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The Blair Witch Project poster

The Blair Witch Project

year 1999decade 90sdirector Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

The Blair Witch Project | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanproducer Craig Horlbeck
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Most Rewatchable Scene

Final fifteen minutes in the house

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:16Read transcript
  • The hotel drinking scene is nominated.
  • The first frightening nighttime awakening and the later discovery of three rock piles are nominated.
  • The missing map leads to Mike admitting he threw it away.
  • Discovering the elaborate objects in the forest produces the joke that no redneck is this creative.
  • The nighttime screaming after Josh disappears is nominated.
  • Heather finds body parts wrapped in Josh’s shirt.
  • Heather’s confessional and the house ending are the major candidates.
  • Returning to the same log after hours of walking creates an especially frightening sense of being trapped.
  • The last fifteen minutes in the house are the final choice; the confessional is distinguished as the most memorable and parodied scene.
  • Mike facing the corner pays off the earlier story and ends abruptly without a reassuring epilogue.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Circuit City camera purchase and return

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:00Read transcript
  • Heather’s appearance is suggested as a 1999 marker.
  • Josh’s inexpensive car, cigarettes and manner of talking fit the era.
  • Buying a camera at Circuit City and returning it after filming is the strongest period detail.

What’s Aged the Best?

Invited danger; companion documentary; corner; circular walk; group dynamics; silence; marketing; cameras; cigarettes

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:00Read transcript
  • Horror characters who invite danger by entering forbidden woods remain effective.
  • The companion Curse of the Blair Witch documentary is valued.
  • Making one victim face the corner while another is murdered is praised as a uniquely creepy device.
  • Walking all day and returning to the same spot remains a powerful fear.
  • The shifting three-person dynamic distributes panic, anger and peacemaking convincingly.
  • The lack of music in the woods is praised, apart from songs earlier in the car.
  • The trailer and missing-person-style poster are praised as effective marketing.
  • The film captures recognizable people and the growth of handheld video in social life.
  • Cigarettes as a major source of plot tension are missed; modern equivalents might be nicotine products or a dead phone.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Cast treatment and compensation; equipment; close-up; limited bonding; sequels; missed witch shot

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:15Read transcript
  • Sudden fame and audiences confusing actor with character reportedly invaded the cast’s privacy; Donahue wished the film had been a smaller hit.
  • The actors had to preserve the fiction of being dead, then faced backlash when audiences learned they were alive.
  • Bulky handheld cameras and DAT machines are dated.
  • Higher-definition televisions make the confessional’s nostril close-up less flattering.
  • The opening could use another fun bonding scene or more hotel drinking, with an objection that extra pop-culture banter could date it.
  • A joke laments that Josh and Mike missed Maryland’s Juan Dixon and Steve Blake tournament run.
  • The actors got no points or threshold bonuses despite shooting and creating the characters; the discussion says they were not paid fairly.
  • Jason Blum passing on the original is called a missed opportunity before his later success with Paranormal Activity.
  • The sequel is disliked; the reboot is also criticized but its climactic sequence receives strong praise.
  • A planned glimpse of a figure in white reportedly went uncaptured by the camera.
  • The sequel’s fixed release date left no time to create it; the filmmakers said they were out.
  • Donahue’s departure from acting and name change are presented as signs of the difficult aftermath and regret over using her real name.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Motion discomfort; unexplained disorientation; repetitive interviews

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:23Read transcript
  • Motion discomfort is mentioned but judged less severe after years of similar footage.
  • Getting so lost is hard to accept without supernatural manipulation, which the discussion wishes were clearer.
  • The town interviews feel repetitive; ten minutes could be shifted into the woods, though the mother with the baby is liked.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Companion documentary may be better; squandered franchise potential

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:15Read transcript
  • Curse of the Blair Witch may be better; combining it with the movie into two and a half hours is proposed.
  • The franchise squandered potential for many sequels and historical prequels by rushing and mishandling follow-ups.

Apex Mountain

Cast and directors; viral marketing; Cal Ripken film references; corner-facing murder; Artisan; you-had-to-be-there moments

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:24Read transcript
  • The cast and directors are affirmed collectively.
  • Sundance is considered but compared with the earlier impact of Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
  • Viral marketing is affirmed.
  • Found footage is disputed against Paranormal Activity’s larger franchise.
  • Witches are rejected in favor of The Wizard of Oz.
  • Cal Ripken references in films are affirmed.
  • Facing a corner before a murder is affirmed.
  • Artisan Entertainment is affirmed for its extraordinary investment return.
  • You-had-to-be-there moments are proposed and explicitly welcomed in the closing discussion.

Cruise or Hanks?

Young Hanks as Mike

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:37Read transcript
  • Both are imagined together, then young Hanks as Mike becomes the recorded choice; the stars as fishermen is another joke.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Byron Mayo; Private Hudson alternative

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:54Read transcript
  • Private Hudson from Aliens is proposed as a new candidate for the better-with category.
  • Byron Mayo is chosen for an imagined sexually suggestive tent encounter.

Just One Oscar

Hypothetical marketing award; no standard category

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:57Read transcript
  • No standard Oscar choice is offered; the marketing campaign would deserve a hypothetical award.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Camera; journal; cigarette pack

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:31Read transcript
  • The camera is the obvious choice, with its reported $10,000 sale cited.
  • A slimed sleeping bag is mentioned as a less appealing alternative.
  • Heather’s journal and Mike’s last cigarette or empty pack are additional choices.

Who Won the Movie?

Artisan Entertainment; filmmakers including cast

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:36Read transcript
  • Artisan Entertainment is the first choice, with the filmmakers offered as an alternative and the actors initially excluded from the financial win.
  • The filmmakers, expressly including the actors’ creative contribution, are the second choice for popularizing found footage.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Artisan Entertainment
Speaker not identified
The filmmakers, including the actors