While the quality of the other entries into the “Blair Witch” franchise are debatable, the impact of the first film is not up for discussion. 2000’s “Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2” took a much more polished and meta approach to the story. This stylistic 180 elicited everything from praise to outright contempt from critics and movie goers alike.
2016’s reboot the “Blair Witch” even attempted to repeat the wildly successful marketing campaign of the original. Only this time instead of inventing a folk tale on message boards. This one was shot in secret. The Adam Wingard-directed film was originally promoted under the fake title “The Woods.” It wasn’t announced as a third “Blair Witch” film until the trailer was shown at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con. Which, was only 2 months before the film was set to premiere.
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While “Blair Witch” was scripted, it did hark back to a more found footage feel. And acted as a direct sequel, completely ignoring the existence of “Book Of Shadows.” But it was also met with disappointment from both fans and critics alike.
Blogger Jeff Sneider seems to think a reboot is on the horizon though.
This is a bit of a deviation from the norm since these things tend to get announced once a pitch is confirmed.
By openly feeling out pitches, the studio could be attempting to court smaller filmmakers. Possibly trying to rekindle that grassroots storytelling that made the original 1999 “The Blair Witch Project” such a cultural phenomenon. While it was not the first found footage horror film, it was certainly the one that made the style mainstream. Even with the sub-genre blowing up, few have been able to recapture the unique experience of the original.
We’ll let you know what we hear about this rumor.
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