Massively shaky camera movements and terrifying sounds are the order of the day for Blair Witch, a follow-up to the highly successful The Blair Witch Project, which was released to much acclaim in 1999. It’s been 20 years since James’s sister and her two friends vanished into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland while researching the legend of the Blair Witch, leaving a trail of theories and suspicions in their wake.
Blair Witch is directed by director Adam Wingard (You’re Next), from a screenplay written by his longtime collaborator Simon Barrett. After the original Blair Witch Project came out, the next to no budget movie that grossed mega millions globally, Wingard was one of many high school kids that took a camcorder into the woods and made a spoof with his friends. It had set the gold standard for “found footage” movies. “The film had a total dedication toward authenticity. No one has so completely committed to that type of realism before or since,” Wingard says. He and his collaborator re-watched the film half a dozen times during pre-production and were taken by how well it had held up.
Then attending the Sundance Film Festival in 2013, talk turned to doing another Blair Witch. To hold true to the mythology, Barrett familiarised himself with every sliver of information the first film contains, from old message boards and Facebook groups to graphic novels and young adult books. “The mythology was a huge enticement for me because the first film never really explained anything,” says Barrett. He and Wingard wanted to take the story further and explore how outsiders approach the haunting and how locals see the legend.
You don’t need to have viewed the original though to appreciate this follow up because it is a stand-alone film. Shot over 32 days in British Columbia, in and around Vancouver, the filmmakers strived to capture the authentic spirit of The Blair Witch Project, including recreating the forest setting. Using photos from the original Blair Witch Project set, filmmakers also painstakingly recreated the house in the first film, brick for brick.
Just as it was in the ‘90s, because of the intense camera movement and close up cinematography, it is at times difficult to follow the narrative, but that is not to downplay Blair Witch’s impact. It does have shock value, primarily drawn from the intensity of the sound and the disorientation of the adventurers. Screams and fears turn into more screams and fears from the main players. Blood is spilt and drawn. More than anything else though, it is the power of suggestion and the unease created as a result that is a hallmark of this offering, just as it was in the original.
You get the feeling early on that the six “players” here are on a hiding to nowhere and then you watch them squirm. So, if you are after something that is relentless, that wears away at you, Blair Witch may be your meal ticket. Perhaps you will make more sense of the story than I did. Suffice to say the message is clear, if you go playing in the woods after dark the big bad witch will get you! It is just a question of when and how. Rated MA, Blair Witch scores a 6 out of 10.
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: James Allen, Valerie Curry, Brandon Scott, Callie Hernandez, Corbin Reid
Release Date: 15 September 2016
Rating: MA 15+
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television