The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Portal to the found footage genre.
Presentation:
The found footage film that started it all. Whether you like this film or not, its legacy is undeniable in sparking a new niche of analog horror. The found footage in this film feels very natural and appropriately amateurish. There’s no cinematic scenes that look out of place, the actors really are just untrained camera operators. This leads to a believably immersive experience, especially as the actors really don’t know what’s going to happen. Quite brilliantly experimental filmmaking for its time to generate genuine performance. The presentation uses low quality CCD camcorders, audible zooms and constantly clipping highlights which add to the analog atmosphere.
Conclusion:
Some will find this boring and claim nothing happens but that’s because it’s supposed to be eerie and unsettling as opposed to dramatic. It really depends on your taste, but I love these kinds of ghost stories you’d find on YouTube or ebaulmsworld. The impact of this film is far reaching, whether it extends to video games or other movies like Paranormal Activity, V/H/S, Cloverfield, or Skinamarink. It may not be the as great as people make it out to be but it’s an extremely important one.
Recommendations
Level 0 of the liminal basement.