The Blair Witch Project has been a hit among horror fans since its original release in 1999. With a budget of $60 million, it ended up grossing over $200 million worldwide. It spawned two sequels and the original film maintains a steady following to this day.
Its continued popularity makes sense. There are many parts of the movie that are iconic and act as identifiers for the movie and other media referencing it. However, the movie hasn’t entirely aged well. There are aspects of the film that audiences may not connect to anymore. That doesn’t stop fans from loving and appreciating the film, though. Here are the 5 Reasons The Blair Witch Project Has Aged Poorly (And 5 Reasons Its Timeless).
Aged Poorly: Its Original Marketing
Part of the film’s initial success was in the way the film was marketed. The actors in the film were depicted as missing or deceased and the film itself was marketed as a documentary. Furthermore, the actors played fictionalized versions of themselves, even sharing the same names as the characters, in order to add a sense of realism to the film.
2019 marks the twentieth year since the film’s release and at this point, even though some people still buy into the marketing, mostly everyone is aware that the film is entirely fictional, no matter if they have seen the film or not.
Timeless: The Found Footage Technique
Since The Blair Witch Project was intended to be marketed and treated as a documentary, the filmmakers opted to use the found footage technique in order to make the story feel more real. While The Blair Witch Project was not the first found footage film, the use of the technique started a trend that lasted over a decade. Films such as Paranormal Activity and Rec imitate and expand upon the technique, such as using footage from security cameras in a house or a camera intended to film newscasts. The fact that these films, and others, used a similar film technique shows how timeless this aspect of The Blair Witch Project is.
Aged Poorly: Using Paper Maps For Navigation
In 2019, everyone uses the maps app on their phones to find their way around new places. The 1990s obviously did not have access to such technology, so the characters had to use a map and a compass in order to find their way around and through the woods. Because of the influence of the Blair Witch, the group became lost and were ultimately killed. Of course, if they did have access to smartphones, they may not have had service in the middle of the mountains and even if they did, the Blair Witch likely would have still found a way to mess with them and they would have still got lost.
Timeless: The Symbolism
There are two symbols in The Blair Witch Project that everyone familiar with the film will immediately recognize: the bundle of sticks and the staring into the corner. The lore behind the bundle of sticks is not explored in its entirety in the first film. First, they are used to unsettle Heather, Mike, and Josh, the main characters. Toward the end of the film, after Josh disappears, Heather finds some of his blood, teeth, hair, and tongue in a bundle of sticks, which is kept together with part of Josh’s shirt. The bundles of sticks make an appearance in the third film, this time wrapped with different characters’ hair, who are still alive upon the discovery. One character, Ashley, gets angry at another, Talia for the use of Talia’s own hair and snaps the one with Talia’s hair, which in turn causes Talia to snap in half as well. These instances in the two films may imply a type of voodoo magic but the films leave that up to interpretation.
The staring into the corner comes from the Burkittsville legend of the serial killer Rustin Parr killing children in his cabin, but making them stare into corners while he killed the other kids, in order for him not to feel the eyes of the other children watching him. Later in the film, Mike is shown through Heather’s point of view staring into a corner while Heather is killed and the camera is dropped.
Aged Poorly: Objectification Of Women
While Heather climbs a ravine, Josh calls out her “dirty behind” while filming her from behind. In fairness, this can be taken in a literal sense (the seat of her pants is literally covered in dirt). However, this can also be taken as a catcall.
Until recently, catcalling, while always uncomfortable, was not frowned upon. Now, it is highly frowned upon and is a part of the discussion regarding gender equality. Such behavior in a film now would not be regarded as humorous as it may have been in The Blair Witch Project.
Timeless: The Town With Secrets Trope
At the beginning of the characters’ own documentary, they interview locals of the town of Burkittsville, formerly known as Blair. The locals do answer the characters’ questions and tell them the legends of the Blair witch. However, many of them are uncomfortable, and one of the characters is even reluctant to tell them, leaving his fishing partner to tell the stories.
This trope has been used before The Blair Witch Project, such as in The Wicker Man in 1973, and has been used after, such as in The Village in 2004 and in shows such as Castle Rock, showing that The Blair Witch Project adds to the timelessness of the trope.
Aged Poorly: Gaslighting
Throughout the film, the characters argue over Heather’s use of the map and the compass and blaming her for getting them lost. Eventually, someone, later revealed to be Michael, loses the map, setting off an argument in which everyone tries to blame each other, and therefore attempting to relieve themselves of any blame. These arguments worsen once it is revealed that Michael threw the map into the river because he believed the map was not helping them find their way. These arguments are a form of gaslighting.
These arguments add tension to the film, which is needed in any story. However, audiences now would not accept that the group is attempting to gaslight each other in order to alleviate their guilt.
Timeless: Witchcraft
Witchcraft has been present in different cultures throughout history. The presence is due in part to the fear of witchcraft and in part due to fascination. There is no indication that The Blair Witch Project caused a rise in the study of witchcraft, though due to its original marketing, it may have caused some fear. Regardless, the use of witchcraft in the film shows the continued interest of witchcraft in fiction. Furthermore, the sequel, The Book of Shadows, explores this fascination with it by focusing its plot on fans of the original film visiting its sights.
Aged Poorly: The Sequel Films
The film has two film sequels: The Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000 and Blair Witch more recently in 2016. While the first film was a commercial and critical success, the two following films were not as well received. The Book of Shadows deviated from the tropes and symbols used in the original film, while Blair Witch followed the original film more closely. However, the second film only grossed $47 million with a budget of $15 million, and the third film grossed $45 million with a budget of $5 million. These films did not earn as much money as the original film, showing that The Blair Witch Project would have been better off as a stand-alone film.
Timeless: The Psychological Horror
The original film incorporates a slow build, with much of the scary parts occurring in approximately the last twenty minutes of the film. The film uses 90s technology for what little effects there were because that was what was available. However, the film is still scary and unsettling to audiences today.
Some of the horror comes from gore and the shock value that comes with it, such as when Heather found Josh’s blood and teeth, among other things, in a bundle of sticks. Much of the horror, though, comes from unseen forces in the film. The fact that these forces are never shown on camera is what makes the film still so unsettling today.
Next: 15 Movies Inspired By The Blair Witch Project
