Surprise, There's A New "Blair Witch" Movie Coming
The Woods was already a hotly anticipated film: It's the latest collaboration from director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett, who brought us You're Next and The Guest, two of the best horror films in recent memory. But surprise! The Woods is actually Blair Witch, a sequel to the 1999 classic The Blair Witch Project. The new title and trailer, which debuted at Comic-Con, revealed that we're less than two months away from venturing back into those same haunted woods. (Do not kick that fucker map into the creek this time.)
The Blair Witch Project was a massive hit at the time — it grossed nearly $250 million worldwide on a budget of $60,000 (seriously) — and was hugely influential on the trajectory of horror in the 21st century. It ushered in the found footage genre, one of the most dominant trends in modern horror, and demonstrated the stomach-clenching power of less-is-more horror filmmaking.
There was already a sequel to The Blair Witch Project, but the less said about Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, the better. Blair Witch is already generating way more positive buzz than that mess ever did: In his early review, Brad Miska at Bloody Disgusting wrote that the film "will usher in a new breed of genre films that are targeted at creating an emotional experience above all else." You can judge for yourself Sept. 16, when Blair Witch hits theaters.