The format is the same – only it uses contemporary technology to capture the footage rather than a crappy old DV camera. The premise is technically the same – a group of young people, some more sceptical than others, investigate spooky goings-on in the woods. It follows Heather Donahue’s brother James as he takes documentary filmmaker Lisa and a group of friends into the Burkittsville woods in the hopes of discovering some clues as to the fate of his sister. Without them she probably would’ve stayed quietly building cairns next to tents without much fuss or attention for the remainder of her centuries.īlair Witch is a direct sequel, of sorts. The difference between Blair Witch and other reboots/sequels is that its director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett ( You’re Next, The Guest) are two of the most interesting genre filmmakers in recent years, and it was their own idea to resurrect the Blair Witch. You make a surprise sequel that nobody knows about until a few months before release, publicising it as a completely different film (this was called ‘The Woods’ right up until its Comic Con premiere – there was even a trailer) and creating a similar ‘damn that’s clever marketing’ stir as the first film and making super-fans like us absolutely crap our pants (part excitement, part fear). That terrible thing in the woods can’t stay trapped wandering its filthy labyrinthine cabin (it’s a fixer-upper) forever, there are millennials that need the colour drained from their faces and wallets emptied of cash damn it! Thankfully the answer is less cynical, and better than you expected… So where does that leave a future sequel? No… gulp… franchise can remain dormant for long. And because of this gimmick, any sequel would either be a credulity-stretching retread (see the last few Paranormal Activity films) or a completely sideways step into a totally different and ultimately disappointing set of tropes (see the first rushed attempt at a sequel – Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 from 2000. The Blair Witch Project was also the first film to popularise the found-footage horror genre (not the first, but certainly the best). It’s been a decade-and-a-half but you can still – if you really try – suspend your disbelief that The Blair Witch Project is a genuine found-footage document of the final days of Heather, Josh and Mikey, just as it was originally intended. Its cast never achieved mainstream success, its filmmakers remained relatively low-profile. This weird, other-worldly aura feels like its been preserved. It’s the only movie I rewatch where I say to myself halfway through “maybe this time they’ll be okay,” such is the reality-bending power of both the film, and… gulp… the unknown presence deep in the woods. It’s not just found-footage fakery, the movie’s portrayal of fear wraps its spindly fingers around your heart and squeezes it for all the emotion you have.
This is largely thanks to its cast, who genuinely seem to be experiencing something terrifying. It’s not just a film about “three pricks in the woods who can’t hold a camera steady” it’s the single most gruellingly intense movie ever made. There is something you should know about me before we get into Adam Wingard’s surprise sequel Blair Witch… I think the original 1999 The Blair Witch Project is a masterpiece.
0 kommentar(er)
