In the film industry easily marketable high concept films such as A Nightmare On Elm Street(1984) drive home the benefit of simple exciting plots with one dimensional characters to generate a storyline with a massive audience appeal. The commitment of The Blair Witch Project’s methods of high concept film are characterized by its focus of a simple eerie storyline forgoing character development for reality inspired mystery.
#Critical reviews of the blair witch project 2016 movie
The mirrored plot lines of recent movies met with different measures of success such as Paranormal Activity(2007) and Project X(2012) show its lasting effect on the genre movie forward. Its contrast with other horror films such as Candyman(1992) and the Nightmare on Elm Street series'(1984-1991) highly visualized villain portrayal only further proves the assertion that “imagination can be as scary as anything onscreen”.(Rotten Tomatoes) As the distribution chief Steve Rothenburg stated “the timing was right as it came after years of gory horror films which people were getting bored with.”(Gitesh Pandya) The film became a spectacle with audiences, having the novelty of being the first of its kind having many studios recognize that financially “(it) began as a buzz worthy independent film but quickly joined the ranks of the blockbuster club.”(Gitesh Pandya) Looking back on The Blair Witch Project you can see many references on the Internet to its cult following, having a very popular 10 year anniversary release and many movie sales to its credit. These flaws played into the reality of the film’s new depiction of the genre, and tied the film into the viewers own sense of reality. They make no attempt to hide these attributes often referred to as flaws in the industry, having the actors featured slating and covered in sound recording gear. Films such as The Haunting, House on a Haunted Hill, and Deep Blue sea were all released in the year 1999 with budgets of 80 million, 19 million, and 60 million respectively.(IMDB) These films lacked the uniqueness presented by The Blair Witch Project’s creation of the new sub genre of “found footage”, which used its “preposterously low budget, and outsider production” as an advantage of showing a different perspective within the genre.(Banash) The Blair Witch Project was shot by amateur actors on sub standard camera equipment using 16mm film, which produced very raw unfiltered imagery. The late 90s saw the release of many horror films with extravagant budgets, but historically no other film released that year had a greater impact to the market than The Blair Witch Project. This film’s unique creation of horror sub genre, maverick viral marketing techniques, and use of innovative technologies such as the Internet helped it pioneer budget film making, and its cult status as well as replication throughout modern films proves its lasting effect on the film industry. The Blair Witch Project(1999) was a highly conceptualized film driven by the viral marketing and distribution of its found footage storyline as non fiction events.
The film used the perception and seriousness of reality to make a larger impact on the market than their budget would have suggested was possible. These techniques allowed the low budget film to differentiate itself from other Hollywood films and connect with a huge target audience on a more personal level. It paved the road to its own success by focusing on a highly conceptualized novel plot line, using marketing and distribution techniques such as its web and media presence, and a viral concept of true story telling previously unheard of in the industry.
The Release of The Blair Witch Project marked the first successful high concept film in a new sub genre called “found footage”, and defined a new era of horror film promotion. Other genres were taking over using novel ideas of technology with The Matrix(1999), Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace (1999), and psychological thrillers Fight Club(1999) always employing grandiose scenes of action as a main storyline. The Blair Witch Project: The Marketability of Realityīy 1999 the horror genre had lost its sting, becoming bland with films driven by large budgets that produced generic story lines and previously played out tales of haunted houses.
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