Blair Witch Project

After the release and authentic content in the “Blair Witch Project” it has become a major addition to the horror film collection and has brought unwanted public attention to the small town in Maryland (Burkittsville). This movie was not only a success in theatres, there was also much gained economically and promotionally due to the fame of “The Blair Witch Project. ” While it is obivious that this film has become a popular horror film due to it’s darks theme, what is the story behind the film? How does “The Blair Witch Project” affect the Burkittsville towns people and the image of the town?

And how does it relate to Danielewski’s House of Leaves. While all of the questions are important to answer, it would be beneficial to talk about this documentary turned film, as if it was just a form of motion pictures. This film was made by two directors, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. “The Blair Witch Project” is a spooky film made up of suspenseful film footage found years after the death of the three students featured in the movie. “Montgomery College students Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams arrive in Burkittsville to interview locals about the legend of the Blair Witch for a class project.

Heather interviews Mary Brown an old and quite insane woman who has lived in the area all her life. Mary claims to have seen the Blair Witch one day near Tappy Creek in the form of a hairy, half-human, half-animal beast. ” Montgomery College students Heather Donohue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard take a trip to the town of Burkittsville, MD to capture some interesting footage on a lady accussed of using witch craft. As a female, Heather Donohue is the leader of the three who is driven and becomes the heart and soul of this project.

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Heather is the only member out of the group who is willing to continuously to film after they hear spooky noises and notice cries outside. Though she is eager to capture as much film as possible, it is evident both Michael and Joshua become annoyed with Heather. The plot of this film climaxes once Jousha wonders off and comes up missing. This part the movie also sets the tone for the following events, the death of both, Michael and Heather. Since “The Blair Witch Project” is considered a horror film, one would expect to see witches, monsters, killer and even ghost but this movie includes none of these scarey figures.

This film simply captures the fears that three people gain while being stranded in the woods. Most of all this film shows the attempt of three people trying to capture images about a witch and turn into an interesting documentary. Before Heather, Michael and Joshua decided to go out and film a documentary, they heard about the stories of Elly Keward (Blair Witch). In 1785, Elly Keward was accused of convincing kids to come to her home to draw blood and later found guilty of witchcraft. “Several children accuse Elly Keward of luring them into her home to draw blood from them.

Kedward is found guilty of witchcraft, banished from the village during a particularly harsh winter and presumed dead. By midwinter all of Kedward's accusers along with half of the town's children vanish. Fearing a curse, the townspeople flee Blair and vow never to utter Elly Kedward's name again. ” In 1809, The Blair Witch Cult book was published, which is considered a fiction genre that tells a story of a town cursed by a loner witch. It is not until 1824 that Burkittsville is found on the Blair website. “Starting with Emily Hollands, a total of seven children are abducted from the area surrounding Burkittsville, Maryland.

An old hermit named Rustin Parr walks into a local market and tells the people there that he is “finally finished. ” After Police hike for four hours to his secluded house in the woods, they find the bodies of seven missing children in the cellar. Each child has been ritualistically murdered and disemboweled. Parr admits to everything in detail, telling authorities that he did it for “an old woman ghost” who occupied the woods near his house. He is quickly convicted and hanged. ” “The Blair Witch Project” has so many different themes that all can be summed up as dark.

This film was made to be informative about the death of the three students, but was also created to be a scary, horrorful and spooky film. Although there are speculations about this film being false or fake, the scenes and frightful events within this film definitely persuade you to believe that its no fiction film. With the collection of dark shots and the noises included in the film it is easy for one to become scared and horrified while watching this film. The scariest thing about this film is that it takes place in an existing town, Burkittsville, MD.

The discovery of Burkittsville, MD on the Blair website and the death of townspeople, brought a new perspective for the small town in Maryland. This connection with Blair gives Burkittsville a spooky and creepy image, which relates to Danielewski’s House of Leaves. Although “The Blair Witch Project” is a movie and House of leaves is a book they both give off an scary or eerie feeling. While both stories are formed due to an experiment, they both are formed into horror stories. Many people see the connection between the two, especially write Nicholas Rombes, who writes an article comparing the horror film and genre. In many ways, the Blair Witch Project and House of Leaves are flip sides of the same coin, experimental works in the guise of horror stories. If it weren’t for the fact that they were from the lowly horror genre, they might have been nominated for Big Prizes like an Oscar or a National Book Award. ” (Nicholas Rombes) The reputation that this town has gained due to Blair, is what led Heather, Michael and Joshua to Burkittsville, MD on October 20, 1994 and what might have been the reason they never returned.

While these spectacles about “The Blair Witch” being true or false still linger, the mysterious deaths of the three students still affect the towns people of Burkittsville. “If they vote to keep the signs, it won't be because they love "Blair Witch" lore; they hate "Blair Witch" lore. It will be because Burkittsville, which looks almost exactly the way it did in the Civil War, never throws anything away. Town leaders think Burkittsville could make $3,000. That's small compensation for all the trouble caused by a film that grossed $249 million. But it could pay to fix some broken sidewalks. ” (By Faye Fiore, Los Angeles Times)

Overall “The Blair Witch Project” is a scary film that displays the experiment of three college students on a mission to findout more about the “Blair Witch. ” While this movie tells the story of a long lost women who practices witchcraft and kills people, it also gives of a sick and scary vibe. This films theme and structure is what makes it compatible to Danielewski’s House of Leaves. This film has not only brought back the store of “Blair Witch,” it has also been added to the horror film collection. After watching this film, one should be terrified to visit the woods and graveyards of Burkittsville, Md.

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