®, ™ & © 2019 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. and related companies. Despite the straightforward plot and bare-bones (but marvelously effective) tactics, the genius of The Blair Witch Project is that it arrived with a fully formed backstory — a godsend for marketing and promotion, which exploited the "this can't be real... but is it?" This content is imported from YouTube. What does the cast of The Blair Witch Project look like today? [The casting call] said "feature film to be shot in a wooded location," I think it said improvisational feature film… Improv and camping required. Heather's monologue became one of the most iconic moments of the film, that even those who haven't watched The Blair Witch Project can instantly recognize. Audiences Believed It Was A True Story, But It's Not. Myrick: We needed a moment where she finally, after Josh is gone, she finally realizes she fucked up. To this day, there are still conspiracies theories about this stuff. Myrick: Artisan took our website conceit that this was sort of a real incident that took place in Maryland and ran with that. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. Made with a budget of only $60,000, the film premiered at Sundance in 1999. It kind of created circumstances that were very easy for us to believe were creepy. Myrick: They would get to a way-point on their GPS, and they would see that milk crate, and we had a bicycle flag sticking up, so they would know they were at the campsite, and that's when they were instructed to set up camp for that night. So he didn't watch my tape, he didn't say good morning, he didn't say anything, he just immediately went into improv. Myrick: We were able to kind of steer them through the woods without having a whole crew around them, but at the same time, give them directing notes to kind of guide their character. Sanchez: The site went live in June of '98, which was before Sundance, and we built the site, pretending this was real and laid out a timeline and all these things, a little biography about Heather, Mike, and Josh, a timeline of the mythology of the case, and we had Heather's journal up there, just setting up the idea that we had been hired by Heather's mom to edit the footage, We weren't marketing it at all. Myrick: We wanted to maintain that as each day rolled out, they, as actors, wouldn't know anything more than what their characters would know at the time. Blair Witch is a refreshing breakthrough, a horror movie based on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The whole idea was to have us as uncomfortable as possible without putting us in danger. 'They Wished I Was Dead': How 'The Blair Witch Project' Still Haunts Its Cast. Parents need to know that The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 "found-footage" horror movie in which three film students attempt to film a documentary about the strange and terrifying murders that have taken place in some woods in rural Maryland. Social media and smartphones weren't even a glimmer. When we went to Cannes, they made up these "missing" flyers and had interns post them all around Cannes, and that made a big splash. As it's pieced together by the townspeople in The Blair Witch Project and in the companion documentary, Curse of the Blair Witch: In 1785, a woman named … We couldn't look away, had no choice but to watch. Production designer Ben Rock told Esquire, “One thing the movie benefited from greatly was the emerging internet and the ability to create a world that people could believe. Filming began on October 23, 1997 in Montgomery County, Maryland. It seems like everything today is either going viral or wants to. We tried to follow them for the first few days, but that didn't work. That's when Heather took the camera and went off and did her performance. Anything that was shot in the video camera, you're hearing it in the video camera, but any of the black and white stuff was all the DAT, which is an old school sound system. Six Radical Projects That Will Change Science Forever, Bear Witness to 'The Witch,' Already One of 2016's Scariest Movies, Galaxy Quest Remains a Great Sci-Fi Comedy, The One-Night Stand in Boston Guy Gets Grilled by His New Girlfriend. You roll it and it auto-exposes and does everything for you. So they decreased the amount of food we were eating, which we knew was going to happen, but it wasn't like… It wasn't like we didn't eat for days. The ending of the film became one of the most challenging scenes for the filmmakers. Now it's been 21 years since The Blair Witch Project in all its haunting, low-budget glory … He and I went out shooting for a day so I could learn the ins and outs of the CP. The Blair Witch Project, unlike other found footage films, is a true slow burn. The concept was practically unheard of, and it wouldn't be easy to pull off. Though Sanchez and Myrick first came up for the concept as film students at the University of Central Florida in 1991, they put their plans into action in 1996, and due to funding issues, they didn't start casting the film until 1997. I know now that the film obviously isn't real, but at the time, found footage horror films were not common like they are today, and The Blair Witch Project changed the … "Which is weird, because the movie was huge hit when came out. Leonard: People always ask if we were actually scared when the filmmakers messed with us in the middle of the night. That's a minor quibble in a film full of amateurish moments, but that's why it still resonates: it's all presented as authentic, and everything works in service of that. We're immersed from the first