But is it a sequel? A remake? A reboot? Or something else entirely?

Original The Blair Witch Project star Michael C. Williams is on board to executive produce the new movie and he promises in a social media post this week that it’s NOT a remake.

The actor tweets “It’s not a ‘remake’. You just wait. The Witch is back…”

Along with Michael C. Williams, original Blair Witch Project star Joshua Leonard will also be executive producing the new movie. Filmmakers Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick, and Gregg Hale have all been added to the behind-the-scenes filmmaking team.

The project’s official press release this week explains that the original team will be “bringing the full mythology and legacy of the franchise to a new generation of storytelling.”

Chris Devlin wrote the original screenplay, with a current rewrite by Dylan Clark.

Dylan Clark has gained a large following in the YouTube horror space. He recently signed on with Universal to adapt his horror short Portrait of God, with Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele producing. He is also writing to direct an adaptation of his short film Story Time.

Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum will team with producer Roy Lee to produce the brand new installment in the legendary Blair Witch Project franchise.

Nothin’ but gratitude. Oh, yeah, it’s not a ‘remake’. You just wait. The Witch is back… https://t.co/6K8CfBifJI

— Michael C. Williams (@MichaelCWilli13) May 1, 2026

The post New ‘Blair Witch Project’ Movie Is Not a Remake, Original Star Michael C. Williams Promises appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

That’s why films like Rec opt for a different kind of horror experience altogether despite the familiar setup, and more recent projects like Butterfly Kisses choose to confront the stick-figure-shaped elephant in the room directly by acknowledging their cinematic inspirations in the narrative itself.

Markian Tarasiuk’s Hunting Matthew Nichols is a great example of this latter strategy, with the Canadian mockumentary (which was a big hit at this year’s edition of San Francisco’s Unnamed Footage Festival) actively questioning what it means to be a modern-day successor to The Blair Witch Project while also managing to incorporate these decidedly meta anxieties into a story about loss and grief.

In this authentic-looking feature, we follow a documentary crew led by Tarasiuk himself as they investigate the 2001 disappearance of amateur filmmaker Matthew Nichols in an attempt to bring closure to Mathew’s sister Tara (Miranda MacDougall). Unfortunately, this true crime investigation leads to Tara discovering more than she bargained for when the team realizes that this cold case may very well be connected to a terrible force lurking deep within the eerie woods of Vancouver Island.

Presentation-wise, Tarasiuk really knocked it out of the park with the film’s Netflix-like visuals and structure, as well as a series of surprisingly convincing interviews with an assortment of memorable locals. From creepy time-lapse footage to the occasional use of animation in lieu of boring exposition, Hunting Matthew Nichols feels like a genuine attempt at a high-profile documentary throughout most of its runtime – especially when interviewees are allowed to be a little idiosyncratic.

Things get a little less authentic once we get to the more traditional found footage portions of the flick, however, as some of the trope-heavy scripted moments (which are mostly relegated to conversations within the crew) are far less believable than the familiar deluge of talking heads conveying pieces of a larger narrative puzzle. Thankfully, these more over-the-top moments are easy to forgive when you realize that they exist in service of the film’s metatextual layer as a story about the very nature of found footage.

Not only does a big part of the plot involve Tara coming across a lost tape shot by her brother, but the film also establishes that Matthew himself was a huge fan of The Blair Witch Project. The young man’s love of the film and his creative desire to produce something equally spooky is what ultimately led him and his native friend Jordan to venture off into the woods, never to be seen again.

While Hunting Matthew Nichols doesn’t quite explore this idea of unfiction having real-life consequences as deeply as I would have liked, especially now that we know how even the silliest of creepypastas can lead to real-world tragedies, I appreciate how the filmmakers made a point of explaining that the movie takes place in our reality where most people are aware of the concept of a found footage production.

On that note, you could even consider the flick to be something of an unofficial sequel to Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s lo-fi opus, though it’s a shame that the main characters here aren’t quite as iconic as Heather and company from the 1999 film. That being said, Miranda MacDougall does a great job of selling her character’s long-gestating grief and obsession.

There are plenty of original scares to be found here as well, and I’m always in favor of Canadian storytellers incorporating more native folklore into scary movies. While I’m fairly certain that the local legend of a cannibal pioneer was made up for the film in much the same way that Kedward was invented for The Blair Witch Project, the bizarre VHS footage and the climactic “encounter” in the woods still feel terrifyingly real.

I won’t get into details in order to avoid spoiling the experience, but suffice to say that Tarasiuk makes great use of light and shadow during the flick’s final moments, and I love how he shies away from showing too much of Mathew’s tapes and focuses instead on our main character’s horrified reactions.

Hunting Matthew Nichols likely won’t enjoy the same staying power as its retro inspirations, but it doesn’t really have to. Despite some iffy performances and a general sense of deja vu, the film works well enough as a meta commentary on why we still insist on searching for answers in the woods even after so many other scary movies have explained to us why that’s a bad idea. That’s why I’d recommend this indie gem to fans of slow-burning supernatural terror everywhere – as well as true crime enthusiasts who wish that missing persons cases could come with a side of paranormal frights.

Hunting Matthew Nichols releases in theaters on April 10.

The post ‘Hunting Matthew Nichols’ Review – A Familiar Yet Effective Homage to ‘The Blair Witch Project’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

And while we’re all aware of famously superior director’s cuts of movies like Blade Runner and Little Shop of Horrors, not all filmmakers have been fortunate enough to revisit their forlorn projects. With that in mind, we’ve decided to compile a list highlighting six director’s cuts that horror fans are still waiting for. After all, it’s never too late for studios to give fans what they want while also profiting off of existing material.

As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own most-desired director’s cuts if you think we missed a particularly promising one.

With that out of the way, onto the list…

6. Sylvain White’s Slender Man (2018)

Frequently cited as one of the worst movies of the 2010s, Sylvain White’s Slender Man actually had a lot going for it before studio-mandated reshoots and a botched re-edit turned a thrilling retelling of the internet’s favorite legend into an incomprehensible mess of predictable scares and nonsensical mythology. If you need proof that the movie wasn’t always destined for failure, just compare the incredible trailer with the disappointing final product, as the finished film features almost none of the haunting imagery present in the marketing.

However, now that enough time has passed for Slenderverse fans to look back fondly on the good old days of creepypasta-inspired ARGs, I think Sony has plenty of motivation to allow White a chance at her very own director’s cut.

5. Wes Craven’s Cursed (2005)

You’d think that Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson teaming up for a monster movie would mean another guaranteed hit for Miramax, but much like what happened during the production of Scream 3, the duo soon found themselves being pushed around by the Weinsteins. This time, however, the forced reshoots and re-edits completely reimagined the original story as a PG-13 cash-grab that borrowed way too many elements from Scream.

And while the existing version of Cursed still has its fans (especially the marginally better unrated cut), we’re still waiting for a chance to witness the 78 minutes of footage that were discarded in favor of rushed reshoots.

4. Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Stephen King’s only foray into filmmaking may be remembered as an infamous flop, but I’ve always felt that the movie makes for a remarkably funny horror-comedy when viewed through the right lens. Of course, King has explained that his original cut of the film was much darker, featuring copious amounts of gore that the MPAA demanded be removed in order to settle on an R rating.

In fact, King even claims that the original version of the film was so bloody that it made his fellow Master of Horror George Romero physically sick. And while I don’t believe the added violence would fix the film’s two-dimensional characters and nonsensical story, I know I’d love to see a version of the flick with over-the-top violence matching the absurd premise.

3. Kevin Yagher’s Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)

In theory, the third Hellraiser sequel should have been one of the best entries in the franchise. Inspired by a pitch from Clive Barker himself, the film was envisioned as a three-part epic following the creation of the Lament Configuration in the 18^th century all the way up to the Cenobite’s eventual defeat in the distant future. Unfortunately, budgetary concerns and conflicting studio opinions soon sabotaged the project and turned it into an ambitious mess, with director Kevin Yagher infamously requesting that the feature be credited as an ‘Alan Smithee’ feature.

A bootleg workprint of the film has been available online for a while now (and an improved version was later released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video), but this workprint was sourced from low-quality VHS tapes and would still need to be edited down further by the filmmaker in order to provide us with a proper cinematic experience. And while a complete director’s cut of Bloodline is impossible due to the fact that Miramax never even allowed Yagher to film the entirety of the original script, we’re still holding out hope that someone at the studio will unearth the flick’s original negatives.

2. Michael Mann’s The Keep (1983)

Inspiring everything from Wolfenstein to Hellboy, Michael Mann’s The Keep is an incredibly influential thriller despite having been butchered in post-production. Based on F. Paul Wilson’s seminal novel, it’s rumored that the original cut of the film was over three hours long before the studio stepped in and reshaped the story into a more conventional -not to mention much shorter- action-horror flick.

While a complete restoration of Mann’s original vision is impossible due to budgetary issues that prevented the team from shooting the entire script, there is a two-hour version of the movie out there that features more coherent editing, sound and story than the hastily re-edited theatrical cut. Now it’s just a matter of convincing Paramount to let us see it.

1. Joe Berlinger’s Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

An award-winning documentarian that never shied away from horrific true stories, Joe Berlinger seemed like the perfect choice to helm a sequel to The Blair Witch Project. What Artisan didn’t expect was that Berlinger was more interested in dissecting the mass hysteria caused by fiction masquerading as reality than in creating another Found Footage spook-fest. While the studio initially accepted the filmmaker’s unconventional pitch for a follow-up, they later changed their mind and rejected his cut of the finished film, re-editing it into a more “consumer-friendly” experience complete with added gore, jump scares and a hip soundtrack.

While a revised fan-edit of the movie is widely circulated online as a makeshift director’s cut, that copy is still missing plenty of footage, while also having to incorporate reshoots due to continuity issues. That’s why horror fans are still waiting for Artisan to release Berlinger’s anti-found-footage experiment a quarter of a century later.

The post 6 Horror Movie Director’s Cuts We’d Still Love to See appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A good horror game will give me the same rush as a movie. Something that doesn’t often happen, however, is the intersection of the two. Sure we have stuff like Dead By Daylight and Evil Dead: The Game but for the most part the era of video games based on movies has long passed. But that’s not to say there aren’t some absolute gems based on your favorite movies.

For this list I’ve tried to highlight some of the most enjoyable adaptations I’ve played and some underappreciated ones as well. Though some may be kind of a hassle to play in modern form today, these are all absolutely worth seeking out for their own reasons.

Predator: Concrete Jungle

Released in 2005 for the PS2 and Xbox, this game put players in the starring role of a ruthless hunter in a story that traversed time itself. Beginning in the year 1930 before jumping to the year 2030, Predator: Concrete Jungle saw players as “Scarface,” a disgraced Predator warrior sent back to Earth to settle a vicious blood feud and redeem himself. Over the course of the game players will come to realize that Predator technology is fueling a vicious gang war in the city of Neonopolis and it’s up to Scarface to clean up the mess. Predator: Concrete Jungle was notable for giving players the full arsenal of a deadly warrior and dropping them into an urban city much like Predator 2. The game also featured extensive connections to not only every Predator film at the time but also the Alien films including appearances of Xenomorphs as enemies for the players to cut down.

Speaking of Xenomorphs…

Alien: Resurrection

Cursed with a plethora of development issues much like the film it’s based on, Alien: Resurrection was ahead of its time. Though the film itself is probably the most forgettable entry in the series, the game (released three years later) is far from that. A first-person shooter made in the era where Quake and Unreal were kings, Alien: Resurrection is an exercise in terror as it places players in dark environments with limited resources. It’s a horror game through and through and a terrifying one at that. Alien: Resurrection was also one of the first console FPS games that introduced the dual thumbstick control layout that is now the standard for all shooter games on consoles.

Jaws Unleashed

The Jaws series is no stranger to silly sequels and Jaws Unleashed for the PS2 and Xbox is one where you can actually play as the shark! Jaws Unleashed puts players in the role of a bloodthirsty Great White Shark in a story set 30 years after the original film. Though the story hardly matters as it’s mostly an excuse to put the shark in silly situations such as a water theme park, a beach party, or even an underground research facility to unleash glorious gory mayhem. Jaws Unleashed may not be a masterpiece like the film that inspired it but at the end of the day it’s a bloody good time.

Evil Dead: Regeneration

An oddball Evil Dead midquel for the PS2 and Xbox, Evil Dead: Regeneration is faithful to its source inspiration. For this entry players take on the role of Ash Williams (yes, voiced by Bruce Campbell) in a story that takes place in between Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness and pairs him up with a foul-mouthed Deadite sidekick. Though your typical hack and slash fare with light puzzle solving, Evil Dead: Regeneration has the trademark gore and humor you would expect from the series. The game also featured video interviews with Bruce Campbell himself where he seemingly confirms that Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash was in production at one point?

The Thing

One of my personal favorites on this list, The Thing for PS2 and Xbox is a wildly ambitious official follow up to the 1982 John Carpenter masterpiece. Players take on the role of Captain Blake as he’s sent to Outpost 31 to investigate the events of the film and what happened to the crew. Blake discovers the horrifying events that transpired and is soon put through hell and back again dealing with the alien life form. The Thing was a traditional survival horror game that added an element of squad based gameplay where Blake could command a crew of soldiers with him, the twist being that any of them could either be stricken with fear, distrust, or outright infection and needed to be dealt with accordingly. A massive gamer himself, John Carpenter gave full endorsement to The Thing as an official sequel, and it’s a damn shame this one hasn’t been rereleased.

Saw: The Video Game

Did you know a video game adaptation of Saw was considered by Konami to be a spiritual successor to Silent Hill? Did you know that there was even a video game adaptation of the Saw franchise? Konami pumped out Saw in 2009 and had it be a midquel set in between Saw and Saw II (that sounds familiar). Saw for the PS3 and Xbox 360 put players in the role of Detective Tapp as he had to make his way through an abandoned asylum that was transformed into a Jigsaw house of horrors. Saw tasked players with solving puzzles, traps and light combat with other captives. All things considered, Saw was a pretty great adaptation that felt true to the films. It’s a damn shame that the sequel squandered any goodwill they had going for them.

Blair Witch

I’m mixed on most of Bloober Team’s games, but even I’m willing to admit that Blair Witch absolutely rules. Set two years after after the 1999 film, players take on the role of veteran Ellis Lynch and his dog Bullet as they join the search party for a nine year old boy that went missing in the forests near Burkittsville, Maryland. What Ellis doesn’t realize though is that the circumstances around the disappearance are far more sinister than he’s led to believe and his search will put him fact to face with the evil force lurking in the woods. Blair Witch smartly adapts the found footage genre into a playable video game form and connects to the deep lore of the franchise. It also features gameplay involving his dog Bullet, who is a very good boy. Blair Witch absolutely belongs among the ranks of best horror movie video games.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The most recent entry on this list sees Gun Interactive bring The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to life in a way that we’ve never seen before. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a unique asymmetrical horror game that pits 3 members of the cannibalistic Sawyer family against a team of 4 victims. Matches play out as a cat & mouse style escape room where survivors have to find a way out or become a victim of the saw. Perhaps my favorite aspect about this entry is the faithfulness to the source material and how longingly recreated everything from the original film is. It at times feels like you’re actually playing the film and that’s some of the highest praise I can give to a licensed horror game. Definitely check out The Texas Chain Saw Massacre if you haven’t yet.

The Mummy Demastered

I know what you’re thinking. “Wait, is this based on that terrible Mummy reboot with Tom Cruise?!” Truth be told it is, but Wayforward took the license and rather than make a 1:1 recreation of the film decided to make one of the most fun and brutally difficult “Metroidvania” games. Inspired by their earlier work with Aliens: Infestation, The Mummy Demastered has players join an elite squad of Prodigium soldiers as they fight off the hordes of Princess Ahmanet. What’s cool about The Mummy Demastered is its permadeath mechanic where when you die you take on the role of a new soldier and have to go retrieve all your gear. It’s a killer mechanic that adds a good amount of tension to already stellar gameplay in this underrated title. 

Friday the 13th: The Game

You knew this one was gonna be here. Friday the 13th: The Game was Gun Media and illfonic’s first foray into the multiplayer horror landscape. Friday the 13th: The Game had eight camp counselors try and survive (or defeat) Jason Voorhees, in a do or die horror movie simulator. The game ended up being an absolute love letter to the franchise featuring various incarnations of Jason and a solo mode that recreated moments of the film. There was even going to be an update that brought Jason X content into the mix but sadly all of that was cut short because of the bitter rights battle involving the series. As of this year, the game has been officially delisted. Farewell Friday the 13th, you were one of the best horror movie adaptations I played.

The post The 10 Best Video Games Based on Horror Movies appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Pioneers like Benjamin Christensen (1922’s Häxan) and surrealist Luis Buñuel (1933’s Land Without Bread) were already experimenting with the idea of combining fact and fiction in convincing pseudo-documentaries, and that’s not even mentioning Orson Welles’ infamous War of the Worlds broadcast. However, I’d argue that one of the most influential of these grandaddies of Found Footage is the fifty-year-old B-movie classic, The Legend of Boggy Creek.

