Ep 12. The Blair Witch Project - Honest Trailers

For fans of horror films, The Blair Witch Project is one that will always remain a classic. The low-budget indie flick took the world by storm in 1999, making a tidy profit at the box office and cementing itself in pop culture history. But does this found footage "classic" hold up to modern scrutiny? That's what the Honest Trailers team is here to unpack in their season 2 episode 12.

The team begins by acknowledging just how huge this movie was in its time, with a marketing strategy that played up the supposed "realness" of the story. They poke fun at the fake documentary-style marketing, as well as the fact that the three main actors in the film were relatively unknown at the time. The trailer for The Blair Witch Project is given the Honest Trailers treatment, with the narrator joking that it's essentially just shaky camera footage and stick figures.

As the Honest Trailers team delves deeper into The Blair Witch Project, they highlight some of its flaws. They discuss the fact that the characters are essentially just annoying and not that enjoyable to watch. In fact, the entire movie just seems to be the characters yelling at each other and getting lost in the woods. They point out that a lot of the "scary" moments of the movie are just loud noises or rustling bushes- things that would be frightening in real life, but don't create the same effect in a movie. They also joke about the fact that the characters seem to be incredibly reluctant to turn on their flashlights- why are they wandering around in the dark so much?

One of the aspects of The Blair Witch Project that the Honest Trailers team praises is the marketing campaign. They note that the filmmakers did an excellent job of creating buzz around the movie and building up anticipation. They also point out that the idea of a found-footage horror movie was fairly novel at the time, and the movie did a good job of making it seem like the events were really happening.

All in all, the Honest Trailers team gives The Blair Witch Project a middling review. They acknowledge its place in horror film history and the impact it had on the genre, but also point out some of its flaws. They note that the movie may not hold up as well in modern times, but it's still worth a watch if you're a fan of horror. The episode ends with a humorous segment called "Things You Didn't Know," where the team shares random trivia about the movie. Did you know that the actors were only given general guidelines for their characters, and had to improvise most of their dialogue? Or that one of the crew members once accidentally kicked over one of the stick figures used in the movie, and the rest of the cast thought it was a sign from the Blair Witch herself?

Overall, Honest Trailers manages to take a nostalgic look back at The Blair Witch Project while still giving an honest assessment of its merits and flaws. Whether you're a diehard fan of the movie or have never seen it, this episode is definitely worth a watch.