Caution: Spoilers
I mean, honestly, if you’re a horror fan and haven’t seen this movie already, you’re seriously missing out.
The Blair Witch Project is a found footage style horror film that follows 3 college students filming a documentary about the legend of the Blair Witch. We’re introduced to Heather, who rallies up Josh and Mike to help her produce a film with the intention of finding answers for the strange happenings revolving around the Black Hills forest.
During the first 10 minutes or so, you’re getting used to the style of filming. The cameras are all over the place, the actors seem to talk over each other a lot, but somehow this seems to draw the viewer in more. I found myself relating to this type of scenario – in college working on a group project with a couple classmates that don’t really seem all too interested in the actual content itself.
Their plan was a simple one – find some cool, scenic shots, narrate some stories, set up camp for a night and wrap up the film. They get some nice b-roll shots, Heather talks about some of the lore and they finally set up camp. In the morning they venture off on a “shortcut” that Heather believes will take them directly back to their car. I’m sure you could guess that this “shortcut” was a mistake.
So far, there really isn’t anything significantly scary that’s happened yet. However, once they begin to realize they might be lost, you can feel the anxiety and panic emanating from Mike as he begins to get frustrated with Heather and starts to yell for help. His emotions feel real, and I explain why that is at the end of this review. So, keep reading!
This movie is pretty disorienting, so forgive me if my timeline is incorrect. I’m pretty sure the second night is when shit gets real. Heather, Josh and Mike are all sleeping in their tent when they’re woken up by noises that sound like walking. All of a sudden their tent begins to shake and voices can be heard outside. The 3 students sprint out of the tent into the darkness of the woods. As they’re all trying to guide each other with screams and the lights from their cameras, you hear Heather yell, “What the fuck is that!?” about something that’s completely out of frame.
Remember, this is a found footage film. As they’re running, you’re only getting glimpses of trees, brush and their legs as they’re trying to get distance from whatever was near their tent. So when Heather sees something off camera, your imagination begins to run wild as to what she caught sight of.
The next day during their venture, Heather goes to grab the map they’d been using as a guide and realizes it’s gone. The boys, that are now a bit delirious, begin laughing and joking about how lost they are and poking fun at Heather for losing the map. Then, as if snapping them all back into reality, Mike ends up blurting out that he kicked the map into the stream because “it wasn’t helping anyway.” This sends Heather and Josh into a full blown spiral, verbally and physically attacking Mike for doing something so selfish and stupid. The way that their moods and demeanor change so abruptly is chilling. From lighthearted giddiness to full blown emotional breakdown…it’s pretty wild.
Following this, I believe we cut straight to the next morning where Heather wakes up and emerges from the tent only to realize that Josh is missing. She calls for him a few times to see if he responds and when he doesn’t, she wakes Mike up. Here is where the genuine emotion truly gets a rise out of the viewer.
The first blood-curdling scream of the film is Heather calling for Josh. The pure fear and emotion coming from the single syllable of his name genuinely shocks you to your core. I’m telling you, once you hear how she screams for him, it’ll be seared into your memory. Mike joins in on calling out for Josh, and in pure terror, he yells, “Tell me where you are, Josh!” It’s the way in which they verbalize their dread and incredible anxiety that shakes you as a viewer. You hear the painful realization of how dire this situation truly is for them.
After calling out for Josh for hours, Mike finds one lone cigarette at the bottom of his bag. Heather puts the camera against a tree with Mike in frame, squatting on the ground, taking small puffs as to pull every last bit of comfort from the nicotine. Heather walks over, squats next to him, he hands her the cig and she rests her head on his shoulder.
Another incredibly simple, but impactful moment…Heather finds something and is panicking, but won’t tell Mike what she found. As she’s trying to put on the ginormous hiking backpack, her hair gets caught. In the most defeated and pitiful way, she quietly and vulnerably says, “My hair is caught.” This particular moment in this scene deeply resonated with me. The simplicity of how she said it, mid-panic attack and sobbing…it felt way too familiar. Reluctantly asking for help in the midst of losing your grip on reality.
Of course, we have the iconic scene of Heather speaking into the camera. Truly, this is the most iconic scene in horror film history. You need to watch it for yourself. (Wait until you read why.)
Finally, we have the last night. The two are woken up by what sounds like Josh yelling for help. They’re drawn further and further into the woods until they find an abandoned house. The disorientation gets worse and they’re drawn upstairs, then downstairs to the basement. Mike, running ahead of Heather yells out, “I hear him downstairs!” Another iconic quote, in my humble opinion. The way he says it, anxiously, but also with the minute sense of hope that they’ve finally found him. The last 30 seconds or so, all you hear is Heather screaming out for Mike, with no response. Heather finally reaches the basement to find Mike standing in the corner. Her camera drops.
Now, what if I told you that every single quote and scene I referenced was completely improvised by the actors? That’d be nuts…right?
Well, guess what. Turns out that the directors had many unconventional tendencies with just about every aspect of this film. From auditions to scripting, nothing was the norm. Heather, Josh and Mike were given a script with zero dialogue. On top of that, the directors kept their distance from the actors throughout filming, so there was very little foresight into what was going to happen in each scene. WHICH MEANS, not only were their lines completely improvised, their emotions and panic were 100% authentic and genuine reactions to what was going on around them.
My friend Nicholas, who is a writer himself, expressed his thoughts based solely on his memory of the film, “I wonder if that’s why it felt so real.”
It felt so real because these actors weren’t acting.
After learning this, my obsession with this movie has grown exponentially. The Blair Witch Project is officially in my top movies considering everything the actors went through…and apparently are still going through.
I know I mentioned on my Instagram that I wanted to include my 2 cents about the lawsuits, however I didn’t want to take away from the review itself. I’ll be writing up a separate piece that dives into the numerous lawsuits that these actors have and are currently dealing with. But, for now, we’ll leave it here.
I hope you enjoyed the read! When and if you end up watching (or re-watching) this film, let me know your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to know how and if your perspective has changed knowing what you know now.
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Until next time, my spooky friends.
Sources:
This article has some more super interesting information about the film, directing and actors: https://people.com/true-story-behind-the-blair-witch-project-8685471
