Filmmaker reacts to The Blair Witch Project (1999) for the FIRST TIME!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 10 май 2022
- Hope you enjoy my filmmaker reaction to The Blair Witch Project. :D
Full length reactions & Patreon only polls: / jamesvscinema
Original Movie: The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Ending Song: / charleycoin
Follow Me:
Instagram: / jamesadamsiii
Twitter: / jamesadamsiii
*Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. All rights belong to their respective owners. 
Развлечения
Now imagine seeing this in a dark movie theatre in the 90’s as a kid, not 100% knowing if it’s fiction or not
Exactly. Such a different time. Most of us still had fucking tube tvs. Lol
I was a 90s kid and saw it in the theater. Common sense told me they wouldn’t release a documentary of footage like this haha
@@brittyn Maybe you had that kind of common sense, but a lot of the hype over the movie was specifically around that marketing. The movie is okay as it is, but it was definitely made scarier for moviegoers by the attempts at framing it as real found footage.
Oh my god I saw this in a theater in Utah because I was there for an overnight outdoors wedding IN THE WOODS. It was a rough weekend.
I was 20 years old and me and my friends smoked up before the movie and we should not have done that😂
It's insane to me how the lead actress Heather Donahue got a RAZZIE for her performance. That apology scene is an amazing depiction of visceral fear.
I thought she did great, especially for improving. She was the perfect blend of ambitious and snotty and later terrified.
She now works as a marijuana farmer....life is strange.
a razzie? Heather deserved a fkn Oscar
@@johnsmith8906 That’s a solid fcking gig lol especially in these times. The marijuana field is getting more and more lucrative by the day, lots of ambitious and innovative minds gravitating towards the industry. It’s super exciting!
@@seffers4788 Not knocking it. I think Heather found getting acting gigs difficult due to typecasting. Seems to be in a growing industry.
This movie really benefitted from creative marketing. The team advertised it as a true story, with a web site campaigning for the 'missing' filmmakers. It really helped a micro-budget movie turn into a smash
Not only that, but they aired a mockumentary about the Blair Witch that was also done by the film directors on the Sci-Fi channel right around when the movie came out.
That’s honestly really cool!
@@JamesVSCinema For sure! The viral marketing for this movie was on another level.
I didn't even see this comment thread when I made my comment about the marketing campaign. It truly was brilliant. I'd also argue that I can't think of any move since that has has such a wild marketing campaign that garnered so much attention like that.
@@JamesVSCinema PLEASE watch The Last Exorcism. It's another amazing found footage movie.
This came out at the perfect time, before modern internet and smart phones. The internet was basic and slow, you had no social media and news sites like today that have coverage of a film and leaks and spoilers prior to release. All they had was word of mouth and the promotional sites that were disguised at archival sites. A lot of people believed to be true because there was nothing to compare to at the time.
I remember a lot of media came out to literally say (this isn't real) - what a great promo
@@Crunchyfrog28 I remember that too. I also remember searching the Internet for news archives about this exact thing and talking about it on forums. It’s almost like both news and social media existed. Because they did! It just wasn’t as widespread. Fewer people had the Internet. Today everyone does. That’s the actual difference. Not that social media news wasn’t online because they were.
they just did same thing as Cannibal Holocaust, even the actors dissapeared for 1 year
I actually saw sometuing on the history channel about the town before the movie came out so I thought it was real because it was on the history channel
Their promotional website was great for its time. Presenting it as a real incident had a LOT of people genuinely guessing what happened and why it wasn't a larger news story.
when Heather was screaming WTF IS THAT?! she was seeing a crew member dressed in white. the filmmakers was hoping one of the guys would point their camera at this but they didn't and this was never reshot. it was also the crew that was hitting against their tent and the cast had no idea that this was going to happen so they were actually terrified
Oh, I didn't know that. I know in the final shot of Mike standing in the corner The Witch is standing to the right of the frame wearing a white dress but Heather's actress forgot she was supposed to pan to the right and get a shot of her before falling down. I didn't know there were multiple instances where the crew had The Witch there but it didn't get filmed lol
Also they were led to believe the witch was real
This is all actually not true and I don’t know why people keep repeating these lies. The 3 actors knew they were going to have to run through the woods at night and the film crew cleared a safe path for them and told them to run straight out from the opening of the tent. They actually had to do that scene twice as the first time one of the cameras died while they were running. They also knew there was no witch and there was no woman in a dress at the final scene. In the basement were the directors dressed all in black and they are the ones that knocked the cameras out of their hands. If you listen to the film makers commentary on the special edition DVD of the movie or watch the 2014 TFW panel discussion with the actors they dispel all these falsehoods that they were actually terrified…they are just great actors.
