no wonder why her screams were so scary at the end....she got grabbed by men in black not knowing why her friend was in the corner where josh was and what was happening as they threw her camera down..thats scary as fuck
I had a friend who attended UCF's film program and was shown one of the bootleg tapes. He said it was such a scary scenario. Their teacher came in and simply says, "Some of our UCF students found this." He puts in the tape and the film played - with no credits at the end. The scene with the camera getting tipped over ends, it goes to black, and the teacher quietly pops out the tape and leaves the room, ending the class. My friend said every single person in the room was sure they'd just seen a real snuff film and all were shaken by it! I have to say I can imagine no scarier way to watch that film! Great video as always, man!
A few weeks after i saw the BWP i had to endure 8 months of mandatory (austrian) army service. During an exercise we had to cross a forrest in the middle of the night and even though we were 10 guys it was still super scary. I just couldn't get the damn movie out of my head. The guy who was walking in front of me at some point turned around and asked me if i have seen the blair witch project... we both almost pissed out pants :D
@@jillvalentinefan77 Nope. Here in Canada I've had a couple startling encounters with Black Bears and a Moose. Now when we were on exercise in the low Arctic we had these guys called Rangers (Not American Rangers, they're different in Canada) who were armed with live ammo in the case a Polar Bear showed up.
I saw BWP at the South Florida midnight sneak peak presentation a week before it hit general theaters. I didn't ask my brother and his wife how they got tickets, and to this day I don't know whether to thank them or berate them for inviting me to join them. I knew virtually NOTHING about it at the time, other than distinctly remembering that I had seen Heather, Josh and Mike's missing persons picture on a milk carton, and I remember a news commentary about their missing persons flyers were being posted on college campuses. When I entered the packed theater that night and the film began, I was truly under the belief that I was watching real "found film" recorded by three people who had disappeared. The idea that it was fiction never crossed my mind. I could hear people in the audience, both men and women, whimper and scream throughout the film; I was so frightened that I could not scream, but it wasn't until my sister in law leaned over to me and whispered "Are you alright?!" that I realized that I had sunken down in my seat, that was clutching the seat handles like I was on a roller coaster, and that I was shaking violently enough for her to feel it through the seat. I was haunted by that film for a solid week, and I was constantly on edge, but then I started to become fascinated with it (as I am to this day), particularly fascinated that a movie could be so well done as to provoke that level of emotion from me.
I feel you. I watched it knowing that it wasn't real and it still haunts me. It's done so well. They were all in the right place at the right time and had the talent to do what they did. It's an amazing film. One of the only movies that really scares me still
I have a hard time recommending this movie nowadays, because I can see how it could simply bore some people to death. But when I watched it, alone in the dark, it really got to me. That last shot of Mike just standing in front of the wall was just about the scariest thing ever to me in that moment. The thing is, a movie like this needs to win you over first, it needs to get you invested and immersed, for such a moment to work. Otherwise, it just falls flat.
I think Blair Witch Project loses a LOT of impact on the small screen. It really was best-experienced in a pitch black theater, especially if the screen was big enough that the POV stuff started messing with your sense of perspective.
Indeed, in the same way a campfire ghost story just wouldn't work on a sunny afternoon at the beach. Or even perhaps a haunted house attraction. If you turn on the lights and wander around thinking "this is fake, this is stupid" then other than fast moving objects thrust into your field of vision with loud noises it just isn't going to be scary. Set it up and go with it and then things start clicking in your brain.
Andrew Brandt Yes, exactly :) I didn't watch it in theaters, I watched it at home, as I said, alone in the dark, so I guess I was in the right mood, I was receptive to the atmosphere the movie is trying to create. For me, the scariest movies are those that stay on the very edge of ridiculousness and/or stupidity and/or boredom. Those that challenge you with their slow burning unnerving pace and sheer bizarreness, but still manage not to lose you - those are pure horror gold.
Agree if you take your imagination and let it run wild with this movie you will get scared the fuck out. I remember I re watched it not to long ago at night while my gf was on her shift and I got creeped out especially with the kids scene in the tent.
This film was lightening in a bottle. It could never be replicated again. And for all you people who say it was "boring" or "not scary" why don't YOU spend a few nights in the woods on your own then.
To be fair, if someone is determined to not be scared, then this movie isn't going to force it with gore or jumps. So I do believe those that say it was boring aren't just being tough, but it's their loss for not being able to get into that headspace. I wasn't AS scared before having gone camping a few times, but after that it worked even better. And very few people are going to wake up to random noises outside their tent and immediately be all gruff and brave--it's usually "well now what the hell is that? and peaking outside with flashlights.
The film was boring and not scary (the original... I haven't watched this new one yet). Movies are about connecting with characters and getting you into the situation/story. Blair Witch failed with both to me. Spending a night or two alone in the woods WOULD be scary, but the film didn't convey this. Think of films like John Carpenter's The Thing- You felt the cold, isolation, and paranoia... all which led to fear. Rosemary's Baby which made you feel isolation, confusion, uncertainty... which leads to fear. Alien- Claustrophobia, uncertainty, threat, isolation, etc... I could go on and on. I applaud the marketing for the film and the creativity of the filmmakers... but the film itself to me was a huge bleh.
Long before I saw The Blair Witch Project, I was a part of Outward Bound. I spent a week on a treeless island off the coast of Maine with nothing but jeans and a tee-shirt and a pocket knife. It was only supposed to be 48 hours, but there was an actual hurricane that hit Hurricane Island (Hurricane Gloria, 1985), so they couldn't pick anyone up. The Curse of the Blair Witch was scarier than The Blair Witch Project.
I go regularly camping alone in the woods. Not scary, quite the contrary. There's nothing that could harm you. But there are parts of my city i would not go alone even in daylight, cause real criminals reside there and they will hurt you just to see the look on your face. The woods are tame in comparison
The film is, literally, three people running around the woods at night over-reacting to things. It's dull, it's not scary, and I've spent plenty of nights out in the woods.
Michael: "Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked Witch of the East. Which one was bad?" Heather: "Wicked Witch of the West was the bad one." Michael: "Then we should go east." This movie is loaded with great quotes!!
@@kenhollis6197 Exactly. I loved how scared I was of the green witch when I was a kid and they'd broadcast the MGM movie on TV each year. Way back in the day, lol.
@@eduardo_corrochio Lol, I hear ya. My grandma bought the VHS in 1990ish and I watched it all the time. The Wicked Witch didn't scare me, as I was obsessed with witches at that age, but it was still a trip to watch.
Thanks! According to the actors, they thought Sundance would be as far as the movie went. They figured it would get picked up for a DTV release and then they would be able to have "film showcased at Sundance" on their resume.
I always love how big studios get hold a huge hit and then they turns to the makers of film, give them the finger, and precede with their own ideas. "Oh, you made the most profitable film in history? You want to do a prequel? Haha, forget it, we're doing a sequel. You don't like, then get out!"
Even then they let the director for part 2 make the movie he tells them he is making and then they forcibly change it. Then when it fails, they blame everyone else.
@NotThatGuy GoodBadFlicks reviewed that movie as well and they said that the studio mucked up the director's vision and if you go back and listen to what the director envisioned and disregard the studio's added bs, then Book of Shadows is a good movie.👌
Despite what one may feel about the movie itself - The filming of the Blair Witch Project was genius, a facinating experiment in filmmaking. The method in which they filmed, marketed, etc. was just revolutionary. It's really too bad the "found footage" genre became synonymous with crappy movies. The Blair Witch Project is and will always be one of the best, like Cecil said, it was the right film at the right time. I've always really appreciated the first film for what it is. And I remember fondly the craze for the movie when it came out, it was so smart to present it as real, pretending the actors were really missing, such a smart way to go about it.
Moonbeam I feel bad for people who didn’t get to experience this movie at the time. If you fully bought into it (like child-me did) it was the scariest movie ever made.
I think it helped that it was being filmed in what looked like the middle of nowhere and the characters couldn't find their way out. It is like a nightmare where nothing you do makes the slightest bit of difference. The best kind of haunted house is the one where you can't get out.
This is one of the few movies that actually terrified me. I love how they managed to actually scare you out of your mind without all the unneccesary jump scares, violence and gore that's making up 95% of horror movies nowadays.. Great video!
