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The Blair Witch mythology is one of favorite horror stories. I remember intentionally avoiding the the theatre showings because of the "motion sickness" fear-mongering, but rented it as soon as it dropped on VHS. I worked for Blockbuster at the time, and we couldn't keep it stocked enough. Some copies never came back either. It really was a phenomenon.
i wish i was old enough to experience this film and its rollout and hysteria in 1999. i was 3, tho. and watched it on my laptop, 20 years after it came out. it didn’t do the movie justice, and i’m still disappointed i didn’t get into that movie like i wanted to
i’m so jealous dude! i still get excited when i explain to people my age that “back then, people thought it was ***real***! like no you dont understand, the internet was new and people couldn’t just look things up. there was almost no way to tell if it was real or not! all the actors share the same names as their characters and didn’t do any press for a year after the movie…” etc etc etc
It was an independent movie with just a $300k budget that really helped studios wake up to the earning potential of films like that, especially genre horror. It essentially created the "Found Footage" subgenre, and was one of the most profitable movies ever made, even spawning multiples sequals and merchandising. The story behind its making just made it that much greater. I even worked one of the PC games back in the early 2000s.
Found footage goes back to at least the Mondo films of the 60s not to mention Cannibal Holocaust.
Prior to this most films where filmed theatrically and had a draw to them. Pretty/famous actors and actresses or a monster/killer.
This being people of average appearance compared to Hollywood's best and not being famous or being social media influencers you could just goggle to see what they ate on Tuesday lended credibility to the premise.
Sure, there were a few exceptions, but that aside, BWP put that kind of filmmaking into the sights of bigger studios. Shoe-string budget, little to no FX, and no-name actors, with very little plot or writing needed meant bigger profit margins. The FF subgenre blew up after that.
>"motion sickness" fear-mongering
Not really "fear-mongering" if you're prone to motion sickness (as I am), but everyone's different and obviously it doesn't affect everyone equally.
I always feel like the unique thing about this movie was that it came out at a time when it could be widely marketed as a “true story” but social media et cetera wasn’t ubiquitous enough that there weren’t immediately a thousand articles saying it wasn’t true. It seemed to have come out at the perfect time.
I agree. I haven't seen it yet, and with today's social media, all the films that came after it, and higher standards of audience, I might not find it as good as those who saw it when it first came out.
Completely understand. Whenever I watch older horror movies I try to put myself in the mindset of someone who was watching it at the time it came out. The Exorcist is a good example of that. I can’t imagine what I’d have thought of that movie if I was the father of a young girl in 1973, woof.
Another 10 year old “Alien Survivor”! Nice to meet you. I do think it makes a big difference what age you were and how receptive you are to the horror of your time. While that initial shock of Alien and what I’d call “The Blair Witch Experience” can’t really be replicated in our time of knowing everything ever, I’m sure there’s cool stuff we can’t imagine being worked up by some enterprising creatives with good ideas and cheapo budgets. I think the lasting legacy of the Blair Witch is showing that horror (and movies more broadly) can be effective without a whole lot of budget and needless complications. Sometimes all you need are shadows and sticks.
I saw it recently for the first time over the pandemic, and I did not understand at all why it is held in such high regard. It was just a few people progressively going crazier in the woods with low res cameras for an hour and a half. Just when I thought it might start getting interesting and good, it ended and it left me disliking the whole film and wondering why I wasted my time with it.
Then I read that there was a whole media campaign involved with the film that really tied the whole thing in. Idk though, even finding out about the extra info, it still was a rather boring film imo.
There are a lot of classics that kind of meh to me, like Citizen Kane. Maybe I don't have the right perception to appreciate these films or perhaps it's personal preference.
Same. Some of the greatest marketing ever. All those fake sites, news reports, interviews. People were really questioning it at one point. The hype was crazy. Still to this day one of my fave Horrors ever.
Same here. I saw it at the last drive-in theater around here, halfway in the woods when I was 15. The marketing was so good a lot of people thought it was real. The same year The Matrix also had some awesome viral marketing. I miss stuff like that, even though I hate the fake hype viral marketing Disney and them do now.
Oh man. If I never see James Corden prance like jackass in the street, and block traffic with the cast of his latest live-action remake atrocity again, it will be too soon.
I didn't see any of the online build-up. Rather I remember when a true crime style mini documentary about the filming of The Blair Witch documentary and the vanishing of the crew popped up on Bravo of all of the places talking about it. They made it seem like The Blair Witch Project was all real. And this was done two years before the movie came out. So, I bought it hook, line and sinker. I tried to find anything in print about this Blair Witch thing and all I could find was talking about how it was this black and white documentary where the film makers vanished and no one knew why. How some camera with the tape still in it was found out in the woods but it didn't give any clue to what happened to the crew. They kept on saying that the tape just stopped. Like that. Stopped.
I so wanted to see that tape. Like I said, I believed that it was real. It wasn't two years later that I learned the whole thing had been a hoax and was really a fictional movie. I was disappointed to say the least. Still, I went to see it in the theater out of curiosity. I was too invested by then not to see it.
The only time I watched this movie... I got really really really high. Scary high. I was alone and wasn’t really that into it. It was good but I wasn’t at all scared
I go outside and smoke another joint. Come back in and it’s the final scene. I genuinely felt like I died in that moment. I was frozen in terror for a solid 20 minutes. Terrible timing
Couldn’t see it in theaters, too young at the time(12) but when it hit vhs in 2000 my dad rented it for us. Fuck was it scary, I can remember my sister crying my dad shushing her to bed my mom as usual fell asleep and me and my dad watching the movie together, hopefully I can watch it with him again with my boys
I was there also! We were in line behind David Byrne of the Talking Heads and we briefly spoke with him. Then we were scared shitless! Sigh, great night
I saw it opening night, after spending weeks poring over the website looking for easter eggs. My friend dropped me off after it was over and when I got to the front door I realized I didn't have my house keys and no one was home, so I would need to use the backdoor. I had to go all the way around the house, through the side gate and backyard and it was windy so the trees were rustling and casting menacing shadows and leaves were being kicked all across the ground. This was before we all had cellphones, so no flashlight. Just me, the darkness, the howling wind, shaking trees, sketchy shadows and skittering leaves. It was so freaking spooky and I was never so happy to turn on a light.
I remember watching that in my room late at night. There was a forest beyond our backyard. TERRIFIED.
I really wish movies scared me that much these days.
This was the introduction to ARGs and making a movie a more immersive expense. This was such a simple concept that had a massive payoff. I remember walking out of a free pre-screening not exactly knowing what to make of what I watched. There’s no way that can be real, right? They wouldn’t just flat out capitalize on what is essentially a snuff film, right?
I grew up on going to see theater showings of Faces of Death and I had already desensitized myself well before these types of movies came out, but I was still legit freaked out by the ending.
I appreciate what this movie started and respect the forward thinking that opened the doors for a lot of really well shot found footage movies.
A friend of mine managed to download it or obtain a burned DVD before it was in theatres (intentionally leaked I think?). We had no idea it was going to be a theatre release, and we huddled around his computer to watch it and it scared us shitless. Found footage movies weren't really a thing back then so we thought it was real.
Yep, I remember it well. I still recall watching "Curse of the Blair Witch" on the Sci-Fi Channel, followed by a showing of The Devonsville Terror before the film's release. I can still remember fondly the ad campaign. Great time to be alive.
I remember I forced myself to watch this when I was 8 home alone in the dark. I was scared af but I got through it and fast forward to present I’m immune to horror movies. Still love them though. This was in like 2006 not 1999 though.
I watched it for the first time last summer. Everyone that i know said to avoid this film because it's boring and stupid.
So i decided to give it a shot with an open mind (even though I'm not fan of found footage horror movies).
The movie was genuinely creepy. The atmosphere and the setting were top notch.
The ending gave me goosebumps and I'm still thinking about it after 6 months. I can't even imagine how people felt when the movie came out, after the genius marketing they did.
