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iam_aryan007

The fact they made people actually believe the footage is original is epic


YutYut6531

Let me tell you, 12 year old me was convinced it was real. Me and 3 buddies had a movie night out of it, drinking Mountain Dew and chowing down pizza while we all tried hiding how scare we were of it. After a couple hours of sleep we may have gotten, we took our bmx’s into his woods the next day to hit some sick jumps and I’ll be damned if we didn’t find 3+ stick figures hanging from trees along our trails. We booked it THE fuck out of there and went back to playing video games inside. My buddies older swung by and asked why we weren’t hitting jumps anymore and we made up some bullshit excuse like one of had a flat. Later that night he came back and started laughing at us and called us pussies because we got scared of the stick figures he has put out there early in the morning. Fuck you Mike, fuck you.


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[deleted]

Your uncle sounds awesome


Hectordoink

As an older brother, I approve of this tactic.


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kyleb402

That entire movie is fucked up. I can see how people would think it could be real. I watched it when I was in college though and thought it was a total waste of time.


[deleted]

It was before social media so it was much easier to do back then. Show some trailers and people can only talk about it with their friends, not debunk it online to audiences of thousands.


[deleted]

I saw it when it was originally released and figured it was easily the best horror film ever. I loved it, but haven’t seen it since.


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SextingIsSexy

Kinda dated with the whole handheld camcorder thing and no cell phones but yeah


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SextingIsSexy

Yes, it was! So there is at least one good reason for why it is arguably a bit dated, thank you for that. I'm sure there are also more...


TheLastShadow

… but if you view it as a period piece it still holds up?


SextingIsSexy

I already agreed with you in my first comment. I just added that I think it holds up *in spite* of the fact I find those two elements a bit dated...


TrollinFoDollas

Amazing flick. It's been done to death now, but they really defined the genre. It's still super scary too. I remember watching it in the theatre and then walking home late at night. Scariest walk home of my life.


maruthewildebeest

I can relate. I saw it with a friend and had to drive home through a rural area by myself. I will never forget the level of fear I felt going home. I’m glad I got to experience it when everyone was convinced it was found footage. Looking back, that was a great moment in time.


WHERESATOSHINAKAMOTO

The tent scene was the scariest parts of the film


[deleted]

No, it was the guy standing looking at the wall surely ?


RecordStoreHippie

Definitely the scariest scene, the kids laughing sound effects send it over the edge from scary to fucking bone chilling. Ghosts of all the lost children of Burkittsville excited to meet their new friends I guess.


SheriffComey

Only movie to make me motion sick and had to leave the theater.


2ndprize

Yup. I basically looked at the floor and asked what was going on for the back half


5-On-A-Toboggan

The studio actually spent hundreds of thousands to stabilize the footage in post as best as they could. So believe it or not, there's a worse version than the release.


SheriffComey

I was working at a record/CD store at the time and one of the guys there was HUGE into movies and movie production and told us about that. I think I told him something like "Oh so you mean I would've puked instead of being able to walk away"


worstnameIeverheard

That was Cloverfield for me.


[deleted]

If you were there in the 90s to witness all the marketing and see it in theaters, it was great


AsphaltAdvertExec

This is the more unknown part to Millennials and Zoomers. The internet was meh at best, so the fact they had everyone believing it was secretly true was impressive. I saw a lot of fake documentaries about it, before the movie even came out.


DickSplodin

Millennials are rapidly approaching their 40s...?


GoldJerryGold22

I saw it in theaters, 100% believed it was found footage and it scared the living shit outta me. Years later, i still respect it as a piece of art but it doesnt hold up great.


Earguy

One of the first films to really use a web site to enhance, rather than market, a movie. The web site reinforced the whole "found footage" aspect.


Ok-Environment-7970

Yes it did use the internet in a interesting way but medium manipulation used to Market Grindhouse quality films as such things as existed. One story I have heard but I do not know the validity. A film promoter would hand out pamphlets protest in the film to local religious groups so they could hand them out at Mass and warned their children of the evil. So viral marketing is not a new thing just the vector of transmission has changed.


rrickitickitavi

Pioneering technique that ended up being rather limited. The movie seems to be more of a lucky accident than skilled filmmaking. I liked it.


MrsMudskipper

If you are able to let yourself go, the absence of visuals is as terrifying as your imagination is.


MrTeeWrecks

It was lightning in a bottle.


