With last year’s belated sequel Blair Witch out now on UK blu-ray and DVD, SCREAM has this exclusive clip for you that delves behind the creation of the witch’s piercing wail.
Blair Witch follows a group of college students that includes James, the brother of the original film’s Heather Donahue, who disappeared years earlier. Guided by a pair of locals, the group venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding Heather’s disappearance. After encountering a malevolent presence, they begin to realise the legend of the Blair Witch is all too real and more sinister than they ever imagined.
Director Adam Wingard’s take on the legend started out under the false title The Woods, before the truth behind the film’s identity was revealed during last year’s Comic-Con screening. While the audience experienced the revelation in the auditorium, the decor and promotional materials in the cinema’s lobby were swiftly switched to display the revised artwork for the film. How the film then went on to underperform at the box office is anybody’s guess, but if you did miss it during its all-too-brief big screen run, your long wait is now over.
Bringing to life and realising the Witch onscreen must have been one hell of a daunting task, given that the titular forest dweller was never glimpsed in the 1999 original. In our clip, the guys responsible for creating a sound effect to match the character’s striking look talk about how they approached the task.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
