There was a time when a little horror movie was being developed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next) under the moniker “The Woods”. Then, in an abrupt turn of events two months ago at San Diego Comic Con, that film was revealed to be a third entry in the Blair Witch series. To help keep the secret while in production Wingard actually filmed the movie in Vancouver, as opposed to the original being filmed on location in Burkittsville, Maryland. I think it’s safe to say that nobody saw this coming, especially nearly 20 years after The Blair Witch Project took the nation by storm. Immediately following the reveal I was extremely void of excitement. The trailer looked like a cheap attempt at rebooting a classic and left me with not only a bad taste in my mouth, but a streak of anger. But as the release date got closer and the reviews started pouring out I found not a single write-up that condemned Blair Witch as I assumed they all would. So, I decided to re-balance my expectations and see it in the theater. Maybe there was a lot more to this incarnation that wasn’t hinted at in the trailer. Continue reading →