Our Top Picks for International Podcast Day 2019

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Wicked Horror is the author of Our Top Picks for International Podcast Day 2019. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Happy International Podcast day, dear readers! For those of you that don’t know, International Podcast day (Septemeber 30th) is a celebration of the power of podcasts. Cool, right? Well, we here at Wicked Horror love our podcasts. And with Halloween right around the corner, there’s no better way to celebrate such a day than recommending some spooky podcasts to get into the Halloween spirit. So, let’s get to it. Enjoy! Passenger List Delve into the mystery of Atlantic Flight 702. Follow Kaitlin Le (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran), a college student whose twin brother vanished with the flight. Kaitlin is determined to uncover the truth of the missing 256 passengers. Crime Town Presents: The Ballad of Billy Balls Yes that is the actual name of the show. And yes that is the name of an actual person. A deceased person. In the fall of 1977, young Rebecca meets the love of her life Billy. He was a musician. She was a model. It’s a tale as old as time. Things are good until one day, she comes home to their storefront in the East Village to find that Billy has been shot. The police are turning their place upside down. Billy survives, for ten days, until suddenly, despite an optimistic recovery, he dies, and is sent to an anonymous burial ground. A tragedy that defined lives and a mystery that endures. 37 years later we are finally going to give an end to The Ballad Of Billy Balls. Hit Man In 1983, Paladin Press, a fringe publisher, released a book called Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors. The author, who went by the pen name Rex Feral, offered very specific tips for the aspiring contract killer. And the book quickly fell into the wrong hands. Hosted by journalist Jasmyn Morris, Hit Man goes on a deep dive into real crimes this manual allegedly inspired. Including a triple homicide. Limetown Mystery, conspiracy and government secrets? Sign me the hell up! Limetown follows the fictional story of American Public Radio reporter Lia Haddock who is investigating the ten year old mystery of a small town in Tennessee. Over three hundred men, women and children went missing. And they’ve never been heard of again. Lia Haddock asks the question once more, “What happened to the people of Limetown?” Though the answer comes at a bigger cost than she realizes. Station to Station This is a personal favorite of mine! A handful of fading memories, the remains of a research project, and a garbled tape recording are all Dr. Miranda Quan has to her name after her research partner goes missing on the eve of a 10-week ocean expedition. Now, she must try to find closure in the midst of a rapidly-unraveling conspiracy while surrounded by a handful of unlikely allies, several likely threats, and the icy waters of the North Pacific.

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The Drone [Frightfest 2019 Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Drone [Frightfest 2019 Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

The Drone comes to us courtesy of the producers behind Searching and Unfriended, but don’t let that fool you; the emphasis might be on dodgy tech once again, but the tone is decidedly less serious. This is to the film’s immense credit because, let’s face it, a story about a sentient drone flying around killing people could never be too serious. No matter how scary those red lights — they look like angry eyes — might be. The Child’s Play-esque opening establishes that a pervy serial killer known as The Violator (really) has been flying his drone around town spying on ladies undressing (a shock jock on the radio wonders how they don’t notice this big, buzzing thing flying right outside their windows). When cornered by police, this total cliche of a man — he snorts coke, but he’s also kind of camp for some reason — flees the scene. Related: Satanic Panic [Frightfest 2019 Review] He is subsequently killed, leading his soul to enter the drone itself. So, yes, The Drone presupposes that its villain is kind of like Charles Lee Ray, and the hovering bot his Chucky doll. Suffice to say, this introduction is goofy AF, proper eighties style stuff, and it only gets increasingly weirder from there. Happily married couple Chris (Fuller House star John Brotherton) and Rachel (Starry Eyes‘ Alex Essoe) soon stumble upon the drone in their new home, leading to all kinds of shenanigans. As Chris uses the bot to spy on their neighbors (“We’re invading their privacy,” Rachel points out to which he responds, “That’s the point, it’s a drone”) his wife becomes increasingly uneasy. There’s some sort of traumatic event in her past involving a toy race car (again, really) and she just can’t get used to the idea that this thing has invaded their home and appears to be following her around. In fact, the drone does follow her around, in several hilarious sequences in which it’s shown looking about, sitting in a rocking chair, and even following her car home. Eventually, yes, it will try to seduce her. Rachel and Chris are the kind of movie couple who say “baby” way too much and fight just as much as they shag. Essoe does worried wife well, never straying into harpy territory (at one point she screams that she hates the noise of the drone, only for Chris to tell her “that’s the refrigerator”) while Brotherton, clad in a Canadian tuxedo and too-long scarf like he’s cosplaying as Chris Jericho, is douchey but never an all-out dick. The actor looks like a strange mixture of David Harbour and Eric Christian Olsen in Not Another Teen Movie, so it’s easy to understand why Rachel wants him all the time. This is the kind of nutso movie that employs The Room-esque dramatics, except it’s in a purposeful, knowing way, a movie in which the character who supposedly chain-smokes never once actually inhales, and in which the serial killer’s deeper connection to one of the characters is both plainly obvious and also batshit insane enough that it completely works as a big reveal. The Drone is under no illusions about what kind of movie it is, and it flourishes as a result. A fun, retrowave score complements all the techie wizadry, while the script, as is probably already evident, asks the actors to play it straight while simultaneously turning everything up to eleventy stupid. When one character sadly reveals “I spent the night in a motel,” you half expect the sentence to conclude, “…with the drone.” Ah, the drone. The drone flies up someone’s butt. The drone attacks with pure, violent ferocity. The drone eventually acquires the ability to speak. See Also: IT Chapter Two is a Frightening, Funny, and Surprisingly Moving Return to Derry [Review] The Drone builds and builds and builds to a truly wacky climax. If you liked writer-director Jordan Rubin’s previous, brilliantly stupid, film Zombeavers, then you have some idea of what the tone is here. Much like that bizarre, super fun little movie, this is an absolute joy to sit through, flying past as quickly as the drone yet managing to be memorable through sheer force of will. The Drone is truly one of a kind, and well worth checking out when it hovers into view next month. ​Catch The Drone on DVD, Digital, and On Demand from October 15 ​ WICKED RATING: 8/10 Director(s): Jordan Rubin Writer(s): Al Kaplan, Jon Kaplan, Jordan Rubin Stars: John Brotherton, Alex Essoe, Neil Sandilands, Anita Briem Release date: October 15, 2019 (DVD, Digital, and On Demand) Studio/Production Company: Bazelevs Production Language: English Run Time: 82 minutes Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

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New on Netflix: September 27th, 2019

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Wicked Horror is the author of New on Netflix: September 27th, 2019. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Welcome to New on Netflix, a feature here at Wicked Horror in which we provide the latest updates on what’s coming to the streaming service for the week. In recent times, Netflix’s shift in content has been interesting. While many fan-favorite movies and TV shows have been Netflix staples for the better part of a decade, they’ve been taken off the service with more frequency. Some of them return, some of them don’t, and while these are all simply the result of licensing deals that were already in place before these properties even hit the service, they do shed some light on the content provider’s new focus. Netflix is continuing to shift gears away from movies and TV shows owned by other studios or companies and is producing their own content with staggering frequency. As we continue to provide updates on what’s been added to the service, it will always be interesting to note the balance between original and licensed content being added to the Netflix library. With that in mind, here are the latest Netflix additions for the week of Friday September 27th, 2019. In the Shadow of the Moon  The Netflix original film In the Shadow of the Moon made its premiere today on the service. In the grand Netflix tradition, almost no one knew about this thing until it was actually out. From Stake Land, We Are What We Are and Cold in July director Jim Mickle, In the Shadow of the Moon shows a lot of promise just based on the director’s past work alone. He’s also been doing amazing things recently with the TV adaptation of Joe Lansdale’s Hap and Leonard. 

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Prey is Loaded with Great Jolts and Carried By Logan Miller’s Powerhouse Performance [Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Prey is Loaded with Great Jolts and Carried By Logan Miller’s Powerhouse Performance [Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Prey, not to be confused with the rather good wintry slasher Cold Prey from a few years back, is the latest in a line of survival horror movies pitching young men against the elements. Much like Jungle, starring Daniel Radcliffe, the film is primarily concerned with leaving a schlubby white dude alone in the wilderness to fend for himself and seeing how quickly he loses grip on his sanity. Here, Logan Miller is the stranded schlub. Introduced watching dumb YouTube videos on his phone and being generally unresponsive to his well-meaning father, Miller’s Toby is left traumatized when, partly due to his own laziness, his dad is murdered just a few feet from where he’s sitting. As a result, Toby is sent to therapy where it’s suggested he might benefit from enrolling in the Lost and Found program, which helps teens such as himself readjust after traumatic events. The program does this by, I kid you not, forcing the kids to each spend three days alone on a deserted island with only their thoughts for company. We know Toby isn’t cut out for this kind of thing (to be clear, who the hell is!?) because he’s constantly scowling or puking over the side of the boat. He refuses to interact with any of his Lost and Found buddies, at least in the brief time we see Toby in a scene with them, and even the kindly leader can’t encourage him out of his shell. Still, once Toby is left alone on the island, he has to talk to keep himself occupied. Struggling to make a camp and find food, Toby ventures into the bush and is stalked, unbeknownst to him, by a mysterious figure in a Tiki mask. Later, his not being alone on the island is further confirmed when Toby meets a beautiful young woman who warns him he’s in danger. Prey is the latest offering from Franck Khalfoun, who directed the brilliant Maniac remake with Elijah Wood. It’s a far tamer offering, at least in the gore department, but Khalfoun once again showcases his mastery of jolts and expertly-timed jump scares. I let out several yelps during Prey, signalling how the movie wrong-foots even seasoned horror fans. The nature of Prey‘s villain is left intriguingly unclear for much of the movie, but suffice to say when the monster finally is revealed, its identity is more compelling than its look, which is kind of, how do put this delicately, Blumhousey. The super-studio is a co-producer here and it shows most glaringly in the CGI-heavy look of the supernatural creature. Still, it doesn’t look Insidious-level bad, and the earlier hints of the creature are great and properly scary. Likewise, Miller’s powerhouse performance in the lead role carries the movie through its slower moments. The actor, most recently seen in Love, Simon and Veronica Mars, is becoming a horror stalwart. As with the lively Escape Room, here Miller’s character is dealing with some personal demons he’s forced to confront thanks to a terrifying situation. This role is much more physical, though, requiring Miller to climb, swim, and forage, and he takes to it with aplomb. Toby isn’t a bad person or even an idiot, but he’s out of his element and watching him readjust to these surroundings is consistently compelling. The script, co-written by Khalfoun and David Coggeshall (who wrote on the ghastly Scream: The TV Series) is tight enough that nobody is left wandering around screaming “who’s out there!?” for too long. The opening prologue, communicated exclusively via Polaroids, is clunky and adds little of note, particularly considering a final act flashback. However, it does establish Prey‘s spooky, offbeat tone, its suspenseful atmosphere and impressive refusal to rely on exposition. The film is stunningly shot, cinematographer Eric Robbins (who shot Ti West’s The Sacrament) taking full advantage of the scope of the area, and it never feels like a movie production is just out of frame either. Mostly though, this is yet more proof that Miller is one of the most interesting actors of his generation. Left to fend for himself, both figuratively and in the sense he’s carrying the movie on his scrawny shoulders, he rises to the challenge, imbuing Toby with the exact amount of survival skills a lad who spends much of his time watching people drink stuff online would have. He’s smart, but not invincible, getting injured and frustrated often. It’s a testament to the strength of his performance and Khalfoun’s mastery of tension and tone that Prey doesn’t run out of steam before its genuinely disconcerting ending. This is the kind of movie that seems to lay out exactly what it is right away before zigzagging all over the place entertainingly. It’s a lot of fun, but never in a knowing way, and the different setting makes much of its dodgier moments sit easier. Definitely worth a watch. WICKED RATING: 8/10 Director(s): Franck Khalfoun Writer(s): David Coggeshall, Franck Khalfoun Stars: Logan Miller, Kristine Froseth, Jolene Anderson, Vela Cluff Release date: September 27, 2019 (theaters and VOD) Studio/Production Company: Blumhouse Productions Language: English Run Time: 85 minutes Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

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The Wonderful World of ARGs Part 3: A Conversation With ARG creator Adam Rosner

