So, a new Blair Witch movie was announced last week by Lionsgate and Blumhouse. And I just know that, being the premier Blair Witch scholar on the internet (self-appointed and non-negotiable), you’re all desperate to hear what I’ve got to say about it.
With so little known about this particular addition to the franchise, it’s hard to judge much about it based on the prior work of the featured creators and actors. But, to be honest, I already have my doubts.
Because, at this point, there have been twice as many bad Blair Witch films as there have been good ones. Which is not to say I don’t think other mediums haven’t done some justice to this story, but as far as movies go, it’s two and a half decades later, and there’s yet to be a Blair Witch film that nudges into “good movie” territory, let alone the “good Blair Witch movie” zone. It’s always going to be difficult to make a movie that stands up to a classic like The Blair Witch Project, and I understand that, but these films have been downright bad, not just lacking compared to the original.
And I think a big part of that is how married other creators in the franchise have been to the found footage storytelling that made the original so unique; and I get that, I do. The Blair Witch Project is basically synonymous with found footage, and still, for my money, one of the most impressive examples of the genre to date. But we’ve seen the best example of this story told through the found footage lens, and trying to follow up on a genre-defining movie with the same tricks (even different variations on them) just isn’t going to work.
But, as I wrote about in my deep-dive into the series, I think there’s a lot more to this story than just the found footage gimmick – and a new entry into this canon might benefit from dropping that approach, whether entirely or at least to some extent. Now, I know how it sounds, but bear with me here: there’s so much history to Burkittsville and the woods where the first movie takes place, but we’ve pretty much wrung everything we can out of that history through found footage. It would be amazing to see this lore brought to life through a different lens – maybe a historical drama, maybe a more metaphysical or arthouse approach, maybe an eco-horror in the vein of In the Earth.
With the horror genre such a broad and rich one, I would love to see this story and this place explored in different terms and from different angles. There’s so much more to the Blair Witch story than just found footage, and I hope this new entry into the canon takes advantage of that (though, to be honest, it probably won’t).
What do you think of this new Blair Witch movie? Are you looking forward to it or do you think the movie franchise should be left well alone? Let me know in the comments!
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via Bloody Disgusting)
No But Listen 