Surprise, surprise, a reboot of the iconic film is reportedly being discussed by Lionsgate. If you’ve been living under the rock when it comes to horror, the 1999 feature stars three film students who embarked on a documentary journey about the Blair Witch. Over the course of several days, the students get lost and in turn, they end up having to deal with the consequences of trying to uncover the truth about a horrific legend. The Blair Witch Project was a cultural phenomenon upon release and more importantly, it made nearly $250 million worldwide. Not surprisingly, executives tried to capitalize on the brand’s name, but the sequels didn’t even come close to matching the success of the first film.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 ditched the found footage concept and tried to dive deeper into the mythology of the world, but it was trashed by fans and critics soundly. 16 years later, a surprise sequel was made, reconning Book of Shadows, but it didn’t necessarily matter as Blair Witch also bombed critically and financially as well. Given the fact that The Blair Witch Project are cheap films to make, it’s not shocking that Lionsgate hasn’t given up trying to get this franchise white-hot again, but the question is, should they just let the franchise die at this point?
Here’s the thing, I don’t think Lionsgate truly understands the reason that The Blair Witch Project became such a huge hit during the 90s. It wasn’t just the film itself. Granted, The Blair Witch Project was the reason that the found footage genre actually became a thing in cinema; however, the film is not The Exorcist. It’s good, not great. The original is definitely iconic because of the mark it left on the movie world as a whole, but the key to its success all comes down to marketing as well. Since found footage wasn’t much of a genre before The Blair Witch Project, the marketing team capitalized on that by actually making this seem as if the film was a real documentary. The internet was still new around this time, so inside scoops on whether The Blair Witch Project was fact or fiction didn’t exist. People generally thought that this movie was real. People sent the actor’s families sympathy cards, even IMDB listed Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams as “missing, presumed dead”. This film felt real and unfortunately, that’s not magic that can be recaptured in 2022. Everyone knows that found footage movies are fake at this point, so the clever marketing of the first film wouldn’t fly in the modern era. Is it possible to make another good Blair Witch movie?
It is. But take out the brilliant marketing and that it was the first mainstream found footage movie then it’s just another supernatural feature. It won’t stand out from the rest of the other found footage movies and a reboot with always be in the shadow of the original film. Of course, I’m no fortune teller, so Lionsgate could reboot this brand and it becomes a massive success. It wouldn’t be a huge loss if the reboot bombed because as I previously mentioned, these films don’t cost much money. However, what can a new Blair Witch Project bring to the tackle in the modern era? Horror reboots tend to be in two classes: a lazy reshoot of the original (Carrie, Psycho) or a new version that doesn’t necessarily understand the original property (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Every now and then, a strong horror remake would come along, but there’s not many directions you can go with this franchise. There’s no way Lionsgate should simply copy-and-paste the original. It’s possible to explore more of the Witch mythology, but the sequels haven’t done a good job of that either.
At this point, it’s better to move on from The Blair Witch Project. It was a movie that came out during the right time period. Had the first film been released in modern times after the found footage genre was established then it likely wouldn’t have been the cultural sensation that it became. What’s the point of trying to milk a franchise that’s already dry? It would be great if the reboot came out and proved to doubters that there’s still life left in The Blair Witch, but the risk/reward ratio heavily favors the risk part. The Blair Witch Project will always have a place in horror movie history, but at this point, it should be left as a popular thing of the past.
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