Nowy wymiar strachu - Blair Witch Project (1999) Daniela Myricka i Eduardo Sáncheza

Fryderyk Kwiatkowski

The feature-film debut “Blair Witch Project” (1999) by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez was an unexpected box-office hit. In spite of having a very low-budget and no movie stars in the cast, the directors adapted new means through which horror could be compellingly depicted on screen. The author of the article intends to unravel why so many viewers of “Blair Witch Project” believed that it presented a true story. On the one hand, it is connected with a well-prepared marketing campaign conducted by Myrick and Sánchez on the Internet. On the other, they used techniques characteristic of a documentary film, which eventually gave the impression that the film itself is a recording of authentic events. The author of the article has a firm belief the innovative ways in which the directors tried to thrill the American audience were the source of the film’s great success.