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Wonderful World of ARGs Part 3: A Conversation With ARG creator Adam Rosner. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Adam Rosner is the creative genius behind TribeTwelve, an alternate reality game (ARG) that centers on Noah Maxwell (and who is played by Adam Rosner), an incredibly unlucky college student who falls down a rabbit hole when investigating the circumstances behind his cousin’s suicide. What starts as a slow going investigation with many pieces of the puzzle and little answers, quickly becomes a nightmare where Noah is stalked by many other worldly creatures (including Slenderman) who aim to drive him to submission through breaking him down mentally. This prolific ARG has spanned over the last 10 years and is still going strong over multiple platforms, constant twists and turns, with much of the success stemming from superior story telling and intuitive audience interaction. Click here to catch up with Part 1 and Part 2 It is no secret that I adore TribeTwelve, as it is my favorite of the Slenderverse generation ARGs, but through time I think Adam Rosner has constantly delivered a product that is worth waiting for. Because of his work on TribeTwelve I wanted to interview Adam Rosner and he generously answered my questions about his experience of working on TribeTwelve, his thoughts on other ARGs, and the connection between his craft and his professional life. You can find Adam Rosner on Twitter by clicking here and if you want to support his work, please consider donating to his Patreon by clicking here. After the formal questions of the interview, Adam informed me of some disturbing practices of HBO during their production of Beware the Slenderman  that include artistic theft of TribeTwelve, as well as possibly inciting an unjust moral panic concerning the Slenderman as it relates to the real stabbing of Payton Leutner in 2014. Please be on the lookout for a future article as I will be reviewing this film for myself, but based on some initial research and viewing the trailer, Adam appears to be onto something. WickedHorror (WH): I just want to let you know that when I messaged you it was sort of a long shot, so I am so glad that you messaged me to talk with me. Again, thank you so much. So basically with my set of articles, there’s three of them and you’re the last one to kind of round it out. I’m really introducing people to ARGs who don’t normally get to run into them. While the first one is an introduction and the second one is an interview with NightMind about investigating and how has he seen, um, successes and failures, that sort of thing. The intent with this last part was to get your perspective as someone who actually created one [ARG] and all the work, you know, your project’s several years old now. Especially since, um, it’s separate from your professional life, which I find fascinating. You’ve mentioned before it was supposed to be just 10 episodes, but now it’s ended up being this huge like magnum opus, so why did you decide to just dedicate the time to making it this enormous project? Adam Rosner: Well back when I started, like you said, I just wanted to kind of pay homage to Marble Hornets. Cause I really appreciated what they had been doing and I was really captivated myself and I wanted to see what I was able to do. But as I went along I started to get more ideas and I think it was fairly early on when, there was a discussion board that no longer exists. It’s now defunct called Unfiction, and it’s not there. Its not around anymore, cause I think the server died. Before that, back when that was still poppin’, one of my friends who knew about the project, posted my project there and I didn’t really intend for that to happen. They kinda like jumped the gun early and they started a thread there and people were really comparing me pretty harshly to Marble Hornets. Like, oh, this is just a rip off and it was true, I was really copying their motifs and it was at that point that I was like, I have more ideas about this. I want to go a lot deeper than just this. And I decided to make my project like more than just a silly copy, I wanted it to be like a rolling, like a legitimate, standalone series. So after that I started really doing a lot more original stuff, dropping all of the motifs that really tied me directly to Marble Hornets. And I started to put my own originality in there, look around and see what else has been done and there was nothing really. There was EverymanHYBRID I believe and I saw what they were doing, but I thought they’re really convoluted. I wanted to do something a bit more straight forward and I wanted to put myself more into it. So I started going in my own direction doing, trying to do something new every episode, trying to do interesting original things and do something new and interesting every episode, something novel, new to the table. I think people really started to notice eventually and they’re like, oh, this is very different than Marble Hornets. And well, it went beyond that too, a lot of people just started to gravitate towards me because I offered something very different. I remember back in the day I was, I was thinking  I wished that, uh, like right when I was watching Marble Hornets it would be really cool if there was somebody who could, you know, come together and then put their own spin on this and go deep into special effects. And I am realizing now that I became that person, that’s really cool. WH: Speaking of which, you hit on some of the other points that I wanted to hit. So one of the biggest reasons why yours [ARG] stands out, especially I wrote in the first bit how EverymanHYBRID and Marble Hornets were cool, but like the first time that the Observer [character in TribeTwelve] showed up and did the beady eyed and teeth thing, I gripped my arm chair so tightly that my hands were sweating. I did not write in the article that I almost peed my pants [laughs], but there was something so inherent about like seeing something so visually stunning from like a series that was supposed to be make believe. So your editing skills for me at least stood out, as well as other people. I did notice though after I’ve been re-watching for the last week or so, there’s a lot of eye symbolism and ironically you’re studying to be an optometrist. So is that life imitating art or art imitating life? Adam Rosner: I’d say it’s a little bit of both, but when I was younger, my uncle or my cousin, I forget now which, I went to their practice and I was a little captivated. I really enjoyed what I was seeing cause I was always fascinated by just eyes and the fact that there’s this squishy organ in your body that allows you to see. And it was so interesting to me and so delicate and intricate. I was like wow, so interesting. I always loved just the anatomy, physiology, of just the eyeball. I always loved that and I figured, you know what, I went for it [optometry school] because I always enjoyed science and medicine as well as helping people on the path to a better health. In that regard I did pharmacy too. So I was very interested in just ocular science and general from a young age. And then just aesthetically I loved eyes and how just beautiful they are. To be honest, I’m also just really interested in combining science and art together. I like exploring a topic that I really love in a variety of different avenues. So I just sort of gravitated to eyes over the years and it’s really hard to pinpoint exactly why, but like I really enjoy just eyes. WH: So there are some moments where it’s obvious that the chunks of videos are filmed together or at least were filmed within days of each other, but they’re spaced out over months or even years. So how far in advanced do you have to plan the story when you’re filming or presenting? Adam Rosner: Initially when I started, I didn’t plan too far ahead. Like I said, it was just sort of an homage and I wanted to just make 10 episodes, maybe end it on a joke. But as I kept going on, I started to get more intricate in my planning and I started to really just grow as a filmmaker and an artist. And I started to get a lot more complex with what I wanted, like the vision that I wanted to create. That was one of the main reasons I kept going is because I had this vision and I wanted to realize it. And as I got better at creating and just training myself cause I’m really a self taught learner and I’m a self taught artist. I really wanted to just fully create this vision that I had and as I kept going year after year and gaining more experience and refining my artistic talents, I really just became so good at realizing that vision. I got to the point where you probably saw my, my most recent video. I don’t know if you watched it. [you can view this video here] WH: Yeah I watched it last night. Adam Rosner:  I’ve gotten so good at just like making any real thing I want appear in the video and look realistic. So, on the planning process, I do a healthy amount of planning in the structure, but leave a healthy amount of room for spontaneity. I feel like a lot of the best juiciest pieces of  iconic work that I’ve done, is really spontaneous, like especially when it comes to filming and editing. When I’m out there in the field and I have a script made and I need to get all the shots I always like leave some room for just a spur of the moment idea. Like a lot of the best stuff I’d say from the recent video for example, was done like the last few days of editing. And now that I can see the whole picture right in front of me, I will go, oh, I can do this too. And I just take my time to make that work and I feel like it’s worth it. It does make the production stall a little bit more, it takes a bit more time to get those effects, but I want to feel they’re very much worth it. Some of the best content that I put out is just spur of the moment, last minute and these spontaneous ideas are the most talked about for some reason. WH: So with these moments that you leave for spontaneity, are there times when you filmed or when you planned and when you get there you just change the story? Or after you film something, you’re just like, nope, I don’t want to go further with that. I want to go in a different direction? Adam Rosner: Yeah, that happens a lot. Um, for one reason or another, like early on, the actor who played Milo, dipped very early during the first submission cycle of my videos for whatever reason and I had to work around that. Luckily back then I didn’t have a huge plan so I wrote around them as I went along. That was a challenge, but I feel it’s a healthy practice for artists to have limitations to challenge them to think outside the box and challenge their own creative limits. And I’ve been face with that pretty much every time I have to make a new piece of content. But I think that’s very important to come up with interesting new approaches to make something that’s a challenge for yourself as well as the viewer in terms of what they’re willing to digest.  I have had a lot of obstacles myself that I had to work through it and it’s annoying, but within reason, they are healthy for building yourself as an artist. You can expand yourself in a way that, that especially over the course of years, you really can see the progress. And I think a lot of that is, it’s in part due to the limitations and caps on freedom that you’re willing to give yourself, cause if you’re given too much freedom I think you could have a tendency to go in a place that people are not okay with. I’ve seen some artists do that, like musicians go into a new place that people are not really not keen on cause they’re so used to you being a certain thing. As much as it’s healthy to push yourself beyond what your style is to do something new, I think it’s really kind of dangerous, if you don’t know what you’re doing, I think it’s good to stick with what you’re best at while also, you know expanding in, in a reasonable way to get something new, keeping a fresh, while also not straying too far from what makes you iconically you. WH: So, you’ve mentioned yourself as an artist, but you’re also a man of health and science. How do these things work together? Is TribeTwelve your artistic outlet for this very rigid, academic life that you live? Adam Rosner: I think it’s, it’s one of my biggest outlets. I like to be a renaissance man in the modern age, I want to do a lot of different things. I don’t want to be a one trick pony, so I have a lot of other artistic endeavors like making music or graphic design and just a few other things here and there. Nothing as deep as TribeTwelve, but when I was in college, I had a bio [biology] major and I was really working just mainly towards science. And then halfway through I was overwhelmed and I was like, I’m not really enjoying this as much as I want. So I wanted to do more art stuff and expand my horizons, see where it would take me if I did some artistic stuff. So I switched my major to um, science and communications, where I had bio as my minor and just film as my major. When I was done with that for two years, I realized that I just don’t like the film industry and its not what I wanted to do. My hobby was really my video and that’s the reason I went into it in the first place, just like to have fun and realize my visions and see them finally on screen. I realized doing like commission work or try to realize someone’s else’s vision really taxed me and I didn’t like it. It really sucked the fun out of my passion and it made me just  not enjoy it. I realized that like didn’t want to do this for a living, cause if I did that, I would just turn my passion into something that was work and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to keep it a hobby. So I looked back and I said I really like science and medicine and I know that is stable, I can make a legitimate career out of that, while keeping my hobby a hobby. I’m not saying that’s the best way to do things, but for me as a person, I felt it was perfect for me because I could keep my passion on separate from deadlines at work and it will never become work in that sense. I know people like to throw those boomer quotes out there like, “Oh, if you love what you do, than, your work is never work”  I don’t believe that. I believe that anything that you do that’s turned into a career and you have deadlines and time crunches, I think that’s where the work and  your passion starts to starts to decay a bit and you start to lose sight of why you went into it in the first place. I’m sure there’s people that really enjoy what they do and they do it for a living, just for me personally, I don’t think doing film or making art would be a good career choice for me. I think right now this is a very good, healthy place for me to be. WH: Did you always imagine that this was going to play out over this many years or did you think, oh this is kind of fun and then I’m going to be done with it in a couple of years and then that’s it? Adam Rosner: Yeah when I started out it was sort of like, again, with the homage, I didn’t really expect it to go that far, but I got more and more ideas as I got more interesting concepts that I wanted to like realize. So then, you know, the timeline just kept going farther and farther, to a point where after college I was like it’s just gonna go until it’s done. I wanted to finish it every year, but I kept having more and more ideas. So I just became fine with it’s finished when it’s finished, cause I feel like I work best when I don’t have a schedule, when I don’t have an ultimatum and I’m just loosely just doing it for fun. So as I kept going, I kept realizing that, oh yeah, this is gonna take a while, but I’m fine with that. And my fans were fine with that cause they realize that it’s quality over quantity and I appreciate that. The people who don’t like that can stick to like their serials and stuff that updates more on a more rigorous schedule. But when people subscribe to what I’m doing, they soon come to realize that yeah, it takes a while to do what I do in order to get the standard that I set myself. I’m very much a perfectionist and despite that, over the years I’ve come to realize that even though I’m a perfectionist, I’m trying to train myself. You know, people are not going to realize that the small little tiny little pixel that’s off like I do. Its come to the realization that, you know, perfection is fine, but it’s not real life and its fine, enough to get the job done is fine. Cause they’re not going to realize that the magic the true magic that’s working behind the scenes, they’re just going to see something amazing and, and accept it. But you know, I try to compromise as least as possible and when I do, I try to re-purpose what I could put in my work right there somewhere else. WH: So I’m not going to obviously ask you what it is, but do you have an end to all this or is it still kind of a vague idea that you’re working toward? Do you actually have a concrete end that everything is gonna funnel into? Adam Rosner: As you can imagine, over like a decade now, my ending has gone through a few phases. Initially it was just going to be like a joke, but it wasn’t serious. Then I had a sort of had a loose ending and then it started to like snowball into this very, you know, convoluted and complex mishmash of plot and continuity over the course of all these years. I tried to get everything together in a very nice delicate bow on this, on this huge endeavor. Yeah, now I have this ending planned out, I actually have everything. When I moved to New York after getting accepted to my program, I was like, okay, I don’t know the next time I’m gonna be back here [film site]. So I filmed as much as I could and I’d say, a good 95% of everything I needed. So I had to, you know, finalize everything I needed to do before I left. If there’s something else I really need though, when I visit and go back, I’ll get it. Or I’ll get my, I’ve got my parents to film little things for me around the house to finish little things that I forgot. That happened a lot for this most recent episode. But yeah, the ending is mostly solid, but it’s still fairly loose, I’m just still getting to that point. I’ve put the most effort into this most recent arc with the red videos when Noah is at the boardwalk. So once that’s done and I’m not really not sure when it’s going to be done, I’d say a good two episodes of it left. But once that’s done, I’ll be able to get them out at a better rate. I know that’s just me being optimistic. Especially in the editing process, it always turns out to be way longer. Like I figured, oh its gonna be maybe, you know, 10, 15 minutes, no, 25 minutes now? So it always tends to mutate and get longer and longer. But I don’t wanna really like compromise myself, especially on a platform like YouTube where I have no limitations except as much as I’m willing to upload. So yeah, I want to do as much as I can to realize my vision and not compromise myself. So when it comes to my ending, I want it to be faithful to my own ideas as well as the canon of my entire story. So, you know, when people look back on it, they’ll be like, oh, everything has a purpose. Everything is not filler, everything is here for a reason. There was not nothing, but very little that I didn’t need to watch. I don’t want to just do stuff willy nilly, I want everything to, you know, harken back to itself, give itself credence to exist. WH: You’ve mentioned these themes of adaption and kinda being a little bit amorphous, especially, you know, it’s not on a strict schedule. You can choose when everything’s edited and when it comes out and how the story goes, but I’m interested in something specific about how change happens after something isn’t well-received, where  nobody picks up on it or nobody cares about it. So in the aftermath, then how does the story evolve? Specifically, I’m talking about the deal with Scriniarii, where there is this character and nobody’s taking them