A reboot of The Blair Witch Project is in development. The 1999 blockbuster horror film – known in Italy under the title The Blair Witch Mystery – will return to terrorize the public in a completely new guise. At the helm of the project, Lionsgate and Blumhouse.
The world of cinema continues with its prevailing trend. That is, recover titles or franchise in vogue in the Nineties/early 2000s and give them new life through remake, sequel or reboot. The latest to join the list is The Blair Witch Project. That’s right: the scary saga horrorwhich began in 1999, is preparing to return to the big screen 25 years later the first chapter!
The news comes directly from CinemaCon of Las Vegas, which gave a long series of updates and surprises on the most anticipated film projects. Announcing the return of the ‘Blair Witch’ are Lionsgate And Blumhouse. On the official note, it says that the upcoming film is part of a multi-film deal between the studios to reimagine “horror classics from the Lionsgate library.”
Adam Fogelson, CEO of Lionsgate Motion Picture Groupsaid: “We are excited to kick off this partnership with a new version of Blair Witchwhich will reintroduce this horror classic to a new generation.” Jason Blumtoday an undisputed authority on horror cinema, added: “I’m a great admirer of The Blair Witch Projectwhich brought the idea of horror with found footage to the general public and has become a true cultural phenomenon.”
Blum is not wrong. The Blair Witch Project, shot in eight days with a budget of only 60 thousand dollars, he grossed more 248 million dollars at the box office. “I don’t think there would have been Paranormal Activityif there hadn’t been Blair Witch before – continued the CEO of Blumhouse – so this feels like a really special opportunity and I’m curious to see where it leads.” Producing the reboot alongside Jason Blum will be Roy Lee. The latter produced the 2016 reboot titled Blair Witch.
The film, preceded by an effective promotional campaign, represented a real surprise for the public. The expedient of found footage It hit the mark and won over fans of the genre and newcomers alike. The enthusiastic reactions did the rest, consecrating The Blair Witch Project an instant cult. How to adapt such a revolution to the present day?
Over the years, horror has used all kinds of tricks: it has exploited surveillance cameras, it has proposed films shot entirely behind the screen of a mobile phone or with a webcam. Not being able to count on the ‘novelty effect’, how Blumhouse And Lionsgate will they revive the franchise to match the success of the archetype? To find out, we will have to wait for the next updates.
As for Lionsgate, among the upcoming horror films we highlight The Strangers: Chapter 1in cinemas starting May 17, e Saw XIpostponed to 2025.
The Blair Witch Project: plot, cast and sequel to the 1999 horror
October, 1994. Three university students disappear under mysterious circumstances in the woods of village of Burkittsvilleformerly called Blair, Maryland. Heather (Heather Donahue), Mike (Michael C. Williams) And Josh (Joshua Leonard) had come to Frederick County to make a school documentary about the legendary Blair Witchwho lived in the 18th century, to whom the deaths of many children in the village were attributed.
At the scene of the disappearance, some are found audiovisual tapes which tell of the last days of the boys’ lives.
From the videos we learn that the search led them into the meanders of the woods, in a crescendo of tension and threatening and inexplicable phenomena. Overwhelmed by terror, the trio decides to return to the village and abandon the project. But, every time they try to take the main road again, they realize that it is impossible to leave that place…
To the 1999 film (known in Italy with the title The Mystery of the Blair Witch) was followed in 2000 by the less than successful sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. In 2016, it was the turn of the aforementioned reboot directed by Adam Wingardwho created the recent Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire.