Inspired by the popularity of the infamous Patterson-Gimlin film, which supposedly showed a real-life sasquatch trekking through Californian woods, then-salesman Charles B. Pierce decided to capitalize on the cryptid trend by loaning $100,000 from a trucking company and producing a monster movie unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. Borrowing from local stories about the “Fouke Monster,” a bigfoot-like creature that has allegedly roamed the Arkansas countryside since the 1850s, Pierce figured that the most cost-effective way to tell this story would be to sell it as a serious portrayal of real events.

In the finished film, the titular legend of Boggy Creek is told through a series of interviews and re-enactments, with the film claiming to use the real survivors and witnesses of these stories instead of actors. From one eerie encounter to the next, we slowly unravel the events that shook Arkansas to its core when an ape-like creature lost its fear of humanity and began to terrorize the locals.

While the film uses narration to fill in the gaps between the atmospheric documentary filmmaking and the re-enactments, there’s actually very little distinction between what’s real and what isn’t. You get the idea that Pierce is only accidentally stumbling onto a new kind of filmmaking instead of intentionally trying to emulate an existing form of media here. In that sense, the movie reminds me of Olatunde Osunsanmi’s Found Footage hybrid The Fourth Kind, which also combined several layers of fiction to make itself more credible, though Pierce is said to have actually borrowed from (and exaggerated) plenty of local stories in order to craft his cinematic experiment.

Some of these moments work extraordinarily well, such as the chilling final confrontation with the monster which feels just believable enough to be a true story (and I really appreciate small creative touches like implying that the hunting dogs are too scared of the beast to follow its trail as a way of getting out of actually filming an expensive hunt), but others just feel downright bizarre as audiences are left wondering who exactly is telling the story due to the filmmakers’ lack of diegetic awareness.

Regardless, this tiny backwoods production somehow turned into a bona fide blockbuster, raking in millions at the box office and becoming a staple of drive-in movie theaters and video stores alike. It also ended up inspiring a whole new generation of cryptozoologists with its seemingly serious take on the existence of unknown creatures. This success also led to a series of unofficial sequels and blatant rip-offs, with the only true follow-up (also directed by Pierce) being the 1985 film Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues – though you’re likely only familiar with this flick if you’ve seen the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode making fun of it.

Unfortunately, this success also shined a light on some of Pierce’s less-than-professional behavior during production and after the picture’s release. The filmmaker and his frequent collaborator Earl E. Smith allegedly took advantage of the inexperienced crew and some uneducated locals while also refusing to share their massive profits with the cast until a successful lawsuit. However, this didn’t stop the director from continuing his filmmaking career, as Pierce eventually moved on to even more iconic projects like 1976’s proto-slasher The Town That Dreaded Sundown, another spooky Arkansas yarn that combines fact and fiction in frightfully unique ways – though I’d argue that this one is even scarier due to its more grounded subject matter.

In any case, years after its initial success, The Legend of Boggy Creek became even more popular once it fell into legal limbo and somehow entered the public domain. While this wasn’t profitable for the filmmakers, it led to an explosion of TV showings and unofficial DVDs which continued the flick’s status as a cult classic (and is likely how the Blair Witch Project directors originally came into contact with the film). It was only in 2018 that Pierce’s daughter Pamula Pierce Barcelou finally managed to reclaim the rights to the film, spearheading a beautiful remaster that came out the following year, which is currently the definitive way to enjoy this 16mm classic.

At this point, The Legend of Boggy Creek is over 5 decades old, and while some horror fans might not connect with its strange presentation and overall shoddy production value (I mean, this is basically an anthology film about non-actors repeatedly encountering a man in a three-toed gorilla suit), I think it’s worth looking back on as a masterclass in cost-effective filmmaking and one of the most important stepping stones on the road to modern-day Found Footage.

But if you ever drive up Highway 71, don’t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of a big hairy creature in the shadowy wilderness…

The post The Grandaddy of Found Footage – ‘The Legend of Boggy Creek’ 50 Years Later appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Hunt a Killer‘s Blair Witch immersive game is arguably the most effective use of the property since 1999. I’ve played other escape-room-in-a-box type games, which can be quite enjoyable but are never as involving as what Hunt a Killer has crafted in conjunction with Lionsgate. Founded in 2016, the company disrupts conventional storytelling and tabletop gaming with interactive mystery games played via subscription-based boxes delivered to your door on a monthly basis.

Respectful to the existing lore while expanding upon it in meaningful ways, Hunt a Killer uses the mythology established in the original film to launch a chilling new tale in the Blair Witch universe. Characters from Bloober Team’s Blair Witch video game are also incorporated. Knowledge of the video game or even the movie is not necessary for the experience, although those with a familiarity are rewarded with Easter eggs.

Upon opening the first of six boxes, I was immediately impressed by the attention to detail of the ARG-style world building. Armed with a blacklight pen, you’re employed by Rosemary Kent to investigate the disappearance of her 15-year-old son who went missing in the rural town of Burkittsville, Maryland. While local law enforcement is quick to write it off as a runaway, Rosemary believes the mystery may be linked to the legend of a witch that is said to haunt the local woods.

I found the perusal of the various paraphernalia Rosemary sends in each mailer — maps, police reports, historical records, handwritten notes, and the victim’s personal artifacts — to be the most engaging aspect of the game. The documents often reveal a cipher to help decode hidden messages. The heavy reliance on this format can border on tedium, but cracking the code is ultimately rewarding.

The self-guided game can be played individually or with a group. (If you’re rolling solo, I recommend amplifying the atmosphere with the eerie sounds of Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch soundtrack and Andy Fosberry’s Blair Witch-inspired Blair, Maryland.) Despite similarly structured gameplay, the boxes are increasingly challenging. Each one includes a QR code with recaps, hints, and solutions presented in an intuitive manner to provide assistance without spoiling the entire experience.

Hunt a Killer originally released the Blair Witch game through a monthly subscription, but the six-part first season has since been collected in a box set. The $150 price tag may seem a little steep, but each box provides at least an hour, sometimes two, of unique gameplay (give or take, largely dependent on the user’s reading comprehension and puzzle solving abilities) plus a bunch of neat tchotchkes.

The completion of each box yields an audio message from Rosemary setting up the next chapter, culminating with a finale as chilling as the original Blair Witch Project. True to the source material, some questions are left unanswered, with the ambiguity serving to amplify the creepiness. The mystery continues to unravel in a second season, also available as a box set.

I’ll continue to approach any new extension of the Blair Witch universe with cautious optimism, but I’d love to see an adaptation of Hunt a Killer’s game. Its inherently episodic format, intriguing mythology, and cryptic mystery could lend itself to a True Detective-esque event series. Either way, fans of the franchise will appreciate being immersed in the woods of Burkittsville and the sinister lore that surrounds it.

The post Immersive ‘Blair Witch’ Game from ‘Hunt a Killer’ May Be the Best Use of the Property Since 1999 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As you may recall, it had been reported last April that Lionsgate was looking to relaunch the Blair Witch Project franchise, and Production Weekly brings us an update this week.

Production Weekly informs us that Oliver Park has been hired to direct “Untitled Blair Witch Sequel” for Lionsgate, and it’s reportedly targeting a late summer/fall shoot. Park is a British writer/director who helmed last year’s The Offering, and his directing credits also include “Strange Events” (2015), Still (2017), and A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio (2019).

Of particular note, the production company attached to the project is Haxan Films, the team behind the original Blair Witch Project. These details have not been confirmed by Lionsgate at this time, but both Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez are listed as producers. The original found footage classic from 1999 was written and directed by Myrick and Sánchez.

Blair Witch (2016), directed by Adam Wingard, wasn’t exactly a big hit at the box office, but the original film’s directors have never given up hope on someday returning to the franchise to pump new life into it. Oddly enough, creators Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez didn’t have much creative input on either of the follow-up films, despite having a wealth of ideas.

Stay tuned for more on The Blair Witch Project as we learn it. Thanks to Michael M. for the tip.

The post ‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Oliver Park Reportedly Directing New Installment for Lionsgate appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As it turns out, it was a battle between Blair Witch and Saw at one point in time…

Bloober CEO Piotr Babieno explains to IGN, “Lionsgate came to us and said, ‘Guys, we love Layers of Fear. We saw what you are doing with Observer, so we would like to work with you. We know that you would like to do your own games, so please, this is our list of our horror IPs; choose one.'”

“We could [have chosen] Saw, which is more popular than Blair Witch, but we decided to take Blair Witch because the universe has many opportunities to build something new,” Babieno goes on to explain. “That was the reason why we chose this project.”

Reading the chat transcript, it sounds like the offer on the table for Saw was a bit more strict, with studio mandates and timelines in place, which is why the team ultimately passed.

As you may recall, the Saw franchise has spawned two video games in the past. Published by Konami, Saw was released on October 6, 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Saw II: Flesh and Blood was released on October 19, 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The post Bloober Team Explains That They Could’ve Made a ‘Saw’ Game But Made ‘Blair Witch’ Instead appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

According to Jeff Sneider over on The Ankler, Lionsgate is reportedly looking to relaunch the Blair Witch Project franchise, six years after Blair Witch was released into theaters.

Sneider tweets, “Start prepping those pitches, genre scribes, because it sounds like Lionsgate is ready to venture back into the woods again for another BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, since good IP is never truly dead in the Streaming Age…”

Head over to pay-to-read website The Ankler for more on this story.

The 2016 sequel, directed by Adam Wingard, wasn’t exactly a big hit at the box office, but the original film’s directors have never given up hope on someday returning to the franchise to pump new life into it. Oddly enough, creators Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez didn’t have much creative input on either of the follow-up films, despite having a wealth of ideas.

Myrick and Sanchez have talked about everything from a sequel to Rustin Parr/Elly Kedward standalone movies, hungry to dive in and expand upon the Blair Witch universe. Alas, none of those projects have ever come to life on the screen, as Lionsgate has had different plans.

Myrick explained to Bloody Disgusting’s The Boo Crew Podcast back in 2020, “[Lionsgate hasn’t] been too interested in our input, which is sort of ironic. But whenever [they’re] ready, we’re hanging out – if you want us to come back in and take a stab at it.”

The post Lionsgate Reportedly Looking to Relaunch ‘Blair Witch Project’ Franchise appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The press release explains, “Dorian, the first ever no-code platform that allows independent writers to easily transform their stories into playable immersive games, has partnered with global content leader Lionsgate to empower fiction creators to expand the stories behind some of Hollywood’s most popular franchises. Through this unique partnership, Dorian and Lionsgate will launch official events tied to well-known Hollywood IP, calling for creators to write and submit their fanfiction for a chance to publish licensed playable games on Dorian, opening the door for potential revenue while expanding the creator’s growth opportunities. The first major franchise to kick off the partnership is the iconic Blair Witch.”

“In addition, Dorian’s audience and creators are primarily women and people of color, highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion in the creator economy.”

“When we were first introduced to Dorian and the opportunity it brings to creators, we were immediately hooked on the idea of working with them,” said Jenefer Brown, EVP, Global Live Interactive and Location Based Entertainment of Lionsgate. “We are always looking for new and inspiring ways to engage with female creators and diverse communities, and through Dorian’s platform, content creators can explore new pathways to a narrative experience within the universe of the Blair Witch.”

“Beginning October 15, 2021, creators who are residents of and located within the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and the Philippines can submit their Blair Witch fanfiction through the Dorian app for their chance to win. Submissions will be accepted until October 31, 2021, just in time to kick off the Halloween season, and the grand prize winner will gain access to a virtual meeting with a Lionsgate Senior Motion Picture Executive. In addition, the winner’s story will be significantly featured and promoted in the Dorian app with the chance to make revenue off of their new fanfiction playable game, they will be offered a generous amount of Dorian currency that can be used to access premium content on the platform, and they will receive custom cover art for their story created by Dorian. Breathing new modern takes on the Blair Witch franchise, creators must follow the prompt below to develop their story.”

Here’s the official prompt:

“Horror tourists and fans congregate in Burkittsville, Maryland for a 3-Day Blair Witch themed music festival! Séances, rituals, and spooky-themed scavenger hunts fill the once frightening Black Hills Forest. As a hit horror streamer, you think you can brave just about everything—right? Your plan: Break the internet by taking on the #SurviveTheWitch challenge. The horrific twist? The festival’s organizers have something wicked in store for the young influencers in attendance. Will you and crew survive a night in the Black Hills Forest… or end up livestreaming your own deaths?”

Creators can sign up through the Dorian app to be alerted when the contest submission period opens. In addition, once the stories are submitted, the creators of compliant entries can leverage the many gameplay features tied to their game, including livestreaming the gameplay with friends and followers, challenging them to choose where the story goes and survive #BlairWitchFest.

For more information on Dorian, visit dorian.app.link.

The post Lionsgate Wants Fans to Use the Platform Dorian to Create a ‘Blair Witch Project’ Game! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Yes, that means Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows is making its Blu-ray debut!

The German Blu-ray collection includes:

• The Blair Witch Project
• Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows
• Blair Witch

Birnenblatt Home Video will release this set on October 27, 2021.

You can pre-order through Saturn or Media Market.

The post ‘The Blair Witch Project’: German Blu-ray Collection Brings Together All Three Films for the First Time appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Bloody Disgusting learned earlier this summer that Lionsgate has teamed once again with Egan Escape Productions to unveil an immersive escape experience in the heart of Las Vegas, this time based on Lionsgate’s iconic Blair Witch feature film franchise.

Now, we scored a look at the event’s trailer that was directed by and stars Halloween‘s Danielle Harris!

The trailer also features Sarah Nicklin and Mark Lawson, and was produced by Jason Egan & Sugar Studios.

Opening in early summer 2021, “Escape Blair Witch will bring the classic horror film franchise to life in its first ever official escape experience. The new attraction will be located in the same expansive facility that houses the fan favorite, The Official SAW Escape: Las Vegas, the world’s first immersive escape experience themed after the blockbuster SAW films, launched in 2018. 

“As guests enter, they will immediately be transported to the lifelike small village of Burkittsville, Maryland to investigate mysterious happenings and disappearances within the community.  Investigators will then need to work together to escape multiple rooms that bring the classic film and the curse of the Blair Witch to life. Trekking through the iconic Black Hills Forest will be just one of the memorable dramatic and terrifying elements that provides exciting twists, putting guests to the test.”

Due to high demand, limited space and COVID-19 protocols, reservations are required in advance. Private VIP games are available, as well as packages for Birthdays, Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties, Team Building, and more. For more information or to book reservations please call 702-333-0770 or visit www.escapeblairwitch.com. 

The post ‘Halloween’ Star Danielle Harris Directed and Stars in the Trailer for ‘Escape Blair Witch’ Las Vegas Attraction [Video] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to the uncomfortable knot in the pit of your stomach that effective claustrophobic settings can incur. These five horror movies might leave you gasping for air from the ocean floor to the compact vehicle cabin. Here’s where you can stream them this week.

4×4 – Prime Video, Roku, Tubi

A petty thief, Ciro (Peter Lanzani), attempts to break into a car, unaware that it’s decked out with high-tech security. It traps Ciro inside, with him unaware that the owner is in control. 4×4 doesn’t just mount the tension at a steady clip until it becomes unbearable; it finds inventive ways to keep this propulsive thriller moving. Even better, it offers surprising commentary on morality. It’s style with breathless substance.

As Above, So Below – Netflix

A team of adventurers heads deep into the Paris catacombs in search of the philosopher’s stone. Naturally, they choose the path off-limits to tourists and locals alike. It’s a loose adaptation or retelling of Dante’s Inferno, which tells of Dante’s journey through the nine circles of Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil, by way of found footage. Forget the descent into Hell and back. The tight spaces the characters must squeeze into and get there are enough to make this journey a nightmare.

47 Meters Down – Hulu

As if hungry sharks aren’t enough to contend with, sisters Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) must contend with oxygen deprivation too. On a spontaneous dive trip post-break-up, the sisters are trapped below when the cable to their dive cage snaps. It’s sharks that prevent an easy rescue, thwarting their chances for survival as narcosis becomes a serious problem. 47 Meters Down boasts one of the most terrifying shark scares in recent memory and isn’t afraid to go dark.

Blair Witch – Epix, Hulu

The direct sequel to the found-footage classic sees its characters venture into the woods searching for Heather, who long disappeared after the first film’s events. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett first play with claustrophobic dread by toying with time and spatial awareness, removing both for the ill-fated characters. They don’t realize until too late that they’re being corralled to their doom. But Wingard goes hard on the claustrophobia in the third act, which sees characters attempting to squeeze into impossibly small tunnels, triggering severe anxiety as a result.