BWP definitely has a special place in my heart. My mom always likes to remind me that she and her coven got their hands on one of the bootlegs when it first came out, and it was probably the first horror movie I remember watching. I do find it tough to recommend nowadays considering so many horror fans lean towards fast-paced gory horror (I was personally offended when I had my now-ex watch the movie and all he had to say was "that was it?") but it's definitely something I've connected with when it comes to other horror fans.
In my entire life, and this is not a burn to people who are scared by films, only two films have scared me. This is due, entirely, to the fact that the first time I watched a horror movie, my parents prepared me in the greatest way possible. They sat me down, and explained that we were going to watch actors having fun, with halloween makeup, and fake blood and all manner of goo, and that the whole thing was just actors having fun. I bring this up, as this is one of those two films, and the second is more of a comedy, American Werewolf in London. I grew up living for horror films, yet I fully admit...the Blair Witch made it hard for me to sleep for a week.
this is the only film that scared me really to be honest. Also I watched it for the first time alone when I was a kid while my parents were away at my house and it creeped me out. Also when ever the sci fy commercials came on back then for the documentary I had to turn it off because the commercial scared me alone.
Seeing it in 2021, it still holds brilliantly. It's still terrifying because it understands the most simplistic thing - what you don't see is way more scary than what you do.
It’s 2020 and so many people are still split on either loving this movie or they found it totally boring or they downright despise it. I find this amusing and back in ‘99, I had a friend that watched it and they were genuinely freaked out and thought that it was real. Ha. I ended up watching it on home video and knew that it was just a movie but I was still seriously creeped out and really enjoyed the film. People upset that they didn’t experience jump scares or see the Blair witch, are totally missing the point of the film. Sometimes you never see what gets ya! 👻
When The Blair Witch Project came out, I genuinely thought it was an actual documentary. Great job on making this. I'm glad they didn't use well known celebrities.
I love this movie! exactly the fact you don't see anything is what appeals me in this movie, you can only hear some noises and that is exactly what makes you scare alone at your house... hearing something that you have never heard before and not knowing what it is.
It really was a "you had to be there" movie... This was literally the biggest thing in pop culture for a few minutes and was a lot of fun to speculate and talk about at the time. The internet "then" is the reason it worked, the internet "now" is likely the reason why it could never work again.
Late to the party, but King isn’t the master some think he is. He writes sooooo many books that of course some are bound to be good. The vast majority are garbage. He also hated The Shining movie that Kubrick made, despite it being one of the all-greatest horror films, even to this day. I wouldn’t put much faith in the judgement of the guy who wrote Tommyknockers and Rose Madder
@@SnailHatan That’s just bad logic. 99% of people could write a hundred books and still come up with nothing but shit. King has written like 20 all-time great novels. There are millions of authors out there who have worked their whole life at it and will never write even one great novel.
@@cheezyfilmsproductions1842 This is true. I’m not saying he doesn’t have skill, and he does have several great books. But, again, he isn’t the master he is sometimes chalked up to be. The majority of his books are forgettable, and a significant portion are downright bad. It isn’t as if everything he writes is a masterpiece, and his instincts are clearly not infallible. That’s all I mean.
@@SnailHatan Well of course. But that's true of most of the masters. They all have at least one shitshow. A lot of them have many shitshows. Spielberg has done a lot of bad movies, for instance, but he's still billed as one of the greatest directors of all time, and for good reason. King definitely has his fair share of stinkers. But when you're as prolific as he is, that's just gonna happen. And I'll take a dozen more Tommyknockers if it means I get one more Misery.
I would love to have seen a credit here for Ben Rock. He was the production designer on the show, and he created the little stick figures that became the icon and image of the film. I thought I saw him off to the side and one of the photos. He also directed “the Burkittsville 7”, which was mentioned.
Could you maybe do an "Exploring Ghostwatch"? That found footage documentary scared the entire UK shitless and the makers of the Blair Witch Project were reported to have seen it before they made their own movie.
Loved Ghostwatch, right up until the end where they have the presenter in the studio getting possessed. Too far fetched, and ruined all the good, realistic work done before.
Curse of the Blair Witch is also very underrated. I remember getting really creeped out by it. What really got me were how detached the interviews were, which gave it a stronger sense of realism. As detached as they were, I really remember one of them saying something like "I have never seen the movie and I am not interested in seeing it. The movie has the last moment's of my brother's life." That hit hard and the actor said it in such a matter of fact way without melodrama. So many times, the acting is over done as opposed to understated and subtle.
I've been following your channel for about a year or so, and I honestly have to say that you have one of the best channels out there. Incredibly in-depth, staying true to yourself(that's what it seems like to me) and most of all, not trying to be random, loud and in your face funny all the time, like all those youtubers strive to do. So thank you for another great great video!
I remember going to see it with my then partner. I enjoyed it but thought it was mostly hot air, but she freaked out. From that point on, saying ''In the corner'' in a sinister voice was enough to get her jumpy. I am kind of jealous that I didn't get the frights.
Are you an alien NeuroHack? Do you not know how human beings relate to past events? He had a partner in the past he's not with now, hence "me then partner". What's that got to do with being insecure you weirdo?
"My partner" is a term that gay men use for their lover, so that's what I thought you meant - not that I was really thinking ANYTHING about it, that's just the context I took it to mean. I think the proper term for "then partner" whether its a spouse or a lover is "my ex" but I think everyone has forgotten your right of literary license to write whatever the heck you want.
I’m so glad I was alive during the time that this movie came out. The whole lore and everything had me in a trance. I completely bought that it was real until it came out in theaters.
The reason this movie is so good is because their reactions were genuine, unlike most other mocumentaries where the actors are clearly aware of the type of movie they're filming.
This is honestly one of my favorite Horror films, especially as a psychological horror film. I never understood why people felt this was either boring or not scary.
I think I really need to thank you for this video. As someone who is interested in the film industry and wants to some day become a film director, this provided a lot of info I could use to make my first movie (excluding stuff like playing it all up as real, and other things that could cause backlash)! So, thanks a ton man!
One of my all time favorites. A real masterpiece of horror. It doesn't belong under the channel title "GoodBadFlicks" as nothing about it was executed poorly and it lives on being hailed as one of the best of it's genre.
Curiously, did you watch the video? I praised the film as a landmark and talked about its production as well as how revolutionary the ad campaign was for the film.
@@GoodBadFlicks Yes I watched the video and thought it was great. I just found the title of the channel ironic as one of my hobbies is enjoying what most people consider to be good bad movies such as Troll 2, Mosquito, The Room, etc. Movies that are so bad they're good.
You outdid yourself with this one, so many neat facts I didn't know before watching! As someone else has stated already, I'd love to see an Exploring Ghostwatch.
It’s pretty cool just scrolling through the comments and seeing the audience split. I admit I’m one of those who didn’t like it so much. The ending was good but by the time it got there I was bored. But saying that, I can still very much appreciate what the film did for the genre and I did really like the advertising and folklore they built around it. And even if I’m not a fan of a film I often like learning about how it all came together so I really like the video :)
It really wouldn't fit in with the theme of his channel, which is Good BAD Flicks. While a lot of us agree that The Blair Witch Project was a great movie, there are a lot more who think it's a piece of shit and a huge waste of time. This movie has one of, if not the highest IMDB rating of any movie he has reviewed. As polarizing as this movie may be, I think he only made a special exception to review this because of the new Blair Witch movie and also because he had already reviewed Book of Shadows. If reviewing Good GOOD Flicks was Cecil's thing, he would have reviewed the original before reviewing Book of Shadows. While I seem to be one of the few who actually liked Book of Shadows, (I even requested that review months before he actually did it, but he was probably already been working on it) the original Blair Witch Project is VASTLY superior to Book of Shadows. Full Metal Jacket, directed by one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, would definitely stick out like a sore thumb among such reviews as Puppet Master 3, Santa's Slay, The Incredible Melting Man, and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-rama, just to name a few.
I saw how managed to Overlook & walk past this movie every time,seeing it in video stores in the late 90s , to this day Ive never seen it. But now I dont think i could stay with it long enough to really get hooked on it & make it to the end.
