REVIEW: ‘Blair Witch’

Conner Keesling | Staff Writer

2016 has been a great year for the horror genre. Movies like “The Witch,” “Green Room,” “The Conjuring 2” and “Don’t Breathe” are only a handful of the exciting horror films that have come out this year. This is great news for a genre that is often declared ‘dead’ by critics. Although “Blair Witch” may not be as good as the films mentioned above, it is not too far off.

“Blair Witch” is about a group of college students who venture out into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to look for James Donahue’s (James Allen McCune) sister, Heather, who disappeared many years before. As they travel farther and farther out into the woods, they begin to realize they never should have entered.

The film is a direct sequel to 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project,” which followed Heather Donahue and her friends Josh and Mike exploring the Black Hills Forest. In the original film, Heather, Josh and Mike set out to make a documentary about the existence of the Blair Witch, a local legend. The three of them were never found and the only thing left behind was the video and sound recordings they collected while looking for the Blair Witch.

The original “Blair Witch Project” was a giant success at the box office and remains a horror classic to many. It was greatly recognized for its use of handheld camera techniques and how it revolutionized the found footage sub-genre for horror. After it was released, a wave of handheld and ‘recovered footage’ horror films came out and its influence can be felt in films like “Paranormal Activity” from 2007 and “Willow Creek” in 2013. Even today, many horror films are still emulating techniques found in “The Blair Witch Project.”

“Blair Witch” comes from Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, who are two fan favorites within the independent horror community. They were the minds behind films such as “You’re Next,” made in 2011, and “The Guest” from 2014. The way they work is Barrett writes and Wingard directs.  

Wingard and Barrett stay faithful to the original “Blair Witch Project” by using the same camera techniques and ways to create suspense. “Blair Witch” is very much geared towards fans of the original.

“Blair Witch” feels very familiar, but in the best way possible. Being fans of the original film, Wingard and Barrett stuck to the formula that works, rather than trying to bring attention to themselves and make the franchise their own. They understand that what people do not see is what scares them the most, which was a big element of the original.

In addition, Wingard and Barrett keep the same mythos of the Blair Witch that was established in the first movie. They only expand on the mythos a little. Not only does this go along with Barrett and Wingard’s approach of not making drastic changes to a horror classic’s initial story, but it also allows fans of the original to already know what is going on and not have to play catch-up. Wingard and Barrett deserve a lot of credit for what they accomplished with “Blair Witch.”

7.3/10.0