The Blair Witch Project

Armed with their video cameras, three film students set off into the forests of Maryland to investigate the legend of the Blair Witch. But they vanish without a trace – only their footage is found: shaky images, panicked voices, menacing darkness … At the turn of the millennium, Sánchez and Myrick sparked a veritable frenzy with their one-hit wonder (production costs of $60,000 were offset by takings of $250 million). The found-footage principle was not new, but had fallen so far into oblivion that the film was hailed as extremely innovative. The grainy footage contributes significantly to the atmosphere and makes this exercise in documentary filmmaking, which develops into a study of fear, seem almost antiquated today.
(Florian Widegger)