Buried – AMC+

It doesn’t get much more claustrophobic than being buried alive in a coffin. Ryan Reynolds stars in this unsettling thriller that sees him armed with only a lighter and a phone, racing against the clock as his oxygen dwindles. Just one tiny, single location and a riveting performance are all it takes to carry the unrelenting tension throughout.

The post Stay Home, Watch Horror: 5 Claustrophobic Horror Movies to Stream This Week appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Bloody Disgusting learned this morning that Lionsgate has teamed once again with Egan Escape Productions to unveil an immersive escape experience in the heart of Las Vegas, this time based on Lionsgate’s iconic Blair Witch feature film franchise.

Opening in early summer 2021, “Escape Blair Witch will bring the classic horror film franchise to life in its first ever official escape experience. The new attraction will be located in the same expansive facility that houses the fan favorite, The Official SAW Escape: Las Vegas, the world’s first immersive escape experience themed after the blockbuster SAW films, launched in 2018. 

“As guests enter, they will immediately be transported to the lifelike small village of Burkittsville, Maryland to investigate mysterious happenings and disappearances within the community.  Investigators will then need to work together to escape multiple rooms that bring the classic film and the curse of the Blair Witch to life. Trekking through the iconic Black Hills Forest will be just one of the memorable dramatic and terrifying elements that provides exciting twists, putting guests to the test.”

Due to high demand, limited space and COVID-19 protocols, reservations are required in advance. Private VIP games are available, as well as packages for Birthdays, Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties, Team Building, and more. For more information or to book reservations please call 702-333-0770 or visit www.escapeblairwitch.com. 

Here’s a video made specifically for Bloody Disgusting readers:

The post Las Vegas Attraction ‘Escape Blair Witch’ Transports ‘Blair Witch’ Fans to Burkittsville, Maryland! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

That’s why we’ve decided to compile this list ranking 10 of the best licensed horror games, as there’s a lot of fun to be had with some of these interactive adaptations of our favorite horror franchises. They might not all be masterpieces, but I believe they’re all worth revisiting for one reason or another, in spite of their licensed origins.

Naturally, we’ll be omitting licensed character DLC for games like Mortal Kombat and Dead by Daylight, and we’ll also limit our selection to one game per horror franchise. In any case, don’t forget to share your own favorites with us in the comments below.

Now, onto the list!

10. Jaws Unleashed

No matter how much I love the game, Appaloosa Interactive’s Jaws Unleashed is by no means a 10/10. The visuals are muddled and the controls can be confusing, but where else are you going to find a game where you can casually chew through beach-goers on your way to fight a giant Kraken?

Like GTA had a steroid-infused baby with Ecco the Dolphin, Jaws Unleashed may have more in common with the film’s increasingly ridiculous sequels, but there’s a lot of fun to be had prowling the mysterious waters surrounding Amity Island. There’s nothing like sneaking up on unsuspecting swimmers for a midnight snack, especially when that iconic John Williams score kicks in.

9. Parasite Eve

While there was a Parasite Eve film in 1997, SquareSoft’s 1998 game is actually a sequel to Hideaki Sena’s original novel, once again pitting humanity against an ancient Mitochondria-based entity as monsters are unleashed in New York City.

Mixing survival-horror thrills with turn-based RPG elements, Parasite Eve is a unique take on bio-weapons and mutations, and one of the stand-out titles of the PS1-era. While there was a sequel and an eventual spinoff on the PSP, this is one series that I’d love to see make a comeback in the near future!

8. Evil Dead Regeneration

There have been several Evil Dead games over the years, from a traditional survival-horror title on the original Playstation to the upcoming Left-4-Dead-inspired Evil Dead: The Game, but so far, I’d have to say that 2005’s Evil Dead Regeneration is my favorite of the bunch.

Once again featuring the ever-lovable Bruce Campbell as our favorite Deadite-slaying badass (and Ted Raimi as his diminutive half-Deadite companion Sam), Cranky Pants Games’ take on the Evil Dead franchise is a surprisingly fun hack ‘n’ slash with a wicked sense of humor.

7. Saw

Due to the self-contained nature of the franchise’s traps and locations, I would never have expected an interactive adaptation of Saw to work as well as the movies. Of course, I was proven wrong by Zombie Studios’ underrated Saw. Working as a companion piece to the then-ongoing mythology of the original films, this 2009 title puts players in the shoes of series favorite Detective David Tapp as he traverses a deadly insane asylum.

The controls can be clunky and the graphics aren’t all that impressive, but there’s a lot of love for the source material here (James Wan and Leigh Whannell were both brought in to help with the story and traps), and there’s nothing like the looming threat of a horrific death to make you want to solve puzzles as quickly as possible. If you can stomach the appropriately gnarly gore, I’d recommend this one to any fan of the films or Survival Horror in general.

6. Blair Witch

Having already crafted the mind-bending Layers of Fear series, it’s no surprise that Bloober Team would be the ones to tackle this adaptation of one of horror’s most iconic films. It’s not the first game to recreate the Black Hills forest, but it’s definitely the most faithful to the look and feel of the movies, complete with a functioning in-game camcorder and a rich backstory.

Blair Witch has its issues, both in narrative and gameplay, but once you reach the final hours of the game and enter certain a familiar cabin, you’ll realize why Bloober was the perfect studio to bring the world of The Blair Witch Project to life.

5. Telltale’s The Walking Dead

Telltale Games is now just a sad memory, but they left behind an admirable legacy of adventure titles that helped to reinvigorate the genre. My favorite of these (and perhaps the most infamous) is their unique take on Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. Adapting the world and atmosphere of the comics rather than any particular story, Telltale’s first season of The Walking Dead remains one of the best examples of emotionally-driven interactive storytelling, and I feel like every gamer should try it out at least once.

This iteration of The Walking Dead may be more slower-paced than what some players are used to, but the excellent storytelling proves that it’s possible to make a genuinely thrilling game without resorting to exaggerated action or silly gimmicks.

4. The Thing

A criminally underplayed gem, this 2002 classic somehow manages to game-ify all the best elements of Carpenter’s classic film while also serving as an action-packed sequel (complete with a surprise cameo towards the end of the experience).

Never knowing if your companions are friends or foes and constantly having to manage resources with unique squad skills, this paranoid adventure is one of the best horror titles of the sixth console generation, and a love-letter to one of the best horror films of all time.

3. Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

Peter Jackson’s King Kong may be a monster movie, but despite the director’s splatter-movie pedigree, it’s definitely not a horror film. The movie’s tie-in videogame, however, is as far removed from a summer blockbuster as you could possibly get. Putting players in the vulnerable shoes of a hapless screenwriter trapped on a primitive island where nearly every lifeform is out to get you, the game excels at making players aware that they are not welcome on Skull Island.

There are a few fun segments where you play as Kong himself, but the general lack of an HUD, limited ammo and terrifying monster designs make this a truly horrific experience, especially when you’re being pursued by unkillable dinosaurs. Even if you’re not a fan of the film, I highly recommend checking this one out if you’re up for a terrifying first-person adventure in dinosaur-infested jungles.

2. Friday the 13th

Crowdfunded back in 2016, Illfonic’s Friday the 13th is a passion project made by fans for fans. While the end product is just as janky as the low-budget scary movies that it’s trying to emulate, I know that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this interactive love-letter to Jason Voorhees.

When it works, the game manages to successfully condense the best parts of a Slasher flick into a single online match, making for a rewarding and addictive experience. While it’s a shame that the infamous lawsuit kept us from seeing new and exciting updates/DLC, there’s still a lot to enjoy in this rare instance of an online title that left us wanting more.

1. Alien Isolation

I don’t think any other licensed horror title has ever captured the spirit of its source material like Creative Assembly’s Alien Isolation. Borrowing the original film’s premise of a “haunted house in space” and turning it into an interactive thrill-ride, Isolation remains a shining example of what passionate developers can do when given the proper time and resources.

I’ll never forget how I wandered the eerie corridors of Sevastopol, dreading my next encounter with the titular Xenomorph and becoming increasingly more paranoid whenever I saw a leak dripping down from the ceiling. Whether you’re a fan of the franchise or not, I think every horror fan should experience this nonstop thrill-ride at least once.

The post Ranking 10 of the Best Licensed Horror Games! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The DreadXP Spooky Showcase featured 40 or so indie horror game trailers, from now established names to cult favorites. There was a lot going on in the hour-long ride through this particular spooky town.

The big news coming out of the showcase was that of a continuation of the Haunted PS1 games idea. SpookWare and No Players Online creator Adam Pype is hosting a collaborative effort known as C.H.A.I.N. (Chronological Haunted Anomaulous Interconnected Narrative) which sees 20 indie devs creating 20 interconnected, but visibly different, horror games that evoke the original PlayStation’s catalog of titles in terms of low polygon, grainy, and often strange styles. The collection is out now for free on PC.

Dread Delusion was another biggie. Originally a part of the original Haunted PS1 demo disk, Lovely Hell Place’s old-school RPG is getting turned into a full game that features clockwork towers and cosmic horrors. If it can pull off even half of the ambition to make a sprawling world of weird stories and dreadful deities seen in the brief taste we got, then I will be very excited.

There are a lot of other interesting-looking titles in the showcase, so I implore you to watch the whole video and see the games for yourself, but there’s some games in there I’d like to highlight all the same.

Psychological horror Chasing Static from Sick Chicken that sees exploration driven by following noise. It looks really mean and moody, and more than a little creepy.

The Padre was a flawed survival horror with a gruff-voiced priest as its protagonist that felt like it could work if done a bit differently. Well, Feardemic certainly did that with the sequel The Padre: One Shot Straight to Hell, as it turns the trudging old-school survival horror into a balls-out gun-toting massacre. I am very much here for that.

Better yet, there’s a crossover DLC with Bloober Team’s Layers of Fear coming to the game, so it’s not enough to play as a demon-blasting priest, he’ll also be taking a mad head trip in search of the perfect portrait.

Lamentum, a pixel-based survival horror by Obscure Tales, is set in the nineteenth century and features some pretty grisly monsters out to devour you. Then there was more historical horrors with Conscript, a top-down survival horror set in the trenches of the First World War, where monsters and mustard gas team up to ruin your day.

The developer of the bizarre cult hit Pony Island is back with Inscryption, an unusual card-based game that goes to some dark and strange places. That’s coming next year.

Dillon Rogers and DUSK creator David Szymanski’s new game Gloomwood looks fantastic, and has a demo available right now. Somewhat similarly, the creators of retro cult investigation game Sagebrush make a startling leap in a very different direction with Effigy, a retro-style FPS with RPG adventure trappings and more than a little heavy metal. The first episode hits early access next year.

Lo-fi detective game Loveland has a vibe about it that reminds me of Paratopic and Virginia. Those are both fantastic, so I’m looking forward to trying the demo soon.

Rogue’s Under: Depths of Fear sees you creeping around an old cruise ship while being stalked by something sinister. Who doesn’t love a ghost ship?

And finally, Airdorf’s FAITH Chapter III got an airing, and that looks like it’ll round off that creepy trilogy very well indeed.

It was also fascinating to see something like Observer: System Redux in amongst the other indie titles here, because Bloober Team went from creating small scale horror experiences (good and bad), to making a Blair Witch game (which also appears in its recent VR form) and a major horror title for Xbox Series X with The Medium (which yes, also appears here).

Ditto for Amnesia: Rebirth‘s appearance. Frictional’s game is brilliant, and its long history with the horror genre has undoubtedly shaped much of what makes up the modern indie horror game community.

All in all, I came away intrigued by lots of titles I’d either never seen before or seen little of. We may be jumping into a new generation of consoles, but the new generation of indie horror games is just as exciting.

The post Haunted PS1 Games, Gun-Toting Priests, Freaky Card Games, and Cosmic Horror RPGs Feature in the DreadXP Spooky Showcase appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

This is all on top of the store’s ongoing Halloween sale, which concludes November 5, but has up to 75% in savings for all titles. Blair Witch and Ghostbusters: The Video Game will be available to own for free from October 29th until November 5th.

Of course, if you haven’t grabbed this week’s free games, which are Costume Quest 2 and Layers of Fear 2, it’s better to grab them now rather than later before you forget!

The post Epic Games Store Treats Players With ‘Blair Witch’ And ‘Ghostbusters: The Video Game’ For Free Next Week appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

That’s exactly what Bloober Team and Lionsgate are doing with Blair Witch: Oculus Quest Edition, a brand-new version of Blair Witch “built specifically for the VR experience”. The title will be headed to the Oculus Quest on October 29th for $29.99.

Oculus Quest Edition will feature environments redesigned for more interactivity and to accommodate new creature encounters. In addition, the game sports a new control system and mechanics for Bullet, your dog. For those who like that sort of thing, you’ll be able to give him a treat right out of your hand, pet him at any time, and even play fetch.

And if Oculus Quest isn’t your thing, Bloober Team plans on releasing VR versions for other consoles in the future.

Blair Witch is available now on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch.

The post Bloober Team Bringing ‘Blair Witch’ to Oculus Quest For Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Announced today, horror-themed gaming company Hunt a Killer has joined forces with Lionsgate for a brand new Blair Witch table-top experience launching this Halloween season.

The game lets players discover the frightening history of the Blair Witch for themselves. This is Hunt A Killer’s first time partnering with an entertainment company on a storyline, incorporating the iconic Blair Witch universe into their line of horror themed games.

The game will be a part of Hunt A Killer’s subscription-based offerings, granting players the opportunity to become Members in their gaming community.

“We are thrilled to partner with Hunt A Killer to continue expanding the world of Blair Witch into games,” said Daniel Engelhardt, SVP of Lionsgate Interactive Ventures & Games. “Their creative approach and mechanics are a natural fit for a franchise defined by unique storytelling, and represents a special way for us to build upon the narrative of the video game we launched last year.”

In this new season, players become detectives to solve a missing persons case near the infamous Black Hills Forest. The storyline begins with an introduction to Rosemary Kent, a woman who lives near the edge of the forest and is looking for help to find her missing son. Over the course of six boxed episodes, players will investigate the mysterious woods and learn about any disappearances, while finding out more about the powerful forces that reside there. From there they must piece together the clues, face the horror of the Blair Witch and those who serve her, and find out if they can survive the woods.

Each month, a new boxed episode will be delivered to the Member’s doorstep, and they must work to unfold the story while sifting through a variety of cryptic documents, audio recordings, and unsettling puzzles. By the end of the season, enough horrific clues will have surfaced to help solve the case. Along the way players will have access to resources and can join the Hunt A Killer private Facebook community to ask for tips and socialize with others playing the game.

Hunt A Killer Horror: Blair Witch is currently available for early access and officially releases October 1st, just in time for Halloween.

For more information and to order visit huntakiller.com/horror.

The post Enter the Woods of Burkittsville With a Brand New ‘Blair Witch’ Immersive Table-Top Experience! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

They also revealed a new trailer for the Switch version, below.

“Delve deep into the woods with your trusty dog and into an endless nightmare as you confront your fears. Immerse yourself in the disturbing atmosphere of the Black Hill Forest anywhere, anytime thanks to Nintendo Switch!”

Read Andrew King’s review of the game right here.

The post New Trailer: Bloober Team’s ‘Blair Witch’ Arrives June 25 For the Switch appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Released last year on consoles, we’ve learned today that Bloober Team’s survival horror video game Blair Witch, set within the movie’s universe, is now headed to the Nintendo Switch.

Blair Witch is set to launch Summer 2020.

“Delve deep into the woods with your trusty dog and into an endless nightmare as you confront your fears. Immerse yourself in the disturbing atmosphere of the Black Hill Forest anywhere, anytime thanks to Nintendo Switch!”

You can check out the new Switch trailer below.

Read Andrew King’s review of the game right here.

The post The New ‘Blair Witch’ Video Game is Coming to Nintendo Switch This Summer [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

While literal Found-Footage games are admittedly rare (which makes sense, considering that the premise relies on the discovery of pre-recorded media, leaving little room for interaction), there are actually quite a few titles that make use of Found-Footage elements in order to ground their narratives and gameplay, and I’d like to talk about them today. To make things simple, we’ll consider any game that features an organized collection of diagetic (in-universe) media as Found-Footage-inspired, regardless of POVs and setting.

In any case, videogames have been emulating movie trends from the very beginning, so it was only a matter of time before home-video-inspired thrills became interactive. In fact, long before Bloober Team’s recent attempt at bringing the Blair Witch to life for modern gamers, we actually had a trilogy of officially licensed Blair Witch games, though none of them really bothered with the Found-Footage aspect of the story.

However, it was really during the PS2 era that developers began to experiment with the idea of using Found-Footage tropes in order to enhance gameplay. Oddly enough, most of these titles were produced in Japan, and some of them never even made it to Western shores at all, but there are definitely a few hidden gems among them.

