HEADS UP to the fans of the cult classic horror film, “The Blair Witch Project”: it’s finally being re-released, looking exactly how the filmmakers intended it to.
On Tuesday, November 12, film producer Mike Monello posted to X saying that 25 years later, the film would be released on home video for the first time as filmmakers intended.
He explained that the movie had been filmed on Hi8 video and 16mm black and white film, edited on a Media 100XR with a non-linear editing system that was widely used at the time.
He added that since theaters then did not have video projectors, their team had to transfer their DigiBeta master to 35mm film through the “telecine” process, which meant that they filmed the video on a special screen in a controlled environment using a 35mm film camera.
When they released the film on home video and DVD, however, Artisan Entertainment, the movie studio that released “The Blair Witch Project”, took the 35mm telecine transfer and then did a telecine back to video, which led to serious motion errors, grain, muddied colors, and less detail.
“Everything about it [was] wrong, but at the time, we were not in a position to demand it to be redone. However, thanks to UK distributor Second Sight Films, the film has been re-transferred from the original Hi8 tapes and 16mm film.
The new release will have the film looking as originally intended, and will also include over 90 minutes of unseen deleted footage and a 2.5-hour-long making-of documentary.
“The new master is scarier, sharper, and exactly how we dreamed it should be,” Monello said.
“I hope fans love this new transfer – its look, motion, and hard cuts create a far scarier psychological effect than all previous versions.”
It is unsure yet whether this will be released on other streaming platforms, or if this version will be released to the U.S., but Monello is urging people to contact Lionsgate to request it to be streamed on their platforms.
He noted that none of them would be earning from the sales, saying that this was the reality for first-time filmmakers with no leverage cutting a deal with a studio, but he was thrilled nonetheless that the proper version would now be available for home viewing.
25 years later, our little movie, 'The Blair Witch Project,' is FINALLY being released as we always intended. Here are details for the curious. pic.twitter.com/w6S4dm2KKI
— Mike Monello (@mikemonello) November 11, 2024
About the cult classic
“The Blair Witch Project”, released in 1999, is a supernatural horror film that helped popularize the “found footage film” genre.
It follows three students, Heather, Michael, and Joshua, as they explore the Black Hills in Maryland in search of a mysterious creature called the Blair Witch.
As they further their search, however, strange things start happening around them: twigs snapping at night, children laughing, and even body parts being discovered.
They start to fight amongst themselves, questioning whether the search for the Blair Witch is truly worth it, as well as if it’s too late to turn back lest they meet an unpleasant fate.
Directors and writers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez shot the film in only eight days with a budget of USD 60,000
According to The Independent, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was then sold to Artisan Entertainment for a low seven figures, but upon its release, it grossed almost USD 250 million globally.
A large contributor to their success was how real the film felt, as Sanchez notes that they wanted to put a level of realism into horror films, contrasting the gore that had since taken over.
Up until the movie was released, many thought that the three actors in the film were actually missing and that the Blair Witch actually was real.
Despite having no script, jump scares, music, professional crew, or even special effects, it was a hit.
As per one user on Reddit: “Hysteria became its greatest weapon.”
