Callie Hernandez Blair Witch

Cast: Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Corbin Reid, James Allen McCune
Director: Adam Wingard
Genre: Horror, Thriller

Synopsis: It's been 20 years since James's sister and her two friends vanished into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland while researching the legend of the Blair Witch, leaving a trail of theories and suspicions in their wake.

James (James Allen McCune of TV's Shameless) and his friends Peter (Wreck-It Ralph's Brandon Scott), Ashley (Corbin Reid of TV's Disney Star Darlings) and film student Lisa (Callie Hernandez of upcoming La La Land and Ridley Scott's upcoming Alien: Covenant) venture into the same woods each with a camera to uncover the mysteries surrounding their disappearance.

At first the group is hopeful, especially when a pair of locals Lane (Wes Robinson of TV's State Of Affairs) and Talia (Valorie Curry of TV's The Following) offer to act as guides through the dark and winding woods. But as the endless night wears on, the group is visited by a menacing presence.

Slowly, they begin to realise the legend is all too real and more sinister than they could have imagined.

Blair Witch
Release Date: September 15th, 2016

About The Production

A Legacy of Fear

The Blair Witch Project, which premiered in 1999 to become a global phenomenon, created lasting lore around our timeless fear of being alone in the woods.

'Elly Kedward, the woman accused of witchcraft and left to die in the Maryland woods in 1785, is the first recorded story of the Blair Witch legend," says Gregg Hale. 'But the evil in those woods is much, much older than that,"

The nearly no-budget film grossed millions and set the gold standard for found footage movies, spawning a new generation of horror fans.

'When it first came out, I was one of a billion high school kids taking a camcorder into the woods and doing a Blair Witch spoof with my friends," says Adam Wingard. 'The film had a total dedication toward authenticity. No one has so completely committed to that type of realism before or since."

When Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett were seeking collaborators for their 2013 horror anthology film V/H/S/2, they tapped Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale to direct one of the found footage shorts.

While promoting the film at Sundance, talked turned to Blair Witch. 'As fans, we were asking when they were going to do a another Blair Witch because it seemed like the time. But they didn't really have any answers," says Adam Wingard. 'Cut to a week later, and Simon Barrett and I are at a meeting at Lionsgate."

For several years, Lionsgate had been searching for the right concept to reboot Blair Witch, as well as filmmakers who could satisfy the fans of the first film and reach a new generation of moviegoers. Following the success of V/H/S and the company's acquisition of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett's independent horror movie You're Next, Lionsgate set up a secret meeting with the duo to pitch the sequel.

'We knew that Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett had a total love and mastery of the horror genre and could simultaneously honor the original movie while making something completely groundbreaking and terrifying for 2016," says Jason Constantine, Lionsgate's president of acquisitions and co-productions.

'Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett have already proven beyond any doubt that they're the real deal when it comes to delivering tension and scares " and overall compelling storytelling " making them ideal candidates to take on a project as ambitious and complex as this one," says Roy Lee.

Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale were thrilled to learn the sequel was in the hands of an experienced team they respected as filmmakers.

'It was kind of like giving your daughter away in marriage " pretty touchy subject but we couldn't have asked for better sons-in-law," says Eduardo Sanchez. 'The movie takes our original film and turns it up to 11. Seriously, it's a nightmare funhouse of a film that pulls you in and never lets you go."

With so many movies being remade and reimagined, the filmmakers were excited to see Blair get another shot.

'The initial wave of Blair -hysteria' has faded into the history books, despite many of the hardcore fans still out there," says Daniel Myrick. 'Now a whole new generation of filmgoers have a movie they can call their own. Our only criteria were they stay true to the mythology, which they did."

To hold true to the Blair Witch mythos, Simon Barrett familiarised himself with every hint of information the first film contains, from old message boards and Facebook groups to graphic novels and young adult books published only in Europe.

'The mythology was a huge enticement for me because the first film never really explained anything," says Simon Barrett. 'We wanted to take the mythos further and explore how outsiders approach the haunting and how locals see the legend."

Still, the first film is not required viewing to enjoy the sequel. 'If you have seen the original, you'll find even deeper layers and levels here to appreciate and debate once it's over," says Steven Schneider. 'If you haven't seen the original movie, this one will frighten the hell out of you regardless."