One of my favorites of these oddball titles is Lifeline, a 2003 survival horror game developed by Sony’s in-house studio for the PS2. In the game, players take on the role of a young Operator trapped in a space-station’s control center when horrific monsters attack. What’s unusual here is that almost the entire game is viewed through diagetic security-camera footage, and the player can only interact with the world by communicating through a physical headset with a cocktail waitress named Rio, giving her simple commands in an effort to progress through the story. While I’ll be the first to admit that console technology wasn’t quite ready for these ambitious ideas back in ’03, the combination of spooky security footage and limited controls manage to make this a genuinely thrilling experience that wouldn’t have been as engrossing if it weren’t for the grounded aesthetics. It’s just too bad that players are forced to deal with so many frustrating quirks if they really want to power through the entire game.

Naturally, this wasn’t the only case of diagetic cameras in gaming, as Michigan: Report From Hell, another PS2 title developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and released in 2004, actually put players in the shoes of a cameraman accompanying a news crew on a terrifying investigation. Not only was the entire game observed through the viewfinder of the protagonist’s camera, but gameplay is also mostly relegated to tagging important objects or events and waiting for other characters to interact with them. Again, this title also has its fair share of gameplay annoyances, but it’s one of the better (and earliest) examples of an almost pure Found-Footage experience in gaming.

While there were a few more obscure attempts at bringing Found-Footage to interactive life during the 2000s, it was only with the indie-horror boom of the last decade that this type of aesthetic became mainstream. The 2010s brought us a plethora of Found-Footage web-series (not to mention the Paranormal Activity sequels), so it was only natural that developers would start to experiment more with diagetic cameras and ill-fated protagonists leaving their stories behind for players to find. Hell, one could even argue that the now cliché idea of finding audio-logs in to understand the narrative in blockbuster titles was also influenced by these ideas, though they were only properly explored in the indie scene.

The biggest of these Found-Footage-inspired indie titles was probably Slender: The Eight Pages, a free-to-play game more than a little inspired by the Marble Hornets web-series. Released in 2012 to massive viral success, the game was basically a first-person adaptation of hide-and-seek, with the player attempting to find the titular pages while being stalked by the infamous Slender Man. While the game doesn’t overtly advertise itself as a Found-Footage endeavor, the static interference onscreen when in the presence of the antagonist suggests that we may be viewing the action from a camcorder. This is more-or-less confirmed in the game’s sequel, Slender: The Arrival, which fully dives into the Found-Footage genre with a visible camera HUD and playable “tapes” (this makes sense, given that the game was co-written by the same team that originally produced Marble Hornets).

By 2013, we would also get one of the most brutal Found-Footage experiences in gaming with Red Barrels’ Outlast (a title almost certainly inspired by the Vicious Brothers’ 2011 film, Grave Encounters). In this game, players take on the role of Miles Upshur, a journalist investigating increasingly suspicious activity going on at Mount Massive Asylum. Naturally, he becomes trapped in the hospital after breaking in with a camcorder and must attempt to escape (and document) the horrors within in a truly nightmarish ordeal.

While you’re not limited to the camera’s viewfinder for the entirety of the game (you’re actually separated from it in at least one instance), the narrative and aesthetics here are clearly based on traditional Found-Footage tropes. The camera isn’t just there for show, though, as it also boasts a night-vision feature if you can spare the battery power. The camera’s functions would also get expanded on in the game’s 2017 sequel, but I still think it’s a shame that the full experience isn’t presented as a series of diagetic recordings.

Regardless, Outlast was influential enough that it even had an impact on Capcom’s flagship survival horror franchise, Resident Evil. While 2017’s RE7 isn’t as obvious with its Found-Footage roots, there are several instances within the game where players must analyze footage left behind by other characters, as well as record some of their own in clear homages to the sub-genre. This may not be a consistent addition to the gameplay, but it’s nice to see these elements being played around with in order to heighten the game’s realism and, consequently, scare-factor.

Despite Found-Footage clearly being a great tool in the manipulation of fear, I think one of the best (and purest) examples of the sub-genre successfully transitioning to gaming isn’t even a horror title. In Sam Barlow’s 2015 investigative thriller Her Story, players are tasked with piecing together a murder mystery as they analyze police interviews regarding a certain Hannah Smith and her deceased husband. The gameplay itself is relegated to navigating 90s-inspired computer menus and interacting with a collection of FMVs and other digital “evidence” in order to find out what’s really going on. While Her Story may not be for everyone, I think it’s one of the most underrated releases of the 2010s, and it also boasts a format that I’d love to see revisited by future games (especially spooky ones).

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to discuss Bloober Team’s hot new take on the Blair Witch. Taking place in 1996, players must wander the Black Hills Forest as Ellis Lynch, a retired police officer and military veteran searching for a missing child as he deals with severe PTSD. Luckily, Ellis is accompanied by a faithful canine companion (Bullet, my favorite part of the game) and, eventually, a mysterious camcorder that can be used to review reality-altering tapes. While this 2019 title has a lot in common with Layers of Fear, the studio’s previous foray into the horror genre, interactions with both the dog and camera actually make this a unique experience, with players relying on elements outside of their immediate control in order to survive.

Like many of the previously mentioned titles, Blair Witch has some frustrating quirks and could have used a bit more time to iron out the bugs and unfocused storyline. Nevertheless, the final hour or so of the experience serves as a sincere love-letter not just to the original Blair Witch Project but to Found-Footage as a whole, becoming a perfect example of how the use of shifting POVs and messy, realistic aesthetics can be used to create a genuinely terrifying experience.

Of course, these aren’t the only Found-Footage-inspired games out there (I could go on for hours about the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise and its extremely effective use of diagetic security cam footage), but I think these titles help paint a picture of a gaming industry slowly experimenting with the gritty aesthetics of this sub-genre and contemplating what it can do for gameplay and story alike. In a time where gamers are craving new experiences, it’s nice to see developers taking risks by incorporating new ideas into their games, even if they’re not always successful.

As we speak, indie developers like Puppet Combo are hard at work attempting to revive the 90s VHS aesthetic in horror games, complete with several Found-Footage-inspired titles. Funnily enough, we’ve also come full circle with games managing to influence films like Livescream, a Found-Footage production about an ill-fated internet personality livestreaming a cursed videogame. Even the Paranormal Activity franchise’s latest entry was actually a VR title instead of a movie (though it technically forgoes the Found-Footage elements in favor of more traditional first-person horror mechanics).

While I think the definitive Found-Footage game has yet to be developed, we’re getting closer to it everyday, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings for this little sub-genre that could.

The post [Editorial] The Evolution of Found Footage in Video Games appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The game will be released physically to U.S. retail stores on March 24, 2020 for $29.99. No word on if the extra “Good Boy Pack” content present in the PS4 version will migrate to the Xbox One version of the game. In case you missed our review of the PC version, click here.

The post Publisher Deep Silver Releasing Physical Copies of ‘Blair Witch’ This March appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Blair Witch takes place in 1996 — three years before the 1999 film. When a young boy disappears in the Black Hills Forest near Burkittsville, Maryland, you, as Ellis, a former police officer with a troubled past, joins in the search. What starts as an ordinary investigation soon turns into an endless nightmare as you confront your fears and the Blair Witch, a mysterious force that haunts the woods.

The post ‘Blair Witch’ Arrives on PlayStation 4 on December 3rd With Additional Content appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In 2016, fans of The Blair Witch Project were given the chance to return to the Black Hills Forest outside of the sleepy town of Burkittsville. Excitement and anticipation were at a high after the first trailer, which promised to return to the roots of the film series. Viewers wondered what another trip to the haunting woods would uncover as Blair Witch opened up the potential for an outpouring of lore regarding the titular witch. Unfortunately, that’s not at all what flashed across the screen for 89 minutes. 

Where the first sequel, Book of Shadows, muddied the waters with an ill-conceived plot that distanced itself from the original, the 2016 return to Burkittsville was a disappointing rehash of a proven concept. Crestfallen by the movies, fans still clamoring for expanded lore had few mediums they could explore. Amidst the release of short stories and companion novels, a trio of video game developers had constructed their own version of the Blair Witch history. 

The product of Gathering of Developers’ hard work was the Blair Witch trilogy, a series of survival horror video games run on Terminal Reality’s Nocturne Engine. We covered Volume I: Rustin Parr and Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock in previous installments of “Based on the Hit Film,” but it’s time to close out this forgotten chapter of gaming with Volume III: The Elly Kedward Tale.

In The Elly Kedward Tale, we step back in time as Jonathan Prye. The former priest-turned-witch hunter is called to the 18th-century version of Burkittsville, then known as the Blair Township, to investigate the disappearance of Elly Kedward. Convicted of murdering children for pagan rituals, Kedward was left to die in the infamous woods at the hands of distraught citizens. During her sentence, she vanished, but the children of Blair were far from safe. 

Prye enters a supernatural mystery led by local chaplain, Father Hale Goodfellow. He’s only one of several mysterious townsfolk the former man of God must question to uncover the truth behind Kedward and the missing children.

By the time Volume III: The Elly Kedward Tale released, it was already at a disadvantage. Volume I: Rustin Parr set the tone for the series with a successful horror game that mingled detective work with slow pacing and an intriguing story. The sequel, The Legend of Coffin Rock, failed to capture the same magic. It did little with the lore laid out in Rustin Parr and The Blair Witch Project. Instead, Volume III attempted to delve deeper into Burkittsville’s dark history with a linear experience that focused heavily on a tedious story that forced gameplay to take a backseat.

The Elly Kedward Tale, developed by Ritual Entertainment, had the opposite problem. Whereas Volume II took away control frequently, Volume III may have given players a little too much time as Prye. By now, the action had grown stale. Any horrors that stalked the Black Hills Forest around the Blair Township were predictable and expected. The Elly Kedward Tale maybe had the most intriguing piece of the Blair Witch story to tell, and it threw that chance away in favor of unexceptional action. If you don’t mind embarking on fetch quests, cycling through the same limited arsenal, and facing off against enemies that have become too familiar, there may be something for you in Ritual’s concluding chapter.

There is no satisfying ending and, much like the movie sequels, we’re once again left pondering the lost potential of the Blair Witch franchise. Players should be excited for the concept of a witch hunter squaring off with a powerful supernatural force, but Volume III spends so much time thrusting players into a ridiculous alternate “demon world” and throwing boring enemies onto the screen that it forgets the source material. 

That does seem to be the real curse of the Blair Witch – a loss of focus on what viewers really want. The Blair Witch Project teased plenty of source material for branching stories, but every interactive medium since has either overlooked or seriously downplayed the horrific stories tied to Burkittsville and the woods. While the trilogy of video games attempts to touch on this history, only one entry thoroughly succeeds.

Maybe we aren’t meant to delve into an expertly fleshed out legend. The Blair Witch Project left us wanting more, but what if there isn’t anything more to be had? Could the witch just be a cover for the human atrocities that led to the deaths of so many? In a way, having to use our imaginations is a much more effective tool than the vessels we’ve been given since Heather, Michael, and Josh’s journey into the Black Hills Forest of Maryland graced the silver screen.

Despite the many attempts at bringing the Blair Witch into the spotlight, she’s just as shadowed now as she was in 1999, when we first heard her name. Even a video game revolving around her story couldn’t satisfy the curiosities we’ve been begrudgingly holding onto for 20 years – so is there really anything that can fill that void?

The post [Based on the Hit Film] Replaying ‘Blair Witch Volume III: The Elly Kedward Tale’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The crossed sticks, bound at the center to form a human shape. And, the shadowy figure, standing in a corner, staring at the ground.

A complex mythology has sprouted up around The Blair Witch Project, though, scaffolded with books, graphic novels, two sequels and a trilogy of games from the early 2000s. But, Blair Witch — unlike Friday the 13th, or Godzilla, or Halloween — has no iconic character to build a world around. The Blair Witch herself is most chillingly effective when she remains unseen.

Enter Bloober Team, the talented developers behind this year’s Layers of Fear 2, tasked by Lionsgate with adapting the Blair Witch universe to the world of first-person horror games. In their last game, Bloober Team ransacked the history of film. To tell the story of a troubled movie shoot, Layers of Fear 2 turned to the past century of cinema, filling its haunted cruise ship setting with familiar images; splicing horrifying sights into the mind of its protagonist.

As a result, Layers of Fear 2 added little to the horror canon. Instead, it remixed horror’s best moments. Like a scary Ready Player One or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate it asked, “What if all the things you like… but together?” The game we got, as a result, was not very original. But, it was scary.

With Blair Witch, Bloober Team has been forced to narrow its scope. Layers of Fear 2 was a game about movies; Blair Witch is a game about a movie. The palate Bloober once had — the twins from The Shining can go in this hallway, the shower scene from Psycho can go in this room — now includes some sticks and people looking at the ground. 

That may sound reductive. And, to be sure, Bloober’s approach to Blair Witch feels reductive. It never digs deep enough to find something unique. Instead, Blair Witch is content to hang a bunch of wooden totems in the trees and scatter a ton of Polaroids of people doing the Blair Witch pose around the woods. It has no new scares for you. It simply hopes that you will see the familiar iconography and shudder like Pavlov’s most cowardly dog. 

Speaking of dogs, this game has one. Bullet is a good boy and you’ll be happy to know that you can pet him. There’s a whole action wheel of other things you can do with your German Shepherd buddy, too. You can tell him to stay close to you when danger is nearby, or command him to seek out the source of a scent. You can also reprimand him — an action I avoided at all costs.

Narratively and mechanically, Bullet is your greatest asset. Your character, Ellis, has joined the search for a young boy who went missing in the Black Hills Forest, the Blair Witch’s stomping grounds. As you explore the woods, you’ll find discarded items that Bullet can sniff to help lead you to the missing child. 

Some of these objects are out in plain sight. Others, though, you’ll need to manipulate time and space to find. With this mechanic, Blair Witch, pays homage to its found footage roots. Early on in the game, you’ll find a camcorder, and as Blair Witch progresses, you’ll pick up mini VHS tapes to watch. These tapes often correspond to the environment that you find them in, and rewinding or fast-forwarding the footage will alter the world around you. 

This is Blair Witch’s best idea. After periods of searching the woods to no avail, I would check the tape, and often, find the solution. This was always satisfying. But, Blair Witch doesn’t take this mechanic far enough. The puzzles are simple. It was never so much a question of whether I could use my wits to solve a puzzle. It was more a question of whether I would remember to check the tape. As I played, I thought of the excellent “Effect and Cause” mission from Titanfall 2. That 15-minute level does more to explore the idea of manipulating space and time than Blair Witch does across it’s 6-8 hour runtime — and this is a core mechanic.

The problem is, Blair Witch has a lot of mechanics. There’s Bullet’s command wheel, the camcorder, flashlight battles against the beasts that lurk in the woods, a cell phone, a walkie-talkie. None of these are especially poorly executed. The cell phone, in particular, is a wonderful slice of ‘90s nostalgia. But, with such a breadth of tools, Blair Witch neglects to provide much depth for any of them.

And, in its most climactic moments, Blair Witch neglects all of these ideas. Instead, it asks you to walk agonizingly slowly or for agonizingly long amounts of time. It is Bloober Team’s least scary, least interesting game. 

There needs to be more to Blair Witch.

Blair Witch review code for PC provided by the publisher.

Blair Witch is out now on Xbox One and PC

The post [Review] ‘Blair Witch’ Has Some Good Ideas, But Doesn’t Do Enough With Them appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

DMC 5 is being added today, while Dead Cells will arrive on the service on September 5. Blair Witch will be added on August 30.

The post [Gamescom 2019] ‘Dead Cells’, ‘Devil May Cry 5’ And ‘Blair Witch’ All Headed to Xbox Game Pass appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The latest trailer for Blair Witch is titled ‘Insanity’ and focuses on the story of the game, which looks like it will be taking in a rather iconic location from the original film as you fight to stay alive in the woods.

For fans of Bloober Team’s visual trickery in Layers of Fear and Observer, it does very much seem to be present and correct in Blair Witch as well, with ghostly flashbacks, crazy scenery changes, and lots of VHS-style static. It may be a relatively straightforward task to look for a missing child in the woods, but in these woods, you’ll be lucky to come back yourself, and if you do, you’ll not be the same.

Blair Witch is out on Xbox One and PC on August 30. Blair Witch will join the Xbox Games Pass two days after its release.

The post [Gamescom 2019] The ‘Insanity’ Story Trailer For ‘Blair Witch’ Shows How the Game Will Mess With Your Head appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

With Blair Witch being released on August 30th, the game will have an exclusive level reveal at Inside Xbox on August 19th! Futhermore, you can also now pre-order the game on Steam to get the soundtrack and artbook for the game.

Blair Witch will be released on PC and Xbox One.

The post New ‘Blair Witch’ Teaser Promotes Exclusive Reveal at Inside Xbox appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Sure, it’s only about a minute long, but the serenity and beauty of the forest gives way to isolation and tension in record time.

Blair Witch hits PC and Xbox One on August 30th.

