PopHorror Let's Get Scared
When I was asked to write about my favorite horror movie, my knee-jerk response was the 1978 film Halloween. It’s always my answer. But then, I got to thinking what qualifies something as my favorite horror film and I realized I was confusing my favorite villain with my favorite film. Michael Myers is hands down my favorite villain of all time but upon contemplation, I realized that Halloween didn’t take the cake.
My criteria centered on the re-watch. What movie have I seen the most and have never gotten bored of…besides Labyrinth. The result kind of shocked me: The Blair Witch Project. Before you go judging me on my taste in movies, let me explain.
I saw The Blair Witch Project in theaters when I was 12-years-old. It was one of the first horror movies my family took me to the theater to see. I watched horror at home but I can’t recall a time before then that I actually went to the theater. I remember it was spooky, chaotic and nothing like I had ever seen.
No matter if you liked the movie or not, we can’t deny its influence on the horror genre today. While the movie didn’t invent the concept of a found footage movie, it made it a born-again genre. It was given the breath of life much like what happened to zombie culture in the last 10 years. Without it, there wouldn’t be found footage/mockumentaries en masse in the horror industry like you see today.
It was a revolution not just in how it looked but in the way it was made. Why get a fancy and expensive screenwriter when you can let the actors write the movie themselves…and it WORKED beautifully. Did it have its flaws? Of course, it did, but it’s very creation and its use of the internet as a marketing tool was genius. Not to mention this movie got me into horror journalism, I’m not even joking. It was this movie’s 10th anniversary on the cover of Rue Morgue magazine that I saw while on vacation with my family.
From then on I never missed an issue and soaked up the editorials, interviews, and reviews like a sponge. I owe my entire writing career on my love for this movie. In case you’re new to the planet or have been living under a cozy rock since 1998, here’s the story.
Three college kids (Heather, Josh and Lil’ Mikey) get together in Burkettsville, MD to make a documentary on The Blair Witch, a local legend. They interview the locals, learn about horse hair, film a couple shitty dramatic shots and then head into the woods for a weekend of light hiking and location scouting. Slowly they realize the trip isn’t as it should be and that they are lost and being stalked by something at night.
It all comes to a crescendo at the end when Josh goes missing and Heather and Mike find a ruined house in the woods that has a greater evil than they know inside. It’s such a ridiculously simple premise and it works so well. Most of the movie is the three bitching at each other and as a fan of movies in love with their own dialogue *coughClerks2cough* I love the interaction. It’s real and organic and mundane.
I’m not necessarily proud of my choice given the classics I had to choose from but I stand by it. I’ve made my decision. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go put on The Blair Witch Project for the millionth time and have a quote-along. “JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!”
If you can’t get enough found footage, check out Karli’s list of best found footage films.
I remember when the Blair witch project came out. It was the movie you had to go see. Everyone was talking about it. A lot of iconic imagery in the movie and it made it’s mark on fans.