The Blair Witch Project – Peter Turner

Few films of any genre have had the influence and impact of The Blair Witch Project (1999). Its arrival was a horror cinema palette cleanser after a decade of serial killers and postmodern tongue-in-cheek intertextuality, a bare bones ‘found footage’ trend setter. In this Devil’s Advocate, Peter Turner tells the story of the film from his conception then provides a unique analysis of the mockumentary film-making techniques used, its appeal to audiences and the themes that helped make the film such an international hit (more than $140 million in the US alone), including the pioneering internet marketing campaign. The book also explores the film s lasting impact on the horror genre with other found footage phenomena such as the Paranormal Activity series.