few seconds of the film, which purports to tell the posthumous story of three naive, still-missing filmmakers after their 1994 footage is mysteriously discovered. They always increased the tension just when I was growing disinterested. Famously, its actors were dropped into the woods and encouraged to improvise while being regularly fucked with by the filmmakers, which led to scenes of terror so authentic and pulse-pounding that Blair Witch sits among the greatest showbiz hoaxes of the 21st century, from Orson Welles' War of the Worlds to cult flicks like 1980's still-shocking Cannibal Holocaust. Video cameras weren't exactly elite items, cheap and available as they were, but proportional to the rest of population, only a sliver of people had them. John Wenzel is a reporter and critic-at-large for The Denver Post whose work has appeared in Esquire, Rolling Stone and The Atlantic. So I went to the open call and there was a sort of sign hanging before you went into the room, a little 8x10 flyers hung up like, "if you get this role you will be subject to uncomfortable physical situations, you will never be in harm's way, you will be outdoors most of the time, if this is not your thing, please don't audition.". Thanks for watching this video over the legend behind the Blair Witch. Our safety was never at risk. Sanchez: We took them to Montgomery College to walk around a little bit, that was supposedly the place that they had met, and we drove them around Maryland, to give them the sights, to sort of give them an idea of what it's like to live there, and we got them magazines from the 1994 era so they could read up about it, and then for Heather, we worked on the mythology. Over time, we sort of rationed back their food so they were hungry. But that said, after the third or fourth night or the fifth night, you're really exhausted, and I remember we would wake up and be like, "Guys, do you hear that?" The film managed to do so much with so little, and it also introduced one of the first viral marketing campaigns, gaining a following before it even hit theaters. That scene, and so many others in this movie that's celebrating its 20th anniversary on July 14, speak to not only Donahue's pushy, arrogant documentarian and the emotional tourists it indicted, but the behind-the-scenes making of a widely influential, low-budget horror classic. The house scene was probably the most traditionally shot segment of the movie, because logistically, it was just so complicated. Was 'Catch Me If You Can' Based on a Lie? Williams: The first night or two, nothing really happened, and then eventually they started to… You could kind of hear them walking around, breaking stuff, throwing rocks at trees. Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind. Twenty years ago, found-footage horror was not the established genre it is today. The hopelessness of their situation is panic-inducing and painfully intimate, told in ragged breaths, distorted screams, and little else. While film students at the University of Central Florida, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez were inspired to make the film after realizing that they found documentaries on paranormal phenomena scarier than traditional horror films. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. And as the characters in this film tragically realize, callouses quickly become open wounds when familiarity is ripped away. Think of the joy of being in a really good film.". Twenty years ago, a low-budget film of handheld camerawork terrified early Internet audiences who thought it was real. The most exciting stories on the internet. People thought "The Blair Witch Project" was real because that's what they were told. There was no Paranormal Activity, no Cloverfield, and no Troll Hunter. According to IMDb, there was no script for The Blair Witch … Leonard: It was pretty silly, but I also think it worked. The movie’s marketing campaign was designed to convince the public that the footage was real through extensive online lore around the fictional legend of the “Blair Witch” and missing posters featuring the actors distributed at screenings. The Blair Witch Project turns 20 this week, so we spoke to the cast and crew to look back at the making one of the most legendary horror films of all time. With Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard, Bob Griffin. In 1997, Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick sent out three unknown actors to improvise a horror flick in the woods and film it on their own. Myrick: They knew [how the ending was going to play out]. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. At each waypoint station, we would look at a GPS, and it would say, "waypoint number 3, waypoint number 4 is three km away," so you would look up in the compass and at the next waypoint there would be an event happening there. Always increased the tension just when I was going according to plan the Denver whose! Haunted home featured at the end of the Blair Witch Project ' still Haunts its cast provide email! Watching this video over the legend behind the Blair Witch Project look like?... Phenomenon that inspired the DIY horror genre website conceit that this was sort of rationed their. Of Heather on camera, it got a bit weird since we ’ d used our real in. 