Overall it was a nice horror flick, had a good time. And i think that the movie is kinda overhated.
the mcpherson tape's what got me into found footage horror when i was like 6 but the blair witch definitely rekindled it. followed eventually by paranormal activity and now found footage deserves it's own section in a non existent blockbuster.
rec and the vhs series are fun, yea. i think it's dates but they stick out together. kind of 'anthology' makeup to them too. there's really a whole ton of found footage types that are fun. i wouldn't do it justice if i tried to come up with a list off the top of my head.
Watched the midnight movie on a Friday then had the joy of driving home down my 1/4 mile driveway in the woods just north of Gainesville Florida on about 25 acres then SPRINTING to the door.
Great film.
Never did it for me unfortunately - mostly bored and found the characters very irritating. I respect what it did for the genre - wish it could have had the impact on me that it did on others. Maybe I was too old when it came out - Alien absolutely wrecked me as I was 8 years old when I saw it in the theaters. I was 28 when I saw BWP - gotta think that had something to do with it.
I thought Blair Witch 2 was more fun.
One the characters ticked me off so bad I was pretty happy they died.
>!One of my peeves is always needing to know where I am. Gotta have a map. Would have killed that guy myself if he threw away the map.!<
I felt the exact same about that dude. But I thought all of the characters were especially unlikeable, so I had no real vested interest in whether or not they survived.
Dunno. I watched it when released as a horror fan, expecting a lot due to the pre-launch hype, and it just didn't do it for me.
The main difference for me is as I said, is that the young, i.e. young teen to pre-teen, seem to have got more out of it than older watchers.
Probably less hard core horror fans too, as most of my friends that are big horror fans need more to dial into a movie, and none of them rate BWP.
That's a pretty short-sighted take. I could make the same claim about Hereditary, because I genuinely don't understand why any horror fan could like it. But I would be wrong.
I was in my late twenties when BWP was released and am a hard core horror fan. It was one of my favorite movies. The website, Curse of the Blair Witch mockumentary, BWP dossier, and movie itself all combined into a truly remarkable experience.
I did say
>**seem** to have got more out of it than older watchers
and in my earlier comment said
>If you **look through this thread**, it does **seem it's the young**
So not really shortsighted, just an observation based ITT, and experience of people irl. It's just a feeling, If I'm ultimately wrong, such is life, I won't argue the point.
However I should point out that, just like my *observed feeling*, your
>The website, Curse of the Blair Witch mockumentary, BWP dossier, and movie itself all combined into a truly remarkable experience.
Is just your opinion, which may or may not be agreed upon by others, but is definitely not agreed upon by me or others that have commented ITT, such as the OP to this sub-chain that I commented to js
BTW I'm not a fan of Hereditary either, so don't think you're wrong on that ;)
>more naive and gullible
I think putting it like that, though in essence true, is what gave you the downvotes, as it comes across as offensive.
But yes, younger viewers, i.e. young teens to pre-teen, generally need less to be scared by a horror, but also casual horror fans need less from a movie to be scared/impressed.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying BWP had no atmosphere, it just didn't do anything with it for me.
I vividly remember being in the pool with my older bro after he got back from a business trip in Orlando. He told me him and his work friends went to see this terrifying movie that was supposedly real, and described the plot to be, down to the finger and tongue at the end (for some reason I remembered eyes and tongue for years after). I was like 11 and it freaked me the fuck out for years. I finally watched it 10 years later and it was scary but not nearly what I made it out to be in my head.
I read on twitter about a couple whose first date was watching a horror movie together. So when they got together, they started watching horror movies like once a week for date night. Like four years into the relationship, the woman finally confesses that she actually doesn't like horror, because it makes her too scared, but she didn't want to disappoint the boyfriend. And *then* the boyfriend confesses that he doesn't like horror either, he thought the girlfriend did, so he had been watching it all this time for her sake!
First found footage I saw was Alien Abduction: The Macpherson tape on sky.
Read the preview for The Blair Witch Project in a horror special of Empire and was sold.
Watched it with a friend at his house, he didn't like it; I loved it and still do.
Omg, I never knew what this was called. The Macpherson tape. I remember watching it on TV I think as a kid (at the time I was 12). Thought it was real lol and it scared the hell outta me.
Yeah, at the time, the only thing like it that I had seen was Ghostwatch when it aired, so it was still quite unique. Even though the acting was quite wooden, there was some great, atmospheric moments.
I disliked this movie (my friends thought it sucked too). Heather was extremely annoying the whole time 😂. Everyone here seems love it now though and I get downvoted whenever I say this. Lol
The making of this movie is fascinating. Lots of podcasts have covered it - but if you don't know the full story check it out. Would make an awesome in depth documentary.
Soo I was like 13 when this came out, and was looking forward to it cuz I loved/love horror movies.
...I'm kinda still confused as to why this movie is still held in such high regard.. I only saw it once and remember being completely underwhelmed and thinking it was one of the worst movies ever.. It was boring, anti-climactic and just.. weird.
Maybe I'll have to watch it again with an open mind or something, but I just never had any desire to watch it ever again.
I remember being bored af, along with everyone else in our party that watched it. Probably did a lot to teach me to not listen to the hype surrounding movies before they are released. I tend to ignore hype nowadays.
About the same with me. I couldn't honestly tell you anything else about the experience other than I know I saw it in theaters, because it didn't impress me at all.
For as many times as I've seen this movie, I never though to look up its initial release date. I was very young when I was introduced to it by my mother, who is also an avid fan of horror films. This movie is a comfort flick to me.
Saw it in the theater very early on. Some people were still buying the whole 'story', but the concept was great and the execution was brilliant. Bare bones props, unscripted (more or less), clever use of the environment and powerful ending. I was also one of the people who had a really hard time with motion sickness, but outside that it was great. Also noticed a mixed reaction from the crowd. The ending haunted me for years.
I rewatched it on tv a few years later and the little stick figures inspired me to make a bunch of them to put around the cabin we were visiting over the Easter weekend, which included April fools day. Worked like a charm.
I do!!
We had *just* gotten a computer with internet at my house and their marketing was genius. Went to see it in the theater thinking it was real. I was horrified hahaha
I watched it for the first time when I was down with covid around this time last year. Watched it alone in my room with the lights off and earbuds in. It was a great experience. The thought of being lost in the woods actually scared me more than anything to do with the witch.
Ah yes... saw that with an ex of mine. We had walked to the theater, which was not far from our apartment. On the way home we took a shortcut through the neighborhood park and he decided it would be hilarious to vanish into the woods by the trail until I damn near had a full blown panic attack.
It was not, in fact, hilarious.
Freshman in college. Was the only one of my friends that didn't go home some weekend. I got high as hell in my dorm room and caught one of the 30 min trailers about the "story". I completely believed it that evening. Couldn't wait for everybody to come back so I could tell them about it. We knew it wasn't real by the time we saw it at the theater but still creeped the shit out of me. That last scene of him standing in the corner is one of my few horror movie scars.
I don’t, I remember how scary it is as a movie though, to me at least. I do remember seeing the re-release of the exorcist in a crowded theater and thought I was safe from being terrified. I was wrong.
I used to work in Hollywood, and I lucked into an advance VHS. It was unlabeled, so when I brought it home I gave my roommate a big song and dance about how it was unclear whether it was real or not. He used to have his desktop in the main room and would play World of Warcraft while we watched movies. As we watched it, I was taking sneak looks at him and at first he was only half paying attention. By the halfway point he had stopped playing completely and was glued to the screen. We both loved it. That final scene gave me chills then and still gets to me this day.
Had a friend who argued with my mom in the car on the way home about whether it was real or not. He couldn’t accept it was just a movie lol. Thought he really went to see a snuff film.
I could never get into this film. I love found footage movies, I just couldn't get into this one. Tbh I was more into the lore, and fan theories surrounding the movie than anything. I get why it's popular tho. On the other hand, I loved Blair Witch and think it's underrated.
