I’m sure we have all heard by now the CinemaCon announcement about a Blair Witch remake from Blumhouse and Lionsgate.
This makes me nervous for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, The Blair Witch Project was the first horror movie I saw in a theatre. I would have been 9 or 10 years old, I went with my mum and sister. It probably wasn’t the best parenting decision on my mothers behalf, as both myself and my sister (who would have been 13 or 14) had to sleep with the light on in our rooms for about about a week.
Secondly, the reason the original Blair Witch worked so well for me was because of the marketing, so much time and detail were spent convincing us, the audience, that this legend was real and that those kids really did go missing. I remember my mother buying This book after watching the movie, trying to get more information on what happened because we all thought it was real. It was also my (and many others’) first found footage movie, I had never seen a horror movie from that perspective before.
It was terrifying.
None of the other movies have hit the mark like the first because they never captured that vibe. By the time Book of Shadows : Blair Witch 2 came out, we all knew it wasn’t real, and it was all a publicity stunt.
Thirdly is this Facebook post made by Joshua Leonard who played Josh in the original movie. This bit in particular sticks out to me.
“There were many factors that made BWP a success: timing, marketing, etc. But there was also the FACT that us weirdos got together, with virtually no resources, AND MADE A FILM THAT WORKED! Can we just go on record and say that the film itself is a huge part of why we’re still talking about it 25 years later?
I’m so proud of our little punk-rock movie, and I LOVE the fans who keep the flames burning. But at this point, it’s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless.”
I could talk for days about how this film was made and what this cast was put through, but that’s not why we are here.
Blumhouse and Lionsgate have decided, even though they have all of the above information, remaking The Blair Witch Project is still a good idea.
Now I understand why BH wanna get in on this franchise. Their whole business model is based on making cheap movies and making bulk money (BWP had a budget of roughly $60,000 and made $248 million.) In comparison, Lionsgate spent roughly $20 million to make 92 million combined on Blair Witch 2 and the 2016 remake.
So why are they doing this, well BH announced they would be partnering with Lionsgate to reboot a bunch of their iconic horror movies. Naturally the first thing I did was google what movies Lionsgate owns. Here are my predictions of what else they are going to ruin, I mean reboot.
1. Cube.
2. Ginger Snaps.
3. Cabin in the Woods.
4. The Descent .
5. Hostel.
If you’re still here, you are probably wondering what my point is, and to be honest I don’t know if I have one. I’m just mad about it.
Horror Lamb 