The Blair Witch Project (1999) on Netflix
Heather, Mike and Josh, student filmmakers, head to Burkittsville, Maryland, to make a documentary about the Blair Witch, a local legend. A fisherman warns them the forest is cursed.
- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb6.5/10322,693 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
Heather, Mike and Josh are film students. In October 1994 they go to Burkittsville, Maryland, to shoot a documentary about the mythical Blair Witch. Residents describe Rustin Parr, a hermit who took seven children in 1941. A fisherman tells the trio the forest is cursed and speaks of Robin Weaver, a girl who went missing in 1888 and came back three days later. The students hike into the woods to research the myth, hear sticks snapping at night, and find three small cairns beside their tent.
Cast
- Bob Griffinas Short Fisherman
- Jim Kingas Interviewee
- Sandra Sánchezas Waitress (as Sandra Sanchez)
- Ed Swansonas Fisherman With Glasses
- Patricia DeCouas Mary Brown
- Mark Masonas Man in Yellow Hat
- Susie Goochas Interviewee with Child (uncredited)
- Jackie Hallexas Interviewee with Child
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After the film's surprise success, fans overwhelmed the historic Maryland house used for its final scenes and broke off pieces of it as souvenirs, prompting the local township to have the building demolished the following month.
- Producer Gregg Hale drew on memories of his own military training, in which trainees were hunted through the wilderness by "enemy soldiers" for three days, to design the shoot, deliberately marching the actors long distances, harassing them at night and depriving them of food.
- According to the filmmakers' commentary, the unseen figure that Donahue is shouting about as she runs away from the tent is the film's art director Ricardo Moreno, who was wearing white long-johns, white stockings and white pantyhose pulled over his head.
- In October 2000, with the release of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 impending, Donahue convinced her co-stars Williams and Leonard to sue Artisan; they reached a settlement of $300,000 for each of them.
- All three leads, Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard, played characters that shared their real names; Donahue later said she came to regret the decision because it made it hard for her to land other acting roles afterward.
- At her audition, Heather Donahue was tested on her improv ability by being asked to argue, in character, why she should be released after serving seven years of a nine-year prison sentence.
- Joshua Leonard said he was cast because of his knowledge of how to run a camera, since no omniscient camera was used to film the scenes.
