The Blair Witch Project
Budget – 600,000
Worldwide Gross – $248,300,000
Return – 20,592%
The film that made found footage a viable option for horror directors, The Blair Witch Project is simply a couple of film students wandering through the woods while losing their map and getting attacked by twigs.
Okay the movie does have more to it than that, but the suspense is built without ever showing a monster, there’s no appearance by the witch, no blood, no guts, etc… Basically nothing at all that costs a significant amount of money. Don’t have the money for a high quality cinematographer and equipment? Embrace it and make it part of the film’s aesthetic. Don’t have the money to hire a ton of actors? Only have three for the majority of the film.
Blair Witch serves as a lesson in low budget horror film making, and for better or for worse, we have it to thank for the insane amounts of found footage movies that have permeated the industry since.