I LOVE this movie. So many hate it, stated they felt 'cheated' by not 'seeing the witch', but that's EXACTLY why I adore it as I do...sounds, implications, ambiguity...these are the foundations of genuine horror, the scares that are rooted in childhood. I truly feel that the vast majority of the haters just didn't get it, even tho they claim that is not the case. I much prefer things to be left to the imagination, so that everyone in the audience has their OWN version of what the hell is unseen and terrifying plaguing their brains...that's truly creative, effective film making, for my money. A shame so many people need to be spoon fed, and movies like 'The Blair Witch Project', done right, are so few and far between, despite the knock offs...'Grave Encounters' is the only other found footage film I rank right up there for scare content in the genre. Wonderful video, as always, Sir...keep 'em coming...
Karstens Creations - I know this comment is from 3 years ago, but I’m replying anyway. Lol I completely agree with you. I was a teen when I saw this; even went with my mom to see it, my little sister and a friend of mine. We all loved the movie. Everyone I knew who saw it either loved it cause it was the right kind of creepy or hated it because it scared them too much. No one thought it was boring. Nowadays, those I know who consider it boring are younger 20’s or teens who think they could never get lost in the woods. Which was why they thought it was boring; lack of both imagination and reality. And I say lack of reality because these are people who would likely do the wrong things if lost in the woods or desert. Lol.
Excellent as always! I was lucky enough to see this on opening weekend. The little urban village where we watched it was absolutely buzzing about it. Everywhere we went after the film- that's all people were talking about. Amazing. Scared the bejeezus out of me.
Another great video man! Such a good job going into the history and production of these films. Can see you definitely do your research, best reviewer on UA-cam
Wholeheartedly agree with you! It's funny, I didn't see BWP in the theaters when it was released, but a few years later, and it is now one of my favorite horror movies - I watch it a couple of times a year and always enjoy it. And I would LOVE to see a Director's Cut of BW2 - Book of Shadows, especially after watching GoodBadFlicks video on it.
I think that knowing how the film was made makes it less scary. Also, it's probably the cheapest way to make a horror film; I can just imagine the directors making noises in the distance to scare the actors. Even though I do acknowledge how it changed film, I don't put it in the pantheon of great horror films like Jaws, Halloween, Psycho, or Night of the Living Dead,
This movie continues to stay close to my heart as my all time favorite horror movie PERIOD. This thing was like a towering legend looking from the outside as a kid. Like I was aware of elm street with dream killers and Halloween with Myers...but my child brain couldn’t fathom how real this looked to me from the promos. And when I DID finally get my hands on watching this...I felt like I had my rite of passage.
Best horror film I've ever seen... I followed the website, watched the sci fi TV show, and watched the movie in the theater on opening weekend. Just the thought that it MIGHT be real made the difference. I was shaking leaving the theater.
Still my favourite horror movie today... the last scene in the house still gives me the chills.. I clearly remember all the marketing on this movie, it worked so well and made the movie even more scary..
I am very grateful to have watched this film in theater and walking out of it in shock and terror. Nothing like the shock value of watching found footage in those days. I still watch this film in fear. It still send chills down my body. This is what true horror films do.
Great video, also glad you mentioned The Last Broadcast, i still feel that one is an excellent companion piece to TBWP and in some ways just as frightening . I really thought Mike was going to be the one who went on to have a long acting career , for me he was the standout character with genuine chemistry, but all of them were great in this and i have a tremendous amount of respect for the balls they had to do this . Everyone involved in this film were trailblazers on some level, there was nothing else like it and there never will be again .
Thanks! TLB is terrific but I think the ending kind of blew it. I do want to do a video on it, it deserves more recognition. In one of the BW reunions, Mike admitted that he messed up some of his auditions. By the time he felt he was more prepared for the auditions, he was no longer getting callbacks. A shame, he definitely had talent and seemed like a very coo guy.
Yeah, Curse of the Blair Witch is probably one of the most intriguing, realistic, and creepy mockumentaries ever made . TLB has nothing to do with Blair, i call it a companion piece because they share some similarities and they both deal with young adults who venture into the woods to document a legendary creature / monster . It's a surprisingly complex film that expertly captures what public access television and the internet was like back then and it also cleverly explores people who delude themselves in their quest for fame and the lengths they will go to acquire it . It's just damn creepy also, i love the Jersey Devil legend and this just may be the best movie concerning it .
Wow, in retrospect, theirs was probably one of the first websites I just could not get enough of.Every picture, every testimonial, it was just fascinating. I must admit I felt a bit duped seeing Heather on Letterman or whatever it was cause I bought into the lore hook line and sinker. There were no such thing as internet trolls then. Must admit it was a better time for cinema, and just in general.
Love all your exploring series videos. Hope to see tons more. Love the Blair Witch Project. Saw it in the cinema and came away not scared in the least but was engrossed in watching the psychological breakdown of the kids. That was what grabbed me.
...Aaaand I'm sadly completely caught up on your videos. You're amazing, man! But you SO need to work on your marketing! You deserve to have millions subscribers, your content is such a breath of fresh air. There's something about your delivery that is just...hooking, for lack of a better word. And just like with the movies you review, the work and love put into your videos shows and it makes them all the more amazing.
Thanks! I'm terrible at marketing myself, because many of the tactics that seem to work in this online world are ones I don't like. (clickbait, misleading headlines, wacky over the top thumbnails, etc) I do push my stuff out there but in a way that isn't annoying...at least I hope its not annoying. Things seem to be picking up though and on top of gaining more subs, I've gained the attention of some larger UA-camrs. I do put a ton of work into the videos, so I always appreciate when its noticed. I continue to put my best foot forward and create content that I would watch if I wasn't making it. (if that makes sense)
I don’t think people who see Blair Witch today can fully grasp what it was like when the film was originally released… I still love the movie today but seeing it back then when people weren’t sure if it was real or not was a whole different experience. Only thing that sucks is you can’t really do this type of promotion anymore.. just cements my feeling that the 90’s/early 2000’s were the best time to be a kid/teen.
True. And the internet of 1999 was not as it is now... No smartphones and instant info / pictures available anywhere at any time. So while someone could discover the fictional truth of the movie, most didn't before first opening weekend viewing. And that made it like the entire country was spooked at the campfire by their cousins telling a spooky story then adding to it with a trick in the dark. It was indeed lightning in a bottle.
I remember seeing this on a bootleg a month before the theatrical release at a watch party using a projector our in the middle of the woods. Atmosphere made it all the better.
Great overview!!!! I will never forget how terrified I was when I watched this in the theater the night it debuted. Didn't sleep that night. Oh, how I miss the 90s.
The first time I saw this movie was on VHS in the year 2000. I watched it with my dad and a friend and we thought it was insanely boring. At the time me and my friend were both 12 years old btw which was the recommended age according to the german label on the VHS. Some years later this flick was shown on TV between 2-4 AM and I thought I'd give it another go. And holy shit... It was dark outside, I was alone at home and I live right next to a forest... I was captivated by it. The movie has a relatively slow build up and it's crucial to watch it in the right enviroment, but if you get through it like that, you will be left with a feeling of pure angst. I'd like to say it's the opposite of Paranormal Activity where you sweat throughout the whole movie, but the closer you are to the ending, the less terrified you are.
Thats exactly right. If you immerse yourself into it, you will be terrified. If you watch it in the middle of the afternoon with a million distractions, you'll find it boring.
I did this film once for a movie night for a few people who had not seen it. I deliberately used the mockumentary first, to set it up as real. They all fell for it, hook, line and sinker, and it was all the more powerful as a result. It was a brilliant film at the time, though once you know it isn't real, the power diminishes somewhat. A huge shame, because it is a really clever idea that did everything right. And this video of yours was informative and insightful. Thank you.
I disagree. Both films play with similar concepts and executions, but Paranormal Activity had a better character study. I was able to gain a better grasp on who Katie and Micah were as people, so discovering more about them and seeing them react to the situation kept me invested in the film. Also the (original) ending for Paranormal Activity was a great resolution to the events and pretty haunting when you think about it (something that the studio forced jump scare ending didn't have at all).
B. Alex Thompson The only thing I agree with Paranormal Activity is the original ending. The one not on the Blu-ray/DVD. The actual ending. That was actually unique to see. Shame it wasn't the actual ending. For me, Paranormal Activity was incredibly repetitive. The acting wasn't convincing. The jump scares were the same over and over. Paranormal Activity is a comedy.
Agreed... when they actually release Paranormal Activity with the original ending, I will actually buy the movie. Concerning your thoughts on PA past the ending, that's how I see Blair Witch... terrible acting, incredibly repetitive, but sadly not much of a comedy... just a lot of boredom. All that said, it's cool that you and many others enjoy the film. It's just fun to debate and to discuss opposing opinions.
