The Blair Witch Project is arguably the most significant found-footage movie in history. In the late ’90s, the movie was able to cash in on the growing popularity of the internet, thanks to the movie’s marketing campaign effectively blurring the lines between fact and fiction. The more audiences looked for answers, the harder it became to uncover the truth. Even those who knew they weren’t really watching footage of a trio of filmmakers getting lost in the Maryland woods were still treated to a terrifying experience, as the first-person storytelling made for an immersive experience rarely seen on the big screen.
Despite the importance of Blair Witch Project, it’s not the first of its kind. In 1980, Ruggero Deodato delivered Cannibal Holocaust, which similarly explored the aftermath of filmmakers whose footage was “found,” though this movie took place in the remote Amazon jungle. Another significant film is The McPherson Tape, which chronicled otherworldly intruders invading a family’s farmhouse.
The Blair Witch Project was directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick, and The McPherson Tape was directed by Dean Alioto. Given the impact of both of these movies on the world of found footage, it’s no exaggeration to say Sánchez and Alioto are fundamental to the subgenre as we know it, and now they’re teaming up. During a recent Reddit AMA, Sánchez was asked about predecessors in the subgenre, with the filmmaker responding:
Love The McPherson Tape, Alien Abduction: Incident In Lake County – but didn’t see it (both versions, actually) until after [Blair Witch Project]. Working with Dean Alioto on something right now, in fact…
Given the lack of information about exactly what this collaboration might be, even knowing the pair are collaborating at all and their influence on found footage is exciting enough alone.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Sánchez and producer Gregg Hale shared some insight into the making of the original movie and clarified some details fans have speculated about. At one point, Hale weighed in on whether there was talk of actually showing showing the witch, as well as potentially including a figure that chased the filmmaking trio out of their tent in the middle of the night.
“When they ran out of the tent, we had someone dressed in white long-johns with white panty-hose over his face running through the trees next to them. The concept was we’d see a glimpse of a ‘ghostly shape’ but he didn’t show on film or video (although the actors could see him),” Hale explained. “As for seeing the witch, we definitely explored that idea but, ultimately, didn’t have enough money to do anything – which ended up being for the best, we think.”
He added, “We definitely discussed showing the witch but didn’t for a couple of reasons 1. we had no money 2. the ‘witch’ is not really the ‘bad guy’ of the film.”
Speaking more to the movie’s mythology, Sánchez clarified on a question about whether the evil the trio experienced was due to the witch or to the woods, revealing, “Not a witch – something in the woods,” and also confirmed that the house in the film’s finale formerly belonged to Rustin Parr.
Whatever Sánchez might be working on with Alioto, we do know that he, Hale, and Myrick will all serve as producers on the next chapter of the Blair Witch saga, as will original stars Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams. The new movie is set to be released on September 24, 2027.
Are you looking forward to this upcoming collaboration? Let us know in the comments below!
