'Paranormal Activity' The Next 'Blair Witch'
Wed, September 30, 2009 Reader Submitted Article
'Paramormal Activity' The Next 'Blair Witch'
By Dan Gilleo
We all know the story of the “little” indie film called “The Blair Witch Project”. It came out way back in the Summer of 1999. It was made for the paltry amount of $60,000 and proceeded to rake in over $140 million domestic. Not too shabby for a bunch of kids running around in the woods getting lost. Now a new movie is looking to take that formula to the next level. Paramount’s “Paranormal Activity”, made for the miniscule amount of $11,000 (About the price of a decent used car.) is already garnering a ton of buzz online and in select college towns where it has opened.
“Paranormal Activity” is pulling some pages out of the Blair Witch play book by staying small with their marketing campaign and trying to work up hype via the online community. Both films have also been portrayed as true paranormal events captured via video camera. Blair Witch was given a limited release and “Paranormal Activity” is opening in limited release in 10 smaller markets. If one wants the film to un-spool in their area then they have to demand it at the below link.
I, for one, was a really big fan of “The Blair Witch Project”. At the time I was in college and it was a cinematic experience like no other. I had to go to some out of the way art house movie theater to go see it. I might have enjoyed movie a little bit more because of the effort I had to make to see it. Will people like “Paranormal Activity’ just a bit more because they have to work to get it to their city? I think they might.
I believe that “The Blair Witch Project” paved the way for a lot of the “true” TV that are now strewn all over our televisions. Shows such as “Destination Truth” and “Ghost Hunters” fit into that category. If it wasn’t for Blair Witch a movie like “Paranormal Activity” would have never been made, much less released by a major player like Paramount. It remains to be seen if “Paranormal Activity” can follow suit and become the next low budget horror movie to blow up, but if I was a betting man, I might double down.
Reader Comments (1)
Best storyof the year!