Ok, so I admit to being in the camp of people who really loved “The Blair Witch Project.” I felt like it was a great example of cinéma vérité horror done right, and in a era of horror movies where the killer or monster is seen clearly, has a fully fleshed-out back story, and sometimes resorts to bad puns and stand-up comedy, it was a refreshing change of pace. The audience had to use their imaginations, and most of them didn’t like that. Because, like, thinking is hard. But it’s still one of my favorite horror movies. So when I stumbled upon thie piece in Variety this morning, I got pretty excited.
Haxan Films and Amber Entertainment are looking for Bigfoot, setting an October start date for lensing “Exists,” with “Blair Witch Project” director Eduardo Sanchez to helm.
“Exists,” written by Jamie Nash and Sanchez, follows a group of twentysomethings who take a trip to a cabin deep in the wooded wilderness and are methodically hunted by a Bigfoot-like beast.
“The film is the first in a trilogy exploring and reinventing the Bigfoot myth,” Sanchez said. “We all remember the terror of watching such classics as ‘The Legend of Boggy Creek,’ and I look forward to making Bigfoot scary again.”
Robin Cowie, Gregg Hale and Andy Jenkins of Haxan and Jane Fleming and Mark Ordesky of Amber are producing.
Weta Workshop and Spectral Motion are collaborating with the production team on the design and build of the monster, to be portrayed by Brian Steele (“Hellboy,” “Predators,” the “Underworld” trilogy). The film will be shot outside Austin, Texas, at Spiderwood Studios, and casting will begin in August with a focus on unknown actors.
Haxan and Amber are in post on “The Possession,” also directed by Sanchez, as the first film in the multipic pact formed by Haxan and Amber last year.Indie horror sensation “The Blair Witch Project” took in more than $140 million domestically in 1999 thanks to a variety of viral marketing campaigns. The film grossed $250 million worldwide.
A Bigfoot movie by the guy who brought us “The Blair Witch Project?” I’m so there. And a trilogy to boot? I really do hope it’s good, because Bigfoot movies are one of those fine line genres, where it can venture into extremely campy territory pretty quickly. And while “The Blair Witch Project” was a blockbuster hit, it’s often hard to catch that lightning in a bottle a second ot third time (see: Shyamalan, M. Night). But my fingers are crossed…
