They know they’re lost, we know they’re lost, but no one knows when they’re going to die.
The Blair Witch Project is one of the most successful films in found footage history. Released in 1999, it shocked audiences with its mix of horror and realism.
It follows three film students, Heather (Rei Hance), Mike (Michael C. Williams), and Josh (Joshua Leonard) as they venture into the woods in an attempt to find evidence of the legend of the Blair Witch. The three film their time in the woods, documenting all of the strange and unexplainable events that happen to them. From hearing children’s voices in the middle of the woods to finding stick figures hanging from trees, it’s only a matter of time until things (and people) start to go missing.
With every new scare Heather, Mike, and Josh face comes new, heightened emotions. It’s a suspense fest where we’re all waiting for something to happen and someone to die by the supposed Blair Witch. So crashouts are expected, welcomed, and understood.
One of the most pivotal crashouts that changes the entire tone of the film is when Mike kicks the map they were using to find their way around the woods into the river. When Mike confesses to Heather and Josh that he is the reason the map is gone, all hell breaks loose.
With no way of knowing where they are, or how to get out, the three are stranded while spooky things continue to happen to them. They’re basically trapped with no supplies and a Witch that seemingly wants them gone.
Heather, Mike, and Josh are truly crashing out, but due to the circumstances and the uncertainty of life or death, it’s extremely valid.
Thanks to the use of found footage techniques, their emotions feel real, making it all the more terrifying for audiences too. By the time the film comes to a mind boggling, horrifying end, the crashouts were endless, but nonetheless needed.
Throughout the film, audiences know just as much as Heather, Mike, and Josh do, and that’s what makes it all the more real. We get to watch these characters go from confident film students to frightened prey in anticipation, all the while not knowing what to expect until the very last scream.