I’m so glad Heather never filmed the dude with the white stuff. What you picture in your mind is always going to be scarier than what you can see.
It's worth looking into how they filmed this. The cast were essentially left on their own with limited contact to the crew, who would periodically leave notes and directions or just mess with them. A lot of what the cast went through was authentic and they never completely knew what was going to happen next
added to the fact that the dialogue was completely improvised; and that the locals i believe were actually interviewed in some town
@@fantasygd5983 They interviewed locals for real. In Burkettsville , I think.
The people talking about the Blair Witch that made it into the film were plants - planted actors to interact with the main 3.
They didn't know if they were interviewing other actors or real locals.
I was coming her to post this very thing. The way this movie was made is very interesting. There hasn’t been anything like it since.
@@adgato75 The mother a real local, and she improvised her version of the witch on the spot as well! The director said that her baby getting scared and trying to make her stop talking was super fortunate, as it helped to heighten the myth and the danger the crew was about to walk in.
@@okapi7559 Interesting !
That extreme close-up on her face was actually an accident. She didn't realize she had zoomed in until after but it was so much better that way, I think. I heard that at Sundance when it premiered, that pretty much no one knew anything about it and thought it was real (well, I'm sure some people may have thought otherwise) and it scared the living shit out the audiences that saw it. It's a little out of context watching it now given how many 'found footage' films came after, but as an example of low budget indie filmmaking, it's pretty great. That reveal of him standing in the corner still gives me chills. Main takeaway: if you've been f**ked with multiple nights by 'something' and then find a house in the woods ... DON'T GO IN IT!
LMFAOOO wise words
Artisan entertainment knew it wasn’t real because they bought the distributor rights on the spot. They were like… “Cha Ching.”
@The movie kingdom T.L.G - Showing "the witch" would have been a mistake.
What makes the movie is the question, is there a witch, or three people lost in the woods panicking?
The scene of him standing on the corner traumatised me as a child.
legend says right in the other corner was a crate of beers
The piles of rocks outside the tent is such a simple yet brilliantly creepy idea. It invokes ideas like grave markings, but also rituals. But also just the sheer reality that someone was right there while the slept! It's fucking scary!
I saw this movie with my younger brother when it first came out and everyone thought it was actual found footage. We were terrified!We spent the entire ride home talking about the scariest parts. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, he said he had to pee and jumped out and ran into the house. It was dark and I was scared, so I grabbed my stuff and ran behind him. I guess I should have seen it coming, but that little jerk was already in position: facing the corner away from me. I screamed louder than I ever have in my life. He collapsed on the floor laughing. Good times.
that's legendary lol 🤣
That is a wonderful memory!!
Man….this movie scarred me for a LONG time. The scene towards the end when they are all running through the forest screaming, the crew never told them that was going to happen. Their fear and screams were legit because they actually had someone dressed up in white gowns, so the screams and fear are genuine. I’m so glad you finally did this one.
Happy to have done it as well! Those screams are wild!
@@JamesVSCinema bro FOR REAL! True guttural screams.
Absolutely shat myself when I watched that scene at the movies. Still gives me shivers
@@BobSmith-mz1uo “When the three are running through the woods and Heather yells, "What the f*ck is that?" at something off-camera, she is really reacting to art director Ricardo Moreno dressed in white long-johns, white stockings, and white pantyhose pulled over his head running alongside them.” Directly from the movie trivia page I just looked up.
looks like the director and crew wanted to terrify the shit out of these 3 guys just for fun.... imagine the dressed in white and honking like geese at them
That final scene with him in the corner still gives me chills.
I got lost in the woods as a boy and hours of running and panic did not improve my situation, I survived, but it left a deep scar. This movie took me right back there in a fit of PTSD in the movie theatre, and I thought I would keel over right then and there. So, you could say this flick made an impression on me. Most frightening motion picture experience of my life.
I'm very glad you made it out safe
😶
running for your life through any dark unknown is truly one of the scariest things imaginable. and you were only a kid too?
damn right you were scarred.
that's 'life changing' fear.
wow, I haven't thought about it in a long time but I totally remember getting lost in the woods as a kid (and a teenager). getting lost in general is scary but the thought of being stuck in the woods after the sun goes down is terrifying
The trivia for this movie is worth reading. Makes you appreciate it even more. The dialogue was all improvised and the crew REALLY messed with the cast during filming. Some of the reactions they have are 100% genuine.