The post Explore The Black Hills Forest in Latest ‘Blair Witch’ Trailer appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

So we decided to highlight some of those titles here. Blockbuster adventures, mind-bending terror, classic cRPGs, tough as nails action, sci-fi strategy, and more await you for the rest of 2019. So what’s your particular poison?

Remnant: From the Ashes (Gunfire Games) Format: PS4, Xbox One, PC – Out: August 20

This third-person survival action shooter heads to a post-apocalyptic world (yes, another one), but rather than zombies and nuclear war, Remnant looks closer to Hell on Earth, and finds you and up to two pals battling against rock hard monsters and intimidating bosses as you try to scrape and struggle your way to survival.

The mix of challenging action RPG combat with survival mechanics is an intriguing blend, and the monster design looks pretty good too. It won’t be long until we find out just how well this mix holds together.

Control (Remedy)  Format: PS4, Xbox One, PC – Out: August 27

Remedy’s trippy new title Control has grabbed the attention of the gaming community, and has shot higher and higher up the most-wanted lists of many a gamer.

It’s certainly looking like a visual spectacle, and with the team behind the beloved Alan Wake working on it, Control could well be one of the year’s standout titles. It’s looking decidedly creepy too, so that helps!

The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan (Supermassive Games) PS4, Xbox One, PC – August 30

Until Dawn is a favorite at Bloody Disgusting, so Supermassive Games returning to that formula was always going to be welcome with us, but it’s what that has become in Man of Medan that really excites us.

Firstly, Man of Medan is the opening salvo in an eight-game horror anthology series called The Dark Pictures (complete with a host linking each installment), utilizing all the gleeful interactive horror adventure goodness found in Until Dawn’s formula. Secondly, there’s multiplayer for every game, and if our time with it back in July is anything to go by, it’s going to add so much.

Blair Witch (Bloober Team) Xbox One, PC – August 30

E3 2019’s nicest horror-flavored surprise was undoubtedly that of Bloober Team (Layers of Fear, Observation) revealing it was making a game based in the world of the Blair Witch.

Bloober’s twisty-turny, mind-bending horror games show it can handle the disorientating power of getting lost in the woods, but such open environments are certainly a fresh challenge for the Polish developer. It would be great to celebrate The Blair Witch Project‘s 20th anniversary with a brand new Blair Witch game that isn’t as messy and awkward as previous attempts.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Capcom) PS4, Xbox One – September 3 (PC TBA)

An expansion so gigantic that it should be hunted down and made into fetching armor like its many monsters, Iceborne is going to open up Monster Hunter World to new snowy terrain and a slew of frosty foes.

It’s cited as being almost as large as the base game, so that’s to be expected, and with that selling close to 13 million copies on its own, Iceborne could further boost the game’s enduring popularity.

Gears 5 (The Coalition) Xbox One, PC – September 10

The Coalition has the opportunity to make Gears of War relevant again, but it is admittedly a tough job given we’re at the end of a console generation and the last two entries in the series have, without being terrible, dulled enthusiasm for the series.

Still, Gears 5 does look like a bit more of a refresh than Gears of War 4 did, so maybe this can be the reset one of Microsoft’s biggest franchises needs.

Borderlands 3 (Gearbox) PS4, Xbox One, PC – September 13

It feels like forever since Borderlands 2, and the relatively short wait we now have for Borderlands 3 still feels like too long. There’s a need for more vividly-colored loot-shooting goofiness right now, and a month is way too long for that.

Games have changed a fair bit even in the seven years since the last full game in the series, so Borderlands 3 will have to offer something unique to appeal to the masses. Perhaps its strength is the fact it isn’t quite like all that many modern shooters. We shall soon see.

Devil’s Hunt (Layopi Games) PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch – September 17 (PC Only)

It’s not exactly a novel concept. A hack n’ slash action game where good and evil fight (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta), but those games never let you fight demons in Miami so Devil’s Hunt has that going for it.

In seriousness, Devil’s Hunt could turn out pretty well. It’s pulled its story from the novel of the same name, and you’re able to choose between siding with the angels or the demons. It would be great to have such a typically Platinum Games style title come from a different developer and succeed, so here’s hoping Devil’s Hunt‘s PC release goes well.

Baldur’s Gate I, II, Siege of Dragonspear/Icewind Dale/Planescape Torment (Overhaul) PS4, Xbox One, Switch – September 24

A whole host of classic cRPGs are coming to consoles, ready to consume your spare time for the foreseeable future. In fact, there’s probably enough hours of classic goodness here to avoid the horrors of reality for the rest of the year, especially if you grab them on Switch. Tempting.

If you fancy seeing what the fuss is all about with the likes of Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape, then you’ve got a great opportunity here. The hard part will be picking which one to play first.

Code Vein (Bandai Namco) PS4, Xbox, One, PC – September 27

The ‘Dark Souls‘ model for action RPG titles is a tough one to master, and Code Vein comes in after From Software themselves reworked that model for the sublime Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Luckily for Code Vein it has its own style, with a cyber-vampire anime aesthetic that helps it stand out next to its Bandai Namco stablemate. It just needs to provide something a bit different in its gameplay too and it’ll do well.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (Saber/Mad Dog) PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch – October 4

A surprising remaster in many ways, but a most welcome one. Ghostbusters: The Video Game is back on consoles ten years after its initial release, and has had the slime wiped off its jumpsuit, and given a nice little visual cleanup.

The most interesting thing about this is that it’s technically a sequel to the first two films, and yet it may be made non-canon by the events of the forthcoming cinematic sequel. So it’s a good chance to experience it while it still counts.

The Outer Worlds (Obsidian) PS4, Xbox One, PC – October 25 (Switch TBC)

Fallout fans who have lamented the increasing distance between what that series was and what it has become, have naturally latched onto The Outer Worlds, an RPG from Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment.

You can see why. The Outer Worlds looks like the spiritual successor to the popular New Vegas, especially in how it embraces player choice. While there’s plenty of excitement for it, there’s a good chance it could be one of the surprise hits of the year.

MediEvil Remake (Other Ocean) PS4 – October 25

MediEvil was a game that had been begging to be thrust into the modern era of horror gaming. That Tim Burton-esque charm made it an underappreciated hit on the original PlayStation, and now, we are just a short while away from Other Ocean Emeryville’s remake arriving on PS4 in time for the spookiest time of the year.

It will be interesting to see how Other Ocean has rebuilt a 21-year-old title from the ground up, but hopefully, it has captured the spirit of the original in doing so.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level) Nintendo Switch – October 31

Horror gaming doesn’t have to be all blood, guts, and torture. Family-friendly horror is just as important, and Luigi’s Mansion 3 looks set to be an endearingly spooky fun time for all.

Luigi is back hoovering up spirits, and cowering around darkened hallways, but this time on the Nintendo Switch. Here’s hoping it makes for a Halloween treat.

Death Stranding (Kojima Productions) PS4, PC (Release TBC) – November 8

By the time Hideo Kojima’s first post-Metal Gear game arrives in November, it’ll have been over four years since his exit from Konami, and for all we do know about Death Stranding, we still know very little about it.

Proof is usually in the pudding with Kojima’s titles, so if we get anything close tot he near-perfect gameplay mechanics of MGSV, and throw in the utter unbridled narrative lunacy of MGS2 then it’ll have been worth the wait.

Doom Eternal (Id Software) PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch – November 22

Just typing the words Doom Eternal causes thuddingly loud heavy metal to start playing in my head, so playing the actual game for longer than our recent hands-on preview will probably finally deafen me into oblivion.

Look, it’s more Doom, probably even better than 2016’s revival, and I’m already contemplating investing in better headphones. Safe to say this is a game I’m very excited for, and so should you be.

Phoenix Point (Snapshot Games) Xbox One, PC – December

Firaxis doesn’t appear to be so much as teasing a new XCOM game anytime soon, so original X-COM creator JUlian Gollop’s Phoenix Point has looked like filling the turn-based alien-slaying gap nicely. It looks to have deeper strategy and tactical combat than XCOM too, so Gollop could end up usurping the franchise he created in the 90s.

It suffered a delay, unfortunately, pushing back its release from September to December, so I guess it’s back to the 133rd run on XCOM 2 in the meantime.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition (CD Projekt Red) Nintendo Switch – 2019

That The Witcher 3 is actually going to be on the Switch is pretty remarkable, and I’m sure fans wanting a portable version of what is considered a game of the generation will be willing to take a bit of a technical hit.

It remains to be seen quite how much of a hit that is, but it’s still weirdly enticing to think of having Geralt wading through a bog, dumping on foes with destructive magic while you’re on the bog, dumpi…

Those Who Remain (Camel 101)PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch – Late 2019

This game finally nabbed a publisher recently, so the vague release window may yet come into clearer focus, and we certainly hope so because Those Who Remain has our interest.

Those Who Remain places you in an up-close, psychological horror story set in the sleepy town of Dormont – a town wrapped and warped by darkness and the deeds of its citizens. As the disturbed John Edward Turner, the player will be confronted with a test of Turner’s sanity, morality and the shadows of evil that lurks below.

Maneater (Tripwire) PC – 2019

Killing Floor 2 developer Tripwire has put blood in the waters of excitement with early impressions of its Shark RPG Maneater, and we gladly took the bait.

While no set release date is there yet, we’re still hoping to chomp our way through the game’s open-world before the year is out.

Black Mesa: Xen (Crowbar Collective) PC – 2019

Half-Life may be dead/forever dormant in Valve’s hands, but at least we’re finally getting to go back to Xen. No, wait, come back! It’s a good thing this time! Crowbar Collective’s Half-Life remake Black Mesa looks set to finally be complete with the Xen update set to appear on PC before the year is out.

The much-maligned portion of the original game is reportedly going to be much improved, and it’ll be nice to see how the whole game fits together after all this time. The beta recently arrived so there’s a glimpse at what will be if you want it.

On to Half-Life 2 after that then, hey guys? You’ll probably get Episode 3 finished before Valve announces Half-Life 3 anyway.

What games are you looking forward to for the remainder of the year? Let us know.

The post 25 Games That Horror Fans Should Look Forward to For the Rest of 2019 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Jennifer Kent’s long-awaited follow-up to The Babadook, a brutal and critically-acclaimed revenge thriller called The Nightingale, is about a wronged woman tracking the men who murdered her family through the Tasmanian forest. Meredith Borders reviewed the film out of Sundance, and gave the film an impressive 4.5/5 skull review:

“It’s a breathtaking success by a director who could have made anything after the success of her first horror feature, and who decided to make a bloody but contemplative period piece with no easy answers.”

If that’s too dire for you, what about something with clowns? It: Chapter One returns to theaters for two nights, August 3 and August 6, and it’s bringing eight new minutes of the sequel with it! Stay after the credits for the extended preview!

On August 9, Andre Ovredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) and producer Guillermo Del Toro present their adaptation of the classic, terrifying children’s book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, in which many of the iconic scares from our collective memories come to life to terrorize the cast. Wesley Lara recently reminded us why we love to be scared by Alvin Schwartz’s spooky stories and Stephen Gammell’s haunting illustrations.

47 Meters Down: Uncaged arrives on August 16, and expands on the unexpected success of the original film about a pair of tourists trapped in a shark cage underwater, surrounded by (what else?) killer sharks, by getting a whole new group of tourists stuck in an underwater city with the ferocious man-eaters.

Also on August 16, one of the most cheerfully horrifying kids shows ever made returns on Netflix. Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus! finds the title character, a diminutive and incompetent alien with a taste for world domination, unleashing his most diabolical plan ever. It’s the first new Invader Zim cartoon in thirteen years!

That’s not the only kids show making a horrifying comeback in August. The beloved, and decidedly not (intentionally) scary series The Banana Splits has been turned into a feature horror-comedy, in which the characters from the show turn homicidal after their series gets canceled. The Banana Splits Movie debuts on digital on August 13 before making its DVD/Blu-ray premiere on August 27.

Scream Queen extraordinaire Samara Weaving (Mayhem, The Babysitter) heads to the big screen for Ready or Not, a new comedic horror-thriller about a newlywed hunted throughout a gigantic mansion by her bloodthirsty new in-laws. The film comes courtesy of Radio Silence (Devil’s Due) and hits theaters on August 21.

Also arriving in theaters on August 21, after years in post-production hell (followed by a surprise debut on Dish), is the remake of the cult horror classic Jacob’s Ladder. Michael Ealy (The Intruder) stars as the veteran who begins to see vivid, terrifying hallucinations. Or are they much, much more? Meagan Navarro reviewed the new Jacob’s Ladder for us and gave the film a middling 2/5 stars, which is probably better than most people expected after the project was delayed for several years.

”For those unfamiliar with the 1990 film and/or those who prefer their psychological thrillers grounded in realism, this might warrant a one-time watch.”

Blumhouse returns with its latest low-budget, high-concept thriller Don’t Let Go (formerly titled Relive). The film stars David Oyelowo (The Cloverfield Paradox) as a detective receiving phone calls from a murder victim, his own niece, from two weeks in the past. The film comes out August 30, but Meredith Borders reviewed it for us out of Sundance, where she gave Don’t Let Go a whopping 3.5/5 skulls!

“Bolstered by great supporting performances from Alfred Molina and Mykelti Williamson, [Don’t Let Go] is a high-concept thriller that wisely places its characters above its concept, and it works all the better for it.”

And if that’s not enough horror movies for you, Fred Durst directed and co-wrote The Fanatic, starring John Travolta as an obsessed fan stalking his favorite movie star, with scary results. It hits theaters on August 30.

Is it still too hot to get out to the theater? You have a lot of terrifying options on television. David Fincher’s acclaimed series Mindhunter, about the FBI’s first forays into serial killer profiling, returns to Netflix on August 16. In an intriguing bit of synergy, the new season features Damon Herriman as Charles Manson, just a month after he played the cult leader in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The fourth season of AMC’s Preacher debuts on August 4, as Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy continue their search for God and their battle against The Grail. Also on AMC, the second season of The Terror arrives on August 12. The Terror: Infamy will tell an all-new historical horror story, this time set in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

Over at Amazon Prime the dark fantasy series Carnival Row tells a serial killer story in an alternate Victorian England, where fantasy creatures live side-by-side with humans. Created by Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim), the series stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne and debuts on August 30.

But wait, there’s more: the long-running reality TV series Ghost Hunters returns on August 4, on A&E, after being off the air for three years. Also, Two Sentence Horror Stories expands to a full-length episodic television series at The CW, after making its debut in short form on CW Seed. The anthology horror show premieres on August 8.

And if you’re interested in something a little more interactive, don’t despair! The latest video game based on Blair Witch arrives on August 30 on PC and Xbox One, with first-person gameplay set in what appears to be the original forest from the original, classic film.

As cool as that sounds, the big horror video game release of August is clearly Man of Medan, the latest interactive horror thriller from the makers of the smash hit Until Dawn. The new game takes place on board a ghost ship, where the player takes on the role of multiple cast members as they try to stay alive. Man of Medan arrives on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 30!

That’s an awful lot of horror, and there’s no way we can catch it all unless we get started now! Happy hunting, horror habitués!

The post August 2019 Brings Tons of New Horror, Including ‘Scary Stories,’ ‘Banana Splits’ and ‘Blair Witch’! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Bloober Team’s Blair Witch game reveal was a real highlight of E3 2019 for horror fans, and to be made by the team behind unnerving, trippy horror games like Layers of Fear and Observer? All the sweeter.

With the game’s release just a month away, Bloober Team has released the first gameplay trailer for Blair Witch. In it, the way in which your canine chum comes into play is shown.

Also on display is the trademark head-messing dynamic Bloober enjoys so much. Looks like keeping a grip on reality is going to be a tough time.

You can find out a bit more about the story behind Bloober’s Blair Witch in our interview with the developer.

Blair Witch is out on Xbox One and PC August 30.

The post One Man and His Dog Head to the Woods in New ‘Blair Witch’ Gameplay Trailer appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Lucky for us, Game Informer have snagged around 10 minutes of in-development gameplay footage for us to ogle over. As mentioned by the devs, the flashlight is a key gameplay mechanic, which you’ll see in the footage.

Also in the footage, you’ll be searching for your dog, Bullet. Who you can pet. Day made right there.

The post Search For Your Dog in New ‘Blair Witch’ Gameplay Footage appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The swaying trees that line the empty backroads of Burkittsville, MD have many stories to tell. They whisper the horrid tales from era’s long-since past, times when men and women learned to fear the impossible forces we scoff at today. The town of Burkittsville has suffered much through its history; the grimmest accounts laid out in multiple mediums over the past 17 years. Of course, it’s all part of the very effective but undeniably fictional universe created by 1999’s The Blair Witch Project.

The horrors that befell Burkittsville over centuries may not be real, but that doesn’t make them any less interesting to explore. From the tale of Elly Kedward to the 2016 expedition searching for the truth behind the famed disappearances of October 1994, the lore of the Blair Witch is quite rich.

