The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Cost $22,500 B.O. $249 Million
If the Irony angle of “Scream” was destined to be short lived, the found footage phenomenon of The Blair Witch would prove to be a more successful road map for horror in the 2000’s. Using the increasing portability of video cameras, directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick learned to use their low-budget as a virtue. The horror came not from what was seen but what was NOT seen. Tapping into an increasingly urban audience’s fear of getting lost in the woods, along with a deep sense of the irrational in our scientific universe, Blair Witch also stands a part as being one of the first truly viral successes. A fake documentary about the “Blair Witch Legend” drove millions to the internet and then to the theater to see if it was true (it was not).