The whole pre-promotion of the movie was a very slow build-up. I remember seeing the "documentary" in Blockbuster video for like a few months before the movie came out in my area. I think I remember TV commercials started showing when it finally came to a theater near me. The commercials, and documentary, played like it was real without explicitly saying that. It was only playing at those small independent theaters to packed houses. When you stand in line to go in, rather than posting movie fliers, they posted newspaper articles about the "incident". At that point, I literally thought this might have been real. I was still incredulous because I didn't understand how someone could just release a murder tape as a movie and nobody was looking into it? It scared the shit outta me and I barely slept that night because it was a hot summer night so we had the window open, and every time the sprinkler went off outside I nearly pissed my pants. Then like a week or two later the movie went to National theaters and the actress was on the Loveline radio show 😂. One of the most brilliant promotional movie campaigns I have ever seen.
I'm sure somebody already said this...but regarding the "What the f*** is that!?" moment...
The actress did actually see something...a member of the crew was in a costume back in the trees to spook them as they ran away, so her reaction was genuine. They had hoped the cameras would catch a glimpse, but they didn't and ultimately they liked it as it maintained the mystery
I'm actually really glad they showed nothing abnormal on camera. Really that's the entire strength of the film, and only ppl working creatively on a microbudget would have made something like this
I'm impressed with how quickly you picked up on the woods having an effect on them (sense of direction , etc.) They never really fully explore that in this movie but they do moreso in the sequel that came out a few years ago. The Blair Witch Dossier is a book that came out that has all of the mythology explained in it and it involves the possibility of them stepping into a place where time does not exist in the same way it does outside of the woods.
Gotta thank other horror films like The Ritual and Witch for that haha
Think about Heather's mindset during that monologue. She's been in the woods for 5 days, she's had nothing to eat but bananas and energy bars, which the film makers gave her less and less of as the film went on, and now it's her last day of filming. Those are tears of relief.
Also, check out the companion film "Curse of the Blair Witch".
The sound design for the final scene is brilliant. Using the sound for the camera that's on the floor in the basement, while showing the film from Heather's camera, made the thing even creepier and more disorienting than it already was.
The way they approached the marketing for this movie two decades ago, when the Internet was still a new thing and omitting details on the production of it was much easier, was borderline genius.
I will never forget being 12 years old and having my friends older brother sneak us in the movies to see this, not knowing if it was real or not. Even his older brother was shook. Such an amazing movie theatre experience.
I like the way the legend in this movie feels like a real local legend, in that you only get bits and pieces of it and they leave it ambiguous how much of it is true or how it all fits together. Some people see this as a negative but to me it’s what makes the movie; the filmmakers give just enough breadcrumbs of information for you to draw your own horrific conclusions about what’s actually going on.
Thank u ans thats one of the reasons that make.this.movie genius.....they will never make movies like this again
Agreed. This is the one found footage film which feels like actual found footage pieced together. There's just enough backstory and legend to explain the ending without the usual expert character who knows everything to tell the audience along the way.
The 'making of' notes behind this film are great. The scene where the trio argue over the map was genuine as between takes one of the production crew actually took it from the actress' equipment when she wasn't watching, giving the argument that erupts during the scene genuine anger because no one knew who was supposed to have the map at that point or where it went.
The production crew tortured the actors like that quite a bit. The night-time scenes were largely ad-libbed with the actors having no genuine clue what was going on in the darkness beyond their sight range, and the crew going out of their way to torture them.
The fear and anger the actors show during the film was very genuine.
This is my favorite found footage film. Saw this in the theater in 1999 and it is one of the few scary movies that stuck with me for a long time. It’s so realistic, the setting and the acting. What helped was that not everything was planned with the actors; they were completely surprised when woken up in the middle of the night, for example. I don’t care if you’re filming a movie, that would be scary regardless when you’re in the pitch black of the remote wilderness! There really was tension between them too.
Regarding the ending: mike is in the corner. That’s the story one of the locals said in the beginning; that the man would bring kids to his basement and put one in the corner as he killed the other. That image of him there while she falls (and you know she’s being killed) was always so creepy to me.
I remember hearing about this back in the day and checking out the website they'd made that listed these people as missing and a bunch of background on them and the Blair Witch. I think I found out it wasn't real shortly prior to seeing the movie but I remember the pre-social media buzz of it all at the time. They really nailed the marketing.
the good times
I thought it was real for years
I had bought the tie-in book after seeing it. It’s a great example of using other media to world-build!
The description of the witch's arms having hair or fur really stuck with me. It was an unusual enough detail to be remembered and make my mind visualize it more realistically than any special effect in the movie ever would. When I was a child, scary movies would stick with me and have me afraid of the monster in the closet. This is the only movie that ever creeped me out like that as an adult.