Most surprisingly, it was a trilogy of PC games and not the subsequent movies that helped flesh out the legends of the Blair Witch. While Book of Shadows and the 2016 sequel only further complicate and muddy what was laid out in in the original, the trio of PC games published by Gathering of Developers is a more cohesive unraveling of the legend of the beldam of Burkittsville.

In 2000, a trio of game developers took on the task of expanding upon the story originally created by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. The first of the three, Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr was developed by Terminal Reality (Ghostbusters: The Video Game). The game followed “Spookhouse” agent Elspeth “Doc” Holliday, who was sent to the sleepy Maryland town to investigate the case of Rustin Parr, a local hermit accused of kidnapping seven children and killing six of them. According to the recluse, it was done so under the spell of supernatural forces. Holliday, a level-headed woman of science, goes into the case less convinced.

Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr sets The Blair Witch Project in the same universe as another Terminal Reality action-survival horror game, Nocturne. By combining the two properties, it allowed the development team to flesh out its own world filled with monsters and deadly shadows long before Blair Witch (2016) introduced the long-legged, scraggly creature in the film’s climax. 

As thorough as Blair Witch Volume I was in investigating the story of Rustin Parr and building up a universe of dangerous terrors, there was still more darkness to explore in Burkittsville’s past. In the late-19th century, an amnesiac Union soldier awoke in the woods near the infamous Coffin Rock. Those well-versed in Blair Witch mythology will quickly recognize the landmark as that of the destination of the ill-fated documentary crew from October 1994. It’s also the subject of Blair Witch Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock, the follow-up to Terminal Reality’s first entry in the video game trilogy.

Just as Blair Witch Volume I had done, The Legend of Coffin Rock takes the foundation laid out in the 1999 movie and uses it to build a complete, albeit short, narrative. Developed by Human Head Studios, the second part of the series explores the gruesome activities linked to the aptly named rock formation. In the movie, Heather, Mike, and Josh traveled to the rock, which was the site of a ritualistic murder in the 19th century. In The Legend of Coffin Rock, it’s the union soldier’s torture and torment by the evils of Burkittsville that spurred the filmmakers’ curiosity in the rock. 

The soldier, dubbed Lazarus by the grandmother of Robin Weaver, treks deeper into the dangerous woods after Robin goes missing. It doesn’t take long before he becomes more wrapped up in the psychological terrors that haunt the weary townsfolk. Lazarus finds, much like Holliday does 55 years later, that there is more to the sleepy town than what’s on the surface. The Civil War setting takes away the fancy gadgets of Doc Holliday and Spookhouse, leaving Lazarus to rely on slow muskets and swords to battle the monstrosities that stalk the dense forestry. On paper, it sounds like a solid premise, but The Legend of Coffin Rock stumbles a bit and starts to feel like an incomplete reskin of its predecessor.

Bloober Team Discusses Its Take on Blair Witch

Outside of the shift in the time period and a different protagonist, Human Head Studios didn’t change much from Volume I. As much as any fan of the franchise may love to see how the search party looking for Robin wound up gutted and carved at Coffin Rock, Volume II winds up being an anti-climactic means of delivering. Though the game still runs on the same Nocturne engine as Blair Witch Volume I and the two games are mechanically identical, Volume II fails to capture the essence of survival horror in the same way and is more of a dramatic period piece with minimal substance.  

The Legend of Coffin Rock struggles to find a balance between telling a story and letting players enjoy the game. While the truth surrounding Coffin Rock and Lazarus’ past is a highlight to watch unfold, so much of the experience surrounding it is rather drab. Whereas Volume I let players explore more freely, the follow-up is more linear and too straight forward. The fun nods to Terminal Reality’s survival horror title, Nocturne, are also gone, leaving behind an empty shell that would have benefited from the intrigue and imagination of an expanded universe.

As it stands, the game plays out more like an interactive documentary, forcing players to go through tedious motions to get to the big payoff – which is a muddied climax that feels so far removed from The Blair Witch Project.

The slight drop quality and disconnect from Blair Witch Volume I were noticeable, but hardly reason enough for The Legend of Coffin Rock to underperform. Though Rustin Parr was able to sell nearly 50,000 copies in a year, its successor fell dreadfully short at 16,000 units. Despite being developed on the same engine, The Legend of Coffin Rock received fewer favorable reviews, with critics citing a lack of scares and a rushed story as its most significant pitfalls. 

With the mystery behind Coffin Rock revealed and the tale of Lazarus concluded, there was still one more link to the Blair Witch that needed exploring – the hag herself. For that, Ritual Entertainment stepped in, completing the trio of teams known as the Gathering of Developers. Just as The Legend of Coffin Rock was a step down from Rustin Parr, Blair Witch Volume III: The Elly Kedward Tale took another drop in quality. That, however, is a story for another time.

Despite what it does wrong, The Legend of Coffin Rock is still an intriguing look into the deep universe created by The Blair Witch Project. It may not have the eerie atmospheres, effective jump scares, or even the mildly likable characters of Rustin Parr, it does help answer some questions initially sought by the missing documentary crew that brought the legend of the Blair Witch to the public’s eye.

The post [Based on the Hit Film] Replaying ‘Blair Witch Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

With Layers of Fear 2 just behind us, and the Blair Witch creeping ever closer, now seems like a good time to ask a few questions about the past, present, and future of Bloober Team, so we spoke to Barbara Kciuck and Maciej Glomb about Blair Witch and its time loops, Layers of Fear 2‘s cinematic homages, the criticism of Basement Crawl, why Polish developers embrace Cyberpunk, and why horror is the chosen genre for the team’s work.

Bloody Disgusting: The E3 reveal trailer for Blair Witch seemed to indicate that the game will, in some way, be playing with Groundhog Day-style time loops. Between 12 Minutes and Death Loop, which also had reveals at the show, Tequila Works’ in-development Groundhog Day VR game and this year’s Outer Wilds and Russian Doll, time loops seem to be in vogue right now. What do you think it is about our current moment that has made these kinds of stories popular? And why do you think a time loop narrative is a good fit for a horror game?

Barbara Kciuk: Doing the impossible will always be humans’ greatest fantasy. Traveling through time and escaping the consequences of our mistakes by erasing them altogether seems like a particularly enticing vision. And that’s exactly what authors of unnerving stories are looking for – alluring concepts which they can then twist horribly. Did you want to get rid of some small misstep from the past? Oops! You just made it all much worse. And now you must live with all of the horrible things you did and more.

As the reveal trailer suggested, Bloober Team’s Blair Witch will also feature time loops. However, without spoiling anything, let me just say that they are not the  Groundhog Day-style loops. They are not there to help you make your situation better in the end. Blair Witch uses them for much more sinister reasons.

BD: Team developer Maciej Głomb has said that this will be the first Bloober Team game to include combat. How does introducing ways to fight back change the experience for fans of your games who have grown accustomed to running away?

Maciej Głomb: Yeah, I guess that’s the first time I can elaborate on this topic a little bit. [Laughs.] So it changes the experience for sure but I wouldn’t say it’s a drastic change. We are convinced that to create a truly horrifying horror experience in a video game you have to make the players feel vulnerable. When introducing new encounter mechanics we don’t really want to change that. What we want to do is to diversify gameplay mechanics. We already experimented with chase and stealth sequences and with Blair Witch we want to try yet another type of combat in which you will be finally able to defend yourself. Having said that we try to design it in such a way that it still feels as you’re a pray not a hunter.

BD: Observer is, personally, my favorite Bloober Team game. Will we ever see a sequel? If so, what would the team want to build on and improve from the original?

Maciej Głomb: Wow, Observer was such a special project for us. I’m probably a bit biased as it was my first project in the industry but I think I can speak for the whole studio saying that it was the first time we tried to create something so ambitious. From creating such an original story, placing cyberpunk subgenre in an Eastern European setting, through graphics that blended together Poland from the ‘80s with futuristic visions to a raw scale of the project. It was a huge challenge for us, both creatively and production wise. That’s why we’re so excited that the game was so well received. If you were to ask me personally I would love to make the sequel but we are currently focused on other exciting projects!

BD: Speaking of Observer, another Polish developer’s cyberpunk game got a lot of buzz at this E3. Are there aspects of Polish culture that make cyberpunk’s themes especially resonant?

Barbara Kciuk: Due to our history, Poland was for a very long time falling behind with new technology. When we finally had a chance to catch up, we needed to do it all at once. And trust me, we were hooked.

Maciej Głomb: What inspired us when making Observer was the fact that Eastern European Cyberpunk is not really an explored topic. We could go wild with it, creating our own personal vision and establishing a formula for anyone who would want to approach this subject in the future. We also had a cast of very talented people to do it – game designer Paweł Niezabitowski and art director Mateusz Lenart (both working now on Blair Witch), Wojciech Piejko, Andrzej Mądrzak and many more.

BD: Will we ever see Bloober Team branch out from first-person horror experiences? Are there other kinds of games that members of the team are itching to make? Will we ever see a Friday the 13th-style multiplayer game from your studio, or even a non-horror experience?

Barbara Kciuk: After releasing three major horror titles of consistent quality, we’re confident in our skills. We know what we do best and we want to use this knowledge in our future projects. But we also believe that there’s always a room for improvement. With each new title, we intend to experiment with some new elements of the formula. To stay relevant in the video game industry you need to improvise, change and improve. That’s especially true for horror, as the players won’t fall for the same trick twice. And if bringing elements of other genres to the mix will improve the experience, then yeah, you can be sure we’ll do that someday in the future, this might even include a multiplayer experience, who knows.

BD: So, Layers of Fear 2 released in May, Blair Witch is coming in August and a third unannounced project is also in the works. Has Bloober Team grown substantially since Observer? How large are the teams working on each game?

Maciej Głomb: Yeah I guess it sounds as if we’ve absorbed a few other indie dev studios. [Laughs.] Of course it would be impossible to develop three games of this caliber at once if we haven’t hired more talent since Observer. Right now we have around 100 people at the office which is probably around 50% more than during the production of Observer. We’ve created three core teams, each working on one project. We also have a team of people with unique skills needed in all three projects. Based on our needs, we assign them accordingly. As you can guess most of them are working on Blair Witch right now. [Laughs.]

BD: Previous Bloober Team games have taken place in closed environments. In Layers of Fear, players were trapped in a house; in Observer, in a tenement building; and in Layers of Fear 2, a cruise ship. How has the team had to adjust their approach to environmental design to make an engaging experience set in the iconic woods of Blair Witch?  

Maciej Głomb: Yes, you’re completely right. Our games are known for messing with environment and player’s sense of direction and we’ve already done it in many different spaces. What they had in common though was that they were all pretty narrow, closed areas where we had a lot more control over the player’s attention. We could almost certainly predict where the player will go or look. In Blair Witch we partially lose that control. This time the players will have many big open areas to explore and we can’t always be sure what they are going to do. It all comes down to making the transitions as seamless as possible to invoke this feeling of ‘wow’ in the player when he/she realizes it is not where he/she was supposed to be. We are happy to have some really talented art designers and programmers who can make this magic happen!

Barbara Kciuk: For us, open spaces are not only a challenge but also an opportunity. Sure, it would be much harder to repeat the same tricks we used in Layers of Fear or Observer, but the thing is – we don’t really want to repeat them. We want to experiment and bring something new to the game. And a forest setting gives you completely new tools to play with. Players can never be sure what lurks in the darkness.

BD: Since Basement Crawl was met with heavy criticism in 2014, Bloober has clearly been on an upwards trajectory, starting with that decision to remake that game as Brawl and release it for free. Did the response to that game play a big part in shaping the Bloober we see today? 

Maciej Głomb: As with everything in your life, criticism of what you devote yourself to do can sometimes heavily influence you. We weren’t happy with how Basement Crawl had been received and wanted to make up for it with Brawl. What I think is more important though, is that this experience forced us to sit down and reconsider what kind of games we really want to develop. You are probably aware of that but it’s an enormous difference to do something you want to do versus something you have to do. Layers of Fear turned the tables for us as I think it was the first time that everyone was on the same page, everyone wanted to contribute as much as they could. What’s more I think that this idea of creating psychological horror really got to all of us and attracted more developers who were fans of the genre as well, and helping us with our upcoming projects. Then Observer happened which as I already said was a real breakthrough for us; we’ve just released Layers of Fear 2 and Blair Witch is soon to come next. We are just really excited to have this clear vision ahead of us and pursue it with every project.

BD: You’ve worked with some cult sci-fi/horror icons like Tony Todd and Rutger Hauer in your previous games, will Blair Witch also feature another cult name?

Barbara Kciuk: This time the biggest cult name will be the Blair Witch herself! We didn’t want to bring someone associated with a different title in to not spoil the mix, so this time we’re focusing more on this legendary universe rather than on celebrities.

BD: Would you say a love of cinema powers much of Bloober’s work? Layers of Fear 2 itself is a celebration of film history as much as it is a horror game, for instance.

Barbara Kciuk: Yeah, that love is very important for our work. However, I wouldn’t limit that to just cinema. We’re a very diverse team full of creative people and we love art in every form and shape. Although Layers of Fear 2 deals with cinematography in the most direct way, each of our games is influenced by it in some way but definitely not limited only to it. Works of culture, in general, are a boundless source of inspiration and the more of it fuels your imagination, the richer experiences you are able to create.

Maciej Głomb: Bartosz Kaproń, who is a Lead Designer of Layers of Fear 2 is a huge fan of cinematography himself. He did such a great job with incorporating all these movie references in the game in a way that is both noticeable for fans of various films and smooth enough and impactful on the overall experience for those who don’t recognize them. I think what he did in Layers of Fear 2 is exactly what we want to do in our games – create those love letters to our passions while providing our players with deeply unsettling horror games. And we can’t wait to show you more!

Layers of Fear 2 is out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Blair Witch will be released on Xbox One and PC on August 30

The post [Interview] Bloober Team Talk ‘Blair Witch’ Game, ‘Layers of Fear 2’, the Horror Genre, and More appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

According to Bloober, the project began about two years ago after the team had finished up Observer. The team was looking for a new project, and coincidentally, Lionsgate was looking for a company that would “transition…the Blair Witch cinematic universe to video games”.

With that, the Observer team was split into three, with one team focusing on Layers of Fear 2, the second team the Blair Witch game, and the third team focusing on a project “which [Bloober] can’t really talk about”.

As for what the game would be about, Kciuk stated that it was a complicated question. “So far, we focus more on the psychological layer of the story. With the original Blair Witch, there wasn’t so much of this psychological element. We observed how the characters are reacting but the film didn’t dwell on backstory. We got a great chance from Lionsgate to tell our own story. We both wanted this entrapment in a forest, this feeling of being alone, of being surrounded by something greater than you, something you can’t really fight with, and we wanted this psychological layer of the story.”

That being said, Lionsgate gave Bloober a lot of freedom with the game. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, the Blair Witch can do this, this and this.’ No. It’s like, ‘Blair Witch is this concept for us – work with it.'”

As for combat, the game will be similar in style to the mechanics of Alan Wake, but without guns. “It’s similar in the way you also have a flashlight, but in Alan Wake you have a flashlight and conventional weapons,” says Głomb. “You don’t have that here because it was not really fitting to the universe; you don’t really see anyone running with a shotgun around the Blair Witch forest. So your only weapon is a flashlight. It’s more of a way for you to get rid of the monsters, to escape them. You don’t really kill them, you fend them off.”

For inspiration, the team drew upon a variety of games. Slender Man was one inspiration, but due to the length of that game, it was only “for a moment”. “One we really liked, although it’s not a horror game, was Firewatch. It was a great adventure in a forest while being, technically, alone – you can talk with another person but otherwise you are alone out there. Although it was not scary, it was more of a mystery, it was great to look at the mechanisms, to look at the how the story unfolds, the pacing.”

The team also drew inspiration from Outlast and Silent Hills, but also films such as [REC] and Paranormal Activity.

When asked about other platforms, Głomb and Kciuk were reluctant to talk about PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. “For now, we are focusing on Xbox and PC but we will discuss the other platforms in the future,” says Głomb. That being said, there’s always the possibility of a later release. “The Switch version [of Layers of Fear and Observer] wasn’t released at the start but it came out finally, so it might be a similar situation here.”

The post Bloober Team Talks Upcoming ‘Blair Witch’ Game appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

There’s reveals for sci-fi horror spinoff Rainbow Six: Quarantine, a Destroy All Humans Remake, and 4v4 Ghostbusters-inspired Midnight Ghost Hunt. Then we saw the return of Nazi zombies in Zombie Army 4: Dead War, and we also got some monster-smashing action in Remnant: From the Ashes and DOOM Eternal.

That’s far from all though! There’s a release date for Lovecraftian sci-fi game Moons of Madness, a gameplay reveal for the highly-anticipated Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, and by far the biggest horror game news of the show, Bloober Team’s Blair Witch game!

