10 More Horror Movies That Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It)
4. Blair Witch Returned To Its Roots
The Blair Witch Project is one of the most influential movies in horror history. For better or worse, this 1999 film kickstarted the found-footage boom that would be extremely prevalent in the 2000s, and it likewise would popularise the 'true events' documentary format seen countless times over the subsequent decades.
For those not around at the time, it's tough to explain just how big a deal The Blair Witch Project was upon its initial release, with the marketing campaign geniusly convincing us early internet sorts that, yes, the events of the film were real. Back then, it seemed insane that something you'd read online could ever possibly be a lie, right? Oh, how naive we all were...
When Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 arrived one year later, discarded the found-footage approach, and opted to position The Blair Witch Project as an in-universe movie within this movie, the end result was a disastrous one in countless ways.
So, when Adam Wingard took the IP back to its roots with 2016's Blair Witch, that immediately won over those die-hard fans of the original. Found-footage? Check. Completely ignoring Book of Shadows? Check. Returning to the Burkitsville woods after a supposed sighting of the first film's long-disappeared Heather Donahue? Double check.
Sadly, while obviously better than Book of Shadows, Blair Witch ended up being merely a dull, bland retread of the 1999 movie.