The Blair Witch Project (1999)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Directors:

Daniel Myrick
Eduardo Sánchez

Writers:

Daniel Myrick (writer) &
Eduardo Sánchez (writer)

Release Date:

30 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

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.

Plot:

In October of 1994, three student film makers disappeared in the woods near Burkittesville, Maryland. One year later, their footage was found.

Plot Keywords:

Forest | Legend | Maryland | Student Film | Video Camera

Awards:

11 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Heather Donahue	...	Heather Donahue
Joshua Leonard	...	Joshua 'Josh' Leonard
Michael C. Williams	...	Michael 'Mike' Williams (as Michael Williams)
Bob Griffith	...	Short Fisherman
Jim King	...	Interviewee
Sandra Sánchez	...	Waitress (as Sandra Sanchez)
Ed Swanson	...	Fisherman With Glasses
Patricia DeCou	...	Mary Brown
Mark Mason	...	Man in Yellow Hat
Jackie Hallex	...	Interviewee with Child

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Malaysia:18PL | Hungary:16 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:M | Belgium:KNT | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36716) | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Adamstown Village Market - 5550 Mountville Road, Adamstown, Maryland, USA

Company:

Haxan Films

Trivia:

Numerous fans were so convinced of the Blair Witch's existence that they flocked to Maryland in hopes of discovering the legend. They apparently didn't read the closing credits of the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A girl is playing with a Tamagotchi virtual pet in a scene set in 1994, but the toy was not released in Japan until 1996 (it wasn't officially available in the USA until May 1997).

Quotes:

Josh Leonard: I see why you like this video camera so much.
Heather Donahue: You do?
Josh Leonard: It's not quite reality. It's like a totally filtered reality. It's like you can pretend everything's not quite the way it is.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Malibu's Most Wanted (2003)

Soundtrack:

The Star Spangled Banner

Not your average horror film

A film which fell foul of its own publicity machine, `The Blair Witch Project' was abhorred and derided by the mainstream film-going public which it became unfortunately directed at due to its extraordinary and outlandish marketing campaign. `The Blair Witch Project' is not a typical film that the typical cinema-going public would normally be exposed to. The camera-work is jerky, the dialogue repetitive and inane and the action virtually non-existent. At times confusing, annoying, irritating and tedious, this film is nonetheless a brilliant piece of arthouse experimental film-making. This movie is virtually all style-there's hardly any plot, no real action, no semblance of a real script-and one that works on a deeper psychological level than the standard mainstream horror film. Indeed, only the very last image in the film is truly frightening, and only if it can be correlated to an incident at the very beginning. The rest of it only becomes scary afterwards, when the audience has had time to consider what they've seen. It is groundbreaking, manipulative cinema made without a script, with an amateur cast and with little or no post-production values. This is a remarkable film which can only really be appreciated, if the accompanying hype is overlooked, as a unique, avant-garde art film and not the regular Hollywood stock it was presented as to the public.