The post [This Week In Horror] Ghosts, Witches, Zombies, Demons, and More Among the E3 Horror Highlights appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The trailers were gripping, most memorable for one character’s now famous and often parodied snot-nosed and crying plea for help as she was lost alone in the woods after a few days of hell. Until then, nothing else was quite like The Blair Witch Project. Being only ten years old at the time it hit theaters, I remember when my mom came home from seeing it without me, telling me how unnerving it was, and how it was all real. As a budding fan of cryptids and urban legends, my mind was blitzed with thoughts. What did she see? What kind of evidence was presented in the theater that night? Was it really all true?

As we all now know, of course, it wasn’t true, but the campaign to present it as the real thing was so effective and so exhilarating, it revitalized the horror genre. The movie slyly cast unknown actors, built up a ton of interesting lore, and even sold it all with a tie-in special on the Sci-Fi network which, like the movie, operated on a don’t ask, don’t tell policy regarding the story’s validity in a pre-Snopes world. After slashers dominated horror in the 80s and into the 90s with Wes Craven’s Scream, The Blair Witch Project arrived at the turn of the millennium to change horror forever.

In the 20 years since The Blair Witch Project stunned audiences, we’ve seen other torchbearers arrive on the scene. Blockbuster franchises like Paranormal Activity spawned more sequels than many could keep up with, while indie anthologies like V/H/S gave multiple up and coming horror auteurs the freedom to tell one-off stories they were passionate about. Today, the success of found footage horror movies is all over the place, but the importance of The Blair Witch Project lives on. Found footage horror had arrived, and its influence today stretches beyond just cinema.

There are so many excellent found footage horror movies we wouldn’t have without The Blair Witch Project, but without this crucial genre progenitor, we may still be sailing adrift in the world of horror gaming. Some terrifying games like Outlast take the found footage element seriously and behave just like the 1999 film. You’re alone on an investigation into some nauseatingly scary locale and every horror you encounter is captured on camera. I personally find Outlast 2 to be the scariest game of the generation, and its roots leading to Blair Witch are obvious, but the inspiration doesn’t end there. While few other horrors have taken the found footage element so literally, modern horror games are defined in large part by their defenseless protagonists, much like the trio in the woods of Burkittsville.

All-time great genre entries like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and SOMA don’t have you carrying a camera, but they helped popularize the idea of immersive horror games where you didn’t just have few resources like you did in the previous era of horror games in Resident Evil or Dead Space. Now you had no resources whatsoever — other than your legs. The new era of horror had arrived. Run, hide, and hope the entity chasing you through labyrinthine woods, dark hallways, or foreboding underground bunkers didn’t spot you. Today these defenseless immersive horror games outnumber more traditional survival horror games at a pace of about two to one. Upgrade-able plasma cutters and gut-busting shotguns are out. Running for your life is in, and it all started in 1999.

That’s what makes this week’s E3 announcement of a new Blair Witch video game so exciting. Bloober Team, the horror-focused studio behind recent hits like Observer and Layers of Fear, has revealed a found footage Blair Witch game is coming this August. The trailer looks awesome, and excitingly, the game promises to build on the lore of the Blair Witch. There surely exists an entire generation of younger horror fans that don’t even know about The Blair Witch Project and for them, this could be the entry point to a new beloved franchise.

For those who have longed for more from the series for years, this seems like the best possible outcome too. Two movie sequels failed to really capture the magic of the original, while Outlast has shown us no found footage experience is scarier than the one in which you’re holding the camera. In 1999, The Blair Witch Project catalyzed the most prominent trend in modern horror cinema and inspired a new kind of horror video game. With Bloober Team’s Blair Witch, the last two decades of horror come full circle.

The post [Editorial] The New ‘Blair Witch’ Game Keeps the Torch Burning For a True Horror Trendsetter appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Produced by Lionsgate, and developed by Layers of Fear‘s Bloober Team, the reveal trailer shows some typically creepy and weird shit in the woods. Blair Witch will be a first-person, story-driven psychological horror game based on the cinematic lore of Blair Witch.

Here’s the synopsis that was provided to us:

“It’s 1996. A young boy disappears in the Black Hills Forest near Burkittsville, Maryland. As Ellis, a former police officer with a troubled past, you join the search. What starts as an ordinary investigation soon turns into an endless nightmare as you confront your fears and the Blair Witch, a mysterious force that haunts the woods…”

“We are so thrilled, and honestly a little scared, to bring all players, especially fans of Blair Witch, back into the haunted woods. It is genuinely an honor to be working on such a hair-raising, paradigmatic experience, which defined so many of our lives!” said Piotr Babieno, CEO at Bloober Team.

The game heads to PC and Xbox One on August 30. If anyone can do Blair Witch justice, it’s Bloober.

The post [E3 2019] Go Down to the Woods in a Creepy New ‘Blair Witch’ Game! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The fleshing out of the fake Blair Witch legend, alongside the found footage format, gave the whole film a rather unique touch of reality, and while the sequel essentially copped out to become a straight horror film, the legacy of the Blair Witch would find expansion in the realm of video games.

The year after The Blair Witch Project hit cinemas, a trilogy of PC games was created to build upon the lore of the Blair Witch and its origins. The games began with Rustin Parr, followed by The Legend of Coffin Rock, and were rounded out by The Elly Kedward Tale. The three games were released in the space of just under two months from October of 2000.

Each one was a psychological horror adventure, and each one was made by a different development team (collectively known as Gathering of Developers), but all three would be on the same game engine, Nocturne.

Interestingly the engine is taken from Gathering of Developers’ first game (also named Nocturne), which technically acts as a prequel to the first Blair Witch game. It shares no named link with Blair Witch, but story events in Rustin Parr tie into those prior to the Epilogue of Nocturne.

So Blair Witch Volume 1: Rustin Parr kicks off the trilogy of tales. Its developer, Terminal Reality, had burst onto the scene with aerial 3D shooter Terminal Velocity five years prior, and worked on Nocturne just before Rustin Parr.

Horror would turn out to be a big part of the studio’s ongoing legacy after Blair Witch, as it went on to make BloodRayne, Ghostbusters: The Game and The Walking Dead Survival Instinct (I didn’t say it was a great legacy). The last of these was sadly the final game by the developer, as it was liquidated in 2013. Terminal Reality had also worked on one of Guillermo Del Toro’s doomed video game projects, Sundown (a Left 4 Dead style title that never saw the light of day, as is unfortunately the norm for GDT’s game pitches thus far).

Back to the past though. Rustin Parr’s story takes place in the year 1941, and mostly takes place over the span of four days. It follows research scientist Elspeth “Doc” Holliday, who is sent to the town of Burkittsville by the Spookhouse, a classified government agency that investigate all manner of paranormal shenanigans. Her job in Burkittsville is of course to investigate the legend of the Blair Witch, and its involvement in the disturbing case of the titular Rustin Parr.

The tale of Rustin Parr might sound familiar, and that’s because it’s explicitly mentioned in The Blair Witch Project itself (though Holliday is never mentioned in this story). Parr is a hermit who abducted seven local children, and murdered six of them in his basement, while making the seventh, a boy named Kyle Brody, stand in a corner, facing the wall. Brody had to listen to the screams of the others as Parr brutally killed them. After the slaughter, Parr left his forest home, went to town and told a local shopkeeper that he ‘was finally finished’.

Parr claims to have been influenced by an evil entity whilst committing the murders, and that’s where Holliday comes in to investigate the validity of those claims.

She does so alongside her partner the ‘Stranger’. Though not for long, as Stranger’s scepticism concerning the Blair Witch legend leads to Holliday going off on her own for much of the game’s duration.

The game is mostly about detective work as Holliday quizzes the inhabitants of Burkittsville about the murders and digs for clues. When not being Murder She Wrote: Occult Edition the sleuthing is interrupted with bursts of survival horror combat where Halliday faces off against some rather unsavory types in the woods that supposedly house the Blair Witch herself.

There’s a decidedly creepy vibe to the town. People either blatantly ignore the supernatural gossip and put Parr’s crimes down to that of a madman. Or you get those wholeheartedly embrace the sinister legends and have fear that it could happen to anyone now. When Halliday gets to meet the poor single survivor of Rustin Parr’s reprehensible act, she finds a broken shell of a boy, left in what appears to be a catatonic state from the trauma. Kyle Brody is not the only child damaged by this event, a young girl by the name of Mary Brown claims to be haunted by the ghosts of Parr’s victims.

Blair Witch Vol.1: Rustin Parr was, and still is, a better game when it is telling its story and ratcheting up the creepy dread feel of the town. The combat was middling in 2000, and now it’s often a decidedly painful, or worse -dull, slog to endure as you hope to crack open the good stuff in the story itself. The game engine was designed for adventure fare, and it clearly struggles with Rustin Parr’s action.

The nightmare sequences are probably still the standout segments where combat is concerned. The locals seem to become demonic zombies (or Daemites) in need of dispatching, and the game world goes a bit odd a la Silent Hill. It’s still unfortunately almost as bewildering as trying to get out of the Burkittsville woods.

Interestingly, the game doesn’t do the obvious and give you the Blair Witch as the payoff. Instead, Holliday discovers the source of the problem is an evil spirit called Hecaitomix. Said spirit is revealed to have influenced Parr (and Elly Kedward) and currently possesses the shellshocked Kyle Brody.

Holliday exorcises the boy, and foils Hecaitomix’s immediate plans (to replace the child it is feeding on in its realm with Mary Brown). Holliday and Stranger eventually enter Hecaitomix’s realm, retrieve the child, and seal the spirit away within its realm.

Blair Witch Vol.1: Rustin Parr would turn out to be a moderate success. It sold a decent 50,000 copies on PC (not bad for a time where PC gaming was not anything close to the profile it currently holds) and reviewed fairly well. The complaints and praise for it were pretty uniform (good adventuring, icky combat). It definitely seems to have a legacy of its own, whether that is directly intentional or not.

If you were looking for a more modern equivalent of Rustin Parr, then you need look no further than cult oddity Deadly Premonition. Both take place in a backwoods town with strange happenings and feature detective work, but its the nods to Twin Peaks that really seal it. There are quotes from David Lynch’s surreal show and has a character suspiciously like Dale Cooper (to ram it home he even uses the “Damn fine cup of coffee… and Hot!” line).

Of course, there’s one question that is of the utmost importance. Is Blair Witch Vol.1: Rustin Parr actually a good horror game? Well, it was actually a pretty effective horror at the time of release thanks to the menacing atmosphere and otherworldly moments. That impact has definitely been lessened thanks to the ravages of time, but you can definitely feel some of that creeping atmosphere today, and it offers up background information on a notable location and story found within The Blair Witch Project itself.

The post [Based on the Hit Film] Replaying ‘Blair Witch Vol.1: Rustin Parr’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In earnings calls, investor conferences and television interviews, CEO Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chairman Michael Burns have made it clear that the studio behind “Mad Men” and The Hunger Games is willing — even eager — to sell its film and television studio, writes the site.

This isn’t the first time the company has been in sales talks, although previous chatter ended with Lionsgate acquiring companies such as Artisan, Summit Entertainment, and Starz. This time could be different.

Burns told CNBC in January that Lionsgate was a “pint-sized bite for some of these giant market cap companies” and therefore would “talk to anybody at any time” about a merger, while Feltheimer mused to Wall Street analysts in February that the media company could be “prey or predator” when it came to playing Let’s Make a Deal.

“Now more than ever Lionsgate will be willing to entertain any kind of serious bid for the company, as opposed to maybe in the past when it would have dismissed such a scenario,” said Tuna Amobi, director and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research.

Interestingly, the site notes that it remains possible that the company could also acquire something as it looks to bulk up. It had, for instance, considered making a play for parts of The Weinstein Co., which is considering filing for bankruptcy.

There’s a massive in-depth look into the possibilities over at Variety, although it comes down to this: politics may be the deciding factor.

There’s a lot at stake here, especially for genre fans as Lionsgate has always been a champion. While they distribute the Saw films, including last year’s Jigsaw, Twisted Pictures owns the rights and could shop it elsewhere. There’s also the Blair Witch Project franchise and recently announced television series that’s in development. Other television series include “The Dead Zone”, “Fear Itself”, and “Ascension”. Films connected to Lionsgate range from The Twilight Saga to The Hunger Games, Rambo, Divergent, The Punisher, John Wick, Hostel, The Expendables, and Sinister.

Interestingly, Lionsgate released Dimension Films’ Hellraiser: Judgment, and is also distributing Children of the Corn: Runaway. It would be painful to see someone else acquire Lionsgate as horror would suffer, but the idea that they could acquire assets from The Weinstein Company would be vastly exciting. Look at all the franchise possibilities. As a horror fan, we should be praying this is all smoke and mirrors as Lionsgate looks to expand yet again. With that said, something feels a bit different this time, especially when companies like Disney are plucking massive studios like Fox right out of thin air.

We’ll keep our eyes on this and share any updates as they come in.

The post Lionsgate Is Looking to Sell the Company appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The found video footage told the tale of three film students (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams) who’ve traveled to a small town to collect documentary footage about the Blair Witch, a legendary local murderer. Over the course of several days, the students interview townspeople and gather clues to support the tale’s veracity. But the project takes a frightening turn when the students lose their way in the woods and begin hearing horrific noises.

Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett‘s Blair Witch opened the door to expanded mythology in their paradoxical take on the material. It’ll be interesting to see if the new series remains canon or if they begin anew, and if they continue with the found footage camerawork.

What would you guys like to see out of a Blair Witch series?

The post ‘The Blair Witch Project’ Series In the Works at Lionsgate appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After years of parodies and over-exposure, Slender-Man might seem like a hokey digital bogeyman, but he used to terrify internet users back when he was a lesser-known online folk tale mostly relegated to underground image forums. While the faceless character was created by Eric Knudsen (also known as Victor Surge) for a photoshop contest on the Something Awful Forums, the story soon spread to every corner of the internet, and the so-called “mythology” behind Slender-Man has been expanding ever since.

The flexibility of the source material combined with the believability of this internet legend made Slender-Man a prime target for online storytellers like Wagner and Delage. Drawing inspiration from The Blair Witch Project and even Mark Danielewski’s excellent House of Leaves, the group that would eventually become known as the now-defunct THAC (Troy Has a Camera) produced a complex and interwoven online narrative that is now remembered as one of the best ARGs that the internet has to offer.

Focusing on a young man named Jay (played by Troy Wagner), the story revolved around his investigation of a failed student film directed by his friend Alex Kralie (Joseph DeLage), who entrusts Jay with a collection of tapes from the unfinished production before disappearing. As Jay reviews the tapes, he soon finds himself entangled in a supernatural conspiracy involving an otherworldly entity known only as the Operator, and turns to Youtube in order to record his horrific experiences.

The series was roughly organized into three seasons over the span of 5 years, plus a plethora of complimentary videos that antagonized our main characters while also providing clever puzzles for fans to unravel in order to further the plot. As the story progressed, Jay’s search for the truth eventually turned into a mind-boggling fight for survival, with encounters with the faceless Operator and his minions (known as Proxies) growing more frequent and even more dangerous.

Combining pertinent online fears with clever storytelling gimmicks and solid direction, Marble Hornets provided us with some of the best Found-Footage moments since the original Blair Witch, with each season improving upon the last. However, while the story and scares were delightfully well-crafted, immersion and realism were the series’ greatest strengths. You honestly felt like you were a part of some vast conspiracy while watching these videos and following the complementary social media accounts, despite the low production quality. At their best, characters usually felt like real people reaching out for help online instead of just actors playing a part, making this one of the most dramatic (and human) examples of found-footage. An abundance of copycat series would eventually emerge, but most of them lacked this crucial element of believability that made Marble Hornets stand out in the first place.

Of course, the low budget nature of the show resulted in quite a bit of criticism, as some of the series’ most memorable moments are undermined by amateurish performances and less-than-stellar special effects. The storyline also stumbles with its own obtuseness at times, though much of this can be attributed to the interactive nature of the plot. Ultimately, having the audience try to work together with the protagonists in order to figure out what the hell was really going on was both a blessing and a curse. Nevertheless, considering the independent nature of the production, most of these missteps are forgivable, though they are still a blemish on an otherwise admirable show.

Roughly a year after the series ended, a spin-off film entitled Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story was quietly released, facing criticism from both fans and general moviegoers alike. While marketed as an adaptation of the web series, the film was, in fact, a self-contained story that took place in the same universe, though it didn’t do much with the extensive mythology that the series had accumulated by that point. Overall, most people found the film to be yet another unimpressive found-footage flick, without any of the scares, charm or plausibility that made the original series such a success.

More recently, we’ve seen the rise and fall of Clear Lakes 44 and ECKVA, which were meant to be spiritual successors to the original show. Nevertheless, the disbanding of the THAC team and lack of viewer interest resulted in the canceling of Clear Lakes, and ECKVA is still miles away from achieving the notoriety of the original show. While neither of these shows were outright failures, they weren’t exactly on the same level as Marble Hornets.

