After 25 years of scaring the pants off of audiences around the world, The Blair Witch Project will finally be released as it was intended to be back in 1999. As revealed by one of the film’s producers, the flick we’ve all been watching isn’t actually the original version. Instead, we’ve been watching a modified version all along. Thankfully, the true film will finally be released this fall.
The Blair Witch Project was a huge hit
The Blair Witch Project, released in 1999, is a psychological horror film directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and produced by Robin Cowie, Gregg Hale, and Mike Monello. It stars Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard, who play three student filmmakers who venture into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, to investigate the local legend of the Blair Witch. It is presented as found footage, purportedly recovered after the trio mysteriously disappears, which had a significant effect that deeply unsettled audiences.
At the time of its release, the film was a groundbreaking success and ultimately skyrocketed the found footage genre in the entertainment industry. Produced on a modest budget of about $60,000, it grossed nearly $250 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable independent films of all time. Naturally, its success spurred an ongoing franchise, one that has remained popular and profitable.
Monello reveals we’ve been watching the wrong version
25 years after the film’s release, producer Mike Monello has revealed that The Blair Witch Project has never been released as “intended.” Rather, we’ve been watching a modified version all this time. “In 1999, theatrical films didn’t originate on video, so there was no codified process for putting them out on video. So they did it like all films back then: They transferred the 35mm negative to video,” Monello explained in a post published to X (formerly Twitter).
“Unfortunately, the 35mm negative is NOT the actual camera negative. As a result, the version released for all forms of home video is incorrect. The colors, the motion, the strange rounded corners, it didn’t look like a home video, and it didn’t look like film,” the post continued. In November 2024, a limited edition re-release with the correct version of the film will be available on Blu-ray, with Monello explaining how this will be the first time the movie has been “properly transferred and released in the way it was intended to be seen.”
“This is the FIRST (and for the immediate time being) the ONLY edition of the film to be properly transferred for home video release. It finally looks the way it did to us when we were editing the film. The way we wanted it to look. In fact, if theaters had been able to project video in 1999, then THIS transfer would have played theatrically! The 35mm print was a step we had to take due to the technology of the time,” he wrote.
Audiences may see the correct version on streaming platforms
With the correct version of the film being released in just a few months, it’s Monello’s hope that the original will become far more widely circulated as opposed to the version audiences are familiar with. “I hope this version becomes the definitive version that shows up on streaming,” he said. “The old transfer is currently on Peacock, in the wrong aspect ratio, no less! But that’s all up to Lionsgate.”
As previously mentioned, The Blair Witch Project has fostered a successful franchise. Recently, Lionsgate and Blumhouse have announced a reboot of the film, with audiences welcoming the news with excitement. However, not everyone is looking forward to the new project. Joshua Leonard, who starred and helped to create the original film, shared his discontent with Lionsgate after he was snubbed from the franchise.
“I’m so proud of our little punk-rock movie, and I LOVE the fans who keep the flames burning,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “But at this point, it’s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless.”
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In any case, we’re eager to see the true version of the film, though we may not be ready to get scared all over again!