Yo James you should look into what the director and minimal crew put these actors through… they knew obviously they were acting and all. But they kept waking them up at night and gave them minimal food etc. so a lot of the frustration is genuinely bubbling just below the surface. Being a filmmaker and all i think you’ll find it interesting. Anyway thanks man love this channel
That’s wild! Definitely going to check in on the bts more!
Wasn't expecting a reply... that's cool... but yeah I found it interesting I'm sure you'll take more from it than I did... once again thanks for your reactions bro 🙏 u always point out stuff I'd never otherwise pick up on. All the best
I got a story about when this movie was first in a handful of independent theaters. (Before it's release in big theaters).
Back when the movie first came out, it was only released in just a couple theaters in the Northeast. No one knew much about the movie and no one knew if it was real. Tickets were sold out for weeks, but fortunately I lived next to one of those few independent theaters so it wasn't hard for me to get a pair. Before the movie began the theater attendants came out and gave a presentation like we were about to get on a ride at Six Flags. They welcomed everyone to the show and warned us of motion sickness issues that may result from the way it's filmed. After the presentation, the whole theater erupted in applause and laughter...
After the movie ended, no one in the theater said a god damn word. They all just stoop up together like zombies and slowly exited the theater. In the lobby, in the bathroom, walking outside of the building, no one said a damn word. It was the creepiest thing. It was the last show of the night so the whole place was dead quiet as we left. Typically people chat with each other about the movie they had just seen, but I think everyone was in shock. You see, this was the first movie of it's kind and well before it was proven as fake. Going into (and out of) it thinking that the movie could be real gave an experience unlike anything most people have experienced before.
The shot of the car as they walk away is ominous indeed.
I appreciate the amount of lore they put into this film. They made a fake documentary and a website, which was new at the time . Great example of creativity
One of my all time favorite movies. I admire the guts the filmmakers had in creating this, stating that their intention was to break all the rules of filmmaking. I highly suggest anyone watching this pair it with the "Curse of the Blair Witch" documentary (which has been included on nearly every home release of the movie). It greatly expands on the lore and makes some elements of the movie make a lot more sense, particularly the ending and who Rustin Parr was.
Regarding the ending, it took place inside Rustin Parr's house where he killed those children for the witch back in the 1940's (hence the children's handprints in the house). The thing is, when he confessed, the townspeople burned his house to the ground. The ending of the movie took place in a building that had been burned down 50 years earlier, which speaks to the time/space warping theories around the movie. That also explains how they were able to follow the stream in one direction all day and end up where they started.
I was also going to suggest that ‘mocumentary.’. Adds a lot to the story. I might even like it better than the movie itself.
It also says in the lore built for the film that the footage was found buried UNDER the house, and that it was seemingly so for about two centuries.
There's a theory that Heather was murdered by the boys and i think personally this is what the directors want you to think. Because there never scared at any point an at times seem to almost toy with her like with the map in the creek combined with just creepy comments they make.
Film Theory. Great video.
@@TheRagingwerepandaI knew I remembered that thought I was crazy 😂thanks bro.
I mean the second film probably confirms this, showing the difference between reality that is filmed and what the person is experiencing. They likely killed each other, and had no idea.
I just love that people, including myself, thought this was real when it first came out. And only living 30 minutes from Burkittsville, the hysteria around here was so insane when I was a kid. Truly a film that put a stamp in time for not only what it did for found footage films, but also what a film can do to the general public.
Even via a reaction, the house sequence at the end still really peaks my anxiety just as it did the first time I saw it! Full on goosebumps, hair standing up in the back of my neck, shivers down my spine, heart rate up...the works!!
That last shot still haunts me, one of my favorite shots ever, so effective. I love this movie, specially because it leaves so much to our imagination. I enjoy the mystery.
Such an important film, i think a lot of people share a very similar feeling about the effect this movie has on people. Just so unsettling.
Another great found footage film is the Norwegian film Trollhunter, would love to see you react to this my friend
I'm old,, I worked security at a theater that played this when it came out. All those rumors are true people walked out there were girls crying. You got called to the theater in that first weekend like 10 times for people having like weird panic attacks. One big thing was there was a whole campaign online that made it seem like these people were real and had really disappeared.
Picked up so much vomit in those theatres. The Shakey cam thing really messed with ppl too
It was so cool watching this when it first came out, before the huge "found footage" craze. It took me so long to want to watch it again after getting so oversaturated with this style, and it's cool to remember that this was genuine a cool an innovative film.
