10 More Horror Movies That Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It)

4. Blair Witch Returned To Its Roots

The Ward
Lionsgate

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.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.