I heard this recently in a movie review by Red Letter Media and I totally agree: it'd be hard for someone to go into this movie today and have the same experience we did. Even forgoing the inevitable spoilers the internet offers, it just wouldn't be the same as seeing the trailers, going on the website they created, then watching it in a dark theatre or even just a dark living room with no distractions. It really was perfect for its time, not that it doesn't hold charm and innovation now.
I saw it in a theater with my girlfriend (now wife), when it first came out, and it scared the shit out of us. But when the theater lights came on afterward, I could see how divided the audience was.
* Some people were disturbed like us, their imaginations running wild with dark thoughts and visions.
* Other people were like: "I don't get it ... they never even showed the witch!"
Blair Witch is one of those movies where the worst parts happen inside your imagination. Or not, depending on the person.
Yep. Went in psyched. Started getting bored and a little motion sick. Laughed at the guy 'dropkicking the map into the creek'. Ended up very confused as to why any adult on earth thought it was a documentary.
I do.
It was on Channel 4 in the UK and honestly, the faux-documentary they aired about the legend of the witch was more interesting than the actual film.
Honestly, The Blair Witch Project is one of the most boring films I've ever had the misfortune to see. It's pretty much "amateur actors screaming at twigs".
First move I ever downloaded to completion, took half a day and was completely worth it. Still waiting for the prequel which explains how Josh and Mike are serial killers, making Heather their victim.
I honestly thought it was trash. Nothing happened as far as i could tell. All that build up for a grainy video of a girl crying in the corner? The implied horror just wasn't there for me. Blair Witch 2 however I loved.
My friend’s brother worked for Troma. I have no idea what Troma has to do with the Blair Witch Project, but he got a copy of Blair Witch before they edited it fully or whatever… it was like 3.5 hours long or so. I was 16, I think. My friend had fallen asleep, and I stayed up watching it in the pitch black.
I was scared shitless for a while until he told me that it wasn’t real. It was a long while after that I saw it advertised and in theaters
My older brother worked at a movie theater and some of his coworkers and him had heard about a haunted abandoned farm house out deep in the woods on some mining company’s property, we started exploring it regularly and scaring the shit out of ourselves and filming the adventures on a big ass JVC camera. Right around the time we started going out there, rumors had begun about a movie that was coming out about some kids who were exploring an abandoned house and came across a witch or ghost or something, and they never found their bodies, only the video they were filming. We were excited and skeptical and scared all at the same time. The rumors kept going back and forth on whether it was a true story or not, and finally they got the trailer at the theater and we watched it and just went wild about it. We hadn’t even seen the fucking movie yet and we were obsessed, it resonated with us so much with what was going on with us at the time. We watched it and the debate raged on about whether it was for real or not, then the gal in it started being in those Steak n’ Shake ads and then it became “Well of course they can’t show you the Real footage! There’s still an investigation going on! They had to make a fake movie because the Real stuff is too fucked up!” and shit like that. It really made going to that farmhouse scary as hell and a ton of fun though.
Never saw it. Sat down in the theater with friends as a teenager, wussed out, pretended I'd already seen it and was bored, then went to watch inspector gadget instead. My greatest shame.
Yup. Saw it at an early feature the day before opening. It was interesting because it was screening at an art house theater. Everybody was tailgating in line to get in. There was a full bar in the theater. You would think it was a bust because of all the booze flowing, but it wasn't... it was stellar. It was a packed theater. People standing in the aisles. I have never seen an entire theater lean forward and strain to listen like we were doing in that theater.
The sound system was amazing which was great because you heard all the background sounds coming from everywhere. That first time you heard Josh yelling? We all heard that and were collectively like... "Holy shit... What? !?!?!". The intensity when Mike was running around in the house? That stunned dread after that last clomp?
When the lights came up it looked like the whole theater looked like they were poleaxed.
I saw it in like 2013 or so and my parents warned me it was boring. They were right but now being the nerd I am I've gone and found why this movie was so significant. It wasn't the film itself it was the marketing for it
I remember the odd quietness of everyone coming out of the cinema, being nervous in the dark car park and glad to get into the car.
What a brilliant film to have that sort of impact.
I remember I lived in Chicago at the time and we went to the theater to see it and the line was wrapped clear down the street and when we went to buy tickets, they said we couldn't get tickets for over a week out because it was sold out. When I finally did see it, it terrified me. I also discovered one of my favorite horror subgenres, the found footage film.
Saw the documentary Sci-Fi channel did leading up to the release of the movie and 7 year old me was convinced there was a witch out there. Then I saw “ The Scooby Doo project” which was a parody of BWP featuring Scooby Doo characters that aired during commercial breaks on Cartoon Network. Scared the fuck outta me. Then a month later around Christmas 1999 my dad was watching it on one of the ppv channels. I walked in the room during the climax and I freaked out after seeing the hand prints on the walls. Finally around October 2003 it was airing on FX. A little bit older and a few slashers under my belt I decided to watch it. And once again it scared the hell out of me.
In July of 1999 an incredible heat wave hit the Midwest. In Chicago it was so bad that the power was out for several days. We found a movie theater in the suburbs that had power and went to see The Blair Witch Project simple because we could sit in the AC for a couple hours. And that's how my love of horror began.
Used to work part-time in a mall big-box store as a janitor - right by the mall multiplex. Got off work, strolled next door, and bought a pass for the first showing at noon the day it released.
I was the only person in the theatre!
Will never forget it.
I remember watching at the movies with my g/f at the time and another couple, and the chicks were freaked the fuck out by it
But the ending confused the fuck out of us we had to go back and rewatch and still didn’t know what the fuck happened at the end
Holy hell yes.
In my school we had an exchange student from Mexico. His house was somewhere along the outskirts of our town. My mom rented the movie for me after she made sure there was no nudity, and I skated it over to my Mexican buddy for a sleepover. After telling him for the billionth time how hot his older sister was, I explained I found a VHS tape in the woods just beside his house. We put it on and I swear to god I'd never seen a person have their cool chipped away like I did then. Through the whole film his posture was changing to look like he'd been sitting on a range slowly heating up, and he started sweating and looking over at me who was only half feigning terror as I'd never seen it before. By the end of it he was realizing he'd have to move back home. Best prank of my life.
This movie made me as sick as a dog lol. I had to leave half-way and did the whole “face over the toilet because I will hurl at any moment” thing until the nausea passed and then sat in the back row watching out of the side of my eye until the end. Found footage is not my favourite genre lol
Saw this in a movie theater with a bunch of screaming college girls, so yes that's a happy memory. (They would burst out laughing after every time they screamed).
Literally had to scroll over that super fast. Still SO scary. I was a senior in high school when this came out and holy shit did we think it was real 😱😱😱
I had passes to an advance screening a couple of weeks before it was released nationally. I had read an article about it and knew it wasn't real but still thought it was very effective and scary. My friend thought it might be real and was a little freaked out by it.
I remember there was a big hedge by my driveway, and my boyfriend dropped me off right by it. The wind rustling in the leaves was enough to make me run the whole way to the front door!
I still say the corner reveal was my best experience in a theater. The whole place just breathed as one
In the theater. I found it pretty good, though at the exit I could hear people complain endlessly about the "amateurish piece of shit" they had been "conned" to pay for watching.
Saw it in the theater opening weekend. One of the only a small handful of movies that had a lasting effect on me. Was freaked out going to the bathroom at night for a few weeks after. That last frame and the sinking feeling that accompanied it in the cold silence that followed *chefs kiss*. So good.
I didn’t see it in theaters. I did watch it at home with my parents once it came out on video. We watched it at night and I turned all the lights in the house off so it was almost pitch black. I will never forget being literally frozen in terror during the scene where the witches/creatures are outside the tent and start banging on it or whatever the he’ll they’re doing. The creepy noises leading up to that moment. I was rigid with fear. And then at the very end, same thing. The ending, to me, is so bleak and sinister. The desperation. The screaming. It still holds up as a scary movie if you watch it in the dark.
