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* [[spoiler:TheKillerInMe: It is revealed that the three remaining main characters have been killing of their friends over the course of the movie, who they were hallucinating as evil people.]]
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* [[spoiler:TheKillerInMe: It is revealed that the three remaining main characters have been killing of off their friends over the course of the movie, who they were hallucinating as evil people.]]
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renamed trope - From Bad To Worse
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''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, [[FoundFootageFilms shot entirely in the style of a documentary]] {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. [[ItGotWorse Things ultimately take a turn for the worse]].
to:
''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, [[FoundFootageFilms shot entirely in the style of a documentary]] {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. [[ItGotWorse [[FromBadToWorse Things ultimately take a turn for the worse]].
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** Though there's been action figures, described by {{Cracked}} as looking "like [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Treebeard]] got it on with Comicbook/SwampThing".
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** Though there's been action figures, described by {{Cracked}} Website/{{Cracked}} as looking "like [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Treebeard]] got it on with Comicbook/SwampThing".
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* DizzyCam: Arguably the TropeCodifier
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* DizzyCam: Arguably the The TropeCodifier
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* {{Improv}}: The actors were given no more than a 35-page outline of the mythology behind the plot before shooting began. All lines were improvised and nearly all the events in the film were unknown to the three actors beforehand, and were often on-camera surprises to them all.
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* DaylightHorror / FreezeFrameBonus: If you look closely as Heather turns away from [[spoiler: the open bag fashioned out of Josh's shirt, containing his teeth, hair and blood,]] breathing hysterically, she pauses for three-odd seconds looking at a stick carefully placed behind her horizontally upon two small plants. [[FridgeHorror Not a METRE away.]] Definitely not there when she walked behind the tent.
to:
* DaylightHorror / FreezeFrameBonus: If you look closely as Heather turns away from [[spoiler: the open bag fashioned out of Josh's shirt, containing his teeth, hair and blood,]] breathing hysterically, she pauses for three-odd seconds looking at a stick carefully placed behind her horizontally upon two small plants. [[FridgeHorror Not a METRE METER away.]] Definitely not there when she walked behind the tent.
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Moved Trivia tropes to the Trivia page.
Deleted line(s) 26 (click to see context) :
* TheDanza: The three main characters share their names with their actors.
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* EnforcedMethodActing: The actors were screened for their improvisational ability, and given a 35-page outline of the movie. All dialogue was improvised. The directors began rationing the actors' food to make them as hungry as their characters. They were not told when strange noises would be made, or when the tent would be attacked. Makes for some great acting.
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* FranchiseKiller: A trilogy was planned. The second film performed so badly that the third film was scrapped.
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* ViralMarketing: Including a [[http://www.blairwitch.com/ decently designed website]] that's still up as of 6/19/2012.
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* TheDanza: Though only of first names.
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* ExecutiveMeddling: Artisan recut the film and re-shot certain scenes to add more "traditional" horror movie elements instead of the ambiguous flick the director was aiming at.
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* HeyItsThatGuy: One of the group is [[BurnNotice Michael Westen!]]
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** Though there's been action figures, described by {{Cracked}} as looking "like [[LordOfTheRings Treebeard]] got it on with SwampThing".
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** Though there's been action figures, described by {{Cracked}} as looking "like [[LordOfTheRings [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Treebeard]] got it on with SwampThing".Comicbook/SwampThing".
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* ViralMarketing: Including a [[http://www.blairwitch.com/ decently designed website]] that's still up as of 10/21/2011.
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* ViralMarketing: Including a [[http://www.blairwitch.com/ decently designed website]] that's still up as of 10/21/2011.6/19/2012.
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* PoorCommunicationKills: Arguably one of the reasons why they get lost in the woods in the first place.
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* BadCommunicationKills: Arguably one of the reasons why they get lost in the woods in the first place.
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* BadCommunicationKills: Arguably one of the reasons why they get lost in the woods in the first place.
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* BurnTheWitch: Or, rather, Torture and Hang the Witch, according to the [[AllThereInTheManual backstory]].
