The Blair Witch Project was the summer’s Cannes Film Festival sleeper. Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez were on their first project and made this film for under $40,000. Amazingly, the film made $40 million on its opening weekend and has grossed $139 million, as of October 10. It had a creative marketing plan. They began running commercials that led the viewer to believe the story was a true-life account of the peril that had befallen three college filmmakers. The production company also developed a website (http://www.blairwitch.com) that provided viewers with all the essential background history and information needed to understand the story. Then, the Sci-Fi channel ran a fictional documentary, The Curse of the Blair Witch, which chronicled the myth. Actors played convincing relatives and townspeople who had been affected by Maryland’s notorious forest specter. This created the frenzy that saw millions flock to theaters to see what it was all about. Many knew the story wasn’t true, but still had to see the film for themselves. However many were disappointed by the poor filmmaking, drawn out scenes, and lack of visual effects they were used to seeing in typical Hollywood horror movies. Nonetheless, the movie made more money than blockbusters, such as Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero and Fox’s Volcano, which cost nearly $100 million to make.

The film begins as the three main characters, Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Josh Leonard, embark upon their crusade into the woods of Maryland. They are searching for evidence to support the theory of the Blair witch legend. They begin by setting the background for the witch’s tale and proceed to interview local townspeople about their knowledge of the myth. One interesting event during the interviews is a woman recalling some information she "saw on a documentary on the Discovery channel." The film points fun at its self in this scene, as a false documentary was run about the Blair witch, but it was part of Haxan Film’s marketing strategy. The filmmakers then retreat to a hotel room, where they have a few drinks and unwind before their big adventure begins. This particular scene makes the viewer feel they have a "backstage pass" of the trio’s production and somewhat of an insider’s insight.

The next day the crew embarks into the woods of Maryland. They film another 16mm black and white shot for their movie and then come across some fisherman, whom they interview. Then they are off into the woods and camp for the night.

Day three sees the crew begin to realize they are lost. They find piles of rocks and rocks tied to trees. They trek throughout the day and camp again. That night, they build a fire and hear noises in the woods but get through the evening without incident.

On the fourth day, the mood has changed. It rains and everyone has become more bitter about their predicament. Tensions are mounting and cameraman Josh is beginning to become aggressive towards director Heather. Cold and wet, they camp again, and the noises of the woods grow louder this night.

The next morning they awaken and find three piles of rocks surrounding their campsite. Everything is wet and they discover their map is gone. They stumble upon an area of the woods where hundreds of wooden crosses are tied to trees. Frightened, they camp hearing more noises and the cries of a baby. While in the tent, a violent force shakes the tent, and the crew runs frantically into the woods, screaming in fear. This scene mounts the audience along with Heather’s shrieks of "what is that…what is that." They return to their site in the morning and Josh’s gear is strewn about the woods.

They continue traveling through the woods, crossing fallen trees, and eventually realize they have made a big circle that day. They sit pathetically crying and wondering what the will do next.

The next morning Heather and Mike discover Josh is missing. They search for him and find nothing. That night, in the distance they hear, what they believe to be, Josh screaming in the distance.

They awaken and in a disturbing scene, Heather uncovers a pile of sticks tied together with Josh’s flannel which contains broken, bloodied teeth inside. When the sun goes down, the famous extreme close-up shot of Heather is done. She is apologizing to the camera, which is a scene that has been parodied by multiple sources in the media since the film’s release. Still wandering into the night, the two stumble upon an abandoned, dilapidated house in the woods.

The two wander cautiously into the structure, crying nonsensically in fear. Then, they hear the screams of Josh and begin running frantically about the building. Handprints of children adorn the dismal walls as the run from floor to floor. First, Mike runs into the basement. He screams and then, as if struck, the camera abruptly falls to the floor. Then Heather follows the same path and ends up in the basement, where she sees what appears to be Mike standing in the corner. She calls to him and her camera falls suddenly as his did and the movie ends. The feeling conveyed is that they have met their tragic fate.

This last scene is the most powerful in the film. The viewer feels the uneasiness of the characters and fear creeps into the theater. The significance of Mike standing in the corner comes from a news event introduced early into the story. A child killer, who said he was possessed by the Blair witch, murdered his victims in the basement in a similar fashion. He would have one stand in the corner while he killed another, and then would bring the one in the corner out once his act was complete. This was a very eerie effect. With all the fast-moving action in this last scene, the action stops as Heather focuses on Mike standing in the corner and then she is suddenly struck down. Again, the last scene in the film was very effective.

One of the main reasons why the film was inexpensive to make was the equipment the crew used. The entire film is shot on High 8mm video and 16mm black and white film. Because of this, the movie, throughout the picture, is in a square box (1.33:1 ratio) in the center of the screen, and not the standard 1.85:1 aspect ratio common to most films. Because the story is based on "lost" footage from the filmmakers’ cameras, the viewer accepts this low budget format, along with the jerky movements and lack of predetermined shots. This format gave the movie its element of realism which captivates the audience and makes them empathize with the characters.