seriously on the subreddit. But then all of a sudden here comes this video from the official channel, which says, no, you should have listened. [Note: People on subreddit for TribeTwelve that the user Scriniarii was a fan that was making things up rather than a serious part of the story] Adam Rosner: Oh, that was very fun because we were like thinking me and my think tank of a few other people that I work with, we were thinking, what can we do? And we all of a sudden, one day we came up with this idea [Scriniarii]. Okay, this happens in our community where people, because its so mysterious, there’s always people that jump in and make their own account and be like on various levels of convincing, claiming they are part of the story. They’re called game jackers. So we’re like, what if we make a game jacker, that’s not a game jacker, whose actually part of the story. And berate people when they don’t accept him. WH: So that was like the ultimate intention to begin with? Adam Rosner: Yeah, it was very much the intention to begin with because we want it totally stupefy the viewer base and the fan base. So when it happened, we wanted them to be like, WHATT. It was totally catching them off guard and making fun of them because we know what they would do and they did it. They’re like, oh, what are you doing? [to the Scriniarii character] Get off the reddit, like come on, grow up. And then it turns out to be real and they’re like, wait a minute. Oh my God, what? Anything is possible. WH: Right. And then everyone’s spending like weeks trying to find the archive [the character Scriniarii spoke about an archive, but since his posts were deleted they could not find the links or clues] because no one knows where the hell it went or where they are supposed to find it. Adam Rosner: AR: I really wanted to expand what makes our ARG work and add new elements and so we really tied that into the Discord [online chat forum] that we made. We wanted to make a crossover with the Discord, cause we do crossovers with other series, but we thought it’d be cool to do a crossover with the fans and make them a working part of this machine. And I think it really worked out. Its hard if you don’t follow everything, so this type of stuff is more for an active participation type thing, the more ARG aspect. It’s kind of optional, but if you put the work into understanding it, then it’s rewarding for you, which is really the whole series. But that is a whole other level that if you’re really deep into it. If you’re an active participant for sure, you can shape the way the series goes cause I have different avenues I have ideas for depending on how they interact. For example, earlier on when Noah was taken by the observer and took over Noah’s Twitter and he’s like asking them [followers] questions. If they didn’t answer a certain way, then different things would happen. So, I had all those things planned out, but that happened too with the whole Scriniarii thing. Oh in the discord, like if they asked certain questions, different answers would get given to them. It was really interesting. It went a certain ways that I wasn’t expecting, but it is really interesting to see the community like working together. That’s such a fun thing, it’s so engaging and I love that, seeing the whole community working together for a common goal. WH: Right, exactly. That was my main thing that brought me personally to ARGs in the first place was this notion of something more than just watching. Now usually I’m a lurker because I’m terrible with puzzles, but these people can figure out, these long, you know, winded things. Adam Rosner: When we made some puzzles with friend Key, who are my right hand man on working on all this stuff, especially the puzzle aspect. They’re my puzzle master cause they know a lot about like ARGs and puzzle making. So they really got me into thinking about new ways to present myself and the series. We were just blown away by how fast people were able to figure out our stuff. We’re like, okay, this is gonna maybe take a few, like maybe a week or two to figure it out. And they figured it out in hours and we were dumbfounded. So we had to give each node of the puzzle, like with the Scriniarii thing and we kept trying to think of ways to make things last a bit longer. Like sending somebody a package for example or having them figure out something and then it leads to another thing that takes a little bit longer to understand and cipher. But yeah, we were really like we could have them hack the Pentagon if we wanted them to. Given the task, these people will set aside their entire lives to get the answer cause it’s this nagging itch. It’s really fun to present that to them and see them like the rats run in the maze. WH: You said earlier that you’re among the team of people and that did occur to me when I’m re-watching the series again that there are some moments where if you, even if you’re the person that’s in control of the story, obviously there has to be other people doing things. Adam Rosner: Yeah. WH: Like the livestream incident specifically, you know, you’re live streaming but then somebody is tweeting back at you. But like you can see where your hands are, so you know that you’re not the person that’s writing back as the Observer. So obviously like you’re not Noah and the observer at the same time cause you could see it because it’s like— Adam Rosner: Well… WH: Uh-oh. Adam Rosner: Well though, I strategically had certain positions where you couldn’t see what I was doing. So, when it comes to that stuff, like my hands were at the keyboard, and I had like things that were pre planned up. Like, for example, just multiple windows where I had the different tweets like queued up and just had to click a button and there it went. Very subtle things like that. but when it comes back to that whole filming portion, like on the video where you see another me, what I did for that in like the livestreams was that I filmed myself interacting as if there was somebody there. And um, after it was all done, I just looked at my movements, I really studied with how I moved and I had somebody else take my camera and filmed me from that position and I mimicked my movements with like, uh, another camera that I had to look like, oh, this is me. From that, that viewpoint and that perspective, I, when in reality it’s already filmed, it’s just another angle, from a different take. But I’m just mimicking myself as best I could and it came out pretty well. Um, to the point where people were like, there’s a video out there where they put next to each other all of the parts that happened in conjunction with one another. And like the timeline for the livestream incident and I really painstakingly planned it so that they all timed up in exactly the same time so there were no discrepancies in terms of when they happened. And when you play them, they sync up and people notice that eventually like, whoa, that’s awesome. That’s really fucking cool. Not only that, I had it planned like years in advance. Like, when I discovered the device, I had a strategic sound clip that I played very low in the background  when knocking on the door, when you listened to it in both videos, like the livestream incident and that, that’s the same piece of audio. I had this planed for a long time. And people love that, they love that continuity porn and I love to execute that. It’s such a gratifying thing to see it like actually work and people appreciate what you’ve done. WH: So in your opinion what makes an ARG successful? TribleTweleve and EverymanHYRBID fall in what’s known as the Slenderverse and you have other ones that are fairly successful, like The Sun Vanished and Daisy Brown. But, what in your opinion makes one successful compare to one that doesn’t make it? Adam Rosner: Well when I really got into ARGS, I think was in around 2009, I forgot when they were doing the whole Cloverfield ARG. I was always into those things that were mysterious online and you have to figure out on your own, like escape rooms and stuff like online, I love those. But I think it was the Cloverfield ARG that really opened me up to the possibilities of just what you could do as an entity making this story that people had to figure out information for. And it was different cause it was a corporate thing, but it really didn’t feel like it, it felt more like an adventure that it wasn’t like shoved down your throat. It wasn’t babied. And it was this interesting thing that you really had to figure out on your own to truly understand it. There were communities that were discussing it and trying to figure things out and they had their own breakthroughs here and there. And I loved that, I think it really worked because I think the element of mystery is very important. I guess characterizing that it’s not corporate because you can really tell nowadays that things are kind of corporatized and babied and watered down for a generalized audience to really understand. Um, but there, there’s other ARGs, there’s tons out there now much more than when I started in like 2009. A lot of this happened in the last 10 years, uh, where it’s a, a lot, some of them are really great at just, um, being their own entity and not coming off as like contrived or I mean contrived in that sense of being like, oh, this is a business ploy. We get it. Okay, so your logo is over there. Okay. Versus something that’s a bit more mysterious. And I think that the allure of not knowing is both terrifying but also very appealing. Its what people keep coming back to my series for, its that element of unknown. Uh, it’s so, um, what’s the word? Like, it’salluring, but it’s a source of both fear, but also attraction. I think that’s one of the biggest points that people come back to. Its why  Slenderman himself is such a captivating character is because he’s so entrenched in the unknown. If you were to open your closet and see a zombie, you know a fairly good deal of background. Like, okay, it could be this or this or this on like a virus or a rage zombie. You understand what he could do to you if he gets you. But if you open your closet door and you see Slenderman, you don’t know anything cause he doesn’t have a solid backstory or origin, it’s terrifying because you don’t know. And it’s presented on like a blank canvas for so many artists to just put themselves on and put their own ideas to, you know, within reason. But it’s still, most of the stories have this just background that’s unknowable. That’s like part of it. That’s part of the intrinsic part of why he’s scary and what he is as a character is that he is like not explained and unknown. It’s just there, very, uh, like bizarre. Uh, partly like it’s one of the things that gravitated me towards TribleTwelve, I love the aesthetic of having everything being very fine and normal except for one thing that’s very, very off. And I love that. And I think that’s one of the things that makes him very compelling as a horror character. Just the fact that he’s unknown. You can like put your own take on it and you can have your own theories and your own interpretations. But fundamentally in the end you will not know that’s part of it. And that’s one of the reasons why it’s so captivating is that element of the unknown and that’s why people keep coming back is because they like getting more answers while at the same time, never truly understanding, but it’s up to the viewer interpretation ultimately. That’s what I loved about Marble Hornets, because eventually it had like an explanation for a lot of the things, but you really had to work to understand it like through NightMind stuff. He was able to explain it very well and I appreciate that. But I mean a lot of people have their own different takes on it and for the most part it’s a very compelling mystery. Given all the content that was presented, I’d say that the projects that don’t do it well are the ones that just really spoon feed you. And I’ve gotten away from that. I used to do that a lot, but now I think it’s come to a point where like it’s more about the puzzle seekers and the people who are dedicated to really looking at all the subtleties.   Pausing and going frame by frame to figure things out and seeing oh that pixels off. Its very rewarding for them to figure something out that’s like in plain sight that no one else has seen and wanting to like just be the one who discovers the truth of the correct sequence to get the right answer. It’s very important for them to feel that they actually discovered something that was hard to figure out. WH: In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception about creating an ARG or being a creator of an ARG? Adam Rosner: I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that everything is planned out. I think a lot of really big creators that have these long over arcing stories, people look at it and think, oh well they’re absolute geniuses. Like they have this plan from the very beginning and that’s not the truth. Back when I started, they just have these like very loose ideas that were just kinda like seeds that I planted, not really sure where they were going to lead to, but now later on I can take those strands and tie them together with something else and give them real purpose. I think a lot of people do that, a lot of writers do that. They start with these little ideas they’re not really sure where they’re going with it and then they, as they keep going along, they have more ideas than they a find a way to make them have purpose. And I really, sometimes it works out really well in ways that make it look like you’re a fucking genius when in reality you’re just winging it. It’s really evident when it comes to things like Home Stuck with Andrew Hussey. I think he just sort of, I’m not guaranteed on that. I haven’t really read his interviews, but I’m pretty sure because he has, he’s very notable for doing like this in the whole continuity porn thing. Like something very, seemed minor from the very beginning comes back, years down the line I’m like, oh, I remember that. See that was important all along. Something like that. April: What is something you wish everyone knew about args period? Adam Rosner: I guess I wish they knew the amount of time and effort that we put into this and that it seems kind of simple, but it’s actually pretty difficult to get something like the world building like I’ve done off the ground. I know a lot of people, look and they see me at the top this pedestal and are like, wow, how did you get there? And they don’t see like behind the pedestal, this long staircase that I had to walk up. I didn’t just jump and climb on this thing. I had to like walk for years of this staircase to get to this point. And people don’t realize that, and I wish they would. It’s a lot. It’s takes a lot of work and a lot of long, slow cooking cycles of ideas. Like a lot of ideas have been like bubbling in my mind for years now and you know, creating this delicious fond at the bottom of the pan that you can’t get if you don’t have it like setting on the oven for a long time. I really am just very fortunate that my work was picked up and I was able to have the  opportunity to flourish and grow myself and my talent and realizing my vision through my series. I’m just very fortunate for the community and the other creators that helped to get where I am, I wouldn’t be where I am without any of them. WH: On another note, how does that feel being a person going to college and then having fans and hundreds of people who are dissecting an artistic creation that have presented over the years? Adam Rosner: It’s really surreal. It’s really rewarding though when I get messages in my inbox saying I’ve been watching your series for years and it’s helped me through depression, it’s helped me through this and that through hard times. I was in a dark place and watch your stuff and I’m so happier continuing and you helped me so much and it makes me so happy. That brings me to  see what I’m doing is meaning something more than just art. That makes me feel so good. It’s still surreal seeing people like take my logo that I created and permanently tattooing on their bodies forever. And I’m like, wow, that is, wow. That’s a whole nother level, I don’t think I’ve ever get used to that. It’s really, it’s super flattering, but at the same time, wow. I, that’s a kind of crazy commitment, I mean is that they really appreciate my art to an extent that I didn’t really consider. I’m just so honored to do that to, to be kind of force in their lives. Yeah, it’s a super humbling. WH: Again, thank you so much for sitting down with me. So after TribeTwelve is finished, are you like toying with your next artistic endeavor? Adam Rosner: Um, I don’t have anything really solid lined up, but I have a lot of ideas. I definitely want to keep doing art forever as long as  my hands work really. But I don’t really have too much planned, I’d like to maybe do like maybe music videos or something, maybe creepy, black and white videos now that I know how to do special effects very well, I can create anything I want to and insert it into a world and make it look real. I know how to do that now. It would be cool to be contracted to make a cool music video or something that I want to do or maybe you work with other people whose vision I appreciate and I want to add to it. I want to do more voice acting too. I really like voice acting and I’m doing something for another project recently that’s like kind of an independent core thing. I’m not really sure if I want to do another like serial series like TribeTwelve, if the idea comes to me that possibly, um, but I think I don’t like thinking about that right now because I don’t want to jump on another project while I had this going. I’m really like proud of like EverymanHYBRID for example, for finishing their series finally and Daisy Brown.  I appreciate what they did because I talked to them cause they also watch my series and I messaged them saying, I appreciate what you’re doing. And I asked right after the last video, saying, “Hey, are you done with this, is this it?” And they’re like, they told me straight up, like I had an idea from beginning to end and I did it and I finished it and that’s it. I’m like, you know what, I really appreciate that, that’s so much better than just keep going on forever without a solid ending and just dragging it out, staying beyond its welcome. It’s kinda contradicting myself cause I been doing this for over a decade now, but I haven’t compromised my integrity. I’ve instead I’ve tried to like, I don’t like to say I one-upped myself with every video. I like to try and like challenge myself to do new things, but I don’t like to think of like my work as being like something that I want to one-up every time. I like to think of my work now, especially with the recent past like dozen videos. I want to get, um, come to a point now, especially with the past few videos from at the boardwalk. I want to get to a point where I’ve given the illusion that I’m one-upping myself when in reality I can come to a point where I maintained my, like quality in my, my standard to a point where, um, it’s just a, this is how good it’s going to be every episode. Its just, it’s really cool. I think that a lot of my intro videos, with most artists, a lot of people like them. I think they’re cringey and terrible. I wish I could like get rid of them personally. It was me starting out and learning, but, um, it’s the people who stick around them the longest you realize and see my improvement over the years, as an actor, as a creator, as an artist. And they appreciate that. And I really am grateful for those people who don’t just, uh, blow off my series just because the first few episodes are kinda cringey and homemade because it’s the, the people who watch it to see the progression of how good I’ve got. I really appreciate it. __________________________________________________________ Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

