Nick Groff is one of the most respected names in television and beyond when it comes to the paranormal. He has had incredible experiences in some of the most haunted locations in the world. As a friend to Arrow in the Head, we’ve shared some very exciting experiences with Nick including a couple of wild and spooky moments that we’ve managed to capture on camera. Thus, we’ve decided to work with the television host and producer extraordinaire so he can share his knowledge and insight on all things that go bump in the night. With this bi-monthly column, we plan to delve into everything from urban legends to ghostly apparitions, to his take on some of the coolest genre flicks ever. This is Nick Groff Investigates…!
Twenty years ago something spectacular happened. Weeks before July 30th, 1999, movie fans believed that something truly horrible happened to three student filmmakers seeking out a mysterious urban legend. From the original website to the creepy trailer, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT promised a unique and scary film going experience. The advertising was so impressive that the film earned a beyond amazing box office return as well as critical praise. And if that wasn’t enough, for a very long time afterwards, more than a few folks believed that Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard were the victims on an evil entity haunting the forest near Burkittsville, Maryland. Let's just say that the filmmakers behind this massive hit – Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick – achieved a rare success for a ridiculously low budget feature.
Two decades later, the film has become a bit of a staple when it comes to genre. While there are certainly some that were put off by the constant on-screen "fighting" that went on during the film from the cast. Many were also annoyed that this flick heavily utilized the hand held camera visuals giving it that old shaky cam look – especially when bad shite was going down. Even still, the film was a massive hit. It spawned books, sequels, “documentaries” and so much more. While BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 didn’t fare nearly as well – the 2000 sequel directed by Joe Berlinger went a very different direction – it still didn’t deter from the massive impact that THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT had. In fact, it’s likely we can credit the online marketing for this film to how movies are marketed today.
With the twentieth anniversary fast approaching, it felt like the perfect opportunity to talk about the impact that that old Maryland witch had on Nick Groff. After all, the film gave movie fans a little behind the scenes of what it may be like to go on an investigation. Certainly THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was more from a “documentary’ stand point, but it certainly was an interesting take on investigating the paranormal. For Mr. Groff, I wanted to hear about his thoughts on the film, and how/if it connects to his own creepy journeys. Here, Nick discusses his take on this iconic feature, as well as how it affected him during and afterwards. He even gives a little bit of a shout-out to the under appreciated BOOK OF SHADOWS – not great, but frankly this goofy sequel grew on me.
So are you ready to celebrate twenty years of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT? Let’s see what Nick Groff has to say about this modern horror classic. And of course, let us know about your own history with this freaky feature.
“I remember all the hype leading up to the premiere of the Blair Witch Project. I even got sucked into the PR campaign thinking this was possibly real footage found after some crazy event and I had to see what happened. All the warnings and signs walking into theater subconsciously got to me so when the movie started my mind was already in a weird place. They did a good job messing with people’s heads from the trailers to the press leading up to watching the film.
I was really dizzy watching the film because of the shaky camera work. It was all worth sitting through the film until the end. The last few minutes of the film was definitely suspenseful and bizarre. I dug it. I left the movie questioning the realism and what actually happened. Hats off to the filmmakers in succeeding. A low budget film turned into millions. A huge success story that is rare to achieve.
I saw the second film and dug it too. There’s something interesting about the subject and films that intrigue me. Maybe it’s because I’ve investigated similar stories and legends. I’ve come across a lot of stories that have started with some realism but end up being stretched into something unrealistic. I love a good scary movie because most of my life I’ve lived in frightening locations!
Every story starts somewhere. Next time you enter the woods think about what or who was there before you.”