Another reason the Myrick and Sanchez were able to keep the film’s budget low was the absence of costs that most productions would ultimately have to pay. The set was primarily in the middle of the woods of Maryland, which cost them virtually nothing. No lighting, aside from the 18mm camera’s attached light, was needed. There were no studio costs. There were no expensive special effects used in the movie, as the witch remained in the imagination of the viewer, and the only props were rocks, trees, the piles of wood and tied stick crosses. These props were provided for by Mother Nature and incurred no cost to the production team. There were a minimal amount of characters in the movie. Aside from the townspeople interviewed in the beginning, there were only the three main characters, therefore the cost of actor’s salaries was minimal. Also, no soundtrack was used which further saved the creators a large amount of money. The most expensive bites from the movie’s budget came from the editing and promotion. The distributor, Haxan Films, likely paid a considerable amount of the film’s advertising costs.

The camera is an essential part of a film, not only in its use as a tool, but in the way it interprets what the viewer sees. In The Blair Witch Project, the camera shoots the scenes in a point-of-view shot through the eyes of the three students and documents the experiences that befall them during their adventure. Because their eyes and the camera’s eye are one in the same, the camera serves dual purposes. It shows the audience what they need to see to understand the film, plus what the character sees at the same time. In this way, the character’s emotions can be felt by a two dimensional image. The shaking and jerky movements indicate the characters’ fears during particular scenes when the unknown evil in the woods stalks them. The rapid movements of the camera mirror the head movements of the individual who is filming. When observing an area, the camera tilts about as if it were connected to the neck of the person shooting. When the "project" director, Heather, discovers the bloody, broken teeth of her lost cinematographer, Mike, the violent movements of the camera indicate her distress and fear, while its rapid vertical shaking symbolizes her crying. In the last scene when the cameras of both Heather and Mike are struck down and fall motionless to the ground, the viewer feels this is also what has happened to the character who was holding it. This violent movement of the camera’s eye mirrors what it would be like for the individual to be struck down. Keeping the view in a subjective perspective throughout the films adds to the flavor that keeps the movie seemingly genuine.

Realism was the component of the film that contributed to its success. Even if one knew the movie was a work of fiction, they would not know it by the acting of the characters. There was no scripting and it didn’t appear they were passing lines. They acted instinctively to the events that transpired about them. They respond genuinely to the changes in circumstances which makes their emotions and actions believable. It would have failed miserably if they appeared to be merely acting out a written script from scene to scene, but instead they let the action flow freely. One way the filmmakers made this realism occur was in the way they set up the night shoots. They didn’t tell the three main characters what would happen through the course of the nights. Groups of people followed the actors around the woods and at night time would make loud noises in the distance and sneak up on the camp. Improvisation was the key element that generated actual emotions of fear felt by the actors. An example of this was when the tent was attacked by an unknown force and the characters fled into the night. They were unaware this was going to occur and when asked later in an interview, the actors said this scene did truly scare and surprise them.

A line from the film’s character Mike summed up the underlying theme of the movie. Angered by Heather’s continual shooting through the Super 8 camera, Mike says, "I see why you like this camera so much. It’s not like reality. It’s fake reality." In essence, this is true about the movie. The footage the viewer sees throughout the video is a "fake reality" created by filmmakers Myrick and Sanchez. But it is the reality of the lives of the three characters portrayed. The reality of their plight. By looking through this eye, it seems the characters can escape their undesirable circumstances but continuing to make their own movie, which, in essence, is the movie of their life, hence their reality. As the movie progresses, Mike and Josh become angered by Heather’s consistent filming while struggling to deal with their dilemma. They feel she should spend less time shooting and more concentrating on their problem. But without her filming, the audience would have nothing to see. This paradox is unsolvable. In a real life scenario, likely the victims would not have spent so much time shooting, especially when being chased by the unseen evil. But for the purpose of this film, it was essential.

The reality of the situation is one problem with the film. It is believable that this could occur. The characters could have been victims of a stalking serial killer and not an ancient apparition. The problem with the setting is the fact that they are students from the late twentieth century, who, as stated early in the film, are experienced hikers and they forget to bring fundamentally important items on their mission. In this modern world of high technology, why did these students not bring a cellular phone, just in case? Or when they lost the map and their way, why did they not rewind their video footage to view the map they filmed on camera numerous times, or at least try to backtrack from what they had on tape from the point they left their car? Obviously, because this would not flow with the story, and the directors did not want them to survive. But for future aspiring filmmakers venturing into the woods, a satellite navigational tracking device would be an essential tool for such an undertaking.