PRODUCER NIK ON WHY THE BLAIR WITCH FRANCHISE SHOULD GET LOST

Upon learning that there’s a Blair Witch remake on the way, Nikolas reflects on what made the original movie successful…and how studio executives are missing the point.

The Blair Witch Project was the movie that brought the “found footage” filmmaking style into the zeitgeist of the late 1990s, a style that would be replicated countless times since then, to different degrees of success and with wildly different levels of quality. Combining relatively low overhead costs with limited equipment demands, it appealed to both amateur filmmakers and major studios hoping to maximize profit margins on projects with minimal investment. This surge in “found footage” films was similar—in many ways—to the rise in reality programming on television during the writer strike that took place only a decade later, providing those who bankrolled the projects with a low risk, high yield alternative to other productions. The Blair Witch Project was—after all—a movie that cost less than $100,000 to make, but translated into a worldwide gross of nearly $250 million.

Beyond its novelty, it served to capture the attention and imaginations of the larger moviegoing public in a way that was really quite singular. Much of this came about thanks to a truly innovative marketing campaign that relied on keeping everything about the production itself tightly under wraps—going so far as to keep the three (unknown) main cast members from making any appearances until after the movie had been released. This allowed the “lost footage” narrative to spread with ease, as the filmmakers promoted the movie with every viral technique possible, including fictional documentary materials hyping up the “true story” behind the titular Blair Witch. By the time the movie came out, despite most people knowing that it was a work of fiction, there was an aura of mystique and blurred lines between fiction and reality that contributed to the hype surrounding the movie.

This is not to say that The Blair Witch Project was without redeeming qualities. The movie managed to successfully build tension and mystery through its low-budget, guerrilla documentary style that it almost certainly couldn’t have pulled off if it had been a high-budget spectacle. The story it revealed was nothing compared to what the filmmakers chose to leave off the table, allowing the viewers to use their own imaginations to fill in the blanks. Perhaps counterintuitively, rather than frustrate the audience, this thrilled them.

The largely ad-libbed performances from a cast who were often as much in the dark about what would happen next as the audience was, led to believable and sympathetic characters who felt as if they were sincerely terrified by the circumstances surrounding them. This was, of course, facilitated by the lack of scripting and the directors manipulating Heather, Mike, and Josh through creative gaslighting and a series of scares for which the performers received little to no warning in advance. The reactions and responses, in many instances, were authentic. All of this while the three actors performed several technical roles, including camera operation, lighting, and audio recording…while not being compensated appropriately for the additional duties they took on.

I’m not going to go into the abysmal contracts Heather, Mike, and Josh signed, or the way they were cheated out of money they absolutely earned from both the original movie and the subsequent sequels that took advantage of their likenesses. That was just one more way the profit margin was increased, and by far the most predatory.

On the topic of sequels, there wasn’t much profit to be made, since both of those movies were box office flops in comparison to the original. That’s a shame, too, because Book of Shadows was a surprisingly good movie with a lot going for it. It approached the topic from a real-world perspective, treating The Blair Witch Project as precisely the fictional tale it was. As in real life, people flocked to the region where the movie had been filmed, many of them believing there was some truth behind the mythology underlying the movie’s narrative. The sequel builds on that foundation, taking it as an opportunity to explore some interesting topics and the ambiguity between mass psychosis and true supernatural experiences. Unfortunately, for those of us who only witnessed the final product, much of the ambiguity was stripped from the director’s original cut, as Artisan insisted—through re-shoots—to incorporate more traditional horror elements into the movie.

Perhaps because of Book of Shadows’ relative failure—grossing less than $50 million worldwide—when Lionsgate inevitably decided another attempt to capitalize on the original movie’s success was in order, they returned to the “found footage” format with 2016’s Blair Witch. What resulted was a movie that could best be described as aggressively mediocre. It was forgettable and added nothing of value to a franchise that didn’t need to become a franchise at all. Blair Witch left theaters with a global gross of barely over $45 million. Though due to a smaller initial production budget than Book of Shadows, Blair Witch benefitted from higher relative profit.

We find ourselves, a decade later, once again witnessing Lionsgate displaying that the decision makers working for production companies are equipped to learn all the wrong lessons from previous mistakes. While details are scarce, the plan is to reboot The Blair Witch Project for a new generation. Meanwhile, the whole thought process behind remaking it ignores the very things that made The Blair Witch Project successful. It was something new and innovative when it came out back in 1999. The “found footage” style wasn’t so ubiquitous at that time, which led to the original movie feeling like something fresh and new for moviegoers. This was before the production studios realized they could take advantage of that style for major financial benefits. It also disregards what was quite possibly the first truly viral promotional campaign, capitalizing on the relative newness of internet service being in most households and available to the target demographic.

Between the novelty of the filmmaking style, the viral marketing campaign, and the relatively widespread belief that there was some truth behind the mythology of the Blair Witch, there’s no chance of pulling off what the original filmmakers successfully managed to do a quarter of a century ago. Lionsgate would be better off—if they cared about making movies instead of generating content—seeking new and original stories and getting behind filmmakers with passion and unique storytelling techniques. That is the only way to create something that captures the energy and mystique of The Blair Witch Project for a new generation. The problem is that the people at the top aren’t necessarily capable of thinking in terms that will produce the results they claim they’re seeking.

The reality is that they’re seeking money.

They’re always seeking more money, and they go about it in all the wrong ways—because they have all the wrong ideas about what people want from Hollywood.

Nikolas P. Robinson is an avid consumer of books, movies, and television, especially where horror, science fiction, and fantasy are concerned. When he isn’t consuming media, he’s creating it as an author, photographer, videographer, and news producer in Portland, Oregon.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.