Parents' Guide to

The Blair Witch Project

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

'90s horror movie isn't gory but is still terrifying.

Movie R 1999 86 minutes
The Blair Witch Project Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 35 parent reviews

iuhofdsagdsfagre
iuhofdsagdsfagre Parent of 8 and 13-year-old
October 3, 2022
age 11+
This was a really good horror movie. It had the fear factor, and such a good story. If youre looking for a little bit of a scare, this is a good go-to. There isnt very much gore, but there is a decent amount of language and a smaller amount of smoking/drinking, so I feel like its definitely not for younger kids, but its okay for 11+
2 people found this helpful.
Bryanmovies
Bryanmovies Parent of 5, 7, 12, 15 and 18-year-old
November 3, 2022
age 14+
This movie is terrifying...
1 person found this helpful.
See all 35 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT is simply summarized: Three film students go into the woods to make a movie about a local legend and never come home. A year later, their footage is found, and what we see is supposed to be what they left behind. Knowing the end from the beginning, the audience is left with 70 minutes of growing dread as the three students become increasingly more panicky and the events turn increasingly more creepy. Then it is over.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (35):
Kids say (149):

This horror film is more conceptual art and marketing phenomenon than movie. Directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick drew from canny filmmakers such as Val Lewton and Alfred Hitchcock: People are much more scared by what they don't see than by what they do see. The filmmakers made a virtue of having no budget for special effects and left everything to the audience's grisly imagination. Like some sort of cinematic Rorschach test, as we watch this movie, we are each scared by whatever lurks in our subconscious.

Teenagers have always loved scary movies. On one level, they provide peer bonding -- you have to be friends with someone you grabbed in a moment of terror, and it's fun to have that shared experience. On another level, there is something cathartic for teenagers about seeing this graphic representation of an uncontrollable id on the loose. It's important for parents to remember that tolerance for scariness is highly individual, and, especially for teens and younger kids, highly suggestible. In concrete terms, there is nothing really graphically scary in The Blair Witch Project , but kids who see it need to be capable of understanding that it's entirely manufactured and fictional.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the filmmaking techniques of The Blair Witch Project. Did it feel real to you, and do you think other stories would work in this filmmaking technique?

  • How does this movie compare to other horror movies? How does it contrast with horror movies that rely heavily on blood, gore, and scary music to create suspense?

  • What do you think is the appeal of horror movies? Why do people enjoy feeling scared?

Movie Details

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