The Iconic Horror That Was ‘Too Freaky’ for Stephen King To Handle Turns 25
Some things are too much even for the horror master.
Back in 1999, when the Internet was still relatively new and everyone was used to pixelated footage from portable cameras, the world was rocked by The Blair Witch Project. Obviously fictional, yet eerily realistic, the film haunted many viewers for years and had a huge impact on the genre, popularizing found footage films.
However, 25 years later, with a plethora of films attempting to replicate the success of The Blair Witch Project, and even more films using CGI and highly realistic makeup to create deeper stories, the question arises as to whether the film is still relevant.
Is The Blair Witch Project Real?
Written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, the fictional story of several filmmaking students taking a trip to the woods to get to the bottom of the Blair Witch story, has become an instant success upon its release. There are many things that played into the horror’s success, and the innovative approach to the genre was one of them.
Just like many other horror movies, The Blair Witch Project has fallen victim to harsh reviews of numerous critics. On IMDb, the movie stands with a mid score of 6.5/10, however it has 86% according to Rotten Tomatoes. While some have found the found tape approach messy and hard to follow as a whole, others believe it to be extremely creepy.
If you feel torn with a wide variety of reviews, maybe the words of Stephen King will be impactful enough for you to make up your mind. According to Eli Roth’s History of Horror series on Shudder, The Blair Witch Project was so good at building up the atmosphere, the author had to take a break from watching:
“The first time I saw [The Blair Witch Project], I was in the hospital and I was doped up. My son brought a VHS tape of it and he said, ‘You gotta watch this.’ Halfway through it, I said, ‘Turn it off it’s too freaky.'”
Of course, everyone has their own idea of what’s creepy and what’s not, but the 25-year-old horror that started a whole new wave of found tape-styled movies set up in different locations deserves a watch solely for its impact on the genre.
To celebrate the quarter of a century anniversary or get acquainted with the horror genre staple, you can go ahead and rent or buy The Blair Witch Project on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu or Apple TV.
Source: Shudder