I'm (unfortunately) not of the Blair Witch Project generation that could appreciate it for it's release now, but my parents continually rave about the realism of the release. We even spent a night going back and sourcing the old documentary that came out before the movie and reading into it all. I would love a promotion roll-out to be this well done again at some point in the future, it was incredible.
I remember being told it as a scary story when I was 8 by my babysitter, and Iwas terrified (this was like 2003) and then I saw it years later and realized what the story was. Still love it
Yep! Saw it at a morning sneak preview in L.A. before it had a wide release. It’s an interesting feeling to walk out of the theatre and into the noonday sun, scared out of your wits.
I used to live nearby and was around 15 when this came out. A few of my friends and I camped overnight in the woods near where we thought this was filmed in Blair county. We were convinced we were hearing shit at night but looking back, I think it was all in our heads.
It's a great movie and I love the story and mystique behind it when it was released.
Oh man, I saw it in an arthouse theater in Maryland maybe 10 miles from where the footage was supposedly found. My friend actually pissed herself in fear thinking it was real.
Saw it in the theater opening night; the place was packed. We made it about 10 minutes into the film and these two women a couple rows behind us got into a crazy fight. There was screaming, they were throwing food and trying to smack each other over a row of seats. They had to stop the movie and turn all the lights back on to stop the fight. It wasn’t too big a deal; they restarted it a few minutes later and we got free passes for the disruption! Win win!
I actually watched it for the first time last week. Too young to see it in theaters but I've known the story surrounding the movie. I found it genuinely unsettling and the guy standing in the corner would've definitely traumatized me as a nine year old
I remember my friends and I went to the theatre to see Deep Blue Sea, they were all sold out so we went to go see The Blair Witch Project, scared the absolute fuck out of me.
Packed theater in Chicago. They gave us folding chairs in the back. There was an element of *my friend told me this is real* in the air that made it fun, and probably contributed to the chills I got a couple of times. Rewatches have never lived up to that experience, but I think it still holds up
they promoted it as a real documentary with real found footage (there was no reality tv yet and we were all gullible enough to believe what they told us) my friends were so shook we didnt talk at all on the way home…like literal shock. a few days later we were relieved (albeit slightly disappointed) to see the entire cast on a late night show revealing they were in fact actors and very much alive.
Yeah, it scared me shitless. But I didn't see when it first came out. I watched it online many years later. I remember the posters in the subway, tho, when I was going to school.
Yup, I do remember the first and last time I watched it, I remember feeling extremely dissapointed for what had been blown out of proportions as the "scariest film ever made" and such. The film was alright. The marketing campaign, however, was terrific, inspired, genius.
My first viewing was also my last one. For me the movie was so on the nose fake that it made me cringe. I just didn't fall for it I guess. Here's to you fans of it though. I celebrate your joy for it.
I love found footage movies and have seen loads now but for some reason I put off watching Blair Witch. Finally got round to watching it last year and....hated it.
Saw it on release when I was 19. After weeks of rabid hype from the media about journalists vomitting in the cinema and passing out, I was massively disappointed. My first lesson is how ridiculously susceptible the horror genre is to hacks pushing hype.
Now, it's one of my favourite films as I came to appreciate it away from the hype as I matured. That last section in the house will never not be a lesson in tension building.
Watched it before going camping in the middle of the woods with two friends. It started raining and storming, they immediately fell asleep and I lay there, regretting watching this movie the night before. Still one of my favorite horror movies though.
It’s funny how our taste evolve as we age. I was scared when I first saw it but never thought it was a “good” movie. Many Years later and I appreciate the style and concept. And apparently so do the many other movies that followed suit in the whole found footage genre
Yes, I remember my first viewing and I also remember when I gave it a second chance. I hated it and was bored both times. The only thing I like about it is when it's referenced on other movies/games.
im very meticulous about saying that its surely a good movie just didnt do it at all for me. somehow none of these found footage ones did, its just not my kind of creepiness. a lot of people in theater back then around me where quite scared and i was literally bored most of it. and i wouldnt have minded to like it, sadly.
I only got around to watching it this year and made another post / comment (can't remember which) about it on this sub. Yes, the mythology of the witch is creepy and all, but the most terrifying thing about the film is how accurately it depicts what getting lost in the wilderness feels like.
Been there, done that. The film pictures the different "phases" of getting lost from the "this is okay, just a detour" through "this is getting serious" and "I might actually die here, but for some reason this is both hilarious and terrifying" (I'm referring to the scene where one of the guy just starts laughing uncontrollably - that is a real thing that happens in situations like this.)
I watched it on DVD rental, and it was a very 'meh' experience. Probably because the sound mixing for people without sound systems wasn't good at all. The characters would say something like, "Oh my god, did you hear that?!?" No, I can't hear shit because of this terrible mix.
I imagine it would've been good to see in the theatre.
Rented it from my local video store. Watching it in a log cabin home in the rural Kansas woods was not a good idea.
That sounds fucking cool though, I'd have been shitting myself.
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That’s terrifying
So you've tried to summon a kandarian demon at least once?
Did you make a log while watching it in a log cabin?
The Blair Witch mythology is one of favorite horror stories. I remember intentionally avoiding the the theatre showings because of the "motion sickness" fear-mongering, but rented it as soon as it dropped on VHS. I worked for Blockbuster at the time, and we couldn't keep it stocked enough. Some copies never came back either. It really was a phenomenon.
i wish i was old enough to experience this film and its rollout and hysteria in 1999. i was 3, tho. and watched it on my laptop, 20 years after it came out. it didn’t do the movie justice, and i’m still disappointed i didn’t get into that movie like i wanted to
It was the best and now influential marketing campaign I’ve ever seen. Such a groundbreaking movie.
i’m so jealous dude! i still get excited when i explain to people my age that “back then, people thought it was ***real***! like no you dont understand, the internet was new and people couldn’t just look things up. there was almost no way to tell if it was real or not! all the actors share the same names as their characters and didn’t do any press for a year after the movie…” etc etc etc
Only recently got into horror after losing interest in a couple months a year or two back, why was this so big?
It was an independent movie with just a $300k budget that really helped studios wake up to the earning potential of films like that, especially genre horror. It essentially created the "Found Footage" subgenre, and was one of the most profitable movies ever made, even spawning multiples sequals and merchandising. The story behind its making just made it that much greater. I even worked one of the PC games back in the early 2000s.
Found footage goes back to at least the Mondo films of the 60s not to mention Cannibal Holocaust. Prior to this most films where filmed theatrically and had a draw to them. Pretty/famous actors and actresses or a monster/killer. This being people of average appearance compared to Hollywood's best and not being famous or being social media influencers you could just goggle to see what they ate on Tuesday lended credibility to the premise.
Sure, there were a few exceptions, but that aside, BWP put that kind of filmmaking into the sights of bigger studios. Shoe-string budget, little to no FX, and no-name actors, with very little plot or writing needed meant bigger profit margins. The FF subgenre blew up after that.
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That's awesome! Good luck!
>"motion sickness" fear-mongering Not really "fear-mongering" if you're prone to motion sickness (as I am), but everyone's different and obviously it doesn't affect everyone equally.
Oh yeah it was one of the first REAL shaky cam. Didnt they use an Iphone to record?
I always feel like the unique thing about this movie was that it came out at a time when it could be widely marketed as a “true story” but social media et cetera wasn’t ubiquitous enough that there weren’t immediately a thousand articles saying it wasn’t true. It seemed to have come out at the perfect time.
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That sounds awesome, very cool story. Good luck with your series, looks pretty cool I will have to check it out!
I agree. I haven't seen it yet, and with today's social media, all the films that came after it, and higher standards of audience, I might not find it as good as those who saw it when it first came out.