While the choice of format is questionable, hopefully, the new comics will be able to connect with fans in a way that other spin-offs haven’t, capturing that elusive urban legend feel while still having relatable main characters and a complex plot, though it’s a bit early to make any meaningful predictions. It wasn’t necessarily Slender-Man that made Marble Hornets popular, but the engaging narrative and the simple yet effective filmmaking behind it. Viewers were left thinking that this insane tale looked and felt just real enough that it could be true, which is something that both the copycats and spin-offs lacked. There’s a reason why some of Marble Hornets’ early entries went viral as internet goers began sharing the videos as real-life footage of Slender-Man.

In the end, the whole point of both found-footage and ARGs, in general, is to bring the viewer closer to the media they’re consuming, providing certain stories with a greater impact than they might have had if presented in any other way. The legend of Slender-Man is a natural fit for this kind of storytelling, as the entity is nothing more than a terrifying representation of meme culture (which is something that I really hope is addressed by Sylvain White’s new film). However, the same principle can apply to any scary story attempting to connect with viewers on a more intimate level, especially on the internet.

We may yet see a new found-footage influenced phenomenon that takes the internet by storm, inspiring memes and online urban legends, but Marble Hornets will forever be remembered as a landmark in online entertainment, and proof that great ideas can often overcome a lack of budget or even experience. It may have its flaws, but this is one chilling online adventure that I’d recommend to any horror fan. After all the Operator is always just a few short clicks away.

The post [Editorial] Remembering ‘Marble Hornets’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Since that article, we’ve seen everything from a surprise sequel to the king of found-footage, Blair Witch, to Found Footage 3D, a loving parody of the sub-genre. While I definitely enjoyed several of these movies, I think it’s fair to say that none of them were innovative enough to truly change the way that we perceive this kind of film, even though they don’t necessarily have to be in order to be entertaining.

Nevertheless, a few weeks ago I watched Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass’s Creep 2, and after letting the film sink in for a bit, I’m now convinced that the cinematic holy grail of found-footage is much closer than I thought, and here’s why…

The first Creep was released back in 2014 to surprisingly positive reviews, and I’d rank it as one of the best found-footage flicks to come out of the past few years. The film’s simple yet fascinating take on boundaries and interpersonal relationships resonated with viewers, and since then Mr. PeachFuzz the supposedly “friendly” wolf has become something of a celebrity in the horror community. Although the movie has its fair share of flaws (with some segments dragging on a bit too long), the clever script and Duplass’ now-iconic performance reminded us that talent and creativity can overcome nearly any limitations when telling a compelling story.

Through several interviews with both Brice and Duplass, it was revealed that the simplicity of found-footage was what allowed them to take risks and experiment while crafting the movie that eventually became Creep. From improvised dialogue, alternate scenes and even different endings, the duo was able to pick and choose the best material to tell the story at hand, and resulting in a captivating thriller with only two characters and a single camera.

When Creep 2 was announced, I, like many others, was extremely skeptical. A lot of what made the first movie work depended on that surprise ending, and it seemed like the sequel was just going to rehash the first film’s premise minus the rising tension. However, when it finally came out, I was blown away by an incredibly self-aware story, mesmerizing characters and the overall creativity behind nearly every aspect of this simple yet elegant production.

Not only is Creep 2 one of my favorite movies of 2017, but if we’re lucky, it might also be the start of a shift in the way that filmmakers use found-footage to tell a story. This is one of those elusive cases where a movie simply would not be as interesting or as impactful had it been shot and edited like a traditional cinematic thriller, as the found-footage aesthetic is absolutely vital in conveying this story’s message.

The film is a groundbreaking achievement in minimalist filmmaking, and part of that is due to Brice’s understanding of how telling a good story with fewer tools and resources than usual should inherently require more effort in other departments to compensate, not less. By stripping away most modern filmmaking conventions and focusing on the two amazing leads, Creep 2 has more in common with a live stage show than a traditional horror movie, and that’s a good thing. This is one particular story that only benefits from the less-is-more approach, showing us only the most essential elements of the story, and stripping away the rest.

Of course, the found-footage aspect also lends the film a kind of intimacy with these characters, not to mention a heightened sense of believability. Despite what many moviegoers claim, realism isn’t necessarily as important to maintain the illusion of found-footage flicks as consistency. Most films in the genre falter by trying to make the footage as realistic as possible, with little regard to how much story is actually being told, and then later resort to “cheating,” by artificially telling us parts of the story that couldn’t be conveyed organically earlier. This is what turns the found-footage aesthetic into an obstacle rather than a tool for telling more unique stories.

This pre-occupation with realism only really ever worked with The Blair Witch Project, but that was before general audiences became aware of the trickery going on behind the scenes. There’s also the fact that the Blair Witch phenomena was more of a multi-media event, featuring complementary experiences and mythology that went way beyond the movie itself, resulting in a much broader and more sustainable suspension of disbelief.

Luckily for us, much like the first film, Creep 2 does things differently by being one of the rare Blair Witch Project successors that relishes in the home-movie aesthetic without being utterly consumed by it. The movie even incorporates the eventual compiling, editing and presentation of this footage into the plot itself. The story’s real strength lies in its compelling character interaction and disturbing subtext, with the found-footage aspect being a narrative tool instead of the film’s focus, which is really the direction that newer productions in this genre should be heading towards.

Surprisingly enough, my point here isn’t to just gush about how much I loved Creep 2 (though it’s likely that I’ll only ever stop when the third film in this planned trilogy finally comes out), but to state that the bar for found-footage movies has been raised, and it seems that us fans of the genre are at a cinematic crossroads. We can either continue on a path of mostly shallow and overtly familiar films, or be inspired by masters of the craft like Brice and Duplass. If other genre filmmakers are taking notes (and I certainly hope that they are), it’s only a matter of time before we see more creative and entertaining gems pop up in this vastly underestimated sub-genre.

After all, Sara loves her Juicy-Fruit, and we love our found-footage movies.

The post Why We Need More Found-Footage Like ‘Creep 2’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Movie podcast Diminishing Returns interviewed Eduardo Sanchez, co-director of the original 1999 The Blair Witch Project, who revealed that the Witch isn’t dead yet.

“For us, it’s a very natural thing to go and say, ‘Hey, let’s do a frickin’ Blair Witch show,'” Sanchez stated on the podcast. “You can say it’s from the original creators and we can bring in a whole bunch of interesting directors to direct episodes.”

When asked if it would be an anthology series, a prequel, or even found-footage, Sanchez was cryptic.

“Well, you know, I can’t really discuss,” he stated. “I think that the idea of a Blair Witch anthology has always been very – just a really interesting thing. You’re close. You’re in the ballpark. You know, and I think it might be one of those things that might be – you know – the more you think about it, you’re like, ‘That might be the perfect… a TV show.’ You know? So, we’ll see what happens, but I think that’s the next big thing for Blair Witch. Probably TV.”

While Sanchez reveals that he no longer owns the rights and that it’s at the mercy of Lionsgate, we hear that the theatrical flop of Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch last year wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked. In fact, it was highly profitable for Lionsgate who had pre-sold the film to various territories worldwide. So, while another theatrical release may be out of the cards, a television series seems like the most logical evolution for the franchise.

The post ‘The Blair Witch Project’ Being Developed into a Series appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

But – appropriately – you have to look for it.

The movie centers on James’ (James Allen McCune) obsessive search for his sister Heather (Heather Donahue), lost two decades ago in the woods surrounding Burkittsville, Maryland. There is virtually no chance of Heather being still being alive after all this time and deep down James knows this, but a piece of footage newly discovered in the area gives him enough hope to go looking for her anyway. A handful of James’ friends and some local lookie-loo guides also realize this is a lost cause, but go along with him out of support and in order to document the proceedings.

Of course, it’s not until the end of the movie that due to some wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey witchery, the newly discovered footage is the very footage that Lisa and the others are currently shooting. It’s a paradox. James’ desire to look for Heather leads them into the woods, which leads to his desire to look for Heather, which leads them into the woods, ad infinitum; an endlessly repeating loop perpetuated by his inability to simply let go.

This point is driven home in the most literal way possible in the movie’s final moments, during which James finds himself at the inevitable conclusion of his journey, facing the corner of a dilapidated house out of fear that simply looking at the being he’s encountered will kill him. At this point, he should know, on every logical level, that what he has found is not Heather or, at the very least, not the sister he knew. He’s seen first-hand the hell at the heart of the woods and what it does to those who tread there. He’s glimpsed the spindly-legged creature, whatever it may be, that dwells in the structure he’s wandered into.

And yet…

As James faces the corner, all too aware of the horrifying truth of the situation he’s in, he hears Heather’s voice behind him. In a direct parallel to the very first decision we see him make, in defiance of all logic and disbelief of the reality around him, he can’t not look, and it kills him.

James refusal to accept the death of his sister drives his every decision, on a macro and micro level, and ultimately destroys him and those closest to him. At its core, Blair Witch is about the devastating effects of an inability to properly grieve for the loss of a loved one and an argument that not all hope is healthy or productive.

That’s why Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s Blair Witch, the stealthily-created reboot/sequel to The Blair Witch Project, is – in my opinion – misunderstood and unfairly maligned. There’s a little-discussed theme at the center of this movie that was overlooked in the debates over its perceived unoriginality, the found footage shooting style, and the decision to show what may or may not have been the titular entity.

But, appropriately, you have to look for it.

The post Cycle of Grief: The Missed Message at the Heart of ‘Blair Witch’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The hit film was followed by Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000 and more recently, years-later sequel Blair Witch in 2016. Neither film was well received by fans, which probably explains why one hardcore fan has just taken matters into his own hands.

Jason Hawkins is the man behind The Blair Witch Legacy, a forthcoming fan film that plays around in the Blair Witch universe.

“As a fan of the original, and as a filmmaker, it was fun to play in this world and make an unofficial sequel,” says Jason. “Test audiences have loved it so far, so we feel good about that.”

Check out the trailer below!

“In July 2017, three filmmakers traveled to Burkittsville, Maryland to document the untold truth behind the making of the original Blair Witch Project.”

The Blair Witch Legacy is expected to be available in Spring 2018.

The post [Trailer] Horror Classic Gets a Feature Length Fan Film With ‘The Blair Witch Legacy’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

When Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch, a sequel to The Blair Witch Project, was released on home video, it came packaged with a commentary track from Wingard and writer/frequent collaborator Simon Barrett. If you were hungry for more, you’ll be happy to know that three of the film’s main actors just recorded their own!

Just about one year after the release of Blair Witch, stars Brandon Scott (Peter), Wes Robinson (Lane) and James Allen McCune (James) have gotten together to chat and reminiscence about the film for your listening pleasure, and they’ve put the commentary track up for free over on YouTube.

All you’ve gotta do is sync the track up with the movie and enjoy!

In the film, “A group of college students venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of James’ sister, who many believe is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch. At first the group is hopeful, especially when a pair of locals offer to act as guides through the dark and winding woods, but as the endless night wears on, the group is visited by a menacing presence. Slowly, they begin to realize the legend is all too real.“

The post ‘Blair Witch’ Actors Just Recorded and Released Their Own Commentary Track appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

So, with a new take on one of cinema’s most iconic horror villains coming soon, I ask myself, “How much do I really care?”

Several months ago in anticipation for the release of Adam Wingard’s The Blair Witch, screenwriter, Simon Barrett, was making the rounds to promote the film. He stopped by The Canon podcast to vouch for the original film’s inclusion into, well…”The Cannon”. During the conversation, Barrett explains the need he felt to avoid answering all the questions set up by The Blair Witch Project. Those who have seen the sequel know that while some new details are teased out, there is still plenty left up for debate. This is no “Blair Witch: Origins”. Ultimately, Barrett argues against that type of storytelling:

“There’s the Star Wars prequels thing where it’s like, you know, you are explaining something that is basically what everyone sort of assumed happened, but they kind of thought it was going to maybe be cooler. I never want to do that in a horror film, because if you hint at something, what’s in your audience’s imagination is automatically, probably going to be scarier to them than anything you can come up with…Eduardo and Dan [directors of The Blair Witch Project], it’s not like they were pulling a weird kind of – second half of Mulholland Drive where they were just like, ‘We don’t really know what this is.’ They knew what it was…They didn’t over explain it. That’s what I think makes the mythology get under people’s skin.”

It’s a valid point and perhaps, a bit cliche. What you don’t see can sometimes be far more horrifying: the shark in Jaws, the lack of any real bloodshed in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or the “baby” in Rosemary’s Baby. I’ll never forget the horrific image of that demon spawn I had conjured up in my mind. It lingered in my memory only for me to realize upon revisiting Polanski’s classic film years later that no demonic infant is ever shown. Specifically speaking on prequels, a lot of fans were left cold by young Michael Myers’s troubled home life in the Rob Zombie prequel/remake. News swirling around the almost 13th installment of the Friday the 13th franchise was we were rewinding to show the father of Jason, Elias Voorhees. The general consensus was, “No thanks.” Yet filmmakers continue to go back to this well of origin stories. Perhaps it has something to do with the success of superhero films that weave humble beginnings into billion dollar franchise monsters?

All of this to say, is there a valid reason to explain what once was deemed terrifying “just because”? In doing so, do we dilute the magic of what has come before? One of the most recent examples we have is Alien: Covenant, the first in a proposed trilogy of prequels. I personally found the film thrilling and highly enjoyable, though the more I think about it, the more sleight the overall story seems. Yes, it might be building towards something epic, but the details provided so far amount to nothing more than (MINOR SPOILERS) a fucked up mad scientist riff on Frankenstein. The revelations revealed herein line up quite expectantly with the trail of breadcrumbs from Prometheus.

Sure, the lack of any big surprises in Covenant might have robbed the film of a sense of purpose, but it remains a rousing action/horror hybrid. It was damn entertaining. Is that purpose enough? The film left me with several questions I now hope to have answered in future films. But if this were it, would I be okay with where things left off? Yeah. This isn’t a backstory that I NEED. Furthermore, whether you love or hate Ridley Scott’s obsession with creationism, it doesn’t take away enjoyment of the original film in any way whatsoever. The “Space Jockey” is still an awe-inspiring image in 79’s Alien despite it being nothing more than a spacesuit for an oversized albino creature with a God complex. Ripley still kicks ass, and the xenomorph is still terrifying.

In the case of Leatherface, we know very little at this point. What I can say is that while I might not have been clamoring for ANOTHER Chainsaw prequel, at least this one is taking a rather unexpected approach by setting itself up as a quasi mystery. Which one of the demented youths will claim the title of “Leatherface”? Taking a look at The Beginning, the prequel to the 03′ remake, the plot was precisely the type of unimaginative dreck we might have expected. A deformed baby left to rot in a dumpster is taken in by a group of backwoods cannibals. Natch. I may not have asked for another TCM origin story, but I’ll accept one that flexes its creative muscles. At this point we can simply hope that Leatherface is respectful to the original and manages to offer a few surprises that we, the humble fan, couldn’t have whipped up ourselves during an epic nerd debate.

Now more than ever our culture has become obsessed with revisiting our fondest pop culture memories. By revising our favorite stories with a modern slant we transport ourselves to the “simpler times”. Reboots of everything from Twin Peaks, Puppet Master, and the X-Files have already been rebirthed. While horror already went through a mass of remakes in the mid-aughts, it’s only a matter of time before our genre catches a case of “reboot-itis”. I’m personally more interested in the “alternate timelines” we’ve been teased with the upcoming Halloween or Neill Blomkamp’s proposed Alien 5 than with a string of “before they were legends” genesis tales. On the one hand, it seems disrespectful to just pick and choose what films “matter” and disregard a legion of fan interest that withstood years of diminishing returns, but it’s also that precise vision that excites me.

At the end of the day, I’m not afraid of filmmakers “ruining” my treasured franchises. Someone wants to reboot Hellraiser by detailing the creation of the Lament Configuration (ala Bloodlines)? Go for it! Someone wants to create a courtroom drama centered around Freddy Krueger? Sure. Why not? Want to settle the age old mystery of just what the hell is a Mogwai? The point is, none of this can take away your enjoyment of the classics you love. Retcons and reimaginings throw the concept of “cannon” into upheaval all the time. People have already begun to hypothesize that Ridley Scott might be dumping the idea of an alien Queen from his mythology. But if you sit down to watch Aliens and choose to ignore everything presented in the prequels, you’ve just created your own canon!

There are those who have no interest in these prequels and re-imaginings, and that’s completely understandable. For me, though, I say, “Bring em’ on.” You never know, we could be thoroughly surprised by Leatherface (despite the numerous setbacks with its release). For every Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, we could find ourselves with another Amityville 2: The Possession! Don’t judge me. That’s one wacky, awesome movie.

So of all the prequels and origin focused reboots, what’re some of your favorites?

The post Horror Prequels and Origin Stories – Too Much of a Good Thing? appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.