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* DaylightHorror: If you look closely as Heather turns away from [[spoiler: the open bag fashioned out of Josh's shirt, containing his teeth, hair and blood,]] breathing hysterically, she pauses for three-odd seconds looking at a stick carefully placed behind her horizontally upon two small plants. [[FridgeHorror Not a METRE away.]] Definitely not there when she walked behind the tent.
to:
* DaylightHorror: DaylightHorror / FreezeFrameBonus: If you look closely as Heather turns away from [[spoiler: the open bag fashioned out of Josh's shirt, containing his teeth, hair and blood,]] breathing hysterically, she pauses for three-odd seconds looking at a stick carefully placed behind her horizontally upon two small plants. [[FridgeHorror Not a METRE away.]] Definitely not there when she walked behind the tent.tent.
* DevelopingDoomedCharacters
* DevelopingDoomedCharacters
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* GainaxEnding
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* AHouseDivided
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''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, shot entirely in the style of a documentary {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. Things ultimately take a turn for the worse.
to:
''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, [[FoundFootageFilms shot entirely in the style of a documentary documentary]] {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. [[ItGotWorse Things ultimately take a turn for the worse.
worse]].
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None
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* DaylightHorror: If you look closely as Heather turns away from [[spoiler: the open bag fashioned out of Josh's shirt, containing his teeth, hair and blood,]] breathing hysterically, she pauses for three-odd seconds looking at a stick carefully placed behind her horizontally upon two small plants. [[FridgeHorror Not a METRE away.]] Definitely not there when she walked behind the tent.
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None
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* [=~Don't Go In The Woods~=]
to:
* [=~Don't Go In The Woods~=]DontGoInTheWoods
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Sinkhole of a subjective trope. Opinions don\'t go in main pages
Changed line(s) 6,7 (click to see context) from:
''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, shot entirely in the style of a documentary {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. Things ultimately take a turn for the worse, and the ending can be seen as HighOctaneNightmareFuel.
to:
''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, shot entirely in the style of a documentary {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. Things ultimately take a turn for the worse, and the ending can be seen as HighOctaneNightmareFuel.
worse.
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* DizzyCam
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* DizzyCamDizzyCam: Arguably the TropeCodifier
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** Oh, it's worse than that. The line, according to the feature-length commentary on the DVD, is actually "FUCK! YOU! [[NayTheist GOD!]]"
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* GhostStory: The whole movie (especially the ending) is like a scary campfire story put to film.
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* FoundFootage: Probably the TropeCodifier
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* FoundFootage: FoundFootageFilms: Probably the TropeCodifier
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* FoundFootage: Probably the TropeCodifier
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the-blair-witch-project.jpg]]
->''"I just want to apologize to [[DisappearedDad Mike's mom, and Josh's mom, and my mom]]. I am sorry, everyone. I was very naive. I am so, so sorry. For everything that has happened. Because in spite of what Mike says now, it is my fault. Because it was my project... Everything had to be my way. And this is where we've ended up. And it's all because of me that we're here now. Hungry, cold, and hunted..."''
-->-- '''Heather''', in an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z66RpatHajQ oft-parodied scene]]
''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, shot entirely in the style of a documentary {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. Things ultimately take a turn for the worse, and the ending can be seen as HighOctaneNightmareFuel.
Now what it's ''really'' notable for is having one of the best ViralMarketing campaigns ever, and certainly [[TropeMaker one of the first]] to demonstrate the effectiveness of internet advertising: fake online documents, footage, published dossiers, interviews, and even a couple of professional-looking television documentaries blurred the line between truth and fiction like few other campaigns had done before or since. Many were convinced that the movie was based on a true story, or even consisted of actual footage. Even more were subtly convinced that the "Blair Witch" was a real legend, as opposed to something the film-makers made up themselves.
Had a poorly received sequel which upped the MindScrew and pretty much [[FranchiseKiller killed the franchise off]]. The directors [[http://www.totalfilm.com/news/director-eduardo-sanchez-talks-blair-witch-3 are still thinking of coming back for a third]], though.
----
!!''The Blair Witch Project'' contains examples of:
* AllThereInTheManual: The tie-in materials flesh out the Blair witch legend and the back story, which makes the movie ten times creepier once you realize what a lot of things ''mean''. For example, those three odd piles of stones they find around their tent one morning early on in their trip? [[spoiler:Rustin Parr kidnapped kids to his house in the woods, murdered them, and buried them in the basement before making their graves with piles of stones]]. They were doomed from the start.
