Eduardo Sánchez talks Blair Witch 3

Posted on November 3, 2009
Filed Under Actors, Actresses, Directors, Sequel

I just recently watched “Paranormal Activity,” the spiritual sequel (or is it just a copycat?) to  “The Blair Witch Project” (1999). At least in my book it is. Both very disturbing movies. True horror. It seems rather fitting that I post this little piece today. Thestar.com recently met up with Eduardo Sánchez, director (together with Daniel Myrick) of the original “Blair Witch.” It seems as if Sánchez and Myrick have been running from the creepy woodland crone who shot them both to fame and fortune 10 years ago.

Sánchez says: “We didn’t want to be seen as one-trick ponies.” They turned down offers to direct the 2000 sequel “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.” Director Joe Berlinger took up the challenge, attempting to blow up the myth but instead seeing his confused efforts explode on impact at the box office.

Times have changed for Sánchez and Myrick, and rather swiftly in recent weeks. After years spent pondering their Blair Witch legacy, while pursuing other horror and sci-fi projects, they’re willing to ride the broomstick again. They’re now at the point where they’re ready to do a Blair Witch 3, once again sharing writing and directing. They’d pick up from where the original left off, pretending Blair Witch 2 never happened. The duo recently went on a drive through their original Blair Witch haunts, about a half hour from Sánchez’s Maryland home, looking for inspiration.

They’ve worked up a treatment for a new story, which would involve original cast members Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, albeit in smaller roles. “We’re at the step where we’re about to pitch to Lionsgate, which owns the movie rights now. It’s pretty much up to them. They can completely squash it or greenlight it.”

Neither Sánchez nor Myrick are interested in just photocopying what they did with Blair Witch, which deserves its status as a modern horror classic. It still chills as effectively as ever, exploiting the power of suggestion to the max. Sánchez wants to use a technique he calls “mixed first-person,” which would mean less reliance on the Blair Witch innovation – now a cinematic cliché – of having the protagonists speak directly into their fidgety cameras.

But old habits die hard. Sánchez spoke at a screenwriter’s expo in Los Angeles two weekends ago, and he was surprised by how many people want Blair Witch 3 to be another true shakycam experience, just like the original. “I asked the crowd, ‘Who wants to see more shakycam?’ Everybody raised their hands. We might have a problem here. We still haven’t really decided yet, but instinct-wise it seems that doing the same thing would probably be a mistake.”

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