Film Review: "Blair Witch" (2016).

"There's something evil hiding in the woods." This is Blair Witch. This found footage supernatural horror film directed by Adam Wingard, and written by Simon Barrett. It is a direct sequel to the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project, and the third film in the Blair Witch series. A young man and his friends venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mystery surrounding his missing sister. Many believe her disappearance 17 years earlier is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch. At first the group is hopeful, especially when two locals act as guides through the dark and winding woods. As the night wears on, a visit from a menacing presence soon makes them realize that the legend is all too real, and more sinister than they could have ever imagined.

Since 2009, development on the film began when Ed Sánchez and Daniel Myrick announced their intent to produce a third Blair Witch film. The film would serve as a direct sequel to the first film, it would potentially contain the actors from the first film in some context, and would not reference any of the events from Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000). The film ultimately went into development hell. In 2013, whilst promoting V/H/S/2 at the Sundance Film Festival, Myrick and Sánchez ran into Wingard and Barrett, and were asked about the status of the film. Wingard and Barrett were informed that Myrick and Sánchez were asked by Lionsgate to produce the sequel, which they had accepted. The meeting then resulted in Wingard and Barrett being brought on to direct and write the film. By January 2015, a third Blair Witch was still in talks, and Sanchez stated that the film was "inevitable". Casting proved to be a challenge, due to the highly secretive nature of the films creation. The filmmakers are quoted as saying that the actors had "no idea what they were auditioning for." In order to make this sequel as surprising as possible, principal photography was done in complete secrecy in Vancouver, British Columbia as opposed to Patapsco State Park where the original was shot, with the film having been shot under the fake title, The Woods. The first two weeks of filming were rough-going, as Wingard realized they had "so much footage that didn't work." This uncertain feeling was more intense than he'd ever experienced as a filmmaker. In July 2016, the first trailer was then shown at San Diego Comic Con, revealing it as the third Blair Witch film, a mere two months prior to the premiere.

The film stars James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Corbin Reid, Valorie Curry and Wes Robinson. Given the fact that the cast are not the usual suspects, there was something refreshing about the film.

A worthy successor to The Blair Witch Project, Blair Witch is economically paced, stylistically clever, and filled with scares, despite the camera work. Despite being set in the woods, the film provides a claustrophobic intensity that makes it chillingly effective.

Simon says Blair Witch receives:

Also, see my review for You're Next.