* ApocalypticLog
* BloodyHandprint: They could be ink or paint, but it's hard to tell.
* CaptainObvious: "Mike? There's something out here."
* ChewingTheScenery: Heather Donahue's apology scene. She acted so hard that you could practically see the bite marks in the camera. She sobs, screams, and shakes so realistically that her acting convinced some people it was a true life account. Her scuffles with the other two were also unscripted, as was the entire infamous apology scene.
* ClusterFBomb: Due mainly to the improvised script. It's not ''{{Casino}}'' levels of bad, but you can tell it's the favorite word of the movie.
** This was parodied by humor columnist Dave Barry, who wrote a "sample" of the dialogue, replacing the f-bomb with the word "darn"
--> '''First Character''': Darn you! You darned got us darned lost in these darned woods! Darn!
--> '''Second Character''': Go darn yourself!
--> '''Squirrel''': Will you darners shut the darn UP?
* CoveredInGunge: Their equipment gets mysteriously slimed near the end of the movie.
* [[CreepyChild Creepy Children]]: The crew hear some little kids giggling out in the woods late at night.
* TheDanza: The three main characters share their names with their actors.
* DizzyCam
* [=~Don't Go In The Woods~=]
* EnforcedMethodActing: The actors were screened for their improvisational ability, and given a 35-page outline of the movie. All dialogue was improvised. The directors began rationing the actors' food to make them as hungry as their characters. They were not told when strange noises would be made, or when the tent would be attacked. Makes for some great acting.
* ExpandedUniverse: Tie-in short films, books, comics, even computer games...
* ForegoneConclusion: Everyone dies. This is, in fact, the premise of the movie.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "We'll all look back on this and laugh heartily."
* FranchiseKiller: A trilogy was planned. The second film performed so badly that the third film was scrapped.
* GoingInCircles: ''It's the SAME LOG!''
* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: The witch.
** Though there's been action figures, described by {{Cracked}} as looking "like [[LordOfTheRings Treebeard]] got it on with SwampThing".
* KillEmAll
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The original marketing for the movie claimed that it was found footage of a true story, presented to the public by the producers.
* MindScrew: Who was hunting them? Was it really a witch? What was that ending all about? We'll never know.
** Unless we take a look at the extended universe.
* {{Mockumentary}}: And several Mockumentaries were made ''about'' the mockumentary.
* NothingIsScarier: The entire movie is ''made'' of this trope.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "FUCK!! YOU!!! LOG!!!!!!" A little easy to miss, but an underappreciated gem.
* RegularlyScheduledEvil: Though not operating on as tight of a schedule as some other supernatural woods creatures, the Blair Witch likes to pull some freaky shit every fifty or sixty years or so.
* RuleThirtyFour: The Bare Wench Project and The Erotic Witch Project, etc. Both of which had more sequels than the film they're spoofing.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ParanormalActivity.
* TooDumbToLive: Why don't they just follow that river? You know, the one with the log...
** Supernatural forces were at play. It's likely that no matter what they did, they wouldn't find a way out.
*** This is confirmed in the tie-games and other material. You ''will'' get turned around despite the fact you were following the map perfectly. Frankly, if those woods don't want you to leave, you're not going to be able to leave.
* TropeCodifier: For all those minimalist FirstPersonCamera NothingIsScarier horror movies that are so popular these days.
* UltimateEvil
* UnbuiltTrope: This movie spawned plenty of imitators, especially in the late 2000s (''{{Cloverfield}}'', ''DiaryOfTheDead'', ''TheLastExorcism'', and now ''{{Unaware}}''). However, those films all had pretty high budgets, slick editing, and plenty of scary CG monster/alien/whatever effects. This film's minuscule budget, realistic location, and rambling, unscripted nature make it feel like a {{deconstruction}} of the very films it influenced.
** It should be noted that, even though the Horror Mockumentary genre was an unbuilt trope at the time, it is not the first to do this. ''CannibalHolocaust'' was perhaps the first and ''TheLastBroadcast'' was released just before this film but to less fanfare.
* TheUnreveal: During the final sequence, [[spoiler:Heather]] is heavily implied to have seen the antagonist, but [[spoiler:drops her camera before she can get a shot of it]].