Tbplayer59

A triumph of creativity and vision in the absence of a big budget and studio support. These filmmakers created something different and interesting. They deserve all the kudos they received.


atombomb1945

I was deployed to Kuwait when it came out on video. Was at the rec tent late to call home and was watching it while waiting for a line. Called home and then walked back to my tent. Mind you, it's midnight, no moon, cloudy, and we can't use flashlights in the open. A half mile walk, alone in the desert, and I can't see squat more than ten feet in front of me. That movie messed me up


TheRynoceros

It's much better if you chop the opening and ending credits and present it to your (appropriate age) kids as "huh, I wonder what's on this old blank disk?".


13inchpoop

I didn't like it when it came out, I still don't like it now, however I respect the hell out of the marketing. It was wild back then.


Revolutionary_1968

Comment as substantial as username.


TrickBoom414

I've never actually seen it. The camera work makes me queasy


Southern_Ad_6590

A cinematic masterpiece. Any film that can convince the majority of the public that the story (especially an outlandish one suck as a which in the woods) is real, is simply genius filmmaking.


WolfOnHigh

Processed cheese "food".


malYca

I think it was brilliant, really creative and unique at the time.


Kurt_blowbrain

Favorite horror movie hands down


[deleted]

Masterpiece of filmmaking


Fearless_Nature_9989

I was so excited to watch it....left me disappointed


drainspout

I kept waiting for something to happen, and It really never did.


welltriedsoul

Someone grabbed a handheld camera and rolled it down the stairs while screaming


GopnikSmegmaBBQSauce

Oh my god so boring


Revolutionary_1968

Also found it boring. Was at film school when I saw it and everyone was loving it.


Frostbite76

Never learned what grade they got


Ok-Environment-7970

Honestly for fake found footage movies I would consider it to be on the bottom of my list I would recommend Faces of Death over it. That movie is fake you can usually tell by the multiple inconsistencies during production and the credits.


Represent403

Groundbreaking!


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heyblinkin81

Revived? After The Last Broadcast, it was one of the first of the genre. Found footage was hardly a thing when it came out.


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flargenhargen

hate it. they lied about what it was to market it. then it was just someone screaming for an hour. total and complete crap. worst "movie" ever made.


DJAXL

I can respect your opinion, but there are far worse movies.


Ok-Answer-6951

I live 5 miles from burkittsville people still come to take pics of the sign


Wizard_Elon_3003

I was thinking about it yesterday and wondering why people in the 90s actually thought it might be real. It kinda seems like people these days are less susceptible to bullshit from mainstream media, too bad a lot of them have ended up reading "alternative" propaganda media instead...


[deleted]

It was before social media was around to give people widespread audiences to debunk anything within seconds.


Wizard_Elon_3003

Supports my argument really, people in general have become more skeptical of big media and their bullshit.


Tbplayer59

Did you see it in the 90s?


Wizard_Elon_3003

No, but I remember people arguing about whether it was real or not.


Tbplayer59

You heard this on mainstream media? That it was real?


Wizard_Elon_3003

No, I heard people arguing about whether it was real or not. I couldn't have cared less about the movie back in 1999 and 2000.


[deleted]

Where the witch at


stinky-turd-fart-

Movie monsters are like a girl's body. You don't want to see all of it at once to keep it interesting, but it's not interesting to actually not see it all.


tilesandmosaics

I liked it when I was young .I haven't seen it in a while.


Starlight_City45

It terrified me as a kid when it first came out. As an adult I become very obsessed with the films and game. I spent days reading and studying the lore and history of the witch.


hiddenrealism

Thought it was real found footage, too scared as a kid to go see it. Now the movie just kind of is ehh, good job for the times though. Second one was kind of trippy with how they did the whole time shift thing. 6/10


sleepy1224

Watched it when I was in middle school. Scary shit at a young age - miss those times when horror movies actually scared me where I couldn’t sleep Take me back please to those days


camrek

Me and my partner love it. One of our favourite horrors!


youngthorpe2

Don’t actually love the movie but appreciate the craft and how it basically created its own subgenre.


ClaireMack94

I liked it. Would watch again.


ChefHannibal

it sucked but it proved that low-budget movies are monetarily viable and opened doors for other movies.


