Finally, the horrifying Blair Witch of the Black Hills is back to instill nightmares in us all and squash any dreams of a future camping trip.
At San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, horror fans were delightfully surprised when it was revealed that the upcoming horror film “The Woods” is actually a sequel to the cult-classic movie “The Blair Witch Project.”
1999’s “The Blair Witch Project” was a pioneer in the horror film industry and one of the most successful independent films of all time, pulling in $248 million at the box office with only a $60,000 film budget. It also is largely credited with starting the “found-footage” movie craze, paving the way for the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, and is generally known as the first widely released movie to be mainly marketed using the internet.
A sequel, “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2”, was released in 2000 to negative reviews and a modest box office performance, probably due to the fact that the film abandoned the found-footage technique that had worked so well for the original.
By the looks of the trailer, it appears that “Blair Witch” will return to the original successful formula, even continuing the plot as an original character’s brother seeks to solve the mystery of his lost sister.
The new film was kept incredibly secret, with only a select group of people on set aware that the movie was part of the “Blair Witch” franchise. It was shot in Canada last year and marketed as un upcoming found-footage horror movie titled “The Woods”, and a trailer was even released under the pseudonym.
At San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, however, the charade was finally pulled. As fans and critics discovered the film’s secret during a screening, “The Woods” booth and advertisements throughout the convention were changed to reflect the “Blair Witch” franchise.
Will we ever find out what happened to the three cliche missing film students? We doubt it. Will we avoid any sort of forestry for the next six months after seeing it? Without hesitation.
See the chilling trailer for “Blair Witch,” to be released Sept. 16, below.
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