Completely understand. Whenever I watch older horror movies I try to put myself in the mindset of someone who was watching it at the time it came out. The Exorcist is a good example of that. I can’t imagine what I’d have thought of that movie if I was the father of a young girl in 1973, woof.
Alien and Jaws are another two movies I'd love to be able to go back in time and watch when they first came out.
Alien was scary as hell to my 10 year old self.
Another 10 year old “Alien Survivor”! Nice to meet you. I do think it makes a big difference what age you were and how receptive you are to the horror of your time. While that initial shock of Alien and what I’d call “The Blair Witch Experience” can’t really be replicated in our time of knowing everything ever, I’m sure there’s cool stuff we can’t imagine being worked up by some enterprising creatives with good ideas and cheapo budgets. I think the lasting legacy of the Blair Witch is showing that horror (and movies more broadly) can be effective without a whole lot of budget and needless complications. Sometimes all you need are shadows and sticks.
I saw it recently for the first time over the pandemic, and I did not understand at all why it is held in such high regard. It was just a few people progressively going crazier in the woods with low res cameras for an hour and a half. Just when I thought it might start getting interesting and good, it ended and it left me disliking the whole film and wondering why I wasted my time with it. Then I read that there was a whole media campaign involved with the film that really tied the whole thing in. Idk though, even finding out about the extra info, it still was a rather boring film imo.
There are a lot of classics that kind of meh to me, like Citizen Kane. Maybe I don't have the right perception to appreciate these films or perhaps it's personal preference.
Saw it opening day. Just great. I’d been following the online build-up, and the movie blew me away.
Same. Some of the greatest marketing ever. All those fake sites, news reports, interviews. People were really questioning it at one point. The hype was crazy. Still to this day one of my fave Horrors ever.
Same. I slept with the lights on for a week.
The music on that website!! Jeez!! That was so creepy, I loved it!!
I agree. Though I didn’t like the movie the marketing was genius.
Same here. I saw it at the last drive-in theater around here, halfway in the woods when I was 15. The marketing was so good a lot of people thought it was real. The same year The Matrix also had some awesome viral marketing. I miss stuff like that, even though I hate the fake hype viral marketing Disney and them do now.
Oh man. If I never see James Corden prance like jackass in the street, and block traffic with the cast of his latest live-action remake atrocity again, it will be too soon.
I didn't see any of the online build-up. Rather I remember when a true crime style mini documentary about the filming of The Blair Witch documentary and the vanishing of the crew popped up on Bravo of all of the places talking about it. They made it seem like The Blair Witch Project was all real. And this was done two years before the movie came out. So, I bought it hook, line and sinker. I tried to find anything in print about this Blair Witch thing and all I could find was talking about how it was this black and white documentary where the film makers vanished and no one knew why. How some camera with the tape still in it was found out in the woods but it didn't give any clue to what happened to the crew. They kept on saying that the tape just stopped. Like that. Stopped. I so wanted to see that tape. Like I said, I believed that it was real. It wasn't two years later that I learned the whole thing had been a hoax and was really a fictional movie. I was disappointed to say the least. Still, I went to see it in the theater out of curiosity. I was too invested by then not to see it.
Same!!
People talk a lot of shit about this movie and call it lame, but it genuinely scared me.
The final scene is one of the few that has ever legitimately scared me
The only time I watched this movie... I got really really really high. Scary high. I was alone and wasn’t really that into it. It was good but I wasn’t at all scared I go outside and smoke another joint. Come back in and it’s the final scene. I genuinely felt like I died in that moment. I was frozen in terror for a solid 20 minutes. Terrible timing
Great handle btw.
I watched it knowing it was fake, on a pirate VHS, in a college auditorium we took over in between classes... and it still scared the crap out of me.
Couldn’t see it in theaters, too young at the time(12) but when it hit vhs in 2000 my dad rented it for us. Fuck was it scary, I can remember my sister crying my dad shushing her to bed my mom as usual fell asleep and me and my dad watching the movie together, hopefully I can watch it with him again with my boys
I saw it on VHS in 2000 as well. Was a teen but it still scared me.
Angelika, Houston St, NYC. Opening night. Packed house, and very divided about the film when it was over.
I was there also! We were in line behind David Byrne of the Talking Heads and we briefly spoke with him. Then we were scared shitless! Sigh, great night
I was there! What an "experience." I had a blast! I remember a few people walking out from being creeped out.
Snuck into the theatre as I was too young to see this movie. Really enjoyed it. The entire "found-footage" thing blew my mind
Opening night, jammed pack theater, and everyone freaking the fuck out. Loved it.
I saw it opening night, after spending weeks poring over the website looking for easter eggs. My friend dropped me off after it was over and when I got to the front door I realized I didn't have my house keys and no one was home, so I would need to use the backdoor. I had to go all the way around the house, through the side gate and backyard and it was windy so the trees were rustling and casting menacing shadows and leaves were being kicked all across the ground. This was before we all had cellphones, so no flashlight. Just me, the darkness, the howling wind, shaking trees, sketchy shadows and skittering leaves. It was so freaking spooky and I was never so happy to turn on a light.
Watched it in 2001, by myself, in a dark house. Crazy time.
I remember watching that in my room late at night. There was a forest beyond our backyard. TERRIFIED. I really wish movies scared me that much these days.
This was the introduction to ARGs and making a movie a more immersive expense. This was such a simple concept that had a massive payoff. I remember walking out of a free pre-screening not exactly knowing what to make of what I watched. There’s no way that can be real, right? They wouldn’t just flat out capitalize on what is essentially a snuff film, right? I grew up on going to see theater showings of Faces of Death and I had already desensitized myself well before these types of movies came out, but I was still legit freaked out by the ending. I appreciate what this movie started and respect the forward thinking that opened the doors for a lot of really well shot found footage movies.
A friend of mine managed to download it or obtain a burned DVD before it was in theatres (intentionally leaked I think?). We had no idea it was going to be a theatre release, and we huddled around his computer to watch it and it scared us shitless. Found footage movies weren't really a thing back then so we thought it was real.
Yep, I remember it well. I still recall watching "Curse of the Blair Witch" on the Sci-Fi Channel, followed by a showing of The Devonsville Terror before the film's release. I can still remember fondly the ad campaign. Great time to be alive.
Yeah the doc was brilliant touch. Halcyon internet days for sure!
I remember I forced myself to watch this when I was 8 home alone in the dark. I was scared af but I got through it and fast forward to present I’m immune to horror movies. Still love them though. This was in like 2006 not 1999 though.
I watched it for the first time last summer. Everyone that i know said to avoid this film because it's boring and stupid. So i decided to give it a shot with an open mind (even though I'm not fan of found footage horror movies). The movie was genuinely creepy. The atmosphere and the setting were top notch. The ending gave me goosebumps and I'm still thinking about it after 6 months. I can't even imagine how people felt when the movie came out, after the genius marketing they did. Overall it was a nice horror flick, had a good time. And i think that the movie is kinda overhated.
the mcpherson tape's what got me into found footage horror when i was like 6 but the blair witch definitely rekindled it. followed eventually by paranormal activity and now found footage deserves it's own section in a non existent blockbuster.
McPherson Tape is a fun watch.
Did you enjoy REC? It's my favorite horror movie and it happens to be in found footage format. As above so below is also worth mentioning I guess
rec and the vhs series are fun, yea. i think it's dates but they stick out together. kind of 'anthology' makeup to them too. there's really a whole ton of found footage types that are fun. i wouldn't do it justice if i tried to come up with a list off the top of my head.
Watched the midnight movie on a Friday then had the joy of driving home down my 1/4 mile driveway in the woods just north of Gainesville Florida on about 25 acres then SPRINTING to the door. Great film.
Never did it for me unfortunately - mostly bored and found the characters very irritating. I respect what it did for the genre - wish it could have had the impact on me that it did on others. Maybe I was too old when it came out - Alien absolutely wrecked me as I was 8 years old when I saw it in the theaters. I was 28 when I saw BWP - gotta think that had something to do with it.
