Every year, San Diego’s Comic-Con International provides a veritable cornucopia of entertainment news but, these days, many of the major announcements at the show are revealed via rumors and leaks before the event even takes place. This wasn’t the case with the newly minted Blair Witch, a follow-up to the 1999 horror classic The Blair Witch Project.
The entire film was screened for the first time at the convention this past weekend, despite the fact that nobody seems to have known that such a sequel was even in the works. While Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) was the official sequel to the original, it received awful reviews and largely abandoned the found-footage style that made the first film such a sensation. That technique is back in this the third installment of the series, and many of those who attended the screening came away impressed — if not a little confused.
Apparently, attendees were informed that they would be seeing a film called The Woods, which wasn’t marketed as a Blair Witch film in any way, shape, or form.
The film’s plot centers around a young man’s (James Allen McCune) quest to find out what happened to his sister, who disappeared in the first film, and its production was reportedly so secretive that actors/actresses weren’t told of the Blair Witch connection until they were officially cast.
Lionsgate Films has also released a terrifying official trailer for the film, which does a good job of capturing the spirit of the original. You can check that out above. Just make sure you’re in a well-lit area and that all potential entryways are locked tight.
Blair Witch is due out in theaters September 16,.
