It’s recently been announced (to the surprise of no one) that Adam Wingard’s ambiguous project formerly known as "The Woods" was in fact a remake of the classic found footage flick, "The Blair Witch Project." The initial reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, and the fan reaction seems to be closer in-line with hype than dread. As always, I find myself to be a part of the vocal minority.
My first fear about this project is in the concept itself. A lot of the appeal of "The Blair Witch Project" was that it was passed off as being real found footage, going so far as to air fake documentaries on TV and listing the cast as “Missing: Presumed Dead” (or something to that effect) on IMDB. Now, to remake a found footage event like that is even more redundant than the average reboot. Of course, nobody on the Internet is going to be fooled by such tactics today (although clever viral marketing should have been employed to lead into this announcement if you ask me, some faux news article like “Three Students Go Missing in Infamous Blair Witch Woods” or something). The idea of a found footage remake just sounds so boldly stupid and unoriginal to me that I can’t wrap my head around it.
The next complaint is on a similar note. My favorite thing about the original movie is (the first half hour building up the mythology, but after that) how real it all feels. I can’t recall another movie that captures getting lost in the woods with your friends like that movie does. I know this is something that put most viewers of the original off, but the hopelessness of walking in circles is what really draws me in before the famous climax. The movie never rings false or makes me question its authenticity as real student footage recollected from a crime scene. It feels like something you shouldn’t be watching, and at the end of the film I do feel as though I watched the last footage ever recorded of three people’s lives, even after more than a decade has passed and I’m well aware they are in fact alive and well. (One star of the original "Blair Witch" even appeared in Adam Green’s Hatchet as the son of Robert Englund.) Other than the movies being wretched and the lowest common denominator of film, what I couldn’t stand about "Paranormal Activity" from the beginning was how over the top it was. You see a guy get thrown across the room in the trailer, how am I supposed to suspend enough belief to last me an hour and a half? (A lesser known, but better example is "The Taking of Deborah Logan," which I feel is a fun Horror film that’s hindered by its poor execution of the found footage style.) The trailer for "Blair Witch" gives me these exact vibes. The movie looks like a movie. It has scares, and from what I read, it has gore. I don’t want that in a "Blair Witch" movie, not as direct as this new film apparently has. I’d take atmosphere and slow-burn dread over jump scares any day.
I’m also mixed on Wingard’s methods as a director. When I saw "You’re Next" in theaters, I thought it was a clever, above average horror-comedy that had a strong twist halfway through. It was a great balance of tribute and commentary, I felt. His next movie, "The Guest," which seems much more popular, has left a sour taste in my mouth. The first half of the movie was derivative (Think Refn without the subtext.) and the second half was a joke. It was a movie that began with the same kind of cleverness that made "You’re Next" so fun, but rather than developing the subversion, it decides to become the exact kind of B-movie that it was inspired by. More so than my thoughts on either of his films, I’m perturbed by Wingard’s reliance on pre-existing tropes and styles to establish his movies. He is also attached to some kind of live action "Death Note" for Netflix, another reboot. He has also expressed interest in the upcoming Blumhouse "Halloween" retooling. I feel that he’s yet to establish himself as any kind of original voice and hope that he can produce something more original in his career, but he appears content to attach himself to any and every franchise that will have him. I’m not doubting that he is a fan or that he cares to make good movies in those franchises, but I’m more interested in seeing him try his hand at something new.
Despite these hesitations, I am still interested in seeing the new "Blair Witch" movie and as a fan of the series ("Book of Shadows" is one of my favorite guilty pleasures.), I’m happy that the series is continuing. I think the mythology and concept could be expanded on, much further than the original movie had realized. All this speculation is based on the meager information and criticism currently available. Even if it agitates every pet peeve listed in this article, it could still be a good movie. As a fan, I just find it hard to get as excited as the horror media wants me to be.
