Unveiling an Unseen Iteration of The Blair Witch Project
No sweat—there's no scenario where lo-fi horror classic The Blair Witch Project receives one of those overly polished 4K enhancements. The 1999 film gained fame because it appeared as though it was actually filmed by a trio of young documentary filmmakers who got lost in a haunted forest: shaky, grainy, strange lighting, not always in focus.
Even though it's been revealed that the "true story" element in Blair Witch was nothing more than a publicity stunt, the found-footage film continues to astound us with its inventiveness. As per one of the film's producers, Michael Monello, the film is finally—25 years after its theatrical debut—getting a home video release in line with the vision of its creators (the film was written and directed by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick).
The new version emerges due to a technical hiccup that was unintentionally overlooked for decades — and reportedly alters the overall viewing experience considerably. Here's Monello's social media post detailing it:
The Blair Witch Project was filmed on Hi8 video and black and white 16mm film and edited on a Media 100XR, a popular non-linear editing system at the time. Since theaters at the time lacked video projectors, they had to convert their DigiBeta master to 35mm via a process called 'telecine,' which involves filming the video on a special screen in a controlled environment with a 35mm film camera.
They had no alternative at the time, Monello explained. However, when The Blair Witch Project moved from theaters to home video, "distributors" Artisan made a significant error by working not from the DigiBeta master but the 35mm telecine transfer.
"This resulted in significant motion distortions," Monello explained. "It gave the Hi8 footage a film grain and desaturated the colors with a brown cast, obscuring details. The edits in this transfer transformed into 3-frame dissolves, instead of hard cuts!"
The new version, Monello said, is the film as it was meant to be seen, and it's "scarier" yet; the new transfer's "look, motion, and hard cuts create a far more distressing psychological impact than all previous versions."
The release also includes 90 minutes of deleted footage as well as a new documentary, Monello added. However, this will be a Region B release only — Europe, not the United States. (Monello suggested fans "contact Lionsgate on their social channels" to request a U.S. release; U.S. viewers with the ability to play Region B discs can obtain it from Second Site's website, for what it's worth. You can also check out that link for the complete list of special features.)
And speaking of Lionsgate, the studio recently announced that it's working on a new version of Blair Witch. In response to a fan on Bluesky questioning if the Blair Witch Project cast—Heather Donohue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams—participated in this new release, Monello replied:
"They were offered participating roles, but due to their ongoing issues with Lions Gate, they declined. Note that none of us receive any compensation from Blair Witch earnings. Our involvement in this project was unpaid, and we only agreed to do it to finally get it out into the world the way it was intended to be."
The Blair Witch Project is already bone-chilling terrifying. It's challenging to conceive a version that's even more terrifying—but we're definitely keen to take a peek at it to determine if that's indeed the case. Will you be joining in?
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The new version of 'The Blair Witch Project' has sparked excitement among fans, as it promises to bring back the original film's look and feel. According to producer Michael Monello, this updated release will be available on Second Site's website for Region B viewers, as Lionsgate is also working on a new version of the movie.
Despite the excitement surrounding the new release, the original cast members – Heather Donohue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams – have declined participating roles due to ongoing issues with Lionsgate. This new version, Monello assured, will be a more faithful representation of the 1999 film, and fans are eager to see if it surpasses the bone-chilling terror of the original.
