In the current day and age of movie releases, it’s become standard that a movie will hit theaters and then, when it arrives on home video, it earns an extended or alternate cut, sometimes leaning into one aspect of the project. In some cases, it means a movie will be bloodier and more intense, or in other cases, a filmmaker gets the chance to revisit their theatrical release to make tweaks that they weren’t able to make upon initial release. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its extended editions might be the most famous example of this, while Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and James Cameron’s The Abyss have also earned drastically different cuts after release.
With any movie deemed a “cult classic,” it likely has an audience that has committed virtually every second of it to memory, able to recite lines of dialogue or bits of trivia about each sequence. It’s rare, then, that a movie with a cult following that fundamentally changed the nature of the horror genre would ever get a new release that offered even more unsettling elements to give audiences nightmares. In the case of The Blair Witch Project, though, that’s exactly what’s going to happen this year.
Ever since the 1999 movie was filmed, every release has had to undergo some type of transformation from the original footage, especially when it comes to home video releases. In 2024, the filmmakers remastered and restored a new cut of the movie that hadn’t been seen since festivals back in 1999, and for the first time ever, these restorations will be available for purchase in the United States. This new release comes with three different cuts: the filmmaker-approved 2024 theatrical cut and festival cuts, which are restored from original Hi8 tapes and 16mm film, as well as the original 35mm theatrical exhibition version. Additionally, the 2024 restored cut will be available on a VHS from Lionsgate Limited. The new release hits shelves on Oct. 13.
The restored and remastered cuts, as well as the VHS release, aren’t the only reason to secure yourself a copy, as there are also plenty of special features to dive even deeper into the mystery of the Blair Witch. The special features are listed as follows:
Versions of the Film on the BD + Digital:
- Filmmaker-approved restored theatrical cut and festival cut; newly restored from the original Hi-8 videotapes and 16mm Film Elements
- Original 35mm theatrical exhibition version
Special Features on the BD + Digital:
- Season of the Witch – New interviews with filmmakers & actors Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams
- Expanded Lore
- The Matt Blazi Project
- Mythos
- Eternal Impact
- Iconic Artifacts: The Blair Witch Project at MOPOP
- Film is Life: A Tribute to Cinematographer Neal Fredericks
- Legacy Audio Commentary with Directors Eduardo Sánchez & Daniel Myrick, Producer Rob Cowie and Co-Producer Michael Monello – Only included on the Original 35mm Theatrical Version
- Curse of the Blair Witch Mockumentary
- Sticks and Stones: An Exploration of the Blair Witch Legend
- The Blair Witch Legacy
- Analogue Horror in a Digital World
- Deleted Scenes
- Cannes 1999 – Archive Directors’ Interviews
- Directors Interviews
- Fear Sections
- Alternate Endings
- B-Roll
- Theatrical Trailers (4)
Between these new cuts finally being released and the new VHS debut, another reason to be excited is that next year will see the premiere of an all-new Blair Witch installment. A sequel to the original movie, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, abandoned the found-footage format and was largely a failure, while 2016 gave us the reboot Blair Witch, an experience that served as the direct sequel to the original. At this point, it’s largely unknown what this upcoming installment will explore.
This new The Blair Witch Project release is currently available for pre-order before its Oct. 13 debut.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
