Prime Video: This is the highest-grossing film in the history of cinema and is worth getting on the platform

Three actors, eight days in the woods and $60,000. And so Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick created what remains one of the most influential horror films of all time, The Blair Witch Project. A crazy project that, due to special excitement, became the most profitable feature film in the history of cinema. Worldwide, it grossed $248,000,000, or 4,000 times its original budget – not adjusted for inflation.

At the head of this phenomenon are two enthusiasts. Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick want to pay homage to lesser known films such as The Legend of Boggy Creek On the mocking monster Bigfoot released in 1972. The idea is to make up a myth and do everything to make the audience believe it. They then imagine the legend of a witch and Rustin Parr, a man who allegedly killed children in the 1940s.

Are actors really missing?

Hacked, filmmakers want to bring the genre Footage found Made popular in 1980 by Cannibal Holocaust. They hired three unknown actors: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams. Their anonymity allows producers to create ingenious marketing: to turn the plot of the film into real news.

The Blair Witch Project caused a sensation at the Sundance Film Festival, and the machine was fired up. Everyone is talking about this “documentary” that captures the final images of three missing people. The wanted posters were then placed at major festivals around the world – including the Cannes Film Festival, where the film was presented. Even those close to the actors – forced to hide – believe in deception.

Several American channels are playing the game and airing fake documentaries that are so-called. Back to “true history”. 1999 is a different time. The Internet exists, but without social networks it is impossible to ensure the correctness of facts.

Spectator’s imagination

Behind his marketing campaign is a true genius The Blair Witch Project Based on the performance of the actors – who improvised 90% of their dialogue – and interpretation. The directors choose not to show anything. No supernatural activity proves the hypothesis that a witch really exists.

This lack of evidence leaves viewers to work with their imaginations, and in fact, many theories can be seen being discussed on numerous Internet forums. Most famously, Heather, the only girl in the group, is the victim of a prank gone wrong by two of her friends. To prove it: at the end of the movie, beer is placed in an abandoned house.

An endless source of speculation and a precursor project, The Blair Witch Project It continues, 25 years after its release, despite the evolution of technology.

The film is available on Prime Video.