You know what they say…if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
But there are some exceptions to this rule – especially if it’s got something to do with a revamped version of an iconic 90’s cult classic, which even ‘the king of horror’ Stephen King couldn’t sit through.
Those who love the supernatural and scaring themselves sh*tless will be happy to hear that Lionsgate are teaming up with moviemakers at Blumhouse, the US studio behind fright flicks such as M3GAN and Night Swim.
The film is a horror classic (Lionsgate)
The powerhouses are currently collaborating on multiple beloved films which horror fans know and love, as Blumhouse announced they would be ‘reimagining horror classics from the Lionsgate library’.
As part of their partnership, they will be breathing new life into a fearsome franchise which was originally released 25 years ago that takes viewers deep into the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland.
The studios revealed that revamping the legendary tale of The Blair Witch Project is one of their first orders of business.
Take a look at the trailer for the original 90s classic here:
The 1999 American supernatural horror written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, is considered one of the most profitable and impactful films of it’s genre in history.
It tells the story of a group of three young filmmaker students – Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard – who travel to a village in Maryland to create a documentary about a mythical creature known as the Blair Witch.
However, it takes a dark turn when they enter the woods and begin to hear strange noises – and the trio disappear, leaving only their equipment and camera footage behind.
The 81-minute movie which viewers get to see is this spooky ‘found footage’ and, in the words of Stephen King, ‘the damn thing looks and feels real’.
In a 2010 edition of his book, Danse Macabre, the author wrote: “And because it does, it’s like the worst nightmare you ever had, the one you woke from gasping and crying with relief because you thought you were buried alive and it turned out the cat jumped up on your bed and went to sleep on your chest.”
Which is a pretty perfect way to sum up the experience of watching The Blair Witch Project.
Even Stephen King was scared silly by The Blair Witch Project (Summit Entertainment/Artisan Entertainment/FilmFlex)
The thing is, the key to this movie’s success was the fact that people were convinced it was real.
Fans were made to believe that the three main characters had actually disappeared – but to be fair, there was a website, missing posters and the actors even used their real names, so it all looked completely legitimate.
Despite being made on a budget of only $200,000, it went on to gross almost $249 million worldwide as well as altering the trajectory of the horror genre with by popularising the ‘found footage’ cinematic technique.
Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum said he was ‘grateful’ to be trusted to reboot such an iconic film in a statement announcing the exciting project.
He said: “I’m very grateful to Adam and the team at Lionsgate for letting us play in their sandbox.
“I’m a huge admirer of The Blair Witch Project, which brought the idea of found footage horror to mainstream audiences and became a true cultural phenomenon.
“I don’t think there would have been a Paranormal Activity had there not first been a Blair Witch, so this feels like a truly special opportunity and I’m excited to see where it leads.”
Will the new film recapture the magic of the original? (Summit Entertainment/Artisan Entertainment/FilmFlex)
There hasn’t been any information regarding the plot details, but Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson said the movie would be a ‘new vision for Blair Witch that will reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation’.
He told Variety: “I have been incredibly fortunate to work with Jason many times over the years.
“We forged a strong relationship on The Purge when I was at Universal, and we launched STX with his film The Gift.
“There is no one better at this genre than the team at Blumhouse. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with them on this and other projects we look forward to revealing soon.”
The forgotten Blair Witch Project sequels
Despite the success of 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, its sequels did not receive the same reception from fans.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
A sequel was released a year later (Artisan/Summit)
In a bid to keep the momentum of the box-office hit rolling, moviemakers released Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 just a year after the original, which saw five people obsessed with the ‘found footage’ head back into the Black Hills Forest.
Although it leaned on the plot of the first film quite a lot, it just didn’t hit the same with viewers who said it was ‘hardly bewitching’ and reckoned the quality may have suffered as ‘it was cranked out awfully fast’.
It has a score of just 14 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but the fact it fell flat didn’t put filmmakers off making another follow-up to the original.
Blair Witch (2016)
They tried again in 2016 (Lionsgate)
In 2016, Blair Witch was released as a direct sequel to the The Blair Witch Project, so it completely ignored all the weird things that went on in Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.
This time round, a gang of college students and local guides head into the woods in the hopes of uncovering the mystery surrounding the disappearance of one of the original characters, Heather Donahue, who is the sister of one of the group.
Let’s hope Lionsgate and Blumhouse have something pretty special up their sleeves then.