The Blair Witch Project

Not to be confused with Blair Witch (film).

The Blair Witch Project
a person's face crying in fear in a dark and black forest background
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Daniel Myrick
  • Eduardo Sánchez
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNeal Fredericks
Edited by
  • Daniel Myrick
  • Eduardo Sánchez
Music byTony Cora
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 23, 1999 (1999-01-23) (Sundance)
  • July 14, 1999 (1999-07-14) (United States)
Running time
81 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200,000–750,000[3]
Box office$248.6 million[4]

The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. One of the most successful independent films of all time, it is a "found footage" mockumentary in which three students (Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard) hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland to shoot a documentary about a local myth known as the Blair Witch.

Myrick and Sánchez conceived of a fictional legend of the Blair Witch in 1993. They developed a 35-page screenplay with the dialogue to be improvised. A casting call advertisement on Backstage magazine was prepared by the directors; Donahue, Williams, and Leonard were cast. The film entered production in October 1997, with the principal photography lasting eight days. Most of the filming was done on the Greenway Trail along Seneca Creek in Montgomery County, Maryland. About 20 hours of footage was shot, which was edited down to 82 minutes. Shot on an original budget of $35,000–60,000, the film had a final cost of $200,000–750,000 after post-production and marketing.

When The Blair Witch Project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival at midnight on January 23, 1999, its promotional marketing campaign listed the actors as either "missing" or "deceased". Due to its successful Sundance run, Artisan Entertainment bought the film's distribution rights for $1.1 million. The film had a limited release on July 14 of the same year, before expanding to a wider release starting on July 30. While the film received critical acclaim, audience reception was polarized.

The Blair Witch Project was a sleeper hit, it grossed nearly $250 million worldwide and is consistently listed as one of the scariest movies of all time. Despite the success, the three main actors had reportedly lived in poverty. In 2000, they sued Artisan Entertainment claiming unfair compensation, eventually reaching a $300,000 settlement. The Blair Witch Project launched a media franchise, which includes two sequels (Book of Shadows and Blair Witch), novels, comic books, and video games. It revived the found-footage technique and influenced similarly successful horror films such as Paranormal Activity (2007), REC (2007) and Cloverfield (2008).

  1. ^ Harris, Dana (March 14, 2000). "Summit rises for 'Escapade'". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "The Blair Witch Project". British Board of Film Classification. August 4, 1999. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  3. ^ Stephen Galloway (January 18, 2020). "What Is the Most Profitable Movie Ever?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Blair Witch Project". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.