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The Black String is a Massive Showcase for Frankie Muniz [Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Black String is a Massive Showcase for Frankie Muniz [Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

At Frightfest last month, while sitting outside getting some air between movies, an enthusiastic and super friendly American man with a whole heap of mini poster cards approached my friends and I. He handed us some cards and implored us to go see The Black String. Knowing that Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz was in it and being the complete brat that I am, I jokingly tried to give the card back to the poor guy and told him there was no way I would watch his film. Considering both director Richard Handley and co-writer Brian Hanson were in attendance at the festival, it was most likely one of them who didn’t get my snarky Irish humor and probably walked away feeling a bit rubbish. The joke is on me, of course, because The Black String killed at Frightfest and, after finally getting around to watching it myself, I can attest to how well-deserved the praise was. Frankie Muniz is still hella creepy, though. See Also: Ready or Not [Frightfest 2019 Review] Here he’s Jonathan, a schlubby loser with bad facial hair who spends his time working at a convenience store, reading a self-help book gifted to him by his well-meaning parents, and dodging boss/bro Eric (a likeable Blake Webb) who always wants to party. One evening, while feeling a bit low, Jonathan calls the kind of sexy singles hotline that you’ll be shocked to learn still exists and sets up a date. The following night, a surprisingly normal, attractive woman named Dena (Chelsea Edmundson) shows up. Although the atmosphere is a little off, the two end up sleeping together. The next day, Dena has vanished, leaving behind only the sketch Jonathan doodled of her and a painful-looking rash on his stomach that Eric takes to be an STD. A visit to the doctor confirms something is up, though even medical science is befuddled. Then, it spreads to Jonathan’s arm. Suddenly, he’s hearing voices and being implicated in acts of violence. His parents rally around him, but that just drives Jonathan further into the darkness. The Black String lives or dies on the strength of Muniz’s performance. The actor, who it’s worth remembering is still only in his thirties, stepped decidedly out of the spotlight in the years since Malcolm wrapped in 2006, turning his attention to other pursuits given his newfound wealth. He broke his back at one stage and has struggled with memory loss, all of which adds up to a completely different performer to the one everyone remembers from 15 years ago. As someone who was never a fan of the weedy, know it all Malcolm, and who thought Muniz came across as a complete douchebag on his episode of Punk’d, his performance in The Black String is revelatory. Gone is the Hollywood sheen, the jittery self consciousness. This Muniz feels like someone who’s lived a life, at times a difficult one, and whose experiences have unlocked an entirely different skill-set. He’s completely unafraid here, and that fearlessness bleeds into every corner of the movie. The story itself is relatively simple, even somewhat reductive. There’s some business with a fortune teller, conveniently introduced reading tarot cards in the local diner (in a neat nod, the lights go out on a couple letters so the sign reads “DIE” above Jonathan’s head) though thankfully not the death card, a house where women are trapped and used for nefarious Satanic rituals (or something) and more than a few dodgy characters skulking about the place. The Black String suggests early on that Jonathan has had issues in the past with substance abuse and mental health, which means he’s automatically disbelieved by everybody who knows him once things start to go wrong. Even we, as an audience, start to wonder whether Jonathan is really hearing voices and seeing things because of a malevolent presence, or if he’s simply losing his mind. Wisely, even in the movie’s final, shocking moments, it’s not entirely clear. Although it isn’t exactly the scariest film, there’s enough gross out body horror and well-staged spooks to control the atmosphere. The black string moment is easily a standout, and the camera focuses in on it so we can appreciate the full effect of Muniz straining against its pull. The pulsating pustules have been done elsewhere, of course, but here another layer of grossness is added to them with some weird, oozing walls emphasizing the yuck factor. Still, The Black String revolves around Muniz’s peerless performance. Although it might seem like a weird fit for him, the still young actor finds depth and nuance in what could’ve been a one-note slacker. Jonathan isn’t a saint by any means, acting out against his parents and running away at the first sign of difficulty, but he’s a compelling protagonist, someone who’s been coasting along for so long that he’s kind of forgotten what it means to try. Once he does, everything unravels for him. Related: Villains is a Riotous, Nasty Little Treat [Review] The Black String boasts some wonderfully disgusting practical FX that make up for the gaps in logic. Its premise isn’t the strongest or most original, but Muniz’s vanity-free performance in the lead role effortlessly carries this mostly entertaining film from beginning to end. The final moments are genuinely stomach-churning and well worth the wait, but more than anything else, this suggests layers to an actor many of us wrote off a decade ago. If only Black String himself had shown up as the villain, this could’ve been an all-timer. WICKED RATING: 7/10 Director(s): Brian Hanson Writer(s): Richard Handley, Brian Hanson, Andy Warrerer Stars: Frankie Muniz, Blake Webb, Chelsea Edmundson, Cullen Douglas Release date: September 24, 2019 (Digital HD and DVD) Studio/Production Company: Black String Films Language: English Run Time: 93 minutes Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

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The Stand is a Stunning Restoration of the Most Ambitious Stephen King Adaptation Ever [Blu-Ray Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Stand is a Stunning Restoration of the Most Ambitious Stephen King Adaptation Ever [Blu-Ray Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

There were several attempts to bring The Stand to the big screen before Mick Garris’ seminal miniseries, but the story (at over 1,000 pages) just proved too big for a feature film, even with the enticing prospect of George Romero at the helm. Over time it, of course, transformed into a mammoth miniseries to effectively convey the scope of the novel. With over a hundred speaking roles, special effects, location work and just the sheer size of it, The Stand remains one of the most ambitious television productions of its era. With a script by King himself, his first partnership with director Mick Garris, and the introduction of several cast members (like Miguel Ferrer and Matt Frewer) who would basically become Stephen King day players, The Stand is a historic adaptation. Tons of actors, locations, effects and song choices as well, which make it a miracle that it even happened at all, especially considering how well it came together. While nobody considering buying the Blu should probably need the reminder, The Stand tells the story of a man-made plague that wipes out nearly all mankind, leaving only a handful of survivors left. Those who survive are selected by aging psychic Mother Abigail and dark sorcerer Randall Flagg to stage the ultimate, final battle between good and evil. With a cast including everyone from Gary Sinise, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Ed Harris, Jamey Sheridan and Kathy Bates to Joe Bob Briggs, Tom Holland, Shawnee Smith and Stephen King himself, it’s a slickly directed, Emmy award winning miniseries that still stands as one of the very best TV adaptations of the author’s works. Most of the cast nail their respective roles which is absolutely saying something, considering the huge cast of the novel. With King adapting it himself, more of the novel remains intact than most adaptations. Jamey Sheridan shines as charismatic, blue collar devil Randall Flagg, perhaps the great antagonist of King’s body of work. After standing as the antagonist of this novel, Flagg went on to appear in Eyes of the Dragon and as a central villain of the Dark Tower series. Sinise is a pitch-perfect Stu Redman, embodying the likability and toughness of the character in equal doses. It’s the rare kind of adaptation that’s faithful to the book while still feeling earnest and heartfelt and having a voice of its own. The soundtrack is also incredible. Alongside the new transfer, it makes The Stand feel much more modern in style than many other TV series or miniseries of the era. And I obviously understand that soundtracks are nothing new and some of the best of them predate The Stand, but matching this 1994 miniseries up with the way music is so often used in movies and TV now, it feels so in synch. More than anything, though, it’s an expensive soundtrack and that’s even more surprising considering how massive a production it already is. Because of its length, though, it’s probably one that doesn’t get revisited quite as often. But this new disc is a great excuse for a re-watch, as The Stand has absolutely never looked better. The miniseries has finally made its way to Blu-ray and while it’s a little light on features considering its massive size, it’s an incredible presentation. The restoration is gorgeous, especially considering the way it looked before, being a made-for-TV production. Even if The Stand is still cropped for the way it was filmed, it looks so much better than it ever has. If there’s anything in particular that truly shines in the new transfer in a way it never has before, though, it has to be the makeup. The Stand is chock full of dead bodies and demonic visions and the staggering amount of makeup work never really had the chance to pop in quite the way it does here. Also See: The Six Most Baffling Stephen King Sequels  Every other Stephen King miniseries to make its way to Blu-ray has been presented all together as one long feature. There’s no break in the Blus of either It or Salem’s Lot. The Stand, however, provides the option of watching the entire thing at once or watching each episode individually. I personally very much like that choice. For a six hour miniseries, not having the episodes broken up (or at least not having the option) can be overwhelming if you don’t have the time to watch the entire thing in one sitting. The only two features on the disc in addition to the new transfer are a commentary track and a making-of featurette. The commentary is, I believe, the same one on the DVD release, as well as the promotional behind-the-scenes documentary. It’s amazing to have a full-length commentary for something this long, but the commentary is pieced together from different sources rather than having been recorded all at once. But that’s totally sensible for something of this length, even if it isn’t a preferred commentary method. There’s also a lot of empty space on the commentary, but even that isn’t at all surprising for a 6-hour miniseries. As I said, The Stand is light on features, but the transfer more than makes up for it. For a Blu-ray that Mick Garris had said only earlier this year had almost no chance of ever happening, it’s so, so good to see that it has finally arrived. If you are a fan of the miniseries and are hesitant to upgrade from the DVD, take my word that it looks incredible and is absolutely worth the purchase for the quality of the restoration alone. Wicked Rating: 7.5/10 Director: Mick Garris Writer: Stephen King Stars: Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Ruby Dee, Jamey Sheridan, Matt Frewer Studio/Production Co: CBS Films Language: English Length: 5 hours, 59 minutes

