Which Blair Witch was the original?
February 26, 2008 2:33 AM   Subscribe

Help me find the docu/mocumentary that [I believe] the Blair Witch was based.

I recall seeing it many years ago, I think it was shot in the NJ Pine Barrens...Not sure.
posted by pmaxwell to Media & Arts (9 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't think it was based on anything other then the directors ideas, Here is the wikipedia article, which doesn't mention any antecedents.
posted by delmoi at 2:46 AM on February 26, 2008


You're thinking of The Last Broadcast, though as you'll discover TBWP isn't specifically based on it, more that TBWP has been accused by others of ripping it off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Broadcast_%28film%29
posted by so_necessary at 2:51 AM on February 26, 2008


Was it "The Last Broadcast"
posted by Tenuki at 2:52 AM on February 26, 2008


Seconding The Last Broadcast.
posted by tiny crocodile at 2:52 AM on February 26, 2008


Yep, the Last Broadcast, seen both and they're very similar indeed.
posted by Happy Dave at 3:02 AM on February 26, 2008


Do you mean "Curse of the Blair Witch," a mocumentary that aired on SciFi to generate interest in the movie?
posted by GaelFC at 8:33 AM on February 26, 2008


From the Wikipedia article linked above:

"The teaser poster and other advertisements for the film were designed to reinforce the 'documentary' concept, leading many people to think the film was an actual documentary, and that the three protagonists really had disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland.

To reinforce this idea, the Sci-Fi Channel aired a fake documentary, Curse of the Blair Witch, that claimed to investigate the legend surrounding the movie right before the film's release.

The program contained "interviews" with friends and relatives of the missing students, paranormal experts, and local historians. This was done so extensively that the three main actors were listed for a time as "missing, presumed dead" on IMDb."
posted by GaelFC at 8:36 AM on February 26, 2008


Cannibal Holocaust is the infamous exploitation movie that inspired both The Last Broadcast and The Blair Witch with the idea of lost footage explaining the disappearance of the characters. It is incredibly gruesome. The director was put on trial for murdering his actors, until he produced them alive and well. It is certainly not shot in New Jersey, however. I believe it was shot in Columbia. But if you are looking for something that inspired the Blair Witch, look no further. This is the original.
posted by Jupiter Jones at 11:53 AM on February 26, 2008


The movie you're thinking of is definitely The Last Broadcast. I'm not sure that Blair Witch was based off of it, but they were definitely similar. I found The Last Broadcast to be a lot more interesting than Blair Witch, though that might have been because I knew one of the actors, and the filmmakers/filming was local. It does indeed look as if Jupiter Jones has the answer as far as Blair Witch's inspiration.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:13 PM on February 26, 2008


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