I love that reporters reaction after watching the movie, I was around 11 or 12 when I watched a bootleg version of it that my skater group of friends was passing around. Back then it was a thing to hand pass bootleg VHS copies around friends and you rarely got any context of what you were watching. All I knew about it was that it was a really scary video and no one knew if it was real or not 😢. Got home and watched it with my older twin sister and bro...I had the exact same reaction as that reporter. I was really shaken by it and couldn't stop thinking about it. We lived in the city but vacation on a country side house 2 hours away from the city in the middle of nowhere, so the moment I stop watching the movie, I started dreading our summer outing 😢. Fucking movie traumatized me as much as that poor lady reporter 😅
Thats the thing, so many people don't look at this from the perspective of when it was released. It was terrifying at the time because of how it was presented.
@@GoodBadFlicks I know right, the context of how that movie was released was everything. It's like the difference between listening to a scary story told by a stanger at night around a camp fire and watching a scary video online, on your cellphone, sitting in your bed with the lights on. Both might be scary but only one of those experiences stays with you. Anyway, thank you for the great content Cecil, I've followed your channel for years now and you never disappoint, thank you again and Lots of love from Chile.
This is such a good video, there's so much I didn't know about the film that you talk about. However, watching this video and having rewatched The Blair Witch Project recently made the new Blair Witch seem even worse than it actually is.
To this day this movie still terrifies me. As someone who is scared of the woods and being lost that is no surprise. I'm happy to see the exploring series take a deeper look at a movie that still scares me today. I cannot wait to see what you explore next. Also I too vote for a full length cut of the film as well as a directors cut of Blair witch 2. that movie gets such a bad rap.
After hearing about so many enjoyed this movie, it peaked my curiosity. I didn't have the first two, but I did watch the third one. I found it somewhat scary and enjoyed it. So, I decide to watch the first one, thinking it would be good, I was so wrong. I thought it was overwhelmingly boring and still baffles me as to how part 1 is beloved while part 3 is looked down upon. I just don't get it. No opinion on part 2 seeing as how I haven't watch it yet.
I saw this in theaters as a teenager back in 1999. Still think that Mary Brown was intended to be the Witch and every time I re-watch I still see the clues pointing to her. I would love to see additional footage !!
The real town was full of dummies. They could have made millions selling stick figures to tourists. Instead, they got upset that people only wanted to see the house.
I remember seeing 'The Last Broadcast' sometime in the summer of 99 when I was in middle school. They showed it on Cinemax. That's when I sorta got confused into thinking TBWP and the LBC were related somehow. I thought it was a very underrated horror film. It had this certain atmosphere that felt darker than TBWP. I'm in the process of trying to make my own found footage project. I wanna use VHS camcorders to give it a more sinister approach. What's troubling is trying to come up with an idea that would work to it's fullest advantage. I love movies and the process of film making. TBWP was certainly a great inspiration. That goes the same with The Last Broadcast.
Really good 'Exploring...' episode. I remember when I first saw BWP, although it didnt 'scare' me, it was certainly unnerving. Glad you mentioned The Last Broadcast too. I have this on DVD and think it certainly deserves to be seen by fans of the genre.
I know, but when I try to watch it in Canada it is being blocked due to copyright issues. We were wondering if there was any other source for that video since it should obviously be ok due to fair use. Either on another UA-cam channel or another service like Vimeo.
I just found your series begin this week and im already binge watching a ton of them .never saw 90% of the movies, but your commentary makes a nice background audio :)
I always thought this movie was boring as hell. Still do. But I see where Good Bad Flicks is coming from and understand a little better how the movie was influential. Great vid.
Thought I was subscribed to you for at least a year but now I saw that I had never clicked the subscribe button. What the fuck? Sorry for that. You make great content. Love your Exploring series although I haven't seen at least 70% of the movies you talk about.
UA-cam has been randomly unsubbing people so its possible you may have been subbed and they dropped you. (its a "glitch" where every time someone uploads a video, people randomly get unsubbed from the channel) Its been going on for months and they refuse to do anything about it. Either way, thanks for coming back!
I loved this movie the first time I saw it. Waited a decade to see it again and it didn't hold up, but man watching your video made me appreciate some more.
The Blair Witch Project is still one of my favorite horror films of all time and this was super informative! Even though I knew much of this, there was a few new interesting points that I had never hear before. Makes me still wish I could have seen The Blair Witch Project in a proper theater. Regardless, amazing video and loving your work as always! Keep up the good work. :) (btw, The Blair Witch was pretty bad but I was too damn curious about it XD)
I really appreciate Heather Donahue's performance through this, especially her defining moment. All three were terrific.
They all delivered. The fact that people still hate her (unfortunately) prove just how good she was.
@@GoodBadFlicks Kaitlyn Olson said she was shocked by just how much Donahue was abused by random people when filming 'It's always sunny…'
no wonder why her screams were so scary at the end....she got grabbed by men in black not knowing why her friend was in the corner where josh was and what was happening as they threw her camera down..thats scary as fuck
@@GoodBadFlicks she won a razzie right confused the fuck out of me she was awsome
The movie consists of crying, whining, screaming and arguing . It wasn’t engaging, had a weak ending and I don’t understand the love for it.
The right movie at the right time is the best way to describe it.
I had a friend who attended UCF's film program and was shown one of the bootleg tapes. He said it was such a scary scenario. Their teacher came in and simply says, "Some of our UCF students found this." He puts in the tape and the film played - with no credits at the end. The scene with the camera getting tipped over ends, it goes to black, and the teacher quietly pops out the tape and leaves the room, ending the class. My friend said every single person in the room was sure they'd just seen a real snuff film and all were shaken by it! I have to say I can imagine no scarier way to watch that film! Great video as always, man!
WOW.............. That sounds amazing!
well wasn't the real footage really found underneath floorboards of that house?
A few weeks after i saw the BWP i had to endure 8 months of mandatory (austrian) army service. During an exercise we had to cross a forrest in the middle of the night and even though we were 10 guys it was still super scary. I just couldn't get the damn movie out of my head. The guy who was walking in front of me at some point turned around and asked me if i have seen the blair witch project... we both almost pissed out pants :D
Why would yall be scared at least you guys have guns.
@@jillvalentinefan77 because NATO Countries use blanks unless on a range..
@@thejonathan130 Dont dudes pack live ammo in case of encountering hostile wildlife ?
@@jillvalentinefan77 Nope. Here in Canada I've had a couple startling encounters with Black Bears and a Moose.
Now when we were on exercise in the low Arctic we had these guys called Rangers (Not American Rangers, they're different in Canada) who were armed with live ammo in the case a Polar Bear showed up.
@@thejonathan130 Exactly. Good reasons to carry live ammo number 1. Shit goes down out in the country.
I saw BWP at the South Florida midnight sneak peak presentation a week
before it hit general theaters. I didn't ask my brother and his wife how
they got tickets, and to this day I don't know whether to thank them or
berate them for inviting me to join them. I knew virtually NOTHING
about it at the time, other than distinctly remembering that I had seen
Heather, Josh and Mike's missing persons picture on a milk carton, and I
remember a news commentary about their missing persons flyers were
being posted on college campuses. When I entered the packed theater that
night and the film began, I was truly under the belief that I was
watching real "found film" recorded by three people who had disappeared.
The idea that it was fiction never crossed my mind. I could hear people
in the audience, both men and women, whimper and scream throughout the
film; I was so frightened that I could not scream, but it wasn't until
my sister in law leaned over to me and whispered "Are you alright?!"
that I realized that I had sunken down in my seat, that was clutching
the seat handles like I was on a roller coaster, and that I was shaking
violently enough for her to feel it through the seat. I was haunted by
that film for a solid week, and I was constantly on edge, but then I
started to become fascinated with it (as I am to this day), particularly
fascinated that a movie could be so well done as to provoke that level
of emotion from me.
What a boring story
@@jojoface4940 Your life? Certainly.
Lucky bastard. I was too young to get to go see this at theaters at the time.
I feel you. I watched it knowing that it wasn't real and it still haunts me. It's done so well. They were all in the right place at the right time and had the talent to do what they did. It's an amazing film. One of the only movies that really scares me still
@Tegan Bigone
Thanks for your 1st hand account on watching the BWP. Your first hand account gave me goosebumps.
