The Blair Witch Project became a phenomenon by convincing audiences there might really be something in the woods. FolknHell goes back to Burkittsville to ask what remains once the marketing fog clears, whether the film still works, and whether a few bound twigs are enough to make it folk horror.

Spoilers throughout. Watch the film first if you want to go into the woods unprepared.

The Blair Witch Project arrived in 1999 with a tiny production, a huge idea and one of the most effective horror marketing campaigns of its era. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez sent Heather, Mike and Josh into the Maryland woods, then let the audience do an extraordinary amount of the frightening for them.

FolknHell heads back in to see what is actually there.

We talk about the early internet campaign that made the footage feel disturbingly plausible, the natural performances that still sell panic better than much of the plot, and the problem with a film built around three people, two cameras and a great many leaves. There is also the bundle outside the tent, Heather's terrified close-up, the house, Mike facing the corner and the persistent feeling that the film keeps finding good ideas and then wandering away from them.

Then comes the folk horror question. The woods matter, certainly. But where is the coherent local belief? Where are the folk? And are three filmmakers from not very far away really outsiders in the sense that matters?

A hugely influential horror film gets a rather less reverential FolknHell rewatch.

As a cultural event, The Blair Witch Project still matters. As a film, the episode finds it much thinner. The performances, Heather's panic and the final image retain some force, but the tension is rarely sustained and too many promising ideas are barely worked.

By the FolknHell test, it is not really folk horror. The woods provide place, but the film never builds a convincing belief system or a meaningful community of insiders for the filmmakers to confront.

• David Hall: 2/10
• Dave Houghton: 4/10
• Andy Davidson: 4/10
• Total: 10/30

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Spoilers throughout, with discussion of panic, implied violence and child murder within the film's fictional folklore.

Folknhell is the folk horror podcast where Andy Davidson, Dave Houghton and David Hall dig into strange cinema, argue about whether it really counts as folk horror, and score every film out of 30.

Add your own score and comments about the films at https://www.folknhell.com/scores

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