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Ready or Not [Frightfest 2019 Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Ready or Not [Frightfest 2019 Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Samara Weaving continues her career of kicking ass while looking unbelievably gorgeous with her lively latest movie Ready or Not, the story of the toughest bride having the worst wedding day since Kill Bill. Boasting a high caliber cast including everyone’s O.C. boyfriend Adam Brody and the legendary Andie MacDowell, the film takes hard swings at class privilege, the 1 percent, and bad men, while never straying from being a total blast. Weaving is Grace, who’s marrying the man of her dreams at his family’s palatial estate in a stunning wedding dress that all women will enjoy being completely destroyed over the following 90 minutes (there were 17 different dresses for the shoot, in varying stages of decay). After they’ve said their “I do”s the family, whose wealth comes, hilariously, from their board gaming empire, gathers for a rousing game of, well, whatever is chosen by the bride. Related: Death of a Vlogger [Frightfest 2019 Review] Grace, unfortunately, picks the worst game of all: hide and seek. After joking around about it a bit, she finds a place to hide only for her new hubby to reveal that, actually, she’s going to be caught and killed for real before the night is out. Rather than being outright murdered, however, Grace is to be sacrificed as part of an ancient satanic ritual that keeps the family alive and comfortable within their considerable means. Rich people, eh? Ready or Not has its tongue lodged very firmly in its cheek. The cast, all of whom are having a wild time, brandish old-timey weapons like crossbows only to find they have to search YouTube tutorials to figure out how to use them (this joke crops up again when one of them searches whether satanic pacts are real, and is no less funny for being used twice). They may be out for blood, but they’re completely inept, which gives Grace the upper hand, at least for a while. After tearing the bottom off her dress so she can run faster and throwing on a pair of battered high-tops, grabbing a shotgun and strapping the ammo around her chest, thus becoming our Halloween costume inspo forevermore, Grace sets about trying to evade capture while accidentally and then not-so-accidentally offing her new in-laws. She’s an ex foster kid, so Grace is used to fending for herself, but the young woman is also in desperate need of a family, so she isn’t some kind of untouchable superwoman either. Weaving was intent on making the character strong but not infallible. The ammo she grabs, for example, is only for show, and she finds herself in trouble when the time comes to silently load it into the gun. Grace’s new husband shows up to try to save her but disappears again nearly as quick, further emphasizing that the only person she can really rely on is herself. Much of the fun of the movie comes from watching her continue to survive, to everyone’s utter disbelief. When the time comes to punch a bratty child, though, she doesn’t hesitate (unlike Satanic Panic‘s Sam, who apologizes immediately after doing so). Grace is no wallflower. She calls for help and gets increasingly frustrated when none is forthcoming because, again, this lower class lady isn’t really part of the fold, causing Grace to exclaim “F*****g rich people!” The movie is darkly funny, most often at the expense of its snooty rich family of wannabe executioners. It’s also just genuinely funny, which makes how it’s being marketed on my side of the pond somewhat confusing (ads in the U.K. and Ireland are selling Ready or Not as a You’re Next-style fright fest — it’s not that, but it’s something more interesting entirely). Brody gets most of the best lines, delivering the kind of expertly deadpan performance he can do in his sleep but with a notable hint of softness as the only person in the family who feels bad for Grace. One of the movie’s key moments finds him telling her “the rich really are different” as a means to explain the ludicrous situation she’s found herself in, but it’s also a comment on how the 1 percent live outside of societal norms. The rules don’t apply to them to the extent they can force this innocent woman to play their game and risk her life just for their own means. It’s a heavy-handed metaphor, sure, but it rings scarily true, particularly nowadays with Agent Orange’s finger lingering on the nuclear button. ​Ready or Not might not be the scariest movie of the year, but it boasts some hugely inventive kills — including one with a dumb waiter that’s stomach-churning in its intensity — and gallons of the red stuff, some of which splashes on the camera during a bloody payoff in the rousing, breakneck-paced final act. The purposely dark cinematography suggests this is meant as a razor-sharp satire and a compelling horror story and, crucially, it does work as both. See Also: Ghost Killers vs Bloody Mary [Frightfest 2019 Review] Ready or Not further cements its status as a must-watch of 2019 by effortlessly sticking the landing ​and departing with a killer final line that Weaving herself had to get used to because it’s so ballsy. Fun, funny, gory, and with enough twists and turns to keep us on our toes, this is the definition of a bloody blast that once again cements Weaving as one of the finest, and coolest, actresses working ​in horror ​today. ​Long may her reign of terror continue (yes, even if it includes The Babysitter 2). WICKED RATING: 8/10 Director(s): Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett Writer(s): Guy Busick, Ryan Murphy Stars: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Andie MacDowell, Mark O’Brien Release date: 21 August 2019 (USA), 27 September 2019 (UK and Ireland) Studio/Production Company: Mythology Entertainment Language: English Run Time: 95 minutes Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube

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Ghosts in the Darkness: A History of the Blair Witch Legend Part III

