The Blair Witch Project — The Blair Witch Project( Blu-ray boxset)
To say The Blair Witch Project, is both influential and impactful is truly an understatement. Among the many things it did- it inspired and informed a whole film genre, changed the way we viewed the internet, and truly blurred the lines between fact and fiction. But beyond all this is a perfectly crafted slow burn, building up its feel of dread, panic, and unease- it features a highly believable/well-picked cast, and an inspired use of showing little or nothing, to trigger primal fear/imagination. Here from Second Sight Films is a new Blu-Ray boxset- featuring two cuts of the film, a new two-hour & half documentary, commentary tracks, outtakes, and more- with the set coming presented a one hundred and eighty-five-page hardback book with archive production materials, new essays and an additional book ‘Heather’s Journal’.
The Blair Witch Project was released in 1999- it claimed to be/ sold itself as the found footage of three film students who disappeared in the Maryland woods, after going to make a documentary about the Blair Witch. In reality, the film was co-written and directed by Florida-born Daniel Myrick and Cuban-born Eduardo Sánchez.
The film featured three early twenty actors Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams- each of them using their own names, and agreeing to the initial rouse that they were missing. The film opens as a blend of the mocked-up footage of the three meeting up and going on their trip, and interviews with local people who live near the forests where the Witch is said to still haunt.
As things proceed the three set off into the woods- with a focus on finding & filming key locations from the folklore around the witch. But as the days go on- they start hearing strange sounds outside their tent, rocks & other things are placed outside their sleeping place, and the trio seemingly get lost.
The theatrical cut runs at the one hour and twenty-one-minute mark. It still stands as a perfectly balanced mix between mockumentary, lost-in-woods drama, and lo-key horror film- which plays with one’s imagination & primal fears. The three leads- totally sell their shifting emotions, growing desperation & fear. For those playing smaller/ supporting roles, every actor is perfectly placed- selling both the authenticity and the deep-down chills of the film.
As a longtime horror fan of around forty years or so, I still recall when I first saw the film on its original cinema run in the UK. And from then to this day, it’s remained one of my favourite horror films- I truly can’t count the number of times I’ve watched the film over the last twenty-five years- but it’s very many. And even now when I know the films unfold & script back to front, it still remains wholly engaging & unsettling.
Moving onto this new Blu-Ray release. On the first disc, we get three versions of the film, and two commentary tracks- one new, and one old. So three versions of the film here are the Original Theatrical Cut( one hour and twenty-one minutes) and the Festival Cut( one hour and twenty-five minutes)- which comes as either an original videotape cut or 16mm print. The Festival Cut adds in a few additional minor scenes, misses a few out, and switches a few around. All of the versions here have been given a restoration, which has been approved by both directors and producers- and I’d say this is the most contentious element of this new release- as they have been very much cleaned and crisped up, normally this type of thing would be appreciated. But here it rather takes a layer of atmosphere/ mystery from the film- the original not-so-great stock played into the mythos of the tapes being buried, and for me was one of the elements that sold the whole thing more. Yes, it’s nice to see the detail & depth of the picture, but I much prefer the original print- which is sadly not here!?. Using a music comparison, it would be like cleaning up and polishing a classic lo-fi black metal album like Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger- part of the album's pull/ grim charm is its crude four-track recording. I can certainly understand why the makers would want to do this new scan, but I’m afraid it took an edge/ layer of mood/ mystery off the film.
The two commentary tracks here- one archive one with the directors and producers, and a new one with film writers/ commentators Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson- I played the second of these. They begin by talking about Mr Nelson’s personal experience with the film. During its release, he was working in a cinema, and relates a story of clearing up vomit after showings- this issue became worse as the day showings continued because there was still a smell of sick was still in the screen, so this made more people chuck up. Ms Heller-Nicholas gives brief input regarding the medical reasons for motion sickness, which TBWP and other found footage cause in some. They talk about the film being radical/ experimental and bleak- really speaking of the panic that occurred at the end of the millennium. We find out the lead actors just got paid $1000 for their roles, and poor Heather Donahue had to change her name due to issues after the film's popularity/backlash. They talk about the pictures' use of stylised reality, and it been a master class in editing- as the film was brought down from a hundred hours of footage. Later on, they compare TBWP with The Last Broadcast- another woodland-based found footage film from the time. They talk about the tension during filming between Josh & Heather, and the use of hair in the film. It’s a decent enough track, with the pair managing to shine some new light on the film.
On disc two we find the main of the extras, and the largest of these is The Blair Witch Documentary- this 2024 Second Sight production- with a whopping two hours and thirty-minute runtime. It’s directed and written by Jed Shepherd- writer of Zoom found footage film Host.
The doc is built around interviews with the key five creative minds behind the film's creation. Directors Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez. Producers Gregg Hale, Michael Monello, and production designer Ben Rock. Around these, we get footage that was filmed all around the pre-production, production, and beyond. It truly is a very in-depth documentary- starting right back from how the project first came about. Moving onto the auditioning process- they saw over 1000 actors, Heather was the first actor they selected- and then they selected Josh & Michael to fit around/ bounce off her. They discuss scouting for locations, the filming and how they managed this with the actors camping out with each getting their own acting directions via camera film canisters. They talk about the film's website- which was created before the film was finished, and how this built up a fan base. The film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival and the worldwide popularity of the film saw a box office of two hundred fifty-five million. It certainly is a great/ in-depth doc- though it is a pity that there is no input from the actors, aside from behind-the-scenes footage.
Otherwise, on the new extras side, we have The Blair Witch Project: Analog Horror In Digital Age (11.26) this is a visual essay from podcaster/journalist Mike Muncer discussing as its title suggests the idea of Analog horror, and how Blair Witch was the last example of this. It’s Ok I guess, though I didn’t gain anything from it/ learn anything I didn’t know.
We get one and a half hours of deleted scenes from the film, and four alternative endings(8.01). There’s Cannes 1999: archive directors interview, mockumentary Curse of the Blair Witch, and trailers.
The finished release boxset features a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Timothy Pittides. A one hundred-and-eight four-page hardback book with archive production materials and new essays by Stacey Abbott, Becky Darke, Adam Hart, Craig Ian Mann, Mary Beth McAndrews, Dr. Cecilia Sayad, Pete Turner and Heather Wixson. A reproduction of Heather’s Journal, and 3 collectors’ art cards.
This boxset certainly stands as one of the most impressive Second Sight has released thus far- with the new prints of the film, the lengthy documentary, and a great selection of extras too. The Blair Witch Project stands the test of time, still being as chilling & unsettling as it always was.