Halloween countdown: Top 7 witch movies
By Rachel Roth
6. The Blair Witch Project
Even though it’s maintained a strong cult following over the years, The Blair Witch Project is widely considered one of the most overrated movies of all time. This has a lot to do with the movie’s bizarre fame and the sheer explosion of nonsense it created in 1999, yet no matter how badly it ages, The Blair Witch Project will always be remembered for its excellent portrayal of frenetic paranoia.
Although it wasn’t the first found-footage film ever made, The Blair Witch Project is essentially the godfather of the genre, paving the way for franchises like Paranormal Activity and Cloverfied. Written and directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, The Blair Witch Project follows three film students as they document their exploration of the Blair Witch legend, a decision they start regretting about 20 minutes into the film.
There’s nothing special about this movie other than the claustrophobic fear forced upon the audience, which is exactly why it’s so great. The Blair Witch is never seen, but she’s heavily felt, acting as a representation of the overriding fear “real” witches caused during the late 1600s.
The movie got two poorly received sequels titled Book of Shadows: The Blair Witch 2 released in 2000 and Blair Witch released in 2016, two one-shot comic books, several video games, and a documentary about the film’s production titled The Woods Movie. A TV series adaptation is currently in development.