I have a hard time recommending this movie nowadays, because I can see how it could simply bore some people to death. But when I watched it, alone in the dark, it really got to me. That last shot of Mike just standing in front of the wall was just about the scariest thing ever to me in that moment. The thing is, a movie like this needs to win you over first, it needs to get you invested and immersed, for such a moment to work. Otherwise, it just falls flat.
I think Blair Witch Project loses a LOT of impact on the small screen. It really was best-experienced in a pitch black theater, especially if the screen was big enough that the POV stuff started messing with your sense of perspective.
Indeed, in the same way a campfire ghost story just wouldn't work on a sunny afternoon at the beach. Or even perhaps a haunted house attraction. If you turn on the lights and wander around thinking "this is fake, this is stupid" then other than fast moving objects thrust into your field of vision with loud noises it just isn't going to be scary. Set it up and go with it and then things start clicking in your brain.
Its one of those movies where, in theaters, it truly is an amazing experience. At home though it loses a lot of its luster.
Andrew Brandt Yes, exactly :) I didn't watch it in theaters, I watched it at home, as I said, alone in the dark, so I guess I was in the right mood, I was receptive to the atmosphere the movie is trying to create. For me, the scariest movies are those that stay on the very edge of ridiculousness and/or stupidity and/or boredom. Those that challenge you with their slow burning unnerving pace and sheer bizarreness, but still manage not to lose you - those are pure horror gold.
Agree if you take your imagination and let it run wild with this movie you will get scared the fuck out. I remember I re watched it not to long ago at night while my gf was on her shift and I got creeped out especially with the kids scene in the tent.
This film was lightening in a bottle. It could never be replicated again.
And for all you people who say it was "boring" or "not scary" why don't YOU spend a few nights in the woods on your own then.
To be fair, if someone is determined to not be scared, then this movie isn't going to force it with gore or jumps. So I do believe those that say it was boring aren't just being tough, but it's their loss for not being able to get into that headspace. I wasn't AS scared before having gone camping a few times, but after that it worked even better. And very few people are going to wake up to random noises outside their tent and immediately be all gruff and brave--it's usually "well now what the hell is that? and peaking outside with flashlights.
The film was boring and not scary (the original... I haven't watched this new one yet). Movies are about connecting with characters and getting you into the situation/story. Blair Witch failed with both to me. Spending a night or two alone in the woods WOULD be scary, but the film didn't convey this. Think of films like John Carpenter's The Thing- You felt the cold, isolation, and paranoia... all which led to fear. Rosemary's Baby which made you feel isolation, confusion, uncertainty... which leads to fear. Alien- Claustrophobia, uncertainty, threat, isolation, etc... I could go on and on. I applaud the marketing for the film and the creativity of the filmmakers... but the film itself to me was a huge bleh.
Long before I saw The Blair Witch Project, I was a part of Outward Bound. I spent a week on a treeless island off the coast of Maine with nothing but jeans and a tee-shirt and a pocket knife. It was only supposed to be 48 hours, but there was an actual hurricane that hit Hurricane Island (Hurricane Gloria, 1985), so they couldn't pick anyone up.
The Curse of the Blair Witch was scarier than The Blair Witch Project.
I go regularly camping alone in the woods. Not scary, quite the contrary. There's nothing that could harm you. But there are parts of my city i would not go alone even in daylight, cause real criminals reside there and they will hurt you just to see the look on your face. The woods are tame in comparison
The film is, literally, three people running around the woods at night over-reacting to things. It's dull, it's not scary, and I've spent plenty of nights out in the woods.
"Heather was worried thinking this might really be a snuff film so she brought a hunting knife in case" omfg lol as always i love your videos cecil
:)
It's too bad they didn't go the snuff route. Another example of those moral busybodies ruining artistic vision
Michael:
"Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked Witch of the East. Which one was bad?"
Heather:
"Wicked Witch of the West was the bad one."
Michael:
"Then we should go east."
This movie is loaded with great quotes!!
But both sisters were evil, I thought. One (with the ruby slippers) had held the Munchkins in slavery.
@@eduardo_corrochio That's true. In the Wizard of Oz movie, Glinda says the Witch of the West was "worse than the other one was."
@@kenhollis6197 Exactly. I loved how scared I was of the green witch when I was a kid and they'd broadcast the MGM movie on TV each year. Way back in the day, lol.
@@eduardo_corrochio Lol, I hear ya. My grandma bought the VHS in 1990ish and I watched it all the time. The Wicked Witch didn't scare me, as I was obsessed with witches at that age, but it was still a trip to watch.
@@kenhollis6197 :)
I wonder if they knew what a fucking legend of a film they were making, or if they thought it would be disregarded and forgotten... awesome video.
Thanks! According to the actors, they thought Sundance would be as far as the movie went. They figured it would get picked up for a DTV release and then they would be able to have "film showcased at Sundance" on their resume.
I always love how big studios get hold a huge hit and then they turns to the makers of film, give them the finger, and precede with their own ideas. "Oh, you made the most profitable film in history? You want to do a prequel? Haha, forget it, we're doing a sequel. You don't like, then get out!"
Even then they let the director for part 2 make the movie he tells them he is making and then they forcibly change it. Then when it fails, they blame everyone else.
@@GoodBadFlicks Book of Shadows was actually worth watching.
@NotThatGuy
GoodBadFlicks reviewed that movie as well and they said that the studio mucked up the director's vision and if you go back and listen to what the director envisioned and disregard the studio's added bs, then Book of Shadows is a good movie.👌
@NotThatGuy
ua-cam.com/video/hAkmHSzUIHQ/v-deo.html
It's like what happened with the descent
Despite what one may feel about the movie itself - The filming of the Blair Witch Project was genius, a facinating experiment in filmmaking. The method in which they filmed, marketed, etc. was just revolutionary. It's really too bad the "found footage" genre became synonymous with crappy movies. The Blair Witch Project is and will always be one of the best, like Cecil said, it was the right film at the right time.
I've always really appreciated the first film for what it is. And I remember fondly the craze for the movie when it came out, it was so smart to present it as real, pretending the actors were really missing, such a smart way to go about it.
"Heather was offered a role in a Freddie Prinze Jr movie" LMAO - good gawd that made me howl with laughter.
This movie is almost like a proto-creepypasta. But it's a lot better with it's story telling.
Moonbeam Yeah, it honestly reminds me a lot of the SCP Foundation in its atmosphere and bleak tone.
Moonbeam I feel bad for people who didn’t get to experience this movie at the time. If you fully bought into it (like child-me did) it was the scariest movie ever made.
@@bungalowfeuhler1541 still is
No, no it's not. Seriously, NO.
I think it helped that it was being filmed in what looked like the middle of nowhere and the characters couldn't find their way out. It is like a nightmare where nothing you do makes the slightest bit of difference. The best kind of haunted house is the one where you can't get out.
Sometimes pain is worth the effort. It honestly looked like the actors were going completely nuts. In the end they still made something unnerving.
It looked the actors were terrible, in a boring movie, which they were
This is one of the few movies that actually terrified me. I love how they managed to actually scare you out of your mind without all the unneccesary jump scares, violence and gore that's making up 95% of horror movies nowadays..
Great video!
BWP definitely has a special place in my heart. My mom always likes to remind me that she and her coven got their hands on one of the bootlegs when it first came out, and it was probably the first horror movie I remember watching. I do find it tough to recommend nowadays considering so many horror fans lean towards fast-paced gory horror (I was personally offended when I had my now-ex watch the movie and all he had to say was "that was it?") but it's definitely something I've connected with when it comes to other horror fans.
In my entire life, and this is not a burn to people who are scared by films, only two films have scared me. This is due, entirely, to the fact that the first time I watched a horror movie, my parents prepared me in the greatest way possible. They sat me down, and explained that we were going to watch actors having fun, with halloween makeup, and fake blood and all manner of goo, and that the whole thing was just actors having fun.
I bring this up, as this is one of those two films, and the second is more of a comedy, American Werewolf in London. I grew up living for horror films, yet I fully admit...the Blair Witch made it hard for me to sleep for a week.
this is the only film that scared me really to be honest. Also I watched it for the first time alone when I was a kid while my parents were away at my house and it creeped me out. Also when ever the sci fy commercials came on back then for the documentary I had to turn it off because the commercial scared me alone.