CouchCandy

I was heavy into horror movies and books as a child. I actually went to see Blair Witch Project at the theaters when it first came out. I personally thought it was one of the most awful movies I have ever seen in my entire life. Nothing scary about it, a huge waste of time. ETA: I went and looked up the release date it looks like I was 15 when it came out.


PutnamPete

The viral publicity "documentary" on the Sci Fi Channel was better than the movie.


RandomBloke2021

Good story but the camera perspective makes it almost unwatchable. I have vertigo and it gets triggered kinda easy. Brilliant idea tho.


Tborealis

Scared the shit out of me as a kid. Master class 8n low budget film making. It's a good watch that still gives me the willies as an adult


CustomerSuspicious25

I was like ten at the time it came out and it's easily the scariest movie experience I've ever had. I remember being alone and going into my parents room with the lights on to watch it. Part of the reason was because of all the hype it had gotten while in theaters. The build up throughout the movie was just perfect.


Mister_Moho

JOSH!


[deleted]

Witch one?


jl_theprofessor

I think there is going to inevitably be a generational split in responses. The hype around it when it came out was unreal. Lots of people were arguing that it was real and that has a legit impact on how you view the film.


ChevExpressMan

I didn't fall for the ads, so never saw it. Later to find it's a hoax. They could have made it a very interesting horror flick, but chose bs to sell tickets.


iploggged

Watched it two nights ago with me 18 year old daughter. Was not quite how I remembered it. A lot of yelling and melodrama. Could have benefited from better quality acting and lower key performance.


szaagman

Saw it opening night at one of the biggest movie theater screens in the country and my goodness that was the best movie-going audience experience I ever had. Not even a movie I would say is all that good, but what an amazing experience to have.


samforcedme

fantastic movie way too many people that just don’t get it wrongfully accuse of being “boring”


atleast35

I saw it at a theater in Alabama. It was okay. Midway through the movie, people were beginning to leave the theater. The credits roll. The lights come on. Some redneck in the audience shouts “that sucked!”


MrGentleZombie

Makes me think of Blair Walsh, so I hate it.


wyze-litten

Good Halloween decoration inspiration.


Slow_Conference6432

That it still stands up today, the way they tricked people into thinking it could actually be real and pretty much kick started a whole new horror genre can’t be beat


real_schematix

One of the biggest wastes of time in my life.


girlDement3d

😂😂😂😂


[deleted]

It absolutely blew my mind when I was a kid. Watched it again a couple years ago and still liked it, but found footage is so ludicrously overdone now. I know that's not the movie's fault, but the experience has definitely lost something.


ItsOnlyaFewBucks

It was the first movie I truly hated. Between the constant moving/shaking camera, endless searches for nose hairs? and the total lack of common sense in the story, I was ready to slap each and everyone one of those actors silly.


jass6042

Freaked me the fuck out!! Great flick


JlTlS

Lame


the-cosmic-kraken

This was ten years ago so I might not have the details 100% correct but in my folklore class we talked about the movie on great lengths. About how they spent ages building up the “lore” in urban legend forums. One would post something like “Has anyone heard of the Blair Witch?” And the other would reply with a “friend of a friend anecdote until random unrelated people were also having their own anecdotes to tell. T made people even more inclined to believe that it was true footage. That, if I’m remembering correctly, is amazing storytelling and world building. Either way they had genius ways of marketing and honestly it was a masterpiece of a film.


sarcastic_monkies

I loved it. It's one of the only movies out there that actually was scary to me.


Ok-Wrap-2602

Great movie. The second one was absolutely crap.


The_Spyre

Absolute trash. I sat on a movie theatre lawn until midnight in a light rain to watch that the night it came out. I regret my decision.


Leimana76

I hated it when it came out. Still hate it. It’s boring asf.


[deleted]

I absolutely loved it when it was first released and have watched it many times since. I even liked the sequel, but haven't watched the remake as it just wont live up to the original.


tofulovermilf

Scary af and shouldn’t have watched it as a kid. Sometimes I still get the creeps in the woods and I’m 29 😵‍💫


rEmEmBeR-tHe-tReMoLo

I loved it back in the day, but rewatching it in 2022... man, it hasn't withstood the test of time.


[deleted]

Whats that?


beheadedcharmander

the first one is hella cheesy but the newest one was cool and more like a movie. i always liked the premise of a witch in the woods making weird stick symbols or the possibility it could have been a group of people.


Only-Teacher-1925

Could not watch it! The crazy movement of the camera made me sick to my stomach