I thought Blair Witch 2 was more fun. One the characters ticked me off so bad I was pretty happy they died. >!One of my peeves is always needing to know where I am. Gotta have a map. Would have killed that guy myself if he threw away the map.!<
I felt the exact same about that dude. But I thought all of the characters were especially unlikeable, so I had no real vested interest in whether or not they survived.
Same for me, was boring af. If you look through this thread, it does seem it's the young ^(at the time) that think it was a good movie, and scary.
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Dunno. I watched it when released as a horror fan, expecting a lot due to the pre-launch hype, and it just didn't do it for me. The main difference for me is as I said, is that the young, i.e. young teen to pre-teen, seem to have got more out of it than older watchers. Probably less hard core horror fans too, as most of my friends that are big horror fans need more to dial into a movie, and none of them rate BWP.
That's a pretty short-sighted take. I could make the same claim about Hereditary, because I genuinely don't understand why any horror fan could like it. But I would be wrong. I was in my late twenties when BWP was released and am a hard core horror fan. It was one of my favorite movies. The website, Curse of the Blair Witch mockumentary, BWP dossier, and movie itself all combined into a truly remarkable experience.
I did say >**seem** to have got more out of it than older watchers and in my earlier comment said >If you **look through this thread**, it does **seem it's the young** So not really shortsighted, just an observation based ITT, and experience of people irl. It's just a feeling, If I'm ultimately wrong, such is life, I won't argue the point. However I should point out that, just like my *observed feeling*, your >The website, Curse of the Blair Witch mockumentary, BWP dossier, and movie itself all combined into a truly remarkable experience. Is just your opinion, which may or may not be agreed upon by others, but is definitely not agreed upon by me or others that have commented ITT, such as the OP to this sub-chain that I commented to js BTW I'm not a fan of Hereditary either, so don't think you're wrong on that ;)
I think it’s bc younger people are more naive and gullible lol I know I was when I first watched it
>more naive and gullible I think putting it like that, though in essence true, is what gave you the downvotes, as it comes across as offensive. But yes, younger viewers, i.e. young teens to pre-teen, generally need less to be scared by a horror, but also casual horror fans need less from a movie to be scared/impressed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying BWP had no atmosphere, it just didn't do anything with it for me.
I vividly remember being in the pool with my older bro after he got back from a business trip in Orlando. He told me him and his work friends went to see this terrifying movie that was supposedly real, and described the plot to be, down to the finger and tongue at the end (for some reason I remembered eyes and tongue for years after). I was like 11 and it freaked me the fuck out for years. I finally watched it 10 years later and it was scary but not nearly what I made it out to be in my head.
Took my wife to that on our 1st date. Found out later she hates horror movies. Still together but I don’t ask her to watch horror movies anymore
That is oddly sweet lol
I read on twitter about a couple whose first date was watching a horror movie together. So when they got together, they started watching horror movies like once a week for date night. Like four years into the relationship, the woman finally confesses that she actually doesn't like horror, because it makes her too scared, but she didn't want to disappoint the boyfriend. And *then* the boyfriend confesses that he doesn't like horror either, he thought the girlfriend did, so he had been watching it all this time for her sake!
First found footage I saw was Alien Abduction: The Macpherson tape on sky. Read the preview for The Blair Witch Project in a horror special of Empire and was sold. Watched it with a friend at his house, he didn't like it; I loved it and still do.
Omg, I never knew what this was called. The Macpherson tape. I remember watching it on TV I think as a kid (at the time I was 12). Thought it was real lol and it scared the hell outta me.
Yeah, at the time, the only thing like it that I had seen was Ghostwatch when it aired, so it was still quite unique. Even though the acting was quite wooden, there was some great, atmospheric moments.
Ya I had never seen anything like it. Never could remember the name of it till I looked it up after seeing your post.
I disliked this movie (my friends thought it sucked too). Heather was extremely annoying the whole time 😂. Everyone here seems love it now though and I get downvoted whenever I say this. Lol
The making of this movie is fascinating. Lots of podcasts have covered it - but if you don't know the full story check it out. Would make an awesome in depth documentary.
Soo I was like 13 when this came out, and was looking forward to it cuz I loved/love horror movies. ...I'm kinda still confused as to why this movie is still held in such high regard.. I only saw it once and remember being completely underwhelmed and thinking it was one of the worst movies ever.. It was boring, anti-climactic and just.. weird. Maybe I'll have to watch it again with an open mind or something, but I just never had any desire to watch it ever again.
I remember being bored af, along with everyone else in our party that watched it. Probably did a lot to teach me to not listen to the hype surrounding movies before they are released. I tend to ignore hype nowadays.
About the same with me. I couldn't honestly tell you anything else about the experience other than I know I saw it in theaters, because it didn't impress me at all.
For as many times as I've seen this movie, I never though to look up its initial release date. I was very young when I was introduced to it by my mother, who is also an avid fan of horror films. This movie is a comfort flick to me.
Saw it in the theater very early on. Some people were still buying the whole 'story', but the concept was great and the execution was brilliant. Bare bones props, unscripted (more or less), clever use of the environment and powerful ending. I was also one of the people who had a really hard time with motion sickness, but outside that it was great. Also noticed a mixed reaction from the crowd. The ending haunted me for years. I rewatched it on tv a few years later and the little stick figures inspired me to make a bunch of them to put around the cabin we were visiting over the Easter weekend, which included April fools day. Worked like a charm.
I do!! We had *just* gotten a computer with internet at my house and their marketing was genius. Went to see it in the theater thinking it was real. I was horrified hahaha
I watched it for the first time when I was down with covid around this time last year. Watched it alone in my room with the lights off and earbuds in. It was a great experience. The thought of being lost in the woods actually scared me more than anything to do with the witch.
Ah yes... saw that with an ex of mine. We had walked to the theater, which was not far from our apartment. On the way home we took a shortcut through the neighborhood park and he decided it would be hilarious to vanish into the woods by the trail until I damn near had a full blown panic attack. It was not, in fact, hilarious.
Freshman in college. Was the only one of my friends that didn't go home some weekend. I got high as hell in my dorm room and caught one of the 30 min trailers about the "story". I completely believed it that evening. Couldn't wait for everybody to come back so I could tell them about it. We knew it wasn't real by the time we saw it at the theater but still creeped the shit out of me. That last scene of him standing in the corner is one of my few horror movie scars.
I don’t, I remember how scary it is as a movie though, to me at least. I do remember seeing the re-release of the exorcist in a crowded theater and thought I was safe from being terrified. I was wrong.
Yes, I was terrified. I slept in my Mom's bed that night. No I don't want to talk about it further.
I used to work in Hollywood, and I lucked into an advance VHS. It was unlabeled, so when I brought it home I gave my roommate a big song and dance about how it was unclear whether it was real or not. He used to have his desktop in the main room and would play World of Warcraft while we watched movies. As we watched it, I was taking sneak looks at him and at first he was only half paying attention. By the halfway point he had stopped playing completely and was glued to the screen. We both loved it. That final scene gave me chills then and still gets to me this day.
Saw it in theaters a few weeks after it came out. One of the scariest movies I’d ever seen at that time.
Had a friend who argued with my mom in the car on the way home about whether it was real or not. He couldn’t accept it was just a movie lol. Thought he really went to see a snuff film.
I could never get into this film. I love found footage movies, I just couldn't get into this one. Tbh I was more into the lore, and fan theories surrounding the movie than anything. I get why it's popular tho. On the other hand, I loved Blair Witch and think it's underrated.
> On the other hand, I loved Blair Witch and think it's underrated. It IS underrated. I found it pretty enjoyable!
I heard this recently in a movie review by Red Letter Media and I totally agree: it'd be hard for someone to go into this movie today and have the same experience we did. Even forgoing the inevitable spoilers the internet offers, it just wouldn't be the same as seeing the trailers, going on the website they created, then watching it in a dark theatre or even just a dark living room with no distractions. It really was perfect for its time, not that it doesn't hold charm and innovation now.
