In my article Essential Indie Films for Halloween Season, I briefly mentioned that the 1999 The Blair Witch Project had an immense effect on the horror-film industry. Not only was it instrumental in the revival of scary movies, but it also created a whole new genre that was truly effective: the found footage category. Even though TBWP is not technically the first to experiment with this style of film (that honor goes to the 1989 McPherson Tape), it was the first one to garner such resounding success. The film’s triumph can be broken down into the following factors: the budget, the filming process, and the saturation of slasher culture.
TBWP had a budget of $60,000. With horror flicks at the time usually boasting budgets in the millions, not much was expected for this film or it’s relatively unheard of directors. But Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick had a unique vision for this film and it was one that didn’t require mountains of cash. Only a few cameras were used to film the entire piece and the only setting was the vast expanse of forest in Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County, Maryland. The two directors also wanted the film to be as organic as possible, which is why there wasn’t really a script of any kind. They created a 35-page outline which left plenty of room for improvisation on the actors part.
The journey for creating the perfect cast was a bit hairbrained. Lead actor Heather Donahue said there was a poster backstage at the audition that read “an improvised feature film, shot in wooded location: it is going to be hell and most of you reading this probably shouldn’t come.” When she walked into the room, the casting directors told her that she had been in prison for nine years and they were the parole board. Why should she be released?
Without thinking twice, she famously replied “I shouldn’t be released.”
Once the small cast was assembled, the directors crafted a nightmare of a filming process. Each day the cast, mostly on their own without any crew members around, would have to hike to a GPS location to retrieve their food and “script” for the day. Each meal would consist of less and less food and during the night time the crew would rattle their tents and play frightening sounds from speakers to garner as authentic reactions as possible.
The madness continued after the film premiered. To keep up the spiel that the movie was real, the actors were shielded from the press as much as possible and their Wikipedia pages even listed ‘death’ dates. The cast’s parents had even received sympathy cards from fans.
TBWP came at the perfect time in cinematic history. With some of the most renown slasher fics coming out of the 80s and 90s, the horror industry was getting tired with the same old formula. In addition to the small name actors and strange directing methods, this film offered yet another unique aspect to the industry: a faceless monster. We’re left with unresolved anxiety as we watch the camera fall out of Heather’s hands and her screams fade away. There was no need to include a bloody death scene or deranged witch figure. The horror was in what we couldn’t see.
The lasting effects of TBWP can be seen over and over again throughout the last 20 years. Found footage films have dominated the horror scene, with movies such as Paranormal Activity and As Above so Below. TBWPproves that a films’ success really doesn’t have anything to do with budgets or big-name actors, but rather clever directing and terrifyingly simplistic concepts.