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In 1999,The Blair Witch Projectscared the world.
This article first appeared in Total Film magazine 352. you could buy a copy right here.
But before Cannibal Holocaust, even before COPS, Sanchezs number one inspiration for found footage?
“For me and Dan, the Patterson-Gimlin film was the impetus for us to get into found footage.
That film was the creepiest thing wed ever seen.”
In The Blair Witch Project a lingering malevolence hangs over the film.
Even as Sanchez cranks up the horror, theres a purposeful ambiguity and control something he learned from Spielberg.
“In Jaws, you feel its presence from the beginning but you gotta tease the shark.
Its everything else that warns you of the danger, like John Williams score.”
The next time you watch The Blair Witch Project, close your eyes for a moment and just listen.
“The interviews are a big part for me you start to believe youre interacting with real people.
Its super-brilliant,” Winter says.
“Thats the haunting promise of found footage the less you know, the more it grows.
Found footage lives or dies by that mantra,” Sanchez maintains.
Going viral
Although production ended, the worldbuilding did not.
Thats very powerful," Balaguero remembers.
This internet-led storytelling approach was groundbreaking at the time and was the key to Blair Witchs phenomenon status.
“The traffic for the website blew up that same month,” the director says.
“I loved this concept, that it wasnt even centred around a movie.
You had this whole universe centred around just an idea that kept expanding.”
Indie distributor Artisan Entertainment picked up the film, another key moment for The Blair Witch Project.
“The middle, that ambiguity, is where fear truly lies.”
When the film went nationwide two weeks later, it made $29.2 million.
The Blair Witch Project seemed to electrify everyone who came into contact with it except Sanchez and Myrick.
We went down the road a little bit, Sanchez says.
I liked it but Dan didnt, so we passed.
“Honestly, I was scared.
I felt like I didnt know how to handle a big movie.”
“The playground is bigger and the technology is more accessible than ever.
What Ive always loved about found footage is its not story-based, its style-based,” says Sanchez.
Chloe Okuno agrees that opportunities like the V/H/S franchise open doors for aspiring filmmakers.
“Its such a good way to allow them to deliver something thats like their pure vision.”
The question is, how do you improve a film many believe was perfect the first time round?
“Its one of those definitive of-an-era movies,” Gillett says.
“Theres a simplicity that will never be matched,” Savage adds.
What does Sanchez make of his films legacy?
The Blair Witch project is currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
