'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) - Film Review

Figure 1- The Blair Witch Project (1999) [Original Poster]

This review analyses Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s well-known mystery psychological horror film The Blair Witch Project (1999), explicitly focusing on the fear of the unknown, and how Myrick and Sánchez use realism to help enhance this. Referring to the works of CinemaWizardBoy video documentary ‘The Blair Witch Project - Perfecting Psychological Horror’ (2018) looking into the style of the film, Ryan Hollinger ‘THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT: Why Is It Scary? | Horror Explored’ (2016) video focusing on the characters and how they are used to help enhance the audiences experience, and Nicholas Barbers writings entitled ‘Was The Blair Witch Project the last great horror film? (2015)’. The review will explain the different aspects that Myrick and Sánchez use to help evoke the fear of the unknown playing on the psychological horror of the film.

Three film students, Heather, Josh and Mike make a student film about a local legend in Maryland known as The Blair Witch. The three go into the woods to find the Blair Witch, and never came back. A year later, the student film was found in the woods. The footage was then compiled and made into a film, The Blair Witch Project. (Overstreet, K (N/A))

Figure 2- Low quality footage, with no effects of any form of structure (1999)

From the beginning of the film, the idea of realism is forced upon the audience. This is mainly highlighted through the visuals of the film. The footage itself was recorded on a low budget camera, “We simply see this: a shoestring budget, documentary style film; with no stars, no musical score, no special effects, and no blood and gore.” (CinemaWizardBoy (2018)) In doing this Myrick and Sánchez already set a new tone to the audience, as this style is unknown and at the time was not often seen in film.

Unlike other films of the time, The Blair Witch Project used no special effects, making every element real, and not distorted in a way that the audience would be accustomed to with other horror films at the time. “Multimillion-dollar films have a constant presence of special effects, and other tools to ensure that we are completely liberated from our sense of imagination”. (CinemaWizardBoy (2018))

By not using special effects and giving audiences insight into what The Blair Witch was, or any higher powers being visually present, it allows audiences to contemplate and explore their mind to what may be lurking within the woods, playing into the fear of the unknown. “The crude handheld camera work and even lack of rudimentary set designs places fear in our own hands rather than waiting for it to be evoked by visual or oral ques” (CinemaWizardBoy (2018) in allowing audiences to create their own fear, without being guided by the film, it also intern pushed the idea of realism, as it didn’t feel directed by people who wanted the audience to think a certain way.

Figure 3- Heather’s real reactions to the 'witch' (1999)

Not only was this shown in terms of the visual direction of the film, but also through the characters themselves. “a huge aspect of psychological horror is the fear of mental degradation” (CinemaWizardBoy (2018)) Throughout the film viewers watch as the characters mentally crumble, at the concept of being trapped in the woods. This was only enhanced when the actors playing the characters were also put in the same situation. Myrick and Sánchez used actors who could improvise, and method act for the film adding to the realism.

As the actors were truly experiencing each part of the film, their reactions to the events taking place were real allowing audiences to further engage. “To capture genuine human emotions, the actors operated the cameras themselves, and each time they encountered something, their reaction was authentic. The audience were experiencing everything for the first time with the characters, making us organically sympathetic.” (Hollinger, R (2016)) Similar to the character both actors and audience are experiencing the fear of the unknown, as both do not know what to expect.

However, although audiences are unaware of the dangers, viewers still have somewhat of an insight into the outcome of the characters, which arguably could add to the overall fear of the film, as it is distressing to watch each character devolve to paranoia, over the fear of the unknown, making the ordeal feel real, un-staged and unnerving. (Hollinger, R (2016))

Figure 4- The last inconclusive shots from the ‘discovered’ footage (2016)

At the end of the film, audiences are left with little to any closer on The Blaire Witch, as there is still no footage showing any sign of her. “The unwillingness to provide any sort of comfort makes the final images linger in our minds.” (CinemaWizardBoy (2018)). This constant vulnerably that permeates every moment, makes the film unpredictable and even more haunting, as the audience are still none the wiser of the truth (Hollinger, R (2016)). And this is what fuels the psychological realism of the film, “True horror in this, not with the fear of a witch, but the fear of the unknown.” (CinemaWizardBoy (2018)).

To conclude, Myrick and Sánchez created their psychological horror feeding off of the fear of the unknown, using techniques that would enhance the audiences experience of the unknown by making each aspect of the film as plausible as possible. This was done using no special effects that would distort the freedom of the imagination for the audience. While also having the actors improvise and use method acting to create raw footage that would allow viewers to truly experience the fear of the unknown with the characters, then ending the film in a way that leaves no conclusion on the truth of what really happens, only leaving them with the fear of the unknown and what could have been.

Bibliography

Barber, N. (2015). Was The Blair Witch Project the last great horror film? Available: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151030-was-the-blair-witch-project-the-last-great-horror-film  Last accessed 14/04/2019.

CinemaWizardBoy. (2018). The Blair Witch Project - Perfecting Psychological Horror. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUebqkx0hS4  Last accessed 14/04/2019.

Hollinger, R. (2016). THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT: Why Is It Scary? | Horror Explored. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13DOpKRCVsk  Last accessed 14/04/2019.

Overstreet, K (N/A). The Blair Witch Project (1999) Plot. Available: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185937/plotsummary  Last accessed 14/02/2019.

Harvard Illustrations

Figure 1- The Blair Witch Project (1999) [Original Poster] N/A. (2010). The Blair Witch Project (1999, USA). Available: http://wrongsideoftheart.com/2010/11/the-blair-witch-project-1999-usa/  Last accessed 14/04/2019.

Figure 2- Low quality footage, with no effects of any form of structure (1999) The Blair Witch Project (1999) FoundFootageCritic. (2016). The Blair Witch Project. Available: http://foundfootagecritic.com/the-blair-witch-project-1999/the-blair-witch-project-1999-review/  Last accessed 14/04/2019.

Figure 3- Heather’s real reactions to the witch (1999) N/A. (1999). Here Are 13 Facts About 'The Blair Witch Project' That Will Leave You Terrified. Available: http://bloggersarena.com/facts/Here-Are-13-Facts-About-The-Blair-Witch-Project-That-Wil/  Last accessed 14/04/2019.

Figure 4- The last inconclusive shots from the ‘discovered’ footage (2016) Norcross, J. (2016). The Blair Witch Project isn’t really about a witch, it’s about madness and murder. Available: https://movietime.guru/the-blair-witch-project-isnt-really-about-a-witch-it-s-about-madness-and-murder-c53392d39b5e Last accessed 14/04/2019.