Horror fans are unlike any other breed of cinephile. We go to great lengths to unearth little known facts about our favorite feature films. Because of that, it’s a challenge to find trivia that will pass fact checking and interest dedicated fans. But, in spite of that, we have taken it upon ourselves to attempt to unearth some lesser-known details about the classic ‘found footage’ film The Blair Witch Project. Read on for ten things you probably didn’t know about The Blair Witch Project.
There are several historical inaccuracies in the film
The film is set in 1994 but there are scenes with cars manufactured after that year and the film also shows a Power Bar variety that wasn’t introduced until post 1994.
The campfire scene is the most expensive segment of the entire film
The production team had to pay handsomely to secure permission for Heather to make reference to Gilligan’s Island.
There is only one scene in the film that is actually shot in Burkittsville
The cemetery scene is the only segment that was filmed on location in Burkittsville, Maryland.
The three leads shot the film almost entirely on their own
Unlike a lot of other found footage films where a professional is holding the camera, the three main actors were actually the ones shooting nearly every scene in the film.
The camera that Josh uses in the picture sold for a handsome sum on eBay
When the camera was placed on the popular online auction site, it sold for $10,000.
The word ‘fuck’ is reportedly used over 100 times in the film
One review of the film claimed a total count of 127 instances where the word ‘fuck’ is used in the feature.
The producers were slowly starving the actors throughout the course of the production
To lend authenticity to their performances, the actors were given less and less to eat each day. By the final days of the shoot, they were eating nearly nothing.
The notorious close up shot was an accident
In the scene where Heather is talking into the camera, she accidentally zoomed in and thus her entire face is not in the shot. The scene ended up going over well and it was obviously kept in the film.
The shoot was less than two weeks long but the editing was much more labor intensive
Though the actual shoot was very brief, the editing process took a reported eight months to complete.
While the film was made for an estimated $60,00 it grossed over 140 million
It still stands as one of the most profitable films of all time. It was reportedly dethroned by Paranormal Activity as the most profitable film of all time in 2009.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_witch_project
