If the Blair Witch Project didn’t mark the birth of internet viral marketing, it sure as hell perfected it. For months prior to the movie’s release, people were talking about the found footage of “those Blair Witch kids that got lost in the woods.” People argued whether or not the three kids actually disappeared or not, and people argued whether or not there even was a legend of the Blair Witch. Prior to the film’s release, a fake documentary titled The Curse of the Blair Witch ran on Sci-Fi which added fuel to the flames of the whole thing being real.
On opening night, Susan and I, along with our friends Jeff and Heather and Alan and Renee went to see the movie. The theater was so packed that we couldn’t get six seats together, and in fact the only seats we *did* manage to find were on the very outside of the front row. Not only did I have a headache from all the shaky-cam footage, but my neck was sore from craning it into a position to be able to see the screen.
Say what you want to about the movie now, but in a dark theater that film brought out every fear I’ve ever had about being lost in the woods, about being chased by something I couldn’t see, and about being somewhere I shouldn’t be. Sometimes when I go outside at night I’ll look over my shoulder just to make sure “something” isn’t there behind me. This movie was like 90 minutes of that. It didn’t quite perfect the tension roller coaster of days vs. nights (I still give that award to Paranormal Activity), but it was damn close. For me, the Blair Witch was to camping in the woods what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean.
And then, the end — sudden, shocking, and violent. Just like that, it was over. People shuffled outside the theater and stood around, talking to one another. “Did you see that?” “What just happened?” “Was that real?” We must have stood outside the theater for half an hour, talking among ourselves and with strangers. It was one of the oddest social events I’ve ever been a part of.
I remember I went to the midnight premiere of the Spawn movie. I don’t know why. I didn’t even like Spawn. I didn’t have a my own car and I was borrowing my grandparent’s car. I didn’t even get my license until I was 18 or 19. So I hadn’t really been driving that much yet. After the movie I jumped in the car and backed out my spot and right into a car in the lane of parking lots behind me. Then I heard yelling and looked behind me and saw somebody running up, I assumed it was the car’s owner so I parked my car and got out and apologized. *snicker* Right. No, I pressed on the gas and took off like Michael Knight hitting turbo boosters. Luckily there wasn’t much damage, just some paint scrapes. I learned two lessons that night that helped me in my life.
1 – Using mirrors while driving helps.
2 – How to escape a crime scene.
Yeah, I remember seeing the Blair Witch Project. I went with one of my best friends, and neither of us really wanted to like the movie, but for a good week at least, we just couldn’t stop thinking about it, like the hook in a catchy pop song that gets stuck in your head and you just can’t get rid of it.
You’re right, if nothing else, that movie was brilliant marketing. Absolutely brilliant.
The same year The Blair Witch came out, my buddy Jeff had a Halloween party. We covered the walls of his living room with butcher paper and covered it with bloody hand prints and Blair Witch stick men. It was genuinely creepy.