HALLOWEENTOWN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Every day this month, resident horror movie enthusiast and 828newsNOW staff reporter Pruett Norris is recommending a Halloween film for your macabre amusement.
Whether they be monster movies or fearsome family films, demonic possessions or slasher sensations, this exercise hopes to encourage spooky seasonal “scream”ings at home or in cinemas.
As the old saying goes, “trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to…watch.”
Day 7: THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999, 81 min., directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez)
25 years later, “The Blair Witch Project” is still terrifying. It might be particularly scary as an Asheville native.
If you live in the mountains of Western North Carolina long enough, you will not only have been hiking and camping, but likely you will have found yourself lost in the woods. At least once, perhaps in the landmark-less late Autumn or early Winter, anyone tromping through the woods has been turned around. The panic that experience can create is stretched to its maximum in “The Blair Witch Project.”
The three stars of the film are unnervingly believable at recreating the sensation of being lost, paranoid and hungry. It is captivating to watch them deteriorate, like the spooky schadenfreude of remembering your worst camping trip. Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams each use their real names in the movie, a simple but effectively eerie touch.
The closing five minutes of the film have made it a Halloween classic over the last quarter century. As we round out the first week of 828boosNOW, queue up “The Blair Witch Project” in the nearest heavily wooded area you can find.
“The Blair Witch Project” is now streaming on Peacock.
Looking for more October movie recommendations? Read the rest of the 828boosNOW archive:
DAY 1: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
DAY 3: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS