- Jason Blum’s studio to revive cult low-budget horror franchise The Blair Witch Project
- The Blair Witch Project caused a sensation when it was released in 1999 and was one of the first films to harness power of the internet for marketing
- New film is part of a deal between Blumhouse and Lionsgate to reimagine classic horror films
Are you ready to go down to the woods again? You might want to reconsider: cult horror hit The Blair Witch Project is being revived by Blumhouse.
The news that Jason Blum’s company will be rebooting the classic franchise for Lionsgate was made at the annual CinemaCon trade show in Las Vegas.
The Blair Witch reboot is the first in a multi-picture agreement that Blumhouse has with Lionsgate to reimagine horror classics.
No details of the film have been released, such as plot or director, although Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson did say Blumhouse had a “new vision” for Blair Witch to introduce the classic to a new generation.
Blumhouse has scored some notable horror movie successes in recent years, with the Paranormal Activity and The Purge franchises raking in millions of dollars, as well as 2023 hits such as Five Nights At Freddy’s.
When the original The Blair Witch Project landed in 1999, it caused a sensation. The story focused on three filmmakers who hiked into the woods in search of a local myth known as the Blair Witch. They then disappeared and it was only a year later their footage was found, which made the content of the movie. It was one of the first films to use the internet for marketing. The film’s website included fake police reports, as well as ‘interviews’ about the missing students. The actors were listed as ‘missing, presumed dead’. Combined with the found footage style of the film, it created debate about whether the film was a documentary or fiction.
After the success of the film – it remains one of the most successful independent films of all time after grossing nearly $250 million globally at the box office – there were sequels, comics and video games.