I still like the found footage style especially if it can be justified. In one of the last "of The Living Dead" movies (Diary?) the camera man gets a ration of shit handed to him by his GF for not putting the camera down but he shows her that he's uploaded video that already has a million hits and tells her that their video could be showing people what to do or not do and saving lives which I thought was a nice rationalization.
I think Blaire Witch is still the mold that set the style though. They did a great job.
I still think it is one of the 3 best found footage films.
It isn't just an innovator. It is genuinely well done.
Man I wish I could go back and watch this for the first time all over again back when it came out. It was a crazy experience watching this in the cinema back in the day.
I can imagine!
Not me! I am happy just watching snippits like this in a reaction video. I don't need that experience again! :)
The deeper lore behind the film is fascinating and horrifying also, you'll love looking into it. Prepare your spine.
You know that feeling, after you've been doing a physical activity a good chunk of the day & are feeling satisfied about it but you're starting just how tired & thirsty you are, and then your ice-cold favorite drink hits the back of your throat just as you sink just the right spot in your favorite chair? That feeling? Yeah, watching a man watching react to Heather not knowing where they are by (correctly!) concluding they must be in a supernatural loop because Heather is so on top of things, instead of assuming she's just too annoying & full of herself to admit she's incompetent, gave me that same feeling. Anyway, I always enjoy your videos and I particularly always love how you notice visual elements of filmmaking that I would never have clocked, and that last bit really shines in this video especially. Thank you!
this film is often mocked, especially the close up crying scene. people I know saw it in the cinema with everyone shrieking with laughter and shouting and ruining it.
I watched it with a friend at home, in a darkened and silent room, and found it genuinely terrifying. I've watched it since and found it the same.
A really, really good horror film.
Definitely one of the movies that inspired me most as an aspiring filmmaker
That’s awesome to hear, keep going!
I hadn’t seen the online pre marketing/heard the urban legends for this when I saw it, so I was spared thinking it was real, as more than a few friends did. This one & Cloverfield both had ground breaking online material to go with them.
And they DID do organic interviews. They got great stuff from randoms.
Hope it’s not a faux pas to say Rob Ager/Collative Learning did a couple great analyses of this.
Cloverfield is epic!
Thanks for this comment. When I first heard of this movie the word was already out that it wasn't real, but I went to see it because it was having such a massive reaction in people. I absolutely loved it. It's such a myth that everyone who went in '99 thought it was real.
@@JamesVSCinema until TJ Miller ruined it.
The scariest scene for me will always be that pawing onto the tent that comes after they’ve heard weird baby noises. The fact that you don’t know what the f is pawing on the outside of the tent is so messed up. What the imagination comes up with is always scarier than what you can see. James, brilliant review and I love how you appreciate every nuance of the film style, tension and atmosphere of this movie. Awesome.👍
Like others have said, way this film was made and then marketed really made this film into the phenomenon it became. I think the descent into anxiety, paranoia, and terror is well executed, and the line that has stuck with me since re-watching this movie over the last few years came from Josh: "You going to write us a happy ending, Heather?" Really glad you enjoyed and appreciated this.
I remember how believable this whole campaign was to a lot of people at the time. I happen to see the actress on Letterman before seeing it in the theatres so even though it seemed so real, I knew it wasn't because there she was on late night, still alive. But I remember I was confused because the movie was so well done.
Great reaction from you James. I know I saw this in the movie theatre back in 1999 purely by chance. My girlfriend had won free movie tickets to see The Astronauts Wife. When we got to the movie theatre, there was a long delay and finally an announcement was made that the movie had problems or wasn't shipped. So they offered a rain cheque to everyone or you could stay and they'd play The Blair Witch Project. Now I had already caught the "mocumentary" they did on TV. Back in 1999, Google was not really used, so you took almost everything on TV at face value (at least I did). The movie scared the pants off of me and I truly believed it was real "found footage". All up to the point I saw all three actors present an award on some awards TV show a year later. They tricked me hook, line and sinker. Hat's off still today. This is still a brilliant and ground breaking horror movie that predates the Paranormal Activity movies.
I first saw this at the drive in movies with my husband, and I was so scared to take a break for the restroom that I made him come with me lol. The kid noises at the tent just stuck with me. I can't.
I love the scene when Heather is coming down the stairs screaming for Mike to answer her - amazing choice to use the audio of Mikes camera(in the basement) and over lay it with Heather’s camera view - it slowly gets louder until she is standing right over it - creepiest part of the movie for me; if you missed it watch it again but turn it up lol Budget for production was $60,000 and it made $248 million making it the most successful independent film at the time; maybe even to this day 😎
Such a great surreal scene... Her camera had no volume throughout the movie and because of it's frame-rate it made it seem like she was gliding down the steps at the end while her screams were distant (coming from the camcorder) and getting louder.... genius filmmaking to make it so chilling.