Well sad to disagree with a lot of the people here but this is the only movie that made me wanna sleep for a week
Seeing it in 2021, it still holds brilliantly. It's still terrifying because it understands the most simplistic thing - what you don't see is way more scary than what you do.
It’s 2020 and so many people are still split on either loving this movie or they found it totally boring or they downright despise it. I find this amusing and back in ‘99, I had a friend that watched it and they were genuinely freaked out and thought that it was real. Ha. I ended up watching it on home video and knew that it was just a movie but I was still seriously creeped out and really enjoyed the film.
People upset that they didn’t experience jump scares or see the Blair witch, are totally missing the point of the film. Sometimes you never see what gets ya! 👻
When The Blair Witch Project came out, I genuinely thought it was an actual documentary. Great job on making this. I'm glad they didn't use well known celebrities.
I love this movie! exactly the fact you don't see anything is what appeals me in this movie, you can only hear some noises and that is exactly what makes you scare alone at your house... hearing something that you have never heard before and not knowing what it is.
Awesome video, very well written and produced. Thanks Mr.GoodBadFlicks.
yep, the quality and professional attention displayed on each video is amazing, it is high time this channel gained more recognition
It really was a "you had to be there" movie... This was literally the biggest thing in pop culture for a few minutes and was a lot of fun to speculate and talk about at the time. The internet "then" is the reason it worked, the internet "now" is likely the reason why it could never work again.
When you get a glowing review from a horror master like Stephen King like that, you can ignore the naysayers
Late to the party, but King isn’t the master some think he is. He writes sooooo many books that of course some are bound to be good. The vast majority are garbage. He also hated The Shining movie that Kubrick made, despite it being one of the all-greatest horror films, even to this day. I wouldn’t put much faith in the judgement of the guy who wrote Tommyknockers and Rose Madder
@@SnailHatan That’s just bad logic. 99% of people could write a hundred books and still come up with nothing but shit. King has written like 20 all-time great novels. There are millions of authors out there who have worked their whole life at it and will never write even one great novel.
@@cheezyfilmsproductions1842 This is true. I’m not saying he doesn’t have skill, and he does have several great books. But, again, he isn’t the master he is sometimes chalked up to be. The majority of his books are forgettable, and a significant portion are downright bad. It isn’t as if everything he writes is a masterpiece, and his instincts are clearly not infallible. That’s all I mean.
@@SnailHatan
Well of course. But that's true of most of the masters. They all have at least one shitshow. A lot of them have many shitshows. Spielberg has done a lot of bad movies, for instance, but he's still billed as one of the greatest directors of all time, and for good reason.
King definitely has his fair share of stinkers. But when you're as prolific as he is, that's just gonna happen. And I'll take a dozen more Tommyknockers if it means I get one more Misery.
I would love to have seen a credit here for Ben Rock. He was the production designer on the show, and he created the little stick figures that became the icon and image of the film. I thought I saw him off to the side and one of the photos. He also directed “the Burkittsville 7”, which was mentioned.
Could you maybe do an "Exploring Ghostwatch"?
That found footage documentary scared the entire UK shitless and the makers of the Blair Witch Project were reported to have seen it before they made their own movie.
Its such a fun thing to watch, just watching through to see when pipes shows up is fun in itself.
Yeah, ghostwatch was great. It would make a good vid.
Loved Ghostwatch, right up until the end where they have the presenter in the studio getting possessed. Too far fetched, and ruined all the good, realistic work done before.
Sez you, as a kid in the 80's that was real to me XD The BBC would never lie!
bjnboy no
Curse of the Blair Witch is also very underrated. I remember getting really creeped out by it. What really got me were how detached the interviews were, which gave it a stronger sense of realism. As detached as they were, I really remember one of them saying something like "I have never seen the movie and I am not interested in seeing it. The movie has the last moment's of my brother's life." That hit hard and the actor said it in such a matter of fact way without melodrama. So many times, the acting is over done as opposed to understated and subtle.
11:06 hey it's Molly. I didn't know that she used to be a journalist before working at the morgue.
Why do you think she started to work at morgur
Muhahahah
I've been following your channel for about a year or so, and I honestly have to say that you have one of the best channels out there. Incredibly in-depth, staying true to yourself(that's what it seems like to me) and most of all, not trying to be random, loud and in your face funny all the time, like all those youtubers strive to do. So thank you for another great great video!
Thanks! That is exactly what I've been going for. :)
I remember going to see it with my then partner. I enjoyed it but thought it was mostly hot air, but she freaked out. From that point on, saying ''In the corner'' in a sinister voice was enough to get her jumpy. I am kind of jealous that I didn't get the frights.
Why did you mention you had a "then partner"? Are you insecure?
Are you an alien NeuroHack? Do you not know how human beings relate to past events? He had a partner in the past he's not with now, hence "me then partner". What's that got to do with being insecure you weirdo?
***** My girlfriend implies ownership, partner does not.
"My partner" is a term that gay men use for their lover, so that's what I thought you meant - not that I was really thinking ANYTHING about it, that's just the context I took it to mean. I think the proper term for "then partner" whether its a spouse or a lover is "my ex" but I think everyone has forgotten your right of literary license to write whatever the heck you want.
Don't be this movie was shit
I’m so glad I was alive during the time that this movie came out. The whole lore and everything had me in a trance. I completely bought that it was real until it came out in theaters.
"Genuinely angry that the actors were still alive."
Yeah some fucking nerve they had, not really dying in the woods for the sake of the film.
The reason this movie is so good is because their reactions were genuine, unlike most other mocumentaries where the actors are clearly aware of the type of movie they're filming.
This is honestly one of my favorite Horror films, especially as a psychological horror film. I never understood why people felt this was either boring or not scary.
This must be the best review video I've seen. You captured all the important pieces we had to search for and read in the past.
I think I really need to thank you for this video. As someone who is interested in the film industry and wants to some day become a film director, this provided a lot of info I could use to make my first movie (excluding stuff like playing it all up as real, and other things that could cause backlash)! So, thanks a ton man!
You're welcome! Best of luck to you
7:39 that had to be scariest shit ever.
One of my all time favorites. A real masterpiece of horror.
It doesn't belong under the channel title "GoodBadFlicks" as nothing about it was executed poorly and it lives on being hailed as one of the best of it's genre.
Curiously, did you watch the video? I praised the film as a landmark and talked about its production as well as how revolutionary the ad campaign was for the film.
@@GoodBadFlicks Yes I watched the video and thought it was great. I just found the title of the channel ironic as one of my hobbies is enjoying what most people consider to be good bad movies such as Troll 2, Mosquito, The Room, etc. Movies that are so bad they're good.
You outdid yourself with this one, so many neat facts I didn't know before watching! As someone else has stated already, I'd love to see an Exploring Ghostwatch.
It’s pretty cool just scrolling through the comments and seeing the audience split. I admit I’m one of those who didn’t like it so much. The ending was good but by the time it got there I was bored. But saying that, I can still very much appreciate what the film did for the genre and I did really like the advertising and folklore they built around it. And even if I’m not a fan of a film I often like learning about how it all came together so I really like the video :)
Thanks!
The part about the female actress stashing a combat knife just in case really drives home how strange the making was
Close to 100,000. You deserve more, love this channel. I recently saw Full Metal Jacket and I loved it. Would you ever do an exploring episode of it?
It really wouldn't fit in with the theme of his channel, which is Good BAD Flicks. While a lot of us agree that The Blair Witch Project was a great movie, there are a lot more who think it's a piece of shit and a huge waste of time. This movie has one of, if not the highest IMDB rating of any movie he has reviewed. As polarizing as this movie may be, I think he only made a special exception to review this because of the new Blair Witch movie and also because he had already reviewed Book of Shadows.
If reviewing Good GOOD Flicks was Cecil's thing, he would have reviewed the original before reviewing Book of Shadows. While I seem to be one of the few who actually liked Book of Shadows, (I even requested that review months before he actually did it, but he was probably already been working on it) the original Blair Witch Project is VASTLY superior to Book of Shadows.
Full Metal Jacket, directed by one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, would definitely stick out like a sore thumb among such reviews as Puppet Master 3, Santa's Slay, The Incredible Melting Man, and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-rama, just to name a few.
its good to see a channel that can look differently on movies. this type of review is rare, and fun to see because they review mostly unknown movies.