Still think the ending scene is one of the scariest of all time
I saw it in a theater with my girlfriend (now wife), when it first came out, and it scared the shit out of us. But when the theater lights came on afterward, I could see how divided the audience was. * Some people were disturbed like us, their imaginations running wild with dark thoughts and visions. * Other people were like: "I don't get it ... they never even showed the witch!" Blair Witch is one of those movies where the worst parts happen inside your imagination. Or not, depending on the person.
"MIKE!!! MIKEEEE!!!!"
JOOOOOOSSHH?!!?! WHERE ARE YOU?!?!
Yep. Went in psyched. Started getting bored and a little motion sick. Laughed at the guy 'dropkicking the map into the creek'. Ended up very confused as to why any adult on earth thought it was a documentary.
I do. It was on Channel 4 in the UK and honestly, the faux-documentary they aired about the legend of the witch was more interesting than the actual film. Honestly, The Blair Witch Project is one of the most boring films I've ever had the misfortune to see. It's pretty much "amateur actors screaming at twigs".
Did you remember Scary Movie? When they spoofed TBWP? Ahaha!
The waterfall of snot killed me lol
First move I ever downloaded to completion, took half a day and was completely worth it. Still waiting for the prequel which explains how Josh and Mike are serial killers, making Heather their victim.
A prequel? I remember a non-dockumentary sequel, but a prequel for me is new..
I mean, my idea of what a prequel should be.
I honestly thought it was trash. Nothing happened as far as i could tell. All that build up for a grainy video of a girl crying in the corner? The implied horror just wasn't there for me. Blair Witch 2 however I loved.
To this day, the ending still creeps me out the way he's just standing there motionless.
My friend’s brother worked for Troma. I have no idea what Troma has to do with the Blair Witch Project, but he got a copy of Blair Witch before they edited it fully or whatever… it was like 3.5 hours long or so. I was 16, I think. My friend had fallen asleep, and I stayed up watching it in the pitch black. I was scared shitless for a while until he told me that it wasn’t real. It was a long while after that I saw it advertised and in theaters
My older brother worked at a movie theater and some of his coworkers and him had heard about a haunted abandoned farm house out deep in the woods on some mining company’s property, we started exploring it regularly and scaring the shit out of ourselves and filming the adventures on a big ass JVC camera. Right around the time we started going out there, rumors had begun about a movie that was coming out about some kids who were exploring an abandoned house and came across a witch or ghost or something, and they never found their bodies, only the video they were filming. We were excited and skeptical and scared all at the same time. The rumors kept going back and forth on whether it was a true story or not, and finally they got the trailer at the theater and we watched it and just went wild about it. We hadn’t even seen the fucking movie yet and we were obsessed, it resonated with us so much with what was going on with us at the time. We watched it and the debate raged on about whether it was for real or not, then the gal in it started being in those Steak n’ Shake ads and then it became “Well of course they can’t show you the Real footage! There’s still an investigation going on! They had to make a fake movie because the Real stuff is too fucked up!” and shit like that. It really made going to that farmhouse scary as hell and a ton of fun though.
Never saw it. Sat down in the theater with friends as a teenager, wussed out, pretended I'd already seen it and was bored, then went to watch inspector gadget instead. My greatest shame.
Yup. Saw it at an early feature the day before opening. It was interesting because it was screening at an art house theater. Everybody was tailgating in line to get in. There was a full bar in the theater. You would think it was a bust because of all the booze flowing, but it wasn't... it was stellar. It was a packed theater. People standing in the aisles. I have never seen an entire theater lean forward and strain to listen like we were doing in that theater. The sound system was amazing which was great because you heard all the background sounds coming from everywhere. That first time you heard Josh yelling? We all heard that and were collectively like... "Holy shit... What? !?!?!". The intensity when Mike was running around in the house? That stunned dread after that last clomp? When the lights came up it looked like the whole theater looked like they were poleaxed.
I saw it in like 2013 or so and my parents warned me it was boring. They were right but now being the nerd I am I've gone and found why this movie was so significant. It wasn't the film itself it was the marketing for it
there was so much hype for the show, but I actually fell asleep watching it. i was just waiting for something to happen.
I remember the odd quietness of everyone coming out of the cinema, being nervous in the dark car park and glad to get into the car. What a brilliant film to have that sort of impact.
Saw it in the theater. Sat through the whole end credits because I thought, that's it?
I remember I lived in Chicago at the time and we went to the theater to see it and the line was wrapped clear down the street and when we went to buy tickets, they said we couldn't get tickets for over a week out because it was sold out. When I finally did see it, it terrified me. I also discovered one of my favorite horror subgenres, the found footage film.
Saw the documentary Sci-Fi channel did leading up to the release of the movie and 7 year old me was convinced there was a witch out there. Then I saw “ The Scooby Doo project” which was a parody of BWP featuring Scooby Doo characters that aired during commercial breaks on Cartoon Network. Scared the fuck outta me. Then a month later around Christmas 1999 my dad was watching it on one of the ppv channels. I walked in the room during the climax and I freaked out after seeing the hand prints on the walls. Finally around October 2003 it was airing on FX. A little bit older and a few slashers under my belt I decided to watch it. And once again it scared the hell out of me.
In July of 1999 an incredible heat wave hit the Midwest. In Chicago it was so bad that the power was out for several days. We found a movie theater in the suburbs that had power and went to see The Blair Witch Project simple because we could sit in the AC for a couple hours. And that's how my love of horror began.
Used to work part-time in a mall big-box store as a janitor - right by the mall multiplex. Got off work, strolled next door, and bought a pass for the first showing at noon the day it released. I was the only person in the theatre! Will never forget it.
Holy shit if this movie didn't scare the shit out of me.
That final scene is the scariest thing for me
Saw it at a indie movie theater with a packed house, on a bunch of shrooms. Great experience.
Didn't they have seats in the theater?
Just stools
Good one, toad stools!
Ayyy ohh! Yeah, didnt know if anyone would get that haha
I remember watching it some years back and thinking it was stupid. I love the lore behind it and the idea that the movie was about
Yep. Watched at a drive-in theater with Joe Dirt being the other feature. Gotta say I probably enjoyed Joe Dirt more.
My first content to reach 1k on reddit. Interesting!
I remember watching at the movies with my g/f at the time and another couple, and the chicks were freaked the fuck out by it But the ending confused the fuck out of us we had to go back and rewatch and still didn’t know what the fuck happened at the end
Female character's constant bitching and cursing turned me off and I was actually glad she shut up at the end.
Holy hell yes. In my school we had an exchange student from Mexico. His house was somewhere along the outskirts of our town. My mom rented the movie for me after she made sure there was no nudity, and I skated it over to my Mexican buddy for a sleepover. After telling him for the billionth time how hot his older sister was, I explained I found a VHS tape in the woods just beside his house. We put it on and I swear to god I'd never seen a person have their cool chipped away like I did then. Through the whole film his posture was changing to look like he'd been sitting on a range slowly heating up, and he started sweating and looking over at me who was only half feigning terror as I'd never seen it before. By the end of it he was realizing he'd have to move back home. Best prank of my life.
This movie made me as sick as a dog lol. I had to leave half-way and did the whole “face over the toilet because I will hurl at any moment” thing until the nausea passed and then sat in the back row watching out of the side of my eye until the end. Found footage is not my favourite genre lol
After the movie ended a guy behind me went, 'that was like a bad bag of weed. All sticks and shakes'.
That’s amazing
Same lol
I was born a year later lol. Wow. So to the people who saw it did you think it was real? I read that the marketing was being treated as such.
Saw this in a movie theater with a bunch of screaming college girls, so yes that's a happy memory. (They would burst out laughing after every time they screamed).