BRO I rented this from the video store when it came out on vhs (don't judge) and was watching it in my room in the dark. I was totally freaking out (inside) at the final scene and then my mom burst through the door and shouted 'BOO!!'
I have never ever screamed that loud. And that's the clearest memory I have of this movie lmao.
I never believe in shit because of this movie. I thought it was real for the longest time until it was debunked (this was before the internet was common at least in my hometown so I couldn't easily debunk it myself), and I felt like a total fool.
LMFAOOOO you’re mom is awesome haha
I remember seeing this in the theater and then having to walk home at night with my friend haha
The way they filmed in the woods was pretty crazy. They had the actors just go do whatever but the actual crew would do things in the woods without telling them to scare them and such.
Friend of mine's girlfriend told him it was a documentary. He had no reason to doubt her at the time. It wasn't until in the lobby, after the movie, that she told him it was a movie. He actually wasn't mad, he thought it made the experience so much better.
The one part that scared the crap out of me when I first saw this film was the part with the children laughing outside the tent during one of the nights. When the kids start pressing on and shaking the tent I about lost my sh*t! lol
I was around 13 when this came out, went with a friend and saw it in theater. I wasn't buying into the "is this real or not hype" but I remember walking out afterwards and standing in front of the theater wondering if the Blair witch legend itself was true at all, and that was all it took for me to be freaked out for the next week and a half.
I saw this in the theater. Heard the buzz and found out right before going in that it was just the way they marketed it. Movie scared me still. We left the show when it let out at noon and I was fine all day. Having to drive back to my place surrounded by woods that night had me really on edge and as it was a hot night I had to sleep with my windows open, the woods creaking and cracking all night long. Didn't sleep a wink.
Part of it's brilliance, in my opinion, is that you DON'T ever see the witch. The monster never makes its debut. You get a constant wind up until the end with no visual pay off. Seeing the monster in a movie is always kind of an emotional release point. Instead, I carried the monster with me in my imagination for days and had trouble with the dark woods around my house. My imagination is better than any cgi or costume could have made her.
As a big horror fan I was really surprised when I watched this for the first time about a year ago. I loved the atmosphere and acting, creeped me out more than a lot of high budget films.
Edit: 100k subs lets go!
Woooo thanks!!
I love this movie. I remember watching this the theater when it came out. The cast went missing just to put more hype in the movie. The three of them ended up showing up out of nowhere to accept award for best horror film. Noting is more scary there being out the bush in pure darkness. And being alone, hungry, scared and your anxiety is off the roof.
What I love about this movie is that it doesn't visually show much, in terms of there actually being a witch and being cursed by some dark magic. It just throws in small details every little bit and makes people wonder what's going on. A lot of people will call that boring, but to me that's realistic to the story and adds so much to the found footage style. Like if there really was some witch in the woods and a group of people went investigating, this movie is pretty much exactly how I imagine it'd go down.
Me and my friend bought a 16mm film camera after seeing this film in the theatre. It opened up our minds who effective a film really can be with really simple ingredients.
This is a lesson in filmmaking. Things you don’t see is scarier than things you do. The imagination makes it terrifying!!
Dude thank you so much for actually paying attention to this movie while watching. I've seen so many people miss and ignore things. There is so much lore layered into this movie and you picked up on so much of it.
“Found footage acting seems real” YES! Which attracts me to movies like that. The reason Toni Collete’s performance on Hereditary was so loved was because it was extremely realistic. I appreciate something like that because I start to question reality…I know it’s a movie, but damn! This seems so real! I don’t like a lot of movies due to what some consider is good acting, and I just see it as not very real at all and it begins to bore me. My only critique of this film is one thing, they could’ve done the ending a lot better (in my opinion).
I'd love to see you react to Lake Mungo! One thing that I'm glad you're mentioning is the acting in this movie. It's very well done especially when Heather takes the camera and records her "goodbye note" that is phenomenal acting and no one gives her any credit for it.
Lake Mungo is a great suggestion. Hope he sees this.
Ugh. I hated Lake Mungo. Boring with a final reveal that was not worth the build up at all.
One of the best theater experiences of my life was seeing this in 1999.
I love that your like 25 minute reaction is summed up as "Can't be me, won't be me"
This was one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen when I saw it in theaters. It really feels like a time capsule to a different time and place, which adds to its authenticity.