** Not to mention that we never find out the meaning behind...well, much of anything, really.
* ViralMarketing: Including a [[http://www.blairwitch.com/ decently designed website]] that's still up as of 10/21/2011.
----
!!The sequel contains examples of:
* TheDanza: Though only of first names.
* ExecutiveMeddling: Artisan recut the film and re-shot certain scenes to add more "traditional" horror movie elements instead of the ambiguous flick the director was aiming at.
* {{Goth}}: Who ironically ends up being the [[OnlySaneMan only sane girl]] most of the time.
* HeyItsThatGuy: One of the group is [[BurnNotice Michael Westen!]]
* InNameOnly
* [[spoiler:TheKillerInMe: It is revealed that the three remaining main characters have been killing of their friends over the course of the movie, who they were hallucinating as evil people.]]
* LargeHam: Dear lord, the Sheriff.
* MindScrew
* NonIndicativeTitle: Besides the faint connection to Blair Witch, there's no Book of Shadows to be seen.
* TwistEnding / TheEndingChangesEverything: [[spoiler: The three main characters that are left murdered several people.]] Can be subject to either FridgeLogic or PlotHole if you think about it too much.
----
->''"I just want to apologize to [[DisappearedDad Mike's mom, and Josh's mom, and my mom]]. I am sorry, everyone. I was very naive. I am so, so sorry. For everything that has happened. Because in spite of what Mike says now, it is my fault. Because it was my project... Everything had to be my way. And this is where we've ended up. And it's all because of me that we're here now. Hungry, cold, and hunted..."''
-->-- '''Heather''', in an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z66RpatHajQ oft-parodied scene]]
''The Blair Witch Project'' is a horror movie, shot entirely in the style of a documentary {{gone horribly wrong}}. Three college students are researching "The Blair Witch", and go on an expedition into the local forest where the legend is supposed to have started. Things ultimately take a turn for the worse, and the ending can be seen as HighOctaneNightmareFuel.
Now what it's ''really'' notable for is having one of the best ViralMarketing campaigns ever, and certainly [[TropeMaker one of the first]] to demonstrate the effectiveness of internet advertising: fake online documents, footage, published dossiers, interviews, and even a couple of professional-looking television documentaries blurred the line between truth and fiction like few other campaigns had done before or since. Many were convinced that the movie was based on a true story, or even consisted of actual footage. Even more were subtly convinced that the "Blair Witch" was a real legend, as opposed to something the film-makers made up themselves.
Had a poorly received sequel which upped the MindScrew and pretty much [[FranchiseKiller killed the franchise off]]. The directors [[http://www.totalfilm.com/news/director-eduardo-sanchez-talks-blair-witch-3 are still thinking of coming back for a third]], though.
----
!!''The Blair Witch Project'' contains examples of:
* AllThereInTheManual: The tie-in materials flesh out the Blair witch legend and the back story, which makes the movie ten times creepier once you realize what a lot of things ''mean''. For example, those three odd piles of stones they find around their tent one morning early on in their trip? [[spoiler:Rustin Parr kidnapped kids to his house in the woods, murdered them, and buried them in the basement before making their graves with piles of stones]]. They were doomed from the start.
* ApocalypticLog
* BloodyHandprint: They could be ink or paint, but it's hard to tell.
* CaptainObvious: "Mike? There's something out here."
* ChewingTheScenery: Heather Donahue's apology scene. She acted so hard that you could practically see the bite marks in the camera. She sobs, screams, and shakes so realistically that her acting convinced some people it was a true life account. Her scuffles with the other two were also unscripted, as was the entire infamous apology scene.
* ClusterFBomb: Due mainly to the improvised script. It's not ''{{Casino}}'' levels of bad, but you can tell it's the favorite word of the movie.
** This was parodied by humor columnist Dave Barry, who wrote a "sample" of the dialogue, replacing the f-bomb with the word "darn"
--> '''First Character''': Darn you! You darned got us darned lost in these darned woods! Darn!
--> '''Second Character''': Go darn yourself!
--> '''Squirrel''': Will you darners shut the darn UP?
* CoveredInGunge: Their equipment gets mysteriously slimed near the end of the movie.
* [[CreepyChild Creepy Children]]: The crew hear some little kids giggling out in the woods late at night.
