The level of hype was different from any other mother up to that point. Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, and other "event movies" built their reputation through word of mouth, director status and special effects "like you've never seen before". Nobody knew who Daniel Myrick or Eduardo Sanchez was before this.
Take into account that this hadn't really been done before with this level of publicity. Cannibal Holocaust was still haunting the underground circuit. Its own history of the director Ruggero Deodato being nearly charged with having his actors murdered. Only then having to have the actors show up in court to prove that they were very much alive. When Blair Witch hit, at least 40% thought that the actors ended up disappearing in the woods. That what they were going to see in mainstream theaters was a snuff film. The prospect of seeing peoples last remaining moments play out on film has a weird pull to it. What made this Project enticing is the folklore the documentary built around it. I've never seen a documentary built around the backstory of a movie prior to its release before or since.
The folkore pays off in the opening 15 minutes of the film when they interview the townsfolk about the Blair Witch. It is their encounter with Mary and her description of the woman covered head to toe in hair.
Take into account that this hadn't really been done before with this level of publicity. Cannibal Holocaust was still haunting the underground circuit. Its own history of the director Ruggero Deodato being nearly charged with having his actors murdered. Only then having to have the actors show up in court to prove that they were very much alive. When Blair Witch hit, at least 40% thought that the actors ended up disappearing in the woods. That what they were going to see in mainstream theaters was a snuff film. The prospect of seeing peoples last remaining moments play out on film has a weird pull to it. What made this Project enticing is the folklore the documentary built around it. I've never seen a documentary built around the backstory of a movie prior to its release before or since.
The folkore pays off in the opening 15 minutes of the film when they interview the townsfolk about the Blair Witch. It is their encounter with Mary and her description of the woman covered head to toe in hair.
I would finally see The Blair Witch Project on July 17, 1999. A day removed from its premiere. It was at the drive in. Remember those? The man in the booth gave my dad the station to turn to in his car for the audio. The last movie I remember seeing before it at the same drive in was The Matrix. A movie I fell asleep to. "You missed the end when Keanu Reeves stopped the bullets with his hands." My dad would say to me during a groggy state. I dared not fall asleep during Blair Witch. This was my cup of tea. This was my Matrix.
The screening remains one of the scariest I've had. In today's streaming/digital culture there is so much distraction. Seeing a movie like this requires total immersion.
Watching it after almost 20 years still leaves me haunted. Alone with those three filmmakers in the Burkitsville woods. Hungry. Cold. And hunted.
One of my subsequent viewings was also at the drive in -- in the woods, as they often are. Driving out of there after the feature was spooky fun.
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