I saw how managed to Overlook & walk past this movie every time,seeing it in video stores in the late 90s , to this day Ive never seen it. But now I dont think i could stay with it long enough to really get hooked on it & make it to the end.
I LOVE this movie.
So many hate it, stated they felt 'cheated' by not 'seeing the witch', but that's EXACTLY why I adore it as I do...sounds, implications, ambiguity...these are the foundations of genuine horror, the scares that are rooted in childhood. I truly feel that the vast majority of the haters just didn't get it, even tho they claim that is not the case.
I much prefer things to be left to the imagination, so that everyone in the audience has their OWN version of what the hell is unseen and terrifying plaguing their brains...that's truly creative, effective film making, for my money. A shame so many people need to be spoon fed, and movies like 'The Blair Witch Project', done right, are so few and far between, despite the knock offs...'Grave Encounters' is the only other found footage film I rank right up there for scare content in the genre.
Wonderful video, as always, Sir...keep 'em coming...
Karstens Creations - I know this comment is from 3 years ago, but I’m replying anyway. Lol
I completely agree with you. I was a teen when I saw this; even went with my mom to see it, my little sister and a friend of mine. We all loved the movie. Everyone I knew who saw it either loved it cause it was the right kind of creepy or hated it because it scared them too much. No one thought it was boring.
Nowadays, those I know who consider it boring are younger 20’s or teens who think they could never get lost in the woods. Which was why they thought it was boring; lack of both imagination and reality. And I say lack of reality because these are people who would likely do the wrong things if lost in the woods or desert. Lol.
There's a late 70s yeti-based suspense-horror film that was pretty good up till the yeti model came on screen in the last 15 minutes.
Completely agree. Watching Grave Encounters alone at night was terrifying lol.
It doesn't matter, because it's fiction.
Excellent as always! I was lucky enough to see this on opening weekend. The little urban village where we watched it was absolutely buzzing about it. Everywhere we went after the film- that's all people were talking about. Amazing. Scared the bejeezus out of me.
Another great video man! Such a good job going into the history and production of these films. Can see you definitely do your research, best reviewer on UA-cam
Thank you so much!
Wholeheartedly agree with you!
It's funny, I didn't see BWP in the theaters when it was released, but a few years later, and it is now one of my favorite horror movies - I watch it a couple of times a year and always enjoy it. And I would LOVE to see a Director's Cut of BW2 - Book of Shadows, especially after watching GoodBadFlicks video on it.
I think that knowing how the film was made makes it less scary. Also, it's probably the cheapest way to make a horror film; I can just imagine the directors making noises in the distance to scare the actors. Even though I do acknowledge how it changed film, I don't put it in the pantheon of great horror films like Jaws, Halloween, Psycho, or Night of the Living Dead,
"Jooosh!!"
I gave u back the map heather!
It was useless! I kicked that fucker into the creek!
Brian McCune Marshmallows
JOOOOSSH!!
*"JJOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!!!!"*
This movie continues to stay close to my heart as my all time favorite horror movie PERIOD. This thing was like a towering legend looking from the outside as a kid. Like I was aware of elm street with dream killers and Halloween with Myers...but my child brain couldn’t fathom how real this looked to me from the promos. And when I DID finally get my hands on watching this...I felt like I had my rite of passage.
Another fantastic video by one of youtube's greatest film reviewers.
Thank you so much!
My words exactly. Diving through his archive when I have the free time is quite a pleasure.
Best horror film I've ever seen... I followed the website, watched the sci fi TV show, and watched the movie in the theater on opening weekend. Just the thought that it MIGHT be real made the difference. I was shaking leaving the theater.
Still my favourite horror movie today... the last scene in the house still gives me the chills..
I clearly remember all the marketing on this movie, it worked so well and made the movie even more scary..
I remember sitting in the theater after the last frame and was just stunned.
Yeah, my theater was completely quite, and the end credit sounds just made it even harder to get rid of the last scene with heathers screams..
I am very grateful to have watched this film in theater and walking out of it in shock and terror. Nothing like the shock value of watching found footage in those days.
I still watch this film in fear. It still send chills down my body. This is what true horror films do.
Great video, also glad you mentioned The Last Broadcast, i still feel that one is an excellent companion piece to TBWP and in some ways just as frightening .
I really thought Mike was going to be the one who went on to have a long acting career , for me he was the standout character with genuine chemistry, but all of them were great in this and i have a tremendous amount of respect for the balls they had to do this .
Everyone involved in this film were trailblazers on some level, there was nothing else like it and there never will be again .
Thanks! TLB is terrific but I think the ending kind of blew it. I do want to do a video on it, it deserves more recognition.
In one of the BW reunions, Mike admitted that he messed up some of his auditions. By the time he felt he was more prepared for the auditions, he was no longer getting callbacks. A shame, he definitely had talent and seemed like a very coo guy.
the companion pieces are all fantastic . the Blair 7 I believe it was called, the mockumentary where the Rustin Parr clips come from is so well done
Yeah, Curse of the Blair Witch is probably one of the most intriguing, realistic, and creepy mockumentaries ever made .
TLB has nothing to do with Blair, i call it a companion piece because they share some similarities and they both deal with young adults who venture into the woods to document a legendary creature / monster .
It's a surprisingly complex film that expertly captures what public access television and the internet was like back then and it also cleverly explores people who delude themselves in their quest for fame and the lengths they will go to acquire it .
It's just damn creepy also, i love the Jersey Devil legend and this just may be the best movie concerning it .
8:07
Owner of that camera now: That's the camera they used in Blair Witch.
Friends/family: We know, Billy. You've told us that 10 times.
Wow, in retrospect, theirs was probably one of the first websites I just could not get enough of.Every picture, every testimonial, it was just fascinating. I must admit I felt a bit duped seeing Heather on Letterman or whatever it was cause I bought into the lore hook line and sinker. There were no such thing as internet trolls then. Must admit it was a better time for cinema, and just in general.
Ever since I found your channel 3 weeks ago I've been hooked with every single video. I await anxiously for the next one
The ONLY movie that ever made me afraid to walk the 20 feet from my living room to my bedroom. I have NEVER been so frightened to the core in my life
Love all your exploring series videos. Hope to see tons more.
Love the Blair Witch Project. Saw it in the cinema and came away not scared in the least but was engrossed in watching the psychological breakdown of the kids. That was what grabbed me.
...Aaaand I'm sadly completely caught up on your videos. You're amazing, man! But you SO need to work on your marketing! You deserve to have millions subscribers, your content is such a breath of fresh air. There's something about your delivery that is just...hooking, for lack of a better word. And just like with the movies you review, the work and love put into your videos shows and it makes them all the more amazing.
Thanks! I'm terrible at marketing myself, because many of the tactics that seem to work in this online world are ones I don't like. (clickbait, misleading headlines, wacky over the top thumbnails, etc)
I do push my stuff out there but in a way that isn't annoying...at least I hope its not annoying. Things seem to be picking up though and on top of gaining more subs, I've gained the attention of some larger UA-camrs. I do put a ton of work into the videos, so I always appreciate when its noticed. I continue to put my best foot forward and create content that I would watch if I wasn't making it. (if that makes sense)
Last Broadcast was so good. Highly underrated.
Great "Exploring" video, one of your best. Enjoyed it very much.
Thanks!
Dude i watched this back then in the Cinema, NOTHING can compare to what was happening on Screen and the tension it brought up. Crazy good.
16 years later, this is still one of the scariest movies i´ve ever seen.
I don’t think people who see Blair Witch today can fully grasp what it was like when the film was originally released… I still love the movie today but seeing it back then when people weren’t sure if it was real or not was a whole different experience. Only thing that sucks is you can’t really do this type of promotion anymore.. just cements my feeling that the 90’s/early 2000’s were the best time to be a kid/teen.
True. And the internet of 1999 was not as it is now... No smartphones and instant info / pictures available anywhere at any time. So while someone could discover the fictional truth of the movie, most didn't before first opening weekend viewing. And that made it like the entire country was spooked at the campfire by their cousins telling a spooky story then adding to it with a trick in the dark. It was indeed lightning in a bottle.
Incredibly well done video as always, thank you Bro.
Thanks!
I remember seeing this on a bootleg a month before the theatrical release at a watch party using a projector our in the middle of the woods. Atmosphere made it all the better.
