With the smash success of “Paranormal Activity,” you can bet every studio in Hollywood is trawling through all the cheap, sub-horror scripts and pitches they received in the last year, hoping to have their own low budget, and highly profitable blockbuster next Halloween. But there are two directors who watched the buzz building around “Paranormal Activity” with a distinct feeling of déjà vu.
Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick set the shaky cam template ten years ago with “The Blair Witch Project.” The faux documentary about some eerie happenings in the woods of Maryland employed the same shaky cam, first person scares that has made “Paranormal Activity” a phenomenon and became a massive box office success.
“I wouldn’t be completely honest with you if I said I wasn’t jealous of ‘Paranormal Activity’,” Sánchez says. “I’m happy for the guy … but at the same time, there’s the feeling that, man, I could have done this. It would have been different and might not have been as good. But I know how to make these films. To me it’s like, man, maybe I should go back and kind of milk this one more time.”
And milk it he will. Sanchez has revealed he’s re-teamed with Myrick, and they’re developing “Blair Witch 3” which they hope to pitch to Lionsgate soon (they own the rights to the franchise). The story will pick up after the first film, forgetting the execrable second film (which they weren’t involved with) ever happened. It will also utilize some of the original cast members, but in smaller roles.
Looking to move forward aesthetically, Sanchez says for this film, they will use a “mixed first-person” style similar to what was used for “District 9.” That said, while speaking at a screenwriter’s expo in Los Angeles recently, he was surprised when attendees said they would prefer a return to the original shaky cam experience the directors employed in the first film.
We will not be surprised if the greenlight for this project comes in the next few weeks. With the “Saw” series finally beginning to show signs of wear, Lionsgate is probably eager to find another low cost franchise they can count on for their annual Halloween release.