather’s optimism that they are fine, the group starts to fall apart and succumb to hunger, exhaustion, and paranoia of the creepy woods around them.  With each passing night, more and more strange sounds and occurrences bring the three to the brink of insanity, as now they aren’t just fighting with each other but fighting for their own lives!

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

Not much can be said that hasn’t already been said of this film.  It has become notorious for its influence on modern day found footage horror.  When I went to see this movie in the theater, I knew very little about it.  I truly thought what I was watching was real!  The audience was stunned, and we were all very silent when exiting the screening room.  During the time it was released, a couple of friends and I had been late night wood walking every weekend out of boredom.  Not much going on in our small town, so it was a least something to do.  After viewing this movie though, neither of us did that anymore!  Obviously, this film had that kind of effect on me.  So, in my opinion, The Blair Witch Project is a great film, and one that will stand the test of time.