In a huge “twist”, The Woods has now been revealed to actually be Blair Witch

There’s a new Blair Witch movie coming, and chances are you’ve already heard about it. You see, it’s actually the super hyped upcoming horror movie The Woods by director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett.

Blair Witch 2016The news broke at San Diego Comic-Con and is complete with a new trailer and poster. Well, color me disappointed and – quite frankly – pretty pissed off.

I love when a project has been made using a fake title. A method most recently used for another sequel as a movie known as The Cellar and then Valencia turned out to finally get the official title of 10 Cloverfield Lane when the poster, trailer, and worldwide release date were announced. All this happened less than a month before the release. Even press screenings were very much a last-minute thing.

This time around, however, we talking about a blatant lie: You gave us a title, a poster, and a teaser trailer – complete with quotes from the few critics who had already seen it – for The Woods. And you did this promising something new and scarier than ever. Now you go: Actually, it’s a Blair Witch movie. Gotcha!

No, you simply lied. All of you. And congrats, we believed you. Sure, many websites report rumors, but these were delivered as facts. And now the same websites who have seen the movie and delivered quotes for the very hyped The Woods teaser trailer are reporting on this like it’s brand new information.

Uhh no, you were in on it all along – which you somehow also manage to brag about – and now you’re working as a glorified fluffer for this movie.

Sorry, lies tend to bring out the more nasty side of me – just see my review of The Blackout Experiments for reference. Oh yeah, Kitty got claws!

Anyway, congrats to those websites who were in on it – many are among my favorite websites. Not because you managed to keep some big secret, because really, you just helped build and share the lie. No, I want to congratulate you all on getting lots of publicity and free advertising when your quotes were used in the teaser trailer. And yet somehow, you also feel like you get to “break the story” and be surprised with the rest of us. Go figure!

So will I watch Blair Witch? Of course, I will.

The Woods is now Blair WitchBut then again, I was also going to watch The Woods. And I was really looking forward to The Woods a lot more.

Especially because I honestly loved the feel of the teaser trailer for The Woods, which was very different and filled with mystery and fear. This full trailer for Blair Witch looks just like many other horror movies and has a lot more focus on action and jump scares.

Also, can we please call this “marketing ploy” out on what it really is: Necessary! No one would’ve been excited about yet another Blair Witch sequel. Unlike those hyping this movie as a “much anticipated” sequel to the 1999 original The Blair Witch Project, we do actually remember that there has already been a sequel called Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 from 2000, making this movie yet another sequel.

Look, I tend to really love Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s projects (You’re Next is a total guilty pleasure and feel-good movie for me), but this news that The Woods is no longer an original movie by them is just so disappointing to me.

Strangely, there’s also a The Blair Witch Project 3 listed as “In development” on IMDb. This has been its status since 2009, so it may be dead in the water. Still, that one is listed as being by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, who are the original creators of The Blair Witch Project.

This is the new official plot:

A group of college students venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of James’ sister who many believe is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch. At first the group is hopeful, especially when a pair of locals offer to act as guides through the dark and winding woods, but as the endless night wears on, the group is visited by a menacing presence. Slowly, they begin to realize the legend is all too real and more sinister than they could have imagined.

Blair Witch will be in theaters on September 16, 2016.

Here’s the new trailer for the movie:

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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