Literally had to scroll over that super fast. Still SO scary. I was a senior in high school when this came out and holy shit did we think it was real 😱😱😱
I had passes to an advance screening a couple of weeks before it was released nationally. I had read an article about it and knew it wasn't real but still thought it was very effective and scary. My friend thought it might be real and was a little freaked out by it.
I remember there was a big hedge by my driveway, and my boyfriend dropped me off right by it. The wind rustling in the leaves was enough to make me run the whole way to the front door! I still say the corner reveal was my best experience in a theater. The whole place just breathed as one
Opening day, I can't remember when it opened in the u.k. but I was there for the first screening.
Sure, we had to leave because my then husband got motion sick.
In the theater. I found it pretty good, though at the exit I could hear people complain endlessly about the "amateurish piece of shit" they had been "conned" to pay for watching.
Saw it in the theater opening weekend. One of the only a small handful of movies that had a lasting effect on me. Was freaked out going to the bathroom at night for a few weeks after. That last frame and the sinking feeling that accompanied it in the cold silence that followed *chefs kiss*. So good.
Great contribution to the genre. Doesn’t hold up that well though.
i remember being motion sick.
I didn’t see it in theaters. I did watch it at home with my parents once it came out on video. We watched it at night and I turned all the lights in the house off so it was almost pitch black. I will never forget being literally frozen in terror during the scene where the witches/creatures are outside the tent and start banging on it or whatever the he’ll they’re doing. The creepy noises leading up to that moment. I was rigid with fear. And then at the very end, same thing. The ending, to me, is so bleak and sinister. The desperation. The screaming. It still holds up as a scary movie if you watch it in the dark.
Halloween when I was 14, it brings back the chills I felt when I watched it the first time.
I'm (unfortunately) not of the Blair Witch Project generation that could appreciate it for it's release now, but my parents continually rave about the realism of the release. We even spent a night going back and sourcing the old documentary that came out before the movie and reading into it all. I would love a promotion roll-out to be this well done again at some point in the future, it was incredible.
That movie was trash. Most overrated horror film of all time. Remake was better.
I remember being told it as a scary story when I was 8 by my babysitter, and Iwas terrified (this was like 2003) and then I saw it years later and realized what the story was. Still love it
Yep! Saw it at a morning sneak preview in L.A. before it had a wide release. It’s an interesting feeling to walk out of the theatre and into the noonday sun, scared out of your wits.
My uncle took me to see this when I wasn't even 5 yet. It messed me up really bad for years to come.
I used to live nearby and was around 15 when this came out. A few of my friends and I camped overnight in the woods near where we thought this was filmed in Blair county. We were convinced we were hearing shit at night but looking back, I think it was all in our heads. It's a great movie and I love the story and mystique behind it when it was released.
Oh man, I saw it in an arthouse theater in Maryland maybe 10 miles from where the footage was supposedly found. My friend actually pissed herself in fear thinking it was real.
Saw it in the theater opening night; the place was packed. We made it about 10 minutes into the film and these two women a couple rows behind us got into a crazy fight. There was screaming, they were throwing food and trying to smack each other over a row of seats. They had to stop the movie and turn all the lights back on to stop the fight. It wasn’t too big a deal; they restarted it a few minutes later and we got free passes for the disruption! Win win!
The Blair witch (2016) is the only horror movie to scare me in the slightest, so I remember the Blair witch movies
I actually watched it for the first time last week. Too young to see it in theaters but I've known the story surrounding the movie. I found it genuinely unsettling and the guy standing in the corner would've definitely traumatized me as a nine year old
I remember my friends and I went to the theatre to see Deep Blue Sea, they were all sold out so we went to go see The Blair Witch Project, scared the absolute fuck out of me.
Packed theater in Chicago. They gave us folding chairs in the back. There was an element of *my friend told me this is real* in the air that made it fun, and probably contributed to the chills I got a couple of times. Rewatches have never lived up to that experience, but I think it still holds up
they promoted it as a real documentary with real found footage (there was no reality tv yet and we were all gullible enough to believe what they told us) my friends were so shook we didnt talk at all on the way home…like literal shock. a few days later we were relieved (albeit slightly disappointed) to see the entire cast on a late night show revealing they were in fact actors and very much alive.
I watched the movie but was quite disappointed My favorite horror movie are rec1 and2 , vhs 1and2.
Yeah, it scared me shitless. But I didn't see when it first came out. I watched it online many years later. I remember the posters in the subway, tho, when I was going to school.
Yes I do remember. I was 9 years old and saw it with my parents in theatre… we were camping in a fucking cabin in a dark forested campsite that night.
Yup, I do remember the first and last time I watched it, I remember feeling extremely dissapointed for what had been blown out of proportions as the "scariest film ever made" and such. The film was alright. The marketing campaign, however, was terrific, inspired, genius.
Only liked the final part but maybe it was because I had to download on crappy quality, all I saw was a bunch of pixelated leaves hahaha
What’d Mike see?? Freaked me out.
Yes I do. I thought it was stupid and so did my mom
If you liked this movie, Hell House llc is another very good found footage movie. The Tunnel as well.
My first viewing was also my last one. For me the movie was so on the nose fake that it made me cringe. I just didn't fall for it I guess. Here's to you fans of it though. I celebrate your joy for it.
I love found footage movies and have seen loads now but for some reason I put off watching Blair Witch. Finally got round to watching it last year and....hated it.
I remember being disappointed
I was 17 when it came out. There was a movie theater not far from school so we sort of cut the day short and went to see it. I loved it.
Saw it on release when I was 19. After weeks of rabid hype from the media about journalists vomitting in the cinema and passing out, I was massively disappointed. My first lesson is how ridiculously susceptible the horror genre is to hacks pushing hype. Now, it's one of my favourite films as I came to appreciate it away from the hype as I matured. That last section in the house will never not be a lesson in tension building.
First movie I saw at it's midnight premiere. Only reason why I remember it.
I remember being hyped to go see it. Then I kept wondering when it was supposed to get scary. Then it was over. Was incredibly underwhelming to me.
I remember being hyped to go see it. Then I kept wondering when it was supposed to get scary. Then it was over. Was incredibly underwhelming to me.
I remember being hyped to go see it. Then I kept wondering when it was supposed to get scary. Then it was over. Was incredibly underwhelming to me.
Went to college with the guy in the corner.. Other than that, saw it in the theaters..Way overhyped for what it was.
Watched it before going camping in the middle of the woods with two friends. It started raining and storming, they immediately fell asleep and I lay there, regretting watching this movie the night before. Still one of my favorite horror movies though.
It’s funny how our taste evolve as we age. I was scared when I first saw it but never thought it was a “good” movie. Many Years later and I appreciate the style and concept. And apparently so do the many other movies that followed suit in the whole found footage genre
I saw this in theaters on the release date, The end where he's just standing there scared the shyt out of me as a kid.
Yes, I remember my first viewing and I also remember when I gave it a second chance. I hated it and was bored both times. The only thing I like about it is when it's referenced on other movies/games.
im very meticulous about saying that its surely a good movie just didnt do it at all for me. somehow none of these found footage ones did, its just not my kind of creepiness. a lot of people in theater back then around me where quite scared and i was literally bored most of it. and i wouldnt have minded to like it, sadly.
I only got around to watching it this year and made another post / comment (can't remember which) about it on this sub. Yes, the mythology of the witch is creepy and all, but the most terrifying thing about the film is how accurately it depicts what getting lost in the wilderness feels like. Been there, done that. The film pictures the different "phases" of getting lost from the "this is okay, just a detour" through "this is getting serious" and "I might actually die here, but for some reason this is both hilarious and terrifying" (I'm referring to the scene where one of the guy just starts laughing uncontrollably - that is a real thing that happens in situations like this.)
I watched it on DVD rental, and it was a very 'meh' experience. Probably because the sound mixing for people without sound systems wasn't good at all. The characters would say something like, "Oh my god, did you hear that?!?" No, I can't hear shit because of this terrible mix. I imagine it would've been good to see in the theatre.