For nearly two decades now, the found footage craze has been an absolute fixture in the horror genre. That is all thanks to the groundbreaking work of directorsEduardo SanchezandDaniel Myrickon 1999’sThe Blair Witch Project. Now, nearly twenty years after the fact, a sequel is on the way. Even though the original directors did not return this time around,Sanchezrecently shared some very high-praise for the upcomingBlair Witchreboot.
On a recent episode of theFound Footage Files Podcast,Sanchezappreard as a guest and had nothing but kind things to say aboutBlair Witch. He explained that he feels fans of the original will really enjoy it, and that it also manages to avoid feeling like another tired, run-of-the-millfound footage movie. Here is what he had to say.
“It’s just full-blast ‘Blair Witch’. It’s really creepy and the last third is just crazy. It’s just all over the place. It just does not let you go, you know? I’m really happy to have been a part of it… it kind of progresses thefound-footage genrea little bit which I think is really cool. It’s really, really well grounded in the original. And I think that the fans of the original will get a lot out of it. It’s kind of a recognizable…it’s almost like you’ve been, like kind of a deja vu, but then it turns into just a - like I said, it kinda takes our film and blows the doors off and goes nuts with it, in a really really good way.”
The Blair Witch Projecthas gone onto become one of the most successful and defininghorror moviesof all-time. It made nearly $250 million at the global box office on a budget of just $60 thousand, and spawned a sequel. That sequel,Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, was a major disappointment. It was panned by critics and only brought in $47 million on a $15 million budget, which managed to kill the horror franchise. Until now, that is. Early buzz forBlair Witchhas been incredibly positive, and having the blessing of the original directors certainly doesn’t hurt anything.
Blair Witchwas directed byAdam Wingard, who worked withSanchezandMyrickon both of theV/H/Santhology horror movies.Wingardalso directedYou’re NextandThe Guest, which were both very well received by fans and critics.Simon Barrett, who wrote both of those movies, also reunited withWingardforBlair Witch. Lionsgate had originally been advertising the movie asThe Woods, but they pulled a fast one on us all when they revealed that the movie was indeed a sequel to the horror classic during a screening at San Diego Comic-Con. Immediately following the screening, the title was revealed to indeed beBlair Witch, and the cat was out of the bag.
Blair Witchcenters on a group of teenagers led by James, who decide to venture into the Black Hills Forest, where they are trying to figure out what happened to Heather from the originalBlair Witch Projectnearly 20 years ago. As they venture deeper into the woods, they realize all is not right, and things get progressively more strange, and they realize they most definitely are not alone.Blair Witchis set for release on September 16.