I was totally hoping for Poe's "Haunted" as a throwback to the Book of Shadows exploration.
Either way, damn good vid!
Thanks!
Great overview!!!! I will never forget how terrified I was when I watched this in the theater the night it debuted. Didn't sleep that night. Oh, how I miss the 90s.
The first time I saw this movie was on VHS in the year 2000. I watched it with my dad and a friend and we thought it was insanely boring. At the time me and my friend were both 12 years old btw which was the recommended age according to the german label on the VHS. Some years later this flick was shown on TV between 2-4 AM and I thought I'd give it another go. And holy shit... It was dark outside, I was alone at home and I live right next to a forest... I was captivated by it. The movie has a relatively slow build up and it's crucial to watch it in the right enviroment, but if you get through it like that, you will be left with a feeling of pure angst. I'd like to say it's the opposite of Paranormal Activity where you sweat throughout the whole movie, but the closer you are to the ending, the less terrified you are.
Thats exactly right. If you immerse yourself into it, you will be terrified. If you watch it in the middle of the afternoon with a million distractions, you'll find it boring.
I did this film once for a movie night for a few people who had not seen it. I deliberately used the mockumentary first, to set it up as real. They all fell for it, hook, line and sinker, and it was all the more powerful as a result.
It was a brilliant film at the time, though once you know it isn't real, the power diminishes somewhat. A huge shame, because it is a really clever idea that did everything right. And this video of yours was informative and insightful. Thank you.
I take this way more than Parasnoremal Activity.
I disagree. Both films play with similar concepts and executions, but Paranormal Activity had a better character study. I was able to gain a better grasp on who Katie and Micah were as people, so discovering more about them and seeing them react to the situation kept me invested in the film. Also the (original) ending for Paranormal Activity was a great resolution to the events and pretty haunting when you think about it (something that the studio forced jump scare ending didn't have at all).
B. Alex Thompson The only thing I agree with Paranormal Activity is the original ending. The one not on the Blu-ray/DVD. The actual ending. That was actually unique to see. Shame it wasn't the actual ending. For me, Paranormal Activity was incredibly repetitive. The acting wasn't convincing. The jump scares were the same over and over. Paranormal Activity is a comedy.
Agreed... when they actually release Paranormal Activity with the original ending, I will actually buy the movie. Concerning your thoughts on PA past the ending, that's how I see Blair Witch... terrible acting, incredibly repetitive, but sadly not much of a comedy... just a lot of boredom.
All that said, it's cool that you and many others enjoy the film. It's just fun to debate and to discuss opposing opinions.
B. Alex Thompson I agree.
What was the original ending to PA?
I vividly remember reading up and doing research on it back in college. It was awesome!
I love that reporters reaction after watching the movie, I was around 11 or 12 when I watched a bootleg version of it that my skater group of friends was passing around. Back then it was a thing to hand pass bootleg VHS copies around friends and you rarely got any context of what you were watching. All I knew about it was that it was a really scary video and no one knew if it was real or not 😢. Got home and watched it with my older twin sister and bro...I had the exact same reaction as that reporter. I was really shaken by it and couldn't stop thinking about it. We lived in the city but vacation on a country side house 2 hours away from the city in the middle of nowhere, so the moment I stop watching the movie, I started dreading our summer outing 😢. Fucking movie traumatized me as much as that poor lady reporter 😅
Thats the thing, so many people don't look at this from the perspective of when it was released. It was terrifying at the time because of how it was presented.
@@GoodBadFlicks I know right, the context of how that movie was released was everything. It's like the difference between listening to a scary story told by a stanger at night around a camp fire and watching a scary video online, on your cellphone, sitting in your bed with the lights on. Both might be scary but only one of those experiences stays with you. Anyway, thank you for the great content Cecil, I've followed your channel for years now and you never disappoint, thank you again and Lots of love from Chile.
Listening to Heather screaming still sends chills down my spine!
This is such a good video, there's so much I didn't know about the film that you talk about. However, watching this video and having rewatched The Blair Witch Project recently made the new Blair Witch seem even worse than it actually is.
To this day this movie still terrifies me. As someone who is scared of the woods and being lost that is no surprise. I'm happy to see the exploring series take a deeper look at a movie that still scares me today. I cannot wait to see what you explore next. Also I too vote for a full length cut of the film as well as a directors cut of Blair witch 2. that movie gets such a bad rap.
After hearing about so many enjoyed this movie, it peaked my curiosity. I didn't have the first two, but I did watch the third one. I found it somewhat scary and enjoyed it. So, I decide to watch the first one, thinking it would be good, I was so wrong. I thought it was overwhelmingly boring and still baffles me as to how part 1 is beloved while part 3 is looked down upon. I just don't get it. No opinion on part 2 seeing as how I haven't watch it yet.
I have to say I just found this channel and have been binge watching it for hours
thumbs up the video at the start because youre always on point
:)
Louise Brealey who later became an actress and plays Molly on BBC's Sherlock.
#themoreyouknow
Yo my brother! ¿would you be up to do one of these about Queen of the Damned? I would love to hear your take on it
I love that this channel exists!!
That's Molly from Sherlock!!!
I noticed that too! I was like, "Hey, Louise Brealey!" I don't particularly like her, but I recognized her.
I saw this in theaters as a teenager back in 1999. Still think that Mary Brown was intended to be the Witch and every time I re-watch I still see the clues pointing to her. I would love to see additional footage !!
The real town was full of dummies. They could have made millions selling stick figures to tourists. Instead, they got upset that people only wanted to see the house.
Correction: *steal
I remember seeing 'The Last Broadcast' sometime in the summer of 99 when I was in middle school. They showed it on Cinemax. That's when I sorta got confused into thinking TBWP and the LBC were related somehow. I thought it was a very underrated horror film. It had this certain atmosphere that felt darker than TBWP. I'm in the process of trying to make my own found footage project. I wanna use VHS camcorders to give it a more sinister approach. What's troubling is trying to come up with an idea that would work to it's fullest advantage. I love movies and the process of film making. TBWP was certainly a great inspiration. That goes the same with The Last Broadcast.
Dude, what's the delay on dog soldiers
Haven't forgotten
Really good 'Exploring...' episode. I remember when I first saw BWP, although it didnt 'scare' me, it was certainly unnerving. Glad you mentioned The Last Broadcast too. I have this on DVD and think it certainly deserves to be seen by fans of the genre.
Thanks! I'm going to do one on The Last Broadcast too. That movie really deserves more love.
Keep up the great work dude. Some of the best review vids on youtube. Look forward to the LB review/explore
Is there's an alternative link to Exploring Blair Witch 2? I tried viewing it but it does not allow me in Canada.
Same. Says the video is removed?
Also looking for it.
there is an "exploring" video he did on blair witch 2... really good and makes you respect the sequel a little more
I know, but when I try to watch it in Canada it is being blocked due to copyright issues. We were wondering if there was any other source for that video since it should obviously be ok due to fair use.
Either on another UA-cam channel or another service like Vimeo.
I just found your series begin this week and im already binge watching a ton of them .never saw 90% of the movies, but your commentary makes a nice background audio :)
I always thought this movie was boring as hell. Still do. But I see where Good Bad Flicks is coming from and understand a little better how the movie was influential. Great vid.
Great job doing a look back at "The Blair Witch Project". With all of your exploring videos, I always learn something more that I did not know before.
Thought I was subscribed to you for at least a year but now I saw that I had never clicked the subscribe button. What the fuck? Sorry for that. You make great content. Love your Exploring series although I haven't seen at least 70% of the movies you talk about.
UA-cam has been randomly unsubbing people so its possible you may have been subbed and they dropped you. (its a "glitch" where every time someone uploads a video, people randomly get unsubbed from the channel) Its been going on for months and they refuse to do anything about it.
Either way, thanks for coming back!
I loved this movie the first time I saw it. Waited a decade to see it again and it didn't hold up, but man watching your video made me appreciate some more.
best channel
:)
The Blair Witch Project is still one of my favorite horror films of all time and this was super informative! Even though I knew much of this, there was a few new interesting points that I had never hear before. Makes me still wish I could have seen The Blair Witch Project in a proper theater. Regardless, amazing video and loving your work as always! Keep up the good work. :) (btw, The Blair Witch was pretty bad but I was too damn curious about it XD)