Part of 1999
Fri, June 21 at 7:30pm: Introduction from Lisa Ellen Williams, faculty in the MFA in Visual Arts program at Watkins College at Belmont University | BUY TICKETS
In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found…
Of the many exceptional films released in 1999, it was a tiny-budgeted indie made in the woods of Maryland that catapulted the found footage microgenre into the mainstream, changed the act of film marketing forever, and taught a whole new generation about the limitless possibilities their cameras held. It’s no exaggeration to say that THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT changed the face of horror, and its influence still holds sway to this day as the innovator, not the imitator.
“The scariest movie I've ever seen…. Scarier than THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Scarier than the shower scene in PSYCHO the first time you see it. Scarier than the final twist in CARRIE and the shark attacks in JAWS. Scary to the bone…. Also an exuberant prank of genius.” —Lloyd Rose, Washington Post (Jul 16, 1999) “A nifty example of how to make something out of nothing. Nothing but imagination, and a game plan so enterprising it should elevate its creators to pin-up status at film schools everywhere…. The imagination works overtime watching the acuity of these talented filmmakers, and wondering what bright idea they'll have next.” —Janet Maslin, New York Times (Jul 14, 1999) “The intimacy of video and the believability of the three students close the gap between film and viewer, truly allowing us to suspend disbelief, something horror films seldom do.” —Peter Terzian, Out Magazine