To ensure the story would appeal to those unfamiliar with the first film, the team used Jess Calder as a litmus test.

'When we started on the project, I actually hadn't seen the original film because when I was young I was really scared of horror films, which is ironic given what I ended up doing with my life," says Jessica Wu. 'So I was a set of fresh eyes who could look at the story and know that it could definitely work for those who had never seen the original film. Of course, before the start of production I made sure to watch the movie so we could all be on the same page with honoring the original movie with our own film."
Into the Woods: A Whole New Horror

Shot over 32 days in Vancouver and British Columbia, the filmmakers strived to capture the authentic spirit of The Blair Witch Project, while again pushing the boundaries of found footage films.

'The challenge for us was to make a modern horror movie that acknowledged and surpassed everything that's happened in horror over the last 17 years, including films like The Conjuring, Insidious and Saw, and have the film feel as real to audiences as it did in 1999," says Simon Barrett.

While much of the fear behind the first Blair Witch relied on what wasn't shown, the sequel terrifies audiences and excites hardcore fans by revealing more of what lurks after dark.

'Whatever evil is in the woods has only gotten stronger since the first film," says Adam Wingard. 'I wanted to create something that felt like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, not in terms of the violence, but in terms of the relentless intensity that movie gives you. You're constantly running from something into a scenario that's even more frightening."

To create a nonstop thrill ride, filmmakers swapped the first film's 16-mm. black-and-white camera for discrete head cams and a drone.

'One of the problems with found footage films is you're hyper aware of the cameras," says Adam Wingard. 'We wanted to make sure that was thrown out the door, so when the horror happens, you are 100 percent invested and put in a scenario in a way you've never been before and completely terrorised by it."

The filmmakers also sought to give fans a smoother, yet one-of-a-kind cinematic experience.

'Audiences complained about the first movie's shaky cam, but that's what made it so scary and real," says Adam Wingard. 'We knew we couldn't get away with that, especially with the mainstream horror audience we were going for. It was always a combination of how to retain that aesthetic but make it easier on the eyes."

To retain that authenticity, the cast often performed directly into a camera lens and lit much of the movie themselves.

'They didn't light up the woods in the original film, so I wanted to light this movie with flashlights," says Adam Wingard. 'A couple of years ago, we couldn't have done that, but cameras are more sensitive now. We found ourselves in a situation where we could create something audiences had never seen before."

The drone camera took the format even further.

'We tried to think about all the different ways that we haven't seen found footage, so right away I asked Simon Barrett to put a drone in the script to give us a different perspective," says Adam Wingard. 'The drone camera itself leads to one of my favorite set pieces in the movie."

Still, the sequel poses more questions than answers and avoids using CGI for scares.
'There's actually no CGI in this film in terms of anything you're seeing that's creepy in the woods," explains Adam Wingard. 'We built everything; what you're seeing in the film is actually all there."

Using photos from the original Blair Witch set, filmmakers also painstakingly recreated the house in the first film, brick for brick.

'The original filmmakers were blown away by returning to that universe because we immaculately recreated the house and in particular the basement," says Keith Calder. 'I don't think they were expecting that level of detail."

A Veil of Secrecy

Since surprise was part of The Blair Witch Project's legacy, the filmmakers wanted to keep the sequel under wraps.

'A huge part of the first movie was the surprise of those initial screenings when people weren't sure if it was real or not," says Keith Calder. 'We hope to capture that same excitement by making the film in secret and not telling audiences it exists until the film's about to come out."

'Keeping this a secret in the era of oversharing and excessive marketing on social media, especially of horror films, felt new and original for the time," says Simon Barrett.

Keeping such a secret proved an enormous logistical challenge.

'I created versions of the script that were widely different," says SimonBarrett. 'The cast auditioned with fake pages, and the actors didn't know what movie they agreed to be in until their deals were finalised."

Different versions of the script also circulated on set. 'The art department would be making a sign, and it would be wrong because they were going off the wrong script," says Simon Barrett.

Now the filmmakers must get accustomed to saying 'Blair Witch" out loud. 'I've been so conditioned never to say those words " even on set we called it -B-dubs,'" says Simon Barrett. 'We're so happy we can finally talk about it."

Blair Witch
Release Date: September 15th, 2016