IT Movie Club: The Blair Witch Project

[ChimpPhobiaFilms]

This week we'll be watching The Blair Witch Project, which critics such as Roger Ebert have hailed as some of the most influential films of the century. I know this pick is a bit cliche, but might as well.

The film is streaming on Netflix and Google Play, and the DVD can be purchased on Amazon or eBay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D51QgOHrCj0

Here are some questions I have for those who decide to watch the film:

What made the film so influential?
WHY did this film spread so massively on the internet?
When and where did this mass explosion of views begin?
Aside from the found footage concept, what are 2 major techniques that have been used again and again from this film?
What were the influences on this film? How did the inspirations for this film hit it big, or why didn't they (and why did BWP instead)?
Because of the overuse of found footage, what do you think might grab the attention of people like this film did?
How did this film change the movie industry forever, and how can we apply the genius of the (marketing) techniques from this film into the promotion of our work?

 

[mad_hatter]

Blair Witch Project is the film that scares me the most. I mean, properly scares me. No other film has ever actually made me fear the dark (probably due to my being desensitised to horror as a young child (yes, I had terrible parents who let me watch ‘Nightmare On Elm Street’ at the tender age of five!)).

I remember going to see Blair Witch on opening night; it must have been the 29th of October, as I have a friend whose birthday is on the 30th (and this would have been his 15th (Blair Witch was rated 15 in the UK)) and we refused to wait ‘til the next day so he could come too (we were mean boys). But when we got there, it was sold out. So we decided to wait for the next showing; it was on at about 1a.m. I phoned my mum and convinced her to get my dad to come and pick us up after… at about 3a.m. So everybody else phoned their parents and told them they weren’t coming home, and we stayed for the movie.

On returning home I went straight to bed. At the time, I had a kind-of bunk bed, with a sofa underneath. I climbed into bed and immediately my TV turned itself on! Needless to say, a pretty much pooped myself for a second, before remembering that that very day I had decided to begin storing my remote controls between the slats of the bed and the mattress above (don’t ask why, I just did). So I switched the TV off and spent the following minutes or hours, I’m not sure which, wondering if there was something standing in the corner of my room.

Apologies to anyone who actually read that; thought I’d just share my story!

Now on to your questions; I’m not sure that Blair Witch has been as influential as you questions would imply. Sure, it pretty much spawned found-footage as we know it and showed us how to market such a film via the internet (before the term ‘viral’ was even coined). But other than that, it’s influence is probably pretty limited.

One thing that can be taken away though is this: It doesn’t take a monster, or a psycho, or buckets of gore to scare somebody. In fact, NOT showing those things is all the more terrifying. Darkness is scarier.

 

[ChimpPhobiaFilms]

But other than that, it’s influence is probably pretty limited.

Huh. I assumed internet marketing (and kickstarting the found footage genre) was pretty big. Thought it might have made for some interesting conversation, seeing how far filmmaking has come on the internet.

Oh, and great story BTW

Agreed on the part on there not having to be anything. The film has always reminded me of "The Haunting" in that way. And no, not the remake

 

[MiniJamesW]

One thing that can be taken away though is this: It doesn’t take a monster, or a psycho, or buckets of gore to scare somebody. In fact, NOT showing those things is all the more terrifying. Darkness is scarier.

Great write-up! I agree, this is one of the few films that has ever truly scared me due to what it suggests rather than what it shows. While watching it I actually wasn't very scared, but for several nights after watching it I couldn't sleep well due to nightmares I had! Although it did scare me, I wouldn't place it among my favorite horror films because I think that horror films also have to have great narratives, visuals, ideas, overall filmmaking, etc.

As a gimmick film though, I'd say this is one of the best I've seen so far. I enjoyed it but I doubt I'll watch it more than twice in my lifetime.

 

[mad_hatter]

Huh. I assumed internet marketing (and kickstarting the found footage genre) was pretty big.

Oh, don't get me wrong, these two things are huge... but in a limited way. Yeah, it pretty much birthed found footage, but it's influence is only really felt within that sub-genre. Just my opinion, but it doesn't seem to me that it has had much influence on filmmaking in general. And as for the marketing, what they did was use a fake website to trick people into believing that the movie was real. Sure, it was early viral marketing, an idea entirely original, but, again, it can only be applied to a film like Blair Witch, where people will fall for the trick.

So... massively influential, but also not so much...

Makes no sense what-so-ever!