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Wicked Horror is the author of Ghosts in the Darkness: A History of the Blair Witch Legend Part III. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Twenty years ago a movie was made by taking hours of found footage recorded by three missing film students and editing it into a short, cohesive narrative. This film was then released into cinemas where it quickly became something of a sensation… And in the summer of 1999, millions across the world felt the same fear that residents of Burkittsville, Maryland have been experiencing for centuries.  Fear of the woods and the dark and the unknown. Fear of pain and suffering. Fear of being afraid. Fear of the Blair Witch.   With the release of the Blair Witch game for the Xbox One and PC, the video game industry joins Hollywood in continuing to exploit centuries of Maryland folklore and tragedy, seeming to forget that behind the legends and the whispers the history of the Blair Witch is one which lays claim to a large number of real life victims, all of which deserve to be remembered and have their voices heard. Heather Donahue once said the evidence of the Blair Witch legend could be seen all around us. “Etched in stone,” she said, referring to the grave markers that surrounded her in that Burkittsville cemetery. But, as Heather’s own family knows all too well, that’s not always true, because sometimes the legend of the Blair Witch doesn’t leave anything behind to bury.  The truth of Elly Kedward and the Black Hills will always be somewhat illusory. Both there and not there simultaneously. Schrödinger’s Witch. You can read the lore, you can study the mythology, and you can learn the history… but none of that guarantees understanding, because the real story often hides between the lines of text, shrinking away from the light. A book of shadows. Does something evil lurk in the Black Hills forest in and near Burkittsville, Maryland? Those of the skeptical persuasion often scoff at such a notion.  But history? History tells a different story. One not etched in stone, but written in blood.  This is the history of the Blair Witch, as told by those that lived it, those that studied it, and those whose lives it has claimed. Also See: 20 Years on, Nothing Compares to TBWP Part III – The Blair Witch Project TIMELINE (1994 – 1997) Apr. 18, 1994 – Heather Donahue submits a proposal for her student film thesis to her professor. It describes a short documentary focusing on the legend of the Blair Witch to be titled The Blair Witch Project. (CBW) Oct. 20, 1994 – Montgomery College Students Heather Donauhue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams arrive in Burkittsville to interview locals about the legend of the Blair Witch for a class project. Heather interviews Mary Brown, an old woman who has lived in the area all her life. Mary claims to have seen the Blair Witch near Tappy East Creek, where the witch had the form of a hairy, half human, half-animal thing. (BWL, BWP) Oct. 21, 1994 – The students enter the Black Hills forest surrounding Burkittsville. In the early morning, Heather interviews two fishermen who tell the filmmakers that Coffin Rock is less than 20 minutes from town and easily accessible by an old logging trail. The filmmakers hike into the woods shortly thereafter and are never seen again. (BWL, BWP, BWD) Oct. 24, 1994 – The students fail to return for classes. (BWD) Oct. 25, 1994 – The police issue the first All Points Bulletin. Later that day, Joshua’s car is found parked on Black Rock Road, undisturbed. (BWL, BWD) Oct. 26, 1994 – The Burkittsville Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police launch their joint search of the Black Hills area, under F.B.I. supervision. This operation lasts 10 days and includes over 100 volunteers aided by dogs, helicopters and a fly-over by a Department of Defense Satellite. (BWL, BWD) Nov. 5, 1994 – The search is called off after 33,000 work hours failed to find a trace of the filmmakers or any of their gear. Heather’s mother, Angela Donohue, begins an exhaustive personal search for her daughter and her two companions. (BWL) Jun. 19, 1995 – The case is declared inactive and unsolved. (BWL) Oct. 16, 1995 – Students Peter Gould and Andrea Lynn, from the University of Maryland’s anthropology department, discover a duffle bag containing 11 rolls of black and white film, DAT tapes, 10 Hi-8 videocassettes, a Hi-8 video camera, Heather Donahue’s journal and a CP-16 film camera buried in the foundation of a secluded cabin. (BWL, BWD) Oct. 18, 1995 – The Burkittsville Sheriff’s Office puts out a press release stating that the items found by the anthropology students did indeed belong to Heather Donahue and her crew. It also states that, in light of the new evidence, FBI officials have decided to reopen the case. (BWL, BWD) Nov. 13, 1995 – An article in the Frederick Post quotes “sources within the investigation” as confirming that the “found footage contains evidence suggesting that Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams met with harm while filming their senior class project in October 1994.” (BWD)  Dec. 15, 1995 – After an initial study of the bag’s contents, authorities show selected pieces of the film footage to the families. According to Angie Donahue, there are several unusual events but nothing conclusive. The families question the thoroughness of the analysis and demand another look. (BWL) Jan. 15, 1996 – Angela Donahue hires Washington, D.C. investigative firm, Buchanan’s Private Investigative Agency to augment the work being done by law enforcement authorities. (BWD) Jan. 16, 1996 – Sheriff Cravens and Buck Buchanan agree to full disclosure of information in the course of continuing investigations to avoid duplication of efforts. Investigator Buchanan is allowed to view portions of found footage not released to missing student’s families (some of it highly graphic in nature). No leads were gleaned from this viewing. Buchanan is also allowed access to the police files and related evidence for the original search for the students from Oct/Nov 1994. (BWD) Feb. 16, 1996 – The families are shown a second group of clips that local law enforcement officials consider to be faked. Outraged, Mrs. Donahue goes public with her criticism and Sheriff Cravens restricts all access to the evidence, a restriction that two lawsuits fail to lift. (BWL, BWD) Mar. 1, 1996 – The sheriff’s department announces that the evidence is inconclusive and the case is once again declared inactive and unsolved. (BWL) Apr. 30, 1996 – Diane Ahlquist performs the Wiccan Sabbat of Beltane ritual near the location where the students’ footage was found. (BWD) May 20, 1996 – Final case report submitted by Buchanan’s Private Investigative Agency to the family of Heather Donahue. (BWD) Mar. 1, 1997 – The case is once again declared inactive, and remains unsolved. (BWD) Oct. 16, 1997 – The footage of the filmmakers’ last days is turned over to the families of Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams. Angela Donahue contracts with Haxan Films to examine the footage and piece together the events of Oct. 20 – 27, 1994. (BWL) 1994: THE DISAPPEARANCES “In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.” Opening text of The Blair Witch Project “I think they knew the legend but I don’t think they knew the whole history. I don’t think they felt any fear, but I don’t think they felt any kind of respect. I think to them it was just another project. It was a way to get a grade. And I think they met her and I think she met them when she was ready to and I think they’re gone.” – Dottie Fulcher (CBW) “I feel like I should throw a little party, buy a bottle of cuervo or something - a little fiesta before the potential hellshoot. Practical and theoretical experience are 2 different things. This raises concerns for me, as far as Mike goes… Handle what is actually happening rather than freak out about what would happen. How much to tell the boys? This is directly related to not worrying about what could happen. I don’t want them to be unnecessarily worried (esp. Mike).” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 16, 1994 (BWD) “Elly’s out there. Maybe. Well…? If anything will/can find out it will be me. I can’t explain the kinship I feel to her. She will get through. I cannot see how she could avoid perceiving the energy I am sending her way, and have been for 2 years now. The time is ripe. Right. Ready. Am I? Confidence must be a guiding force. If I cannot ground and center myself I will lose Josh & Mike immediately.” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 16, 1994 (BWD) “Problems articulating (vision). Must remedy this if they are to trust me. Their trust is essential. Mutual surrender, like the devout. Boy bonding. I am definitely out of that. Must stop worrying about being the bitchy boss lady. They need to know that I am in charge and that I have the ability to be so. NOTE TO SELF - That means no waffling!” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 17, 1994 (BWD) On October 20th, 1994, Heather, Joshua and Michael leave their homes for the weekend to film a documentary about the Blair Witch. Their first stop is the town of Burkittsville, where they interview several locals about the legend. Some say they’ve only heard of the Blair Witch in passing, while others seem quite knowledgeable about the past occurrences involving the Witch (especially the Rustin Parr case). One woman, Mary Brown, claims to have seen the Blair Witch. “Josh does not listen to me at all and he’s supposed to be my friend. Mike is more respectful and I don’t know dick about him.” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 20, 1994 (BWD) OCT. 21, 1994: DAY 1 IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST The next day Heather, Joshua and Michael hike into the Black Hills forest where they first encounter a pair of fishermen before heading deeper into the woods. HEATHER DONAHUE You guys say you know something about the Blair Witch? ED SWANSON I’ve heard the myths. I don’t really believe much in it. HEATHER DONAHUE The “myth”? ED SWANSON That’s all I think it is. BOB GRIFFIN Damn fool kids’ll never learn. HEATHER DONAHUE What’d you say, sir? BOB GRIFFIN I said you damn fool kids’ll never learn. ED SWANSON Eh, shut up. HEATHER DONAHUE “Damn fool kids’ll never learn”? BOB GRIFFIN That’s what I said… Anybody worth their salt around here knows that this area’s been haunted by that old woman for years. Excerpt from Interview with Ed Swanson and Bob Griffin (BWP) The group’s next stop is Coffin Rock, site of the 1886 massacre. Afterwards the trio set up camp for the night. OCT. 22, 1994: DAY 2 IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST HEATHER DONAHUE So you heard noises last night? JOSHUA LEONARD I totally heard noise. HEATHER DONAHUE See, the problem is, I sleep like a fucking rock. JOSHUA LEONARD It was like there were two separate noises coming from two layers of space over here (gestures to the right) and one of them was kind of, like… One of them could have possibly been an owl, but the other one was, like, a cackling. Was a definite… HEATHER DONAHUE No way. JOSHUA LEONARD It was a total cackling, man. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Joshua Leonard (BWP) After gathering up their supplies, the three college students resume their hike through the woods, searching for some sort of cemetery that Heather has heard lies within the forest. As more and more time passes and the three fail to find their destination, tempers flare. Joshua insists on looking at their map of the woods himself, and Michael angrily questions Heather’s knowledge of the area. After consulting it, Michael admits the map is useless to him and the three continue on their way, with Michael reluctantly putting his trust in Heather to guide them in the right direction. Following some additional hiking the three stumble upon a pile of rocks wrapped up in vines and held between the top branches of a short tree. The tree appears to be surrounded by seven additional piles of rocks on the ground. HEATHER DONAHUE Guys? Do you remember something that Mary Brown said the other day? What was the story from the Bible that she was telling us? Fuck, I wasn’t listening to her ‘cause I thought she was a lunatic. It was Esau, but it was something about a pile of rocks. JOSHUA LEONARD She was totally telling us about her rocks, man. HEATHER DONAHUE What the fuck was it about a pile of rocks? Does anybody remember? “To live your life…” JOSHUA LEONARD This is like… HEATHER DONAHUE “Live your life…” JOSHUA LEONARD Looks like an Indian burial ground, man. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Joshua Leonard (BWP) “This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me.” Genesis 31:52 That night, after setting up camp, the three students return to the area with the piles of stones to get additional footage. While filming, Joshua Leonard inadvertently knocks one pile over. HEATHER DONAHUE You didn’t just knock that over. Please tell me you didn’t just knock that over. JOSHUA LEONARD I just knocked it over. HEATHER DONAHUE That’s not very nice. Let me put it back. Can’t be too careful. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donohue and Joshua Leonard (BWP) “Elly are you out there? How about saying hello, it would give this film such a jolt, to say the least.” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 22, 1994 (BWD) Later the same night, the three students are woken up by loud noises (which sound like thick branches snapping) coming from within the woods surrounding them. OCT. 23, 1994: DAY 3 IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST HEATHER DONAHUE What do you think that was last night? JOSHUA LEONARD Personally? HEATHER DONAHUE Yeah. JOSHUA LEONARD I think it was someone fucking with your head. HEATHER DONAHUE But nobody knows we’re out here. JOSHUA LEONARD Yeah, but you ever see Deliverance? MICHAEL WILLIAMS …Well, it sounded to me like a bunch of people running around, and I’m not down with messing with the locals or whatever. I don’t know who the hell would come out here. What bugs me out is that we’re so damn deep in the woods and people are going to try and… and come out here and mess with us, then they got to have something wrong with them. And I’m not gonna play with that. HEATHER DONAHUE How do we know it was people? MICHAEL WILLIAMS Well even if it wasn’t, I’m not going to play with that either. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) The trio once again gather up their camping equipment and head out, intending to hike back to the car and return home. After an indeterminate amount of hours pass, Mike voices concern that their surroundings look unfamiliar to him. Heather tells him that’s due to the fact that they are taking a different route back to the car. The group continues on for a bit before checking the map once more. HEATHER DONAHUE Okay, we just did a map check and it seems like we’re still pretty much on trail. JOSHUA LEONARD That’s not what I said. HEATHER DONAHUE No, I think we’re all right. Come on, let’s just keep going. We took a map reading. We just follow what the compass says. We’re going straight ahead. We’re going that way. That way. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Joshua Leonard (BWP) Joshua and Michael agree to continue walking, but after awhile, with the sun setting, rain pouring down and the car still nowhere to be seen, Heather says they should camp. Joshua and Michael don’t take the suggestion kindly, accusing her of not knowing where they are or where they are going. After some angry shouting, Michael and Joshua accept that they have no alternative, and again set up camp for the night. “We are not home. Everyone freaked out today. I am sure I know where the car is, it’s just taking longer than I thought. I don’t know… I truly like these guys, Mike has turned out to be incredibly cool, and Josh, well, Josh, he’s always a surprise. Then again, he always works hard, as well as being hard to work with on occasion… I am so different from both of them, aside from just gender, that it makes it difficult sometimes for us to relate to each other and to communicate clearly.” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 23, 1994 (BWD) That night, the three students are again woken up by the same strange, loud snapping sounds coming from the woods around them. “We heard shit again. This time they thought it was deer. I think it’s because they fear it that they say it definitely is something tangible and earthly. They cannot for a second admit the possibility that it is the Blair Witch… It was NOT deer. And I find it incredibly hard to believe that rednecks are chasing us through the woods all day for the sheer pleasure of stomping around on all sides of our camp at 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning…” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 24, 1994, 3:00am (BWD) OCT. 24, 1994: DAY 4 IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST The next morning the film students wake up and discover three piles of rocks surrounding their tent. HEATHER DONAHUE Woke up this morning, just like two seconds ago, and there are piles of rocks outside of our tent. There are three, actually. JOSHUA LEONARD Are you seriously fucking positive those weren’t there when we went to bed last night? HEATHER DONAHUE I am seriously fucking positive these were not here. How would we have, like, just made a campsite in between three piles of rocks just by coincidence? …You don’t think this is strange? JOSHUA LEONARD This is way fucking weird, but it really doesn’t matter at this point because all I want to do is get to the goddamn car… Whatever it is at this point… We’re obviously not wanted here… HEATHER DONAHUE Okay, okay… JOSHUA LEONARD …so let’s get the hell out… HEATHER DONAHUE I can’t believe we have to leave just when shit’s happening. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donohue and Joshua Leonard (BWP) “A pile of stones like this – the first thing I think of is some kind of burial cairn. But that doesn’t make sense – that’s an Old World custom. I suppose it could be a carryover from Europe… could indicate a landmark of some kind too, I suppose… Three students, three piles. That makes sense. Three graves?” – Charles Moorehouse (BWD) An indeterminate amount of time later Heather realizes that she no longer has the map. HEATHER DONAHUE Did you take it? JOSHUA LEONARD No, I didn’t take the fucking map, man… HEATHER DONAHUE I don’t have it. We have to go. I’m serious. I don’t have it… JOSHUA LEONARD That is… That… I mean, that’s the fucking, like, least responsible thing you could have possibly done, man. HEATHER DONAHUE I know that. MICHAEL WILLIAMS You really don’t have it? HEATHER DONAHUE …Let’s go. JOSHUA LEONARD Which way are we walking? HEATHER DONAHUE That way. JOSHUA LEONARD Dude, we’re in the middle of the fucking woods! We’re in the middle of the goddamn woods. We can walk any way… MICHAEL WILLIAMS We’re going this way ‘cause that’s the way we’ve been going for a fucking day. We’re going this way, and that’s it. We gotta come across something. HEATHER DONAHUE I gave you the map, Josh. JOSHUA LEONARD I gave you back the map, Heather. HEATHER DONAHUE I gave you the map. JOSHUA LEONARD I gave you back the map! Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) The students start hiking south once again, with only Heather’s compass and the creek to guide them. After an indeterminate amount of time they stop to rest.  JOSHUA LEONARD All blame aside… this is really fucked up. HEATHER DONAHUE I know. MICHAEL WILLIAMS Yeah… We really, really, really need to work together. HEATHER DONAHUE Exactly. JOSHUA LEONARD I realize this… Look, serious, the area’s not that fucking big. HEATHER DONAHUE Exactly. It’s very hard to get lost in America these days, and it’s even harder to stay lost. So we have that on our side… MICHAEL WILLIAMS Well, we’re doing a pretty goddamn good job of being lost… JOSHUA LEONARD At this point, when you’re not home today, when I’m not home today, people are going to start noticing. Like, my girlfriend is definitely going to notice that I’m not back today, and that I haven’t fucking called. I mean, if I called, it would be one thing… Which means that by tonight, if we haven’t found shit, someone’s going to be looking for us. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) The group continues to hike, but they stop for a moment after Heather inadvertently soaks her feet while crossing a stream. MICHAEL WILLIAMS You know what? (laughing) I kicked the… I’m sorry, it’s fucked up, it’s fucked up. But I kicked that fucking map into the creek yesterday. It was useless. I kicked that fucker into the creek! HEATHER DONAHUE …I fucking hope he’s kidding… JOSHUA LEONARD Mike, are you fucking kidding?! MICHAEL WILLIAMS I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry. HEATHER DONAHUE You’ve gotta be kidding me. You have gotta fucking be kidding me! JOSHUA LEONARD You think this is a fucking game? HEATHER DONAHUE …What the fuck! Are you out of your fucking mind?! MICHAEL WILLIAMS No, I’m not out of my mind! That map wasn’t doing shit for us! HEATHER DONAHUE Do you realize… Not to you, but I knew what the fuck that map said! MICHAEL WILLIAMS I’m sorry! …That map wasn’t doing shit all day! HEATHER DONAHUE If we get hurt or we die out here, it’s your fucking fault! It is your fucking fault! Do you understand?! I can’t believe you could be such an asshole! What the fuck were you thinking?! Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) The group continue south. Eventually they stumble upon a clearing filled with dozens of “stickman” totems (sometimes called “twana”); strange, person shaped creations of twigs and twine. JOSHUA LEONARD Jesus Christ. That’s fucking creepy. MICHAEL WILLIAMS This is no redneck. No redneck is this creative. Excerpt from conversation between Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) After getting some footage of the bizarre array of totems, the group moves on, but not before Heather takes one of the stickmen and puts it in her bag. After hiking again for an indeterminate amount of time, the three again set up camp for the night. JOSHUA LEONARD Think about the fact that half the people you talked to about the Blair Witch got completely agitated, man. Like the whole situation. Some people laughed at you, some people, like… didn’t talk to you… You talked to so many people about it, that, I mean, think about the fact we talked to some fucked up people. HEATHER DONAHUE We did? JOSHUA LEONARD We definitely talked to some fucked up people. We definitely talked to some people who could have potentially, like, pulled it off as a game and decided that since we were coming out here to make a movie they were gonna come out and just fuck with us. I mean, I mean it’s a stretch… MICHAEL WILLIAMS And it still doesn’t make any sense that we’re this lost… JOSHUA LEONARD …What do you think it is? HEATHER DONAHUE I don’t fuckin’ know. JOSHUA LEONARD I mean, if it’s not the Blair Witch and it’s not rednecks… My take on it is that it’s… it’s humans. It’s fucked up humans. It’s someone who’s probably severely demented and fucked up and not a safe person to be around. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BDS) MICHAEL WILLIAMS In my defense about the map? You crinkled it up and threw it on the ground. I kicked it in the creek. That’s what happened. JOSHUA LEONARD Yeah, but crinkling… MICHAEL WILLIAMS I’m still sorry about the map. I’m really sorry about the map. Excerpt from conversation between Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BDS) “It is freezing and we are still out here. We’re completely fucking lost now, we’ve decided basically to just keep heading south, but it doesn’t seem to be getting us anywhere fast and weird shit keeps happening which is, to be totally honest… beginning to scare me… I think we have enough footage - certainly more bizarre shit than we anticipated. I just want us all to be home safe. The scarecrows/voodoo dolls whatever they were today, were disturbing… I cut one down. I probably shouldn’t have, the guys freaked out a bit when I did it, but I want to be able to look at it objectively when we get out of here. We will laugh about this someday.” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 24, 1994 (BWD) That night the three students are woken up by the sounds of children laughing and playing outside of their tent. The laughing then distorts into some sort of unnatural moan and the tent around them then begins to violently shake. The trio bolt from the opening, running out into the woods. As they flee, the sounds of children talking and laughing can be heard coming from the woods around them. At one point Heather spots something off camera, which causes her to repeatedly exclaim – “What the fuck is that?!” – but whatever Heather sees, she never speaks about it on camera or in her journals. The three of them come to a stop after running for some time, turn off all of their lights, and crouch together in the darkness. MICHAEL WILLIAMS (whispering) What the fuck is going on?  HEATHER DONAHUE Did you hear that baby screaming? JOSHUA LEONARD SHHH! (whispering) Shut the fuck up. There’s no fucking baby out there, man. HEATHER DONAHUE Yes there was. JOSHUA LEONARD There’s no fucking baby out there. MICHAEL WILLIAMS …Okay. I haven’t heard anything since we ran away. HEATHER DONAHUE …Oh my God, it’s cold. We should be quiet, okay? MICHAEL WILLIAMS …Okay. We should be quiet. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) OCT. 25, 1994: DAY 5 IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST After the sun rises the trio return to their camp. They find their equipment and supplies strewn about, and Joshua’s canteen lies between pieces of the stickman totem which Heather took from the woods the previous day. JOSHUA LEONARD They spilled all my fucking water! MICHAEL WILLIAMS That looks like slime, man. JOSHUA LEONARD It’s just water, man. (Joshua reaches down and touches the liquid) It is slime. What the fuck is that? MICHAEL WILLIAMS It’s slime, dude… HEATHER DONAHUE Whose shit was thrown around? Who specifically? JOSHUA LEONARD It’s my shit! My shit. HEATHER DONAHUE Why you? Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) After a brief argument about Heather’s insistence that everything be caught on film, the three once again pack up their equipment and start hiking south. Before long they come across a stream with a large, fallen tree resting over it, which they use to cross the waters. The group continues on until Joshua breaks down and starts crying. JOSHUA LEONARD What the fuck was this blue jelly shit all over my shit? HEATHER DONAHUE Let’s go. Let’s go. If we keep going south, we will get out. Please. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Joshua Leonard (BWP) Eventually the group comes across the same fallen tree that they crossed that morning, despite having continuously walked south all day.  MICHAEL WILLIAMS No, that’s the tree we crossed. That tree is down. That’s the same one. Oh God! HEATHER DONAHUE No. Oh, no… No, Mike, it’s not the same log. It’s not the same log, Mike… MICHAEL WILLIAMS It is! Open your eyes! HEATHER DONAHUE It’s not the same log. It’s not… It’s not the same log. JOSHUA LEONARD Fuck. Fuck! HEATHER DONAHUE (sobbing) It’s the same log. It’s the same log. It’s the same log. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) HEATHER DONAHUE Where do you want to go to camp? I mean I guess today south didn’t work out, so tomorrow we’ll go east. I don’t… I don’t know what to say, Josh. JOSHUA LEONARD How the fuck did we walk south all day and wind up… HEATHER DONAHUE We walked south all day, okay? We walked south all fucking day. I don’t know how we ended up here! Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Joshua Leonard (BWP) The trio sets up camp, but tempers fray as the sun sets. JOSHUA LEONARD Come on, you can do better than that. MICHAEL WILLIAMS This is not the place or the time, guys. We have things to prepare for here. JOSHUA LEONARD Okay, here’s your motivation! You’re lost, you’re angry in the woods, and no one here is here to help you! There’s a fucking witch and she keeps leaving shit outside your door. MICHAEL WILLIAMS Josh. JOSHUA LEONARD There’s no one here to help you! She left little trinkets. MICHAEL WILLIAMS Josh. JOSHUA LEONARD You fucking took one of them. She ran after us. There’s no one here to help you! MICHAEL WILLIAMS Josh! JOSHUA LEONARD We walked for 15 hours today! We ended up in the same place! There’s no one here to help you! HEATHER DONAHUE (sobbing) Just stop. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard (BWP) Inside the tent, Joshua apologizes to both Michael and Heather, and the three of them prepare to go to sleep.  “Breakdowns. Exhaustion. A giant circle. We hiked 11 hours today in a giant circle. We have no food. Hungry. Despairing. Exhausted. Hating and loving each other extremely and alternatively all day long. About to go to sleep now. Sure. After what happened last night. Those children’s voices… There doesn’t seem to be much sense in keeping watch except that one of us is always conscious and shitting our pants… I am trying desperately to hold my shit together while Josh and Mike fall apart. As long as I keep shooting, I feel like all of this has a purpose. Maybe not at the moment but eventually… I still can’t figure out how we hiked in a circle today. I had the compass out all day. All 3 of us checked it every 5 minutes. We were going SOUTH all day. How are we going to get out of here if we keep hiking in circles?” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 25, 1994 (BWD) OCT. 26, 1994: DAY 6 IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST Heather and Michael wake up the next morning and discover that Joshua is missing. HEATHER DONAHUE Fuck, Mike, we never got out of earshot! Josh! MICHAEL WILLIAMS Hold on, calm down… HEATHER DONAHUE Do you remember what he said yesterday? MICHAEL WILLIAMS What? HEATHER DONAHUE About the shit on his bag, about how… Josh! MICHAEL WILLIAMS Let’s go. We got to find him. Come on. HEATHER DONAHUE We can’t even find the car! How the fuck are we going to find Josh? Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Michael Williams (BWP) Heather and Michael yell for Joshua repeatedly, but he doesn’t respond. After waiting an indeterminate amount of time, they reluctantly head east. When the sun goes down, they set up camp and go to bed for the night. “Josh is gone. It is Mike and I now. Alone. I question why I continue to film. It seems sick almost. Who will see this footage? Will I?... Fear, hunger and cold are taking their toll. Where is Josh? Maybe he ran off for help like Mike says, but why did he leave all his stuff in the middle of the freezing night? And why was it his stuff we found scattered outside the tent covered in that shit.. I should have never cut down that doll from the tree… My mind is so fully in documentation mode that I have failed to fully, deeply register fear until Josh disappeared this morning… Whatever is chasing us has to be documented. I am in a situation now where I have no choice. If something is going to harm me that I can’t stab or kill and if I am defenseless in the face of it, the least I can do is capture it so that people will know it is real.” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 26, 1994 (BWD) That night they are woken up by the sounds of Joshua’s repeated and agonized screaming, coming from somewhere in the woods around them. HEATHER DONAHUE Should we go for him? Is it a trick? MICHAEL WILLIAMS …Where’s it coming from? Josh! Josh, where are you?! Tell me where you are! …I don’t know if it’s really him. I don’t know if it’s really him. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donohue and Michael Williams (BWP) Eventually the screaming stops and Heather and Michael return to the tent. HEATHER DONAHUE Whatever it is, knows that Josh is gone. MICHAEL WILLIAMS If that was Josh, he would have said where he was. HEATHER DONAHUE Whatever it was sounded like Josh. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Michael Williams (BWP) “We heard Josh. It sounded so much like Josh. We want to hear him so badly, but not like that. He was screaming like someone was hurting him. Maybe it’s all in our minds.” Excerpt from Heather Donahue’s journal, dated Oct. 27, 1994, 12:30am (BWD) OCT. 27, 1994: DAY 7 IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST Heather wakes up the following morning and discovers a bundle of sticks tied together with what appear to be strips of Joshua’s flannel shirt. Heather tells Michael that there is something there, then she picks it up and tosses it aside without examining it. But later, while Michael is otherwise occupied, Heather goes back to the bundle alone and opens it. Inside of the sticks she finds a small pouch which also appears to have been made from Joshua’s shirt. The pouch is filled with blood, hair and human teeth. Heather begins sobbing and hyperventilating, but does not share the discovery with Michael. Eventually the two of them resume hiking until it gets dark, at which point they again set up camp.  