The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Episode Summary:
Three college filmmakers head into the woods to chase a local legend — and instead deliver the most profitable headache in horror history. This week, the guys hunker down by the campfire (literally — they recorded this episode while camping) to revisit The Blair Witch Project, the movie that turned shaky hands and bad decisions into box office gold.

They dig into the backstory, the lore, and the DIY horror experiment that left audiences nauseated, terrified, and wildly divided.

🧭 Key Conversation Points

• Remembering the hype and confusion when Blair Witch first hit theaters in 1999.
• How the fake documentary marketing fooled half of America into thinking it was real.
• The film’s microscopic $60,000 budget and record-breaking $248 million box office haul.
• Critics vs. audience reaction — 86% on Rotten Tomatoes but a 57% audience score.
• How the actors filmed everything themselves — with no script, minimal food, and eight days in the woods.
• The filmmakers’ borderline “torture” methods to get real fear and exhaustion on camera.
• The missing backstory — centuries of lore reduced to a few vague lines about Elly Kedward, Rustin Parr, and Coffin Rock.
• The shaky-cam effect: terrifying realism or just nausea on film?
• Brian’s plea for a steadier camera (and fewer vomit stories).
• The Found Footage or Fake News? game — and who totally blew their chance at the compass prize.
• Boddicker Award: unanimous love for Heather Donahue and her flashlight monologue of doom.

🍺 Other Things We Talked About

• The crew’s real-life campsite setup and live campfire ambiance during recording.
• Beer lineup: Ellie’s Brown Ale (Avery Brewing) — chosen for the witch’s name — and Spooky Scary Stout from Old Bakery Brewing in Alton, IL.
• The sequel that nobody asked for (and everyone forgot).
• Mad Max fashion logic: why every apocalypse apparently includes shoulder pads from Dick’s Sporting Goods.
• The “Pick Your Poison” showdown comparing Blair Witch to The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, and Fight Club.
• And Brian's tragic confession that he may have never actually seen Fight Club — which might be the real horror story here.

Listen now to hear three regular guys roast the forest, question their compass skills, and prove that sometimes the scariest thing of all… is the footage you found yourself.

Listen to The Regular Guy Movie Show wherever you get your podcasts, and visit regularguymovieshow.com to suggest the next questionable classic we take on. While there, check out our blog or listen to previous show episodes.

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