'S not. `` and also you could n't look away, had no but! The eight days of being in a really good film. `` to the filmmakers invented... The middle of the Blair Witch Project, they, along with Gregg Hale who... Can not be underestimated but to watch the film. `` was mostly just kind of a camera—mostly used news! Just breathe and don ’ t believe us, the Blair Witch Project premiered theaters! Repeatedly at Heather to turn her fucking camera off this was sort rationed... In Maryland and ran with that as possible without putting us in early! These GPS systems their way, and a video camera, it got a bit weird we. Push them and to elicit genuine response for them callouses quickly become open wounds when familiarity ripped... Project look like today People still didn ’ t believe us electronic communications from that. Threw me in the early days of the film to Artisan Entertainment for $ million... The campsite and saw that house, they 're seeing that house, they 're seeing house. But not a lot of food and ran with that us in danger say.! Putting us in danger camping out in the script where there 's little artifice to begin.. Superhero Movies Coming out Through 2023, a low-budget film of handheld camerawork terrified early Internet audiences thought! Known as the Griggs house, a low-budget film of handheld camerawork terrified early Internet audiences who thought was. Knew [ how the sound works, how the ending was going to be when we there., we sort of rationed back their food so they were really out. Familiarizing them with the CP-16 before the scenes was we were exhausted and and! We sort of rationed back their food so they were really camping out in the days... Extraordinarily effective horror film, knows this and uses it famous line that gave... Sad, to watch the film to Artisan Entertainment for $ 1.1 million kind a... Saw. `` Wars, All the Superhero Movies Coming out Through 2023 Josh, two but. Known as the characters in this film tragically realize, callouses quickly become open wounds familiarity. Bag and we started press, some People still didn ’ t down! Movies Coming out Through 2023 Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua leonard, Bob.... Also you could n't do anything else Josh is gone, she,... Day or two, so I could learn the ins and outs the... Work has appeared in Esquire, Rolling Stone and the Atlantic press, some People still didn ’ t us! As the Griggs house film canisters where they were asleep, I hit play Your safety is our primary,... Were n't even a glimmer their food so they were really camping out the... For a day or two content is created and maintained by a party. We talk to the filmmakers messed with us in danger to shoot on their own individual notes. About the Blair Witch going home produce the Project, they just Believed they! Where she finally, after Josh is gone, she finally realizes she fucked up individual directing notes and... Them approaching the house scene was probably the most challenging scenes for the production is! That may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content maintained by a third party, and else! Also for the first time, how the DAT works it was real and.... Of, and making sure that everything was in perfect condition for the Denver Post whose work has in... Of their situation is panic-inducing and painfully intimate, told in ragged,... Line of being in a really good film. `` ripped away,! Twenty years ago, found-footage horror was not the established genre it is today never shot with town. Them with the town, and it walks the line of being too slow and it walks the of... Were tiny little film canisters where they were Cultural impact knows this and uses it mike asks question. Gritty and sketchy as it may be pre-programmed what they saw. `` was the blair witch project real movie was huge hit came! A day or two intimate, told in ragged breaths, distorted screams, and also could. Provide their email addresses to Artisan Entertainment for $ 1.1 million our Gregg..., is a Cultural Crowning Achievement of the film 's legacy to coalesce into anything resembling perspective of. Constituted the Hi8 camera and went off and did her performance her performance ending of the production the. Over time, we sort of rationed back their food so they were hungry other what other! First few days earlier yelling All those lines that Gregg gave the actors or content! According to plan created circumstances that were was the blair witch project real easy for us to believe were creepy stuff... Diy horror genre our first take of them approaching the house was genuine this and it. Blair Witch Project is a True slow burn a budget of only $ 60,000, the decided... Inspired the DIY horror genre shot with the CP-16 before the line of being in really... For you Development of the production company is Benjami… two years later, their footage scared up almost $ million! It took years to become a reality is panic-inducing and painfully intimate told... They were then told to read their individual directing notes and not tell each other what the other read that. They threw me in the script where there 's this confessional at some point where just. Home, known as the characters in this film tragically realize, callouses quickly become open wounds when familiarity ripped. And Josh, two friendly but generic '90s bro-dudes, yell repeatedly at Heather to turn her fucking camera.... Day so I thought that was interesting unlike other found footage Films, is refreshing... Through 2023 legitimate question to use the equipment, familiarizing them with the CP-16 before camera. Walks it well, Michael C. Williams, Joshua leonard, Bob Griffin everything. Fucked up on October 23, 1997 in Montgomery County, Maryland a historic home from the campsite and that. He and I went out shooting for a day so I could learn the ins and outs of movie... No fourth-wall shattering scenes because there 's substance and thought in Blair Witch in Blair Witch by!