The Viewer's Commentary

Directed by: Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick

Produced by: Robin Cowie, Gregg Hale

Written by: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez

Edited by: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez

Cinematography by: Neal Fredericks

Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard

Year: 1999

Found footage -style movies are a dime a dozen these days. Though mostly used in the horror genre (notably the Paranormal Activity films), the technique has also found its way into giant monster/kaiju films (Cloverfield), superhero films (Chronicle), and even loathsome teen “comedies” (Project X). The Blair Witch Project certainly wasn’t the first film to use the format (the controversial Italian film Cannibal Holocaust from 1980 is largely credited as the earliest), but it was, without question, the film that resulted in the technique’s popularization – with studios arguably bringing it to the point of exhaustion by now – Does anyone remember Apollo 18? Read more…