* TheDanza: The three main characters share their names with their actors.
* DizzyCam
* [=~Don't Go In The Woods~=]
* EnforcedMethodActing: The actors were screened for their improvisational ability, and given a 35-page outline of the movie. All dialogue was improvised. The directors began rationing the actors' food to make them as hungry as their characters. They were not told when strange noises would be made, or when the tent would be attacked. Makes for some great acting.
* ExpandedUniverse: Tie-in short films, books, comics, even computer games...
* ForegoneConclusion: Everyone dies. This is, in fact, the premise of the movie.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "We'll all look back on this and laugh heartily."
* FranchiseKiller: A trilogy was planned. The second film performed so badly that the third film was scrapped.
* GoingInCircles: ''It's the SAME LOG!''
* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: The witch.
** Though there's been action figures, described by {{Cracked}} as looking "like [[LordOfTheRings Treebeard]] got it on with SwampThing".
* KillEmAll
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The original marketing for the movie claimed that it was found footage of a true story, presented to the public by the producers.
* MindScrew: Who was hunting them? Was it really a witch? What was that ending all about? We'll never know.
** Unless we take a look at the extended universe.
* {{Mockumentary}}: And several Mockumentaries were made ''about'' the mockumentary.
* NothingIsScarier: The entire movie is ''made'' of this trope.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "FUCK!! YOU!!! LOG!!!!!!" A little easy to miss, but an underappreciated gem.
* RegularlyScheduledEvil: Though not operating on as tight of a schedule as some other supernatural woods creatures, the Blair Witch likes to pull some freaky shit every fifty or sixty years or so.
* RuleThirtyFour: The Bare Wench Project and The Erotic Witch Project, etc. Both of which had more sequels than the film they're spoofing.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ParanormalActivity.
* TooDumbToLive: Why don't they just follow that river? You know, the one with the log...
** Supernatural forces were at play. It's likely that no matter what they did, they wouldn't find a way out.
*** This is confirmed in the tie-games and other material. You ''will'' get turned around despite the fact you were following the map perfectly. Frankly, if those woods don't want you to leave, you're not going to be able to leave.
* TropeCodifier: For all those minimalist FirstPersonCamera NothingIsScarier horror movies that are so popular these days.
* UltimateEvil
* UnbuiltTrope: This movie spawned plenty of imitators, especially in the late 2000s (''{{Cloverfield}}'', ''DiaryOfTheDead'', ''TheLastExorcism'', and now ''{{Unaware}}''). However, those films all had pretty high budgets, slick editing, and plenty of scary CG monster/alien/whatever effects. This film's minuscule budget, realistic location, and rambling, unscripted nature make it feel like a {{deconstruction}} of the very films it influenced.
** It should be noted that, even though the Horror Mockumentary genre was an unbuilt trope at the time, it is not the first to do this. ''CannibalHolocaust'' was perhaps the first and ''TheLastBroadcast'' was released just before this film but to less fanfare.
* TheUnreveal: During the final sequence, [[spoiler:Heather]] is heavily implied to have seen the antagonist, but [[spoiler:drops her camera before she can get a shot of it]].
** Not to mention that we never find out the meaning behind...well, much of anything, really.
* ViralMarketing: Including a [[http://www.blairwitch.com/ decently designed website]] that's still up as of 10/21/2011.
----
!!The sequel contains examples of:
* TheDanza: Though only of first names.
* ExecutiveMeddling: Artisan recut the film and re-shot certain scenes to add more "traditional" horror movie elements instead of the ambiguous flick the director was aiming at.
* {{Goth}}: Who ironically ends up being the [[OnlySaneMan only sane girl]] most of the time.
* HeyItsThatGuy: One of the group is [[BurnNotice Michael Westen!]]
* InNameOnly
* [[spoiler:TheKillerInMe: It is revealed that the three remaining main characters have been killing of their friends over the course of the movie, who they were hallucinating as evil people.]]
* LargeHam: Dear lord, the Sheriff.
* MindScrew
* NonIndicativeTitle: Besides the faint connection to Blair Witch, there's no Book of Shadows to be seen.
* TwistEnding / TheEndingChangesEverything: [[spoiler: The three main characters that are left murdered several people.]] Can be subject to either FridgeLogic or PlotHole if you think about it too much.
----
