With Halloween on the horizon, it’s time to dive into one of the most influential horror films ever made. A new Blue-ray release of The Blair Witch Project recently dropped, which gave film analysts Nick Friar and Jeff Pratt the opportunity to revisit the original film. Nick and Jeff will analyze the movie that defined the start of the found footage era though a series of questions in this roundtable-style article.
What’s your favorite part of The Blair Witch Project?
Nick: Every time they hear something at night, it’s a rush. As much as we never get the payoff of seeing what’s making the noise, it’s unsettling — and constant. Definitely one of those things from a movie that’ll stick with you when you start hearing weird sounds at night. For me, that’s an important element of a quality horror story.
Jeff: To give a broader answer, it’s every night when they hear strange noises outside of their tent. Specifically, when Josh vanishes out of thin air in the morning and they hear his distressed cries that subsequent night. As Heather and Mike point out, this felt very siren-esque to me. In regular films, those types of encounters can seem cheesy and fabricated, but there’s something about seeing it through the viewpoint of two characters who feel so real that works.
Is the payoff at the end worth the wait?
Nick: It’s chilling. I wouldn’t call it the most satisfying ending, but it’s very fitting. As a found-footage movie, the story shouldn’t wrap up perfectly. The only thing that hurts this ending is time. Now knowing that this was entirely a work of fiction, it doesn’t carry the same weight. But if the details about this being fictional never came up, this movie might still be regarded as highly as it was back in 1999. For anyone looking to watch it for the first time despite knowing it’s entirely fictional, this can still be an anxiety-inducing story if you allow yourself to get immersed in the story.
Jeff: Is the payoff worth the wait? No. Watching a couple of unlikable college students wander around aimlessly in the woods yelling at each other for an hour and change isn’t worth the conclusion. Now, is it a fitting, successful climax to the story? I would lean yes. I really enjoyed the foreshadowing of making the victims face opposing corners, only for that to come full circle with the last shot of the film featuring Mike facing the corner before Heather is attacked. It’s a strong end to an otherwise mediocre story.
Does it hold up after all this time?
Nick: It doesn’t hold up from how it was originally perceived. But that isn’t because of the movie’s quality; The Blair Witch Project accomplished what it set out to do. It’s all to do with everyone knowing the truth about the “found footage.” But that was naturally going to leak out over time. It’s hard to imagine something like that being pulled off today with the evolution of social media.
So while the movie itself doesn’t necessarily age the best, the manner in which this captured the zeitgeist will only look better as time goes along.
Jeff: Let’s get this out of the way right now: I did not exist when this film came out. I was born in 2000 and watched it for the first time in 2015. I am, however, aware of the lore behind the movie and how the creators successfully made people believe it was real found footage. That in itself is fantastic, even if there were some hiccups along the way with said campaign. That said, while I appreciate that effort, I can confidently say this film does not hold up after 25 years. It’s rough, choppy, and downright boring compared to more recent horror movies. The Blair Witch Project can be appreciated for how it inspired the found footage genre, but it’s time as a legitimately scary creation has passed.
Where does it rank among the best horror films of all time?
Nick: I’d probably say top 50, comfortably. At minimum, it’s one of those that you have to watch if you ever take an interest in doing a horror genre deep dive.
Jeff: Considering it’s legendary status for inspiring virtually all found footage horror films that came after it, I’d put The Blair Witch Project somewhere in the top 75, depending on how significantly you weigh such influence. It’s worth watching if you want to dive into the history of horror, but don’t go into the film expecting to actually be frightened.
