The Blair Witch Project 1999 Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Snchez

Figure 1: Movie Poster The Blair Witch Project is a found footage horror film, centred around three teenagers Heather, Mike and Josh. Three filmmakers go into the woods for the weekend, to film a documentary on the fictional legend of the Blair Witch if Burkittsville. The film was not the first to use the found footage technique, being used back in 1980 in the film Cannibal holocaust, however Blair Witch was the film which made the sub genre so popular. This is most likely down to the amount of work that was put into the publicity; Posters which read as a missing person poster were printed, along with fake online publications and police reports. This no doubt would get potential viewers curious and even scared before even entering the theaters at the time.

Figure 2: Clever Marketing

The film relies on sound effects and the interactions and reactions of the characters to create atmosphere and tension. The hand held camera shots also help to make the film atmospheric, as many are shot either in the dark, or through a DAT camera, which is in black and white. The fact that we dont actually see the Blair Witch, or any jump scares etc, works in the films favour; the viewer is able to visualise how she might look. Not only this, but the simple idea of hearing noises in the woods is more frightening than a supernatural witch. Roger Ebert states, Horror films that tap into our hard-wired instinctive fears probe a deeper place than movies with more sophisticated threats. (Ebert, 1999) The filmmakers seem to have understood this, and that simply watching characters lost in the middle of the dark woods can conjure up genuine and familiar fears. That most have felt in the past. Even the low production quality adds to the eerie atmosphere. The title screen, and general quality of the cameras really makes the film feel as if it is exactly what the filmmakers are trying to present; 100% real footage of these characters and locations, and what is happening around them. The filmmakers resorted to improvisation from the actors, and would for example shake the trees without the actors knowing that would happen, in order to get the most natural reactions and performances. The footage and the three performances have an authentic feel to them. There are no special effects and the horror, as in the films of Val Lewton, is suggested rather than shown. (French, 1999)

Sources Figure 1: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vyItZJ3SuFk/UHsQ7aCyIlI/AAAAAAAAPhw/ 5lu7NaG5BpI/s1600/a8wdZygVxedvh4c0vtuoSbm9kzc.jpg Figure 2: http://chroniclesofthenerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/blair4.png Ebert, R 1999 http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990716/ REVIEWS/907160301 (accessed 19/02/13) French, P 1999 http://www.guardian.co.uk/lm/1999/oct/24/philipfrench (accessed 19/02/13)