Never again will I go in the woods unprepared.
Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema
First Time watching Bronson Friday/Saturday! Enjoy the day!
your face at @15:20 lol I felt that
It’s better to be over prepared than under prepared. Don’t underestimate the woods. There’s a reason why 1,000s of people go missing each year
U know that necklace/mala is a form of spiritual technology? I drank & drugged daily 25+ yrs, & discovered japa meditation & all my shackles just fell off! Not even tempted by anything anymore & it's been 8 yrs! ✌😎❤
I always thought that taking a screen into the woods and somehow watching it projected up on it in an actual dark wood would just be a deliciously creepy experience.
Saw this in the theater. With a packed house of terrified people--except for my mother 'You were afraid of LEAVES and TWIGS?" was her refrain when we talked about how scary the movie was. She's tough. LOL. This was the first movie that started the whole found footage genre. The marketing was insane and they played it up as if it were real. Absolute genius.
The scariest part of this movie was the fact that you never saw anything... Everything was left to your imagination. For me it's what you can't see that is the scariest thing and your mind just runs with it and tries to fill in the gaps!
I loved everything about this movie, its still one of my favorites. It really annoys me how so many people are so narrow minded about this film and go on about not seeing anything and the shaky cam, but i find that makes this so much scarier, and more believable. What your mindmakes up for what you cant see is way more terrifying, just creepy sounds and flawless acting and believable dialogue os all that was needed. The problem why scary movies just dont hit the mark with me knowdays is that they show you too much. The latest sequel was a good atempt to bring back the franchise but it didnt land fully for me, however lisa's acting in the ending sequence was superb 'she nailed pure terror' forcing to fight against the 'fight or flight' response. Great reaction btw james 😁👌
Just finished another one of your videos and got the notification for this lol. I always liked the simplicity of it, before found footage was a thing. Interested to hear your thoughts on it. 💕
Awesome Kat! Hope you enjoy!
39 year old man here, i watched this in 1999 on a VHS copy that a female friend had, watched in a group of 10 or so of us. She sold us on the whole "it's found footage" until after we had finished watching it. Not a big horror guy but that final scene staring into the corner still gets to me now and my group of friends still use the phrase "blair witching" to describe a cat or something staring into a 2 wall corner
God yes, I love to watch this right around late October or early November. Right around the time you get the chill in the air and the leaves are changing.
This movie has been become a meme over the years. But for folks that were around when it came out - it’s iconic. Everyone remembers where they were when they saw it for the first time.
Fun fact - the actors pretty much shot the movie themselves. The directors would leave notes for them every day to let them know what their characters would do that day. And they would leave creepy sh*t around their campsite and let the actors react naturally.
A lot of people don’t like this film, but I think it’s great! I love the horror of not knowing what’s around the corner (sometimes literally). Yes, it moves slowly and not much happens, but that greatly benefits the tension and the horror IMO
A funny thing is that in the Director's notes that day for the actress playing Heather she was supposed to pan her camera to the right after holding on Mike standing in the corner and standing there was The Blair Witch in a white dress, but she forgot to film it before falling down like she got hit so we never see The Witch. So in that last shot The Witch is standing there just to the right of the frame lol
Literally saw this last week! Just right on time!
Welcome to the club haha!
I was out camping solo in the Colorado mountains one time and found a hidden camping spot that hadn’t been used in ages. I took a hike following some Little Rock Karens (rocks stacked up to show a pathway) about maybe 2 miles. and at the end of this was a place with all the things like at 14:42 strung up in the trees like little dolls. I got out of there so fast. Scariest thing I’ve ever encountered.
*cairns - although the prospect of solid rock Karens with hanging voodoo dolls would freak me out as well! :)
@@ChurchOfTheHolyMho the rock Karen’s didn’t freak me out so much as those are pretty common for marking a path back to where you started without guessing and getting lost. Getting to that destination that someone marked out with all those things hung up is what was terrifying!
I really appreciated this film for what it was back then, I can remember watching it at my local cinema, and all the young children in the audience were disappointed that there were no jump scares or gore. I enjoyed the build up and dynamic between the actors I truly was terrified after watching this and i don't mind admitting it. I'm watching this with my phone light on because I'm still terrified really.
There's a whole lore built around this movie. I remember seeing it in the theater. Lots of people at the time liked it and lots didn't. They even made a joke about it in an old episode of Family Guy. For a while after release, it had a "Cannibal Holocaust" following in that lots of people thought it actually happened. During the actual filming in the woods, the crew would just give the 3 actors a skeleton script and then fuck with them when they'd wake up each day with the little witch sticks and such. So, no. This didn't actually happen. But yes, most of the dialog and emotions are real.
