Blair Witch (2016)
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A group of college students and local guides venture into the Maryland woods to uncover the mystery of a girl's disappearance.
The story
In 2014, James Donahue discovers a YouTube video featuring an image of his sister, Heather, who vanished in 1994 while investigating the Blair Witch legend. Seeking the truth, James travels into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland with a friend, his friend's girlfriend, and a film student. They are joined by two locals, Talia and Lane, who agree to lead them to the location of the video only if they can accompany the group. However, as the group sets up camp, they begin to experience strange occurrences and unsettling stories about the forest's dark history.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being joined by locals Talia and Lane, the group experiences strange noises and discovers stick figures hanging from trees. When they realize the locals created the figures to trick them, James and his associates banish them. The group soon finds themselves circling back to their original campsite, where Ashley's injury worsens and a potential parasite is discovered in her foot. Peter is dragged away by an unknown entity after leaving to find firewood. Lane and Talia reappear, claiming to have been wandering for five days without a sunrise. Chaos ensues as Talia is snapped in half by Ashley, and an unseen force separates the group. Ashley is pushed from a tree and dragged away. Lisa and James find Rustin Parr's house; James enters alone and is snatched by a teleporting figure. Lisa is trapped in a tunnel by a hostile Lane, whom she kills. She then sees a mirror showing Heather, revealing a paradox where the tape she is filming was the one James found. Finally, Lisa and James reunite in the attic, where a creature using Heather's voice tricks James into vanishing, and Lisa is snatched away after looking behind her.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 89
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Adam Wingard
- Writers
- Simon Barrett · writer
- Cast and characters
- James Allen McCune · James Donahue; Callie Hernandez · Lisa Arlington; Brandon Scott · Peter Jones; Corbin Reid · Ashley Bennett; Valorie Curry · Talia; Wes Robinson · Lane
- Genres
- supernatural horror; found footage
- Themes
- mystery; curse; disappearance
- Tone and mood
- supernatural; horror; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- found footage; sequel; forest
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- Franchise connections
- Blair Witch
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews and was considered a box office disappointment despite grossing $45 million on a $5 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 38% · review count: 226; Metacritic · score: 47 · scale: 100 · review count: 41; CinemaScore · score: D+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was shot under the fake title The Woods.; The film's connection to the franchise was kept secret until its reveal at San Diego Comic-Con.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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