I have never managed to fully watch this movie. I keep falling asleep during it, even in a full cinema. Something about this movie just knocks me out every time I try to watch this movie.
Same. I can't understand how ppl find it scary.
I originally saw The Blair Witch project in 1999 in the theatre, but what people watching today might not know was the viral marketing (Some of the first of its kind) that lead up to the release of the movie. "The directors had missing person leaflets distributed which, in addition to a brief trailer, led people to a website devoted to The Blair Witch Project. People would then discover a compelling backstory on the legend, police report photos and fabricated news stories, all designed to generate word-of-mouth" So, yeah they pretty much had a majority of the audience(myself included) convinced it was real.
Like always, great Reaction James!! One of my favorite "Found Footage" film is Chronicle! Would highly recommend 👌 Keep up the great work!
I remember seeing this for the first time when it came out on VHS. I think I was 7 years old and to this day it's still possibly my favorite horror movie of all time. I actually learned recently that originally you were supposed to see the witch during the tent attack. Heather was supposed to pan and you see this tall figure in a white dress chase after them which led to her screaming "What the fuck is that?!" but she didn't do it right so that scene is her audio but filmed with the other camera. And honestly thank god they did because the film is so much better when it leaves things to your own interpretations.
I absolutely loved how they never showed a monster. I have an overactive imagination and spent weeks after seeing this wondering "what did he see when he finally was allowed to turn around from the corner at the end" (just like the murdered kids in the legend from the beginning) . The images I came up with are far scarier than any costume or CGI. One of my favorites in horror because it made you think unlike most modern horror movies that show you everything and rely on jump-scares..
Great reaction! I loved your commentary on this very scary movie. Your comments about this scenario happening in real life - even without the witchcraft stuff - is what makes this film extra chilling for me. Especially as the thing about them walking all day and ending up back at the river is very common in real life. Humans naturally walk in circles so if you don't have any reference points, it's almost impossible to walk in a straight line and very easy to end up more or less where you started.
This is such a good and well made movie. Too bad the messed everything up in the sequels. and the latest one was just pure trash.
Confession: So when i saw this movie in theater, i was 17, also i was dumb. (If i still am is up for debate) Me and 3 of my friends went to see it high on pcp. Trust me when i say this, it was a VERY intense experience. The scene where those 'kids' push on the tent at night, ill never forget the mix of laughter and scream of terror/madness on the face of my best buddy lol
To this day i still think of that night when i get into a tent!
Haha, that's fucking crazy!
This is one of those films that you now is 'just a film' but with just a slight dose of suspension of disbelief you are IN the film with the team and it's real AF. Add to that the knowledge there are things out there that Man Was Not Meant to Know, and you've got all the ingredients for a tale that lingers with you for a LONG time.
im glad you finally decided to do this movie. ive been waitin for it 😁
I saw this film with my parents on VHS and it scared the hell out of us! Lol! We thought it was a true story, but it wasn't! It was all fictional.
The ending has been theorized that Josh and Mike, having been pushed to the breaking point, killed Heather, buried her body on the property mailed the footage to the police, and fled the country, rather than face life in prison or the death penalty.
I remember when this movie came out. My parents shouldn’t have let me watch it since I was only 8, but I’m glad they did 😂 I’m so happy to see you reacting to this!
Congrats on 100k subscribers James! You've earned it. Looking forward to seeing your channel grow even more in the future. Keep up the good work!
One of my favorite horror movies. This movie scared me as a kid and also turned me into a life long Blair Witch fan. I love the movies, the books, the video games, I love it all. Great reaction video.
Congrats on 100k!! Well deserved!
Thanks for this. Hope your week is going well and as always, stay awesome, stay genuine, stay out the woods... much love
congrats on hitting 100k subscribers man.. you deserve it! your vids have become one of my favorite things on youtube
This is one of my favorite movies of all-time. Thank you for a great reaction ♥️
Congrats on 100k brotha, you deserve it. Your vids are 🔥
Dude. You should totally check out how this film was made. They were sent in with cameras, and asked to shoot/react to whatever. The production team would play sounds and sneak up to shake the tents. Totally organic reactions. They would give the actors notes in private, to tell them what to reveal to the cast, and on and on. It was like a massive role playing game.
Hey James ! Congrats on hitting 100k subs ! Love ya bro ! And positive vibes and love to the whole channel ! 🙏🏼
Just actually got done rewatching all 3 films last week, so I’m psyched to see your take 🤘🤘