MICHAEL WILLIAMS It’s not your fault anymore, it’s nobody’s fault. You can’t have a fault for something this enormous. A human cannot be faulted for something this enormous. It’s impossible. It’s not your fault. I don’t want you to think that. Okay? Heather… HEATHER DONAHUE Okay. MICHAEL WILLIAMS Look at me. HEATHER DONAHUE Good luck to me explaining that to Josh’s mom. Good luck. MICHAEL WILLIAMS It’s not your fault. We have everything documented. It’s not your fault. Excerpt from conversation between Heather Donahue and Michael Williams (SAS) As Michael is otherwise occupied, Heather records what has come to be known as her “confession.” “I just want to apologize to Mike’s mom and Josh’s mom and my mom… And I’m sorry to everyone. I was very naive. I am so, so sorry for everything that has happened, because in spite of what Mike says now, it is my fault because it was my project and I insisted. I insisted on everything. I insisted that we weren’t lost. I insisted that we keep going. I insisted that we walk south. Everything had to be my way, and this is where we’ve ended up. And it’s all because of me that we’re here now, hungry and cold and hunted. I love you, Mom and Dad. I am so sorry… What is that? (sobbing) I’m scared to close my eyes. I’m scared to open them… Oh, God. I’m going to die out here.” – Heather Donahue (BWP)  “I am losing hope. Actually, I may have lost it… We are being stalked and whatever is stalking us will at least be documented… To Josh & Mike’s parents - I am sorry. I am sorry for what happened to your sons… I lack the strength to hold the pen… I want to laugh. I want to laugh. I want to laugh.” Final entry in Heather Donahue’s journal (BWD) That night Michael and Heather again hear Joshua yelling in the woods, but this time actual words can be heard, including “Somebody!” “Please!” and “Please follow my voice!” Despite having doubts that the voice belongs to Joshua, Michael and Heather head into the woods in an attempt to locate the source. What they find is a derelict and decrepit three story house at the top of a hill. As they search the house, they hear the voice yell out Heather’s name. Unsure where it is coming from they run upstairs. Strange symbols are written on the walls of the second floor, and several walls of the third floor are covered in the handprints of children. Again the voice rings out and Michael, believing it to be coming from the basement, charges downstairs, leaving Heather behind. In the basement, Michael looks around for a moment before there is a loud “thump” and his camera hits the ground. Heather then enters the basement as well, where she briefly films Michael standing motionless in the corner as she screams his name. Then there is another “thump” and Heather goes completely silent as her camera also hits the ground. AFTERMATH: THE SEARCH “The search for the 3 missing Montgomery college students continues in Frederick County tonight, as dozens of volunteers and state officials joined local forces in what has now become a full scale search of the Black Hills area.” – Channel 11 News (CBW) “Local officials, combined with over one hundred search volunteers, have failed to come up with any signs of the three missing filmmakers. Montgomery College film students Heather Donohue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard were reportedly shooting a school project about a local myth called the Blair Witch. At this time their whereabouts are still unknown.” – Channel 6 News (CBW)  “The only piece of evidence found by police was Joshua Leonard’s car parked on Black Rock road.” – Curse of the Blair Witch narration (CBW) EMILY MCKENNA I kept tellin’ ‘em they should look at this old house I know in the woods, ‘cause everybody knows that’s the Blair Witch house… STEVE WHATELY Do you know if they ever went to this Blair Witch house? EMILY MCKENNA I doubt it. Cravens is a real tight-ass. He don’t want to hear nothing that don’t fit in with his narrow view of the world. Excerpt from interview with Emily McKenna (BWD) On Dec. 23, 1994, Mary Brown contacts the Sheriff’s office, claiming she’s seen an apparition of Joshua Leonard. She describes him as screaming in agony. “He was in terrible pain. He was missing some teeth and holding onto his side, and his hands were all wet and oh, it was terrible.” (BWD) “I was listening to the interview tapes in the car, and something hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m talking to (Burkittsville Deputy) Hart about the search party, and he was saying how by Thursday night – that’s the 27th – they were on their second go-round through the forest. But Buck, they should have found those kids, because according to the footage Mrs. Donahue’s got, they were still out there, wandering around lost, all three of them.” – Steve Whately (BWD) QUESTION How many times did you guys search the area? MARK MASON Musta crossed through it five or six times. Every day of the week that we were searching. BUD MICHELS Yeah. Back and forth. All the time. MARK MASON We went everywhere. About a hundred of us… QUESTION Upon hearing the tapes at the firehouse, is there anything else that seemed really suspicious to you? BUD MICHELS Um, yeah, it’s kinda weird the discrepancy between the number of days that they were supposedly out there and when we started searching for them. It looked like they’re out there four or five days or whatever. It’s just kinda strange. MARK MASON Strange we never ran into them. BUD MICHELS Yeah. QUESTION So you’re saying that the time they spent out there should have overlapped the time you guys were searching? MARK MASON Yeah. BUD MICHELS Yeah, unless that was shot somewhere on, like, the moon or something, because we had helicopters and search planes. MARK MASON Yeah, we went out there on Tuesday and someone has tapes they were talking about it being Friday already. And, uh… It seemed kinda strange that we got that many guys out there and didn’t see them. Didn’t run into them. Didn’t hear anything. You know? Somebody wants to be found its… strange. Excerpt from Interview with firemen Bud Michels and Mark Mason (SAS) “Burkittsville has only got myself and one deputy. We did the best we could. We called in the county authorities early and we contacted the F.B.I. later for more in depth searching.” – Sheriff Ronald Cravens (CBW) “I’ve been talking to sources within the Bureau about the original search. They were all very impressed with how Cravens went about it – he did a thorough job… split the whole area into a grid, real textbook-style search.” – Frank Lauriat (BWD) “The Black Hills search for three missing filmmakers has been called off. 10 days and thousands of man hours have been unable to produce any clues to the cause of the mysterious disappearances.” – Channel 6 News (CBW) “Dear Sheriff Cravens, I have tried repeatedly to reach you on the phone, but you have not returned any of my calls. You and I both know the history of Burkittsville and the events that have earned our town its peculiar reputation. Past events have proven that something evil resides in the Black Hills that surround us. The same Black Hills that those three young people hiked into a few months ago and never came back from. The Blair Witch is alive and well. Sheriff Cravens I urge you to look to the past for the answers you seek. Sincerely, Dottie Fulcher” Letter to Sheriff Ronald Cravens from Dottie Fulcher, dated Dec. 12, 1994 (CBW) AFTERMATH: 1995 – THE FOOTAGE IS DISCOVERED In October of this year, Professor David Mercer’s anthropology students discover items belonging to the missing film students buried in the secluded foundations of a house within the Black Hills forest. “So we’re working over there and, all of the sudden, I hear a commotion from the other side of the foundation, and I hear, like, rocks banging together. We ran around the side and apparently what happened was that Pete was removing a stone and a section of the wall just caved in… I just told them, I said, you know, clear this out a little bit. And about twenty minutes later Pete comes running up and he’s got this dirty old… like a backpack… in his hand.” – David Mercer (CBW) DAVID MERCER My original intention was that we would study some of the construction techniques and materials used at the time. But a week into the dig, we found some evidence indicating the cabin was used as a way station on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. STEVE WHATELY What kind of evidence? DAVID MERCER A short stretch of hidden passageway – about four feet long – in the basement of the house. It must have gone all the way down to the creek at one point. STEVE WHATELY That’s Tappy East Creek? DAVID MERCER Yes… STEVE WHATELY So who first chose this house as the site for your dig? DAVID MERCER I did. STEVE WHATELY Why? DAVID MERCER I was out hiking with my family last summer in the woods, and just stumbled onto it. Excerpt from interview with David Mercer (BWD) “This backpack was found in sterile soil. Which is like the bottom of the site… From there to the middle of the earth is just dirt. The original house at the site had burned down and so there was a layer of ash that was, like, sitting in the interior of the house, like the basement. So this knapsack had been in sterile soil with no evidence around it of disturbance, and over the top of it was an undisturbed layer of ash. And the whole thing was boxed in by basically a Colonial era wall that was undisturbed. Even a forensic expert could not have put that thing into the site without disturbing the charcoal, the wall or the sterile soil. It was as if it materialized. And, of course, that’s not the language of science so I just don’t know what to say about this really.” – David Mercer (CBW) PETER GOULD That one rock was in there pretty good. When I pulled it out – boom! The whole back half of the basement wall collapsed. JEN COLTON And that’s when you found the backpack? PETER GOULD That’s right. JEN COLTON Was there any indication that the ground around the backpack had been disturbed recently? PETER GOULD You mean, like somebody else had been digging there? To bury it? JEN COLTON That’s what I mean. PETER GOULD No. Maybe I’m not making myself clear. The wall was intact, the ground was undisturbed, and… JEN COLTON I understand your point – the backpack couldn’t have gotten where it was. But it did. PETER GOULD Yes. Excerpt from interview with Peter Gould (BWD) “It appeared that the stones had been there for many, many years and had not been disturbed. So it makes you wonder how someone had removed those stones forensically. In other words, stone by stone, carefully not disturbing them and then putting them back in the same exact order that they were originally in the ground. Makes you wonder why they were hiding them there. Certainly not for someone to find them because they would probably stay there for years and years more if there hadn’t have done that Anthropology dig.” – Buck Buchanan (CBW) “What I recognized real quickly were a couple of 16mm film cans. There was also what looked like some video tape cartridges in there. This had nothing at all to do with Colonial period stuff, of course, and so I called the Sheriff.” – David Mercer (CBW)  “Footage was found that, allegedly, was filmed by the three students. I contacted a local color lab, we got it developed and I reviewed the film. And all I found was the students themselves, some scary noises in the woods at night – and a few examples of that – but no concrete evidence on what happened to the students.” –  Sheriff Ronald Cravens (CBW) “After reviewing the film I still thought it was a hoax.” –  Sheriff Ronald Cravens (CBW) “I think it would be remote that it’s a hoax because of the way the tapes were hidden and the fact that – just to view the tapes – they are very realistic and the tape is from a time period that the students would have been able to have taped it.” – Buck Buchanan (CBW)  “Of course it’s not a hoax. That’s the film Heather wanted to make. Whatever was happening to her out there… I don’t know anything about that.” – Michael DeCoto (BWD) AFTERMATH: 1996 – PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS ARE HIRED “In January of 1996, at the recommendation of her father-in-law, Randy Donahue, Angela Donahue hires a Washington, D.C. investigative firm - Buchanan’s Private Investigative Agency - to augment the work being done by law enforcement authorities. The agency’s head, C. D. “Buck” Buchanan, Jr., employes a team of several detectives full-time for several months, sparing no effort or expense in the attempt to find some trace of the missing students.” Excerpt from The Blair Witch Project: A Dossier (BWD) “What (Buck) didn’t put in his report was the phone call he made to a longtime friend of his, Maryland State Senator Carolyn McComas. McComas made a call of her own to Burkittsville Selectman John Davis, who phoned Cravens and requested the Sheriff afford Buck all possible assistance.” Excerpt from The Blair Witch Project: A Dossier (BWD) RANDY DONAHUE There’s something out there in those woods that don’t play by our rules. BUCK BUCHANAN The Blair Witch. RANDY DONAHUE Now don’t look at me like I’m crazy. I’ve seen stuff out there in those woods you wouldn’t believe. When I was a boy… they were always warning us kids not to go into the woods, that the Witch would get us. But you know how it is – you don’t believe it, and then you go out there and nothing happens, and so you eventually ignore what they tell you altogether, and you forget to be careful… So this one afternoon, I’m hiking along the trail by myself – and you have to understand that this trail is some pretty tough going, it’s right in the middle of the forest and all overgrown – and I come to this big pine tree, with a huge branch right in the middle of the trail. When I push it back, somebody grabs it. And it’s this old woman, standin’ right there on the trail, holding that branch, staring at me… Well my heart is hammering in my chest, and I don’t know whether I should scream or laugh because by God is she ugly, she’s got hair all over her arms like a lumberjack or something, and she’s just staring at me. And then she says ‘Donahue.’ Excerpt from interview with Randy Donahue (BWD) A Buchanan’s Private Investigative Agency report, dated Jan. 22, 1996, summarizes investigator Sonenberg’s efforts to obtain information regarding the history of the property where the missing students’ items were found. Park Ranger Alvin Hunt reveals that the only recorded visitors to the area in Oct. 1995 were the anthropology students from the University of Maryland. A visit to the Frederick County Courthouse and an examination of the property records therein show that the house was originally built shortly after the incorporation of Burkittsville in 1824. The property’s earliest recorded owner was an Elizabeth Richardson, who deeded the property to the state before dying. Records since then were incomplete. (BWD) “Go back a little further, though, and you find something very interesting. (Rustin Parr’s Grandparents) were Constance Blair (though I suspect one, I can find no connection to the original settlers of the area) and William Sykes. Sykes had a brother named Eldon. Dig through those property records I copied you on at the beginning of the case. You’ll find that in 1858, Eldon Sykes owned the property the students’ footage was found in. The foundation, the burned-out shell of a house in the woods… Could those be the remains of Rustin Parr’s house?” Excerpt from email to Buck Buchanan from Carlos Sonenberg, dated Apr. 10, 1996 (BWD) A Buchanan’s Private Investigative Agency report, dated Jan. 20, 1996, summarized Investigator Frank Lauriat’s examination of the found footage, stating “All three (students) show the effects of marked sleep deprivation, exposure, and malnourishment.” It also stated: “The conflicts between the students at times border on the physical. I’d be remiss in not suggesting that whatever happened to them could have been self-inflicted. Assuming you do get the Sheriff to release the rest of the footage to Mrs. Donahue, I’d keep an eye out for that dynamic in particular.” (BWD) “There’s no doubt in my mind something horrible has happened to those kids. You don’t need to be an expert in psychology to see that they were all scared to death - especially that girl. If I were in your shoes, Buck, I’d walk right over to that girl’s mother and tell her to call off the investigation. As far as I’m concerned, she’s better off not knowing the details.” Personal note from Frank Lauriat to Buck Buchanan (BWD) On Feb. 1, 1996, Checkmark Laboratories turns in its scientific analysis of the soil from the site where the footage was found to Buchanan’s Private Investigative Agency. They discover trace amounts of unrefined opiates in the soil, as well as a higher percentage of decomposed vegetable and animal material than normal. There are also significant quantities of ash. (BWD) “It’s pretty easy to map the locations in the footage to a standard U.S. Geological Map… You can see how the kids got so lost, so quickly. The old trails in there loop around on each other, and the terrain around the hills I’ve marked “A” and “B” is identical. That’s also why they kept going in circles, too. But there’s something strange about the last few minutes of the film - where the two kids go to the house. Take a look at that part of the footage yourself. You can see they’re going up a fairly steep hill. Close to a 45 degree angle, up at least two hundred feet, altogether. Problem is, there is no hill like that in the Black Hills area. Nothing with a deviation from ground level of that significance, anyway… Setting aside those last five minutes or so, the kids are clearly in the Black Hills. It’s hard to believe that none of the search parties were able to find any trace of them.” Excerpt from Geographical Analysis of the found footage (BWD) In a letter to Buck Buchanan, dated Mar. 21, 1996, Angela Donahue suggests bringing in a psychic to aid in the investigation. Buck replies on the 26th, telling her that law enforcement did use them from time to time, and he would contact a woman he was familiar with, Diane Ahlquist, and tell her about the case. (BWD) “Take frame grab 96 from the student’s footage - it’s the one from the end of the film, where Heather and Mike are running through the house and run by a wall covered with what looks like hieroglyphics. Hold it next to the photo from the magazine article on Kyle Brody. It’s the same writing. It’s the same wall. It’s the same house. The last scene in the kids’ footage is in Rustin Parr’s house. Which is impossible, because that house burned down in 1941.” Excerpt from a memo from Carlos Sonenberg to Buck Buchanan, dated Mar. 28, 1996 (BWD) On Mar. 29, 1996, Hampshire College Linguistics Professor, Peter Walling, identifies the writing seen in both the found footage and in pictures of Rustin Parr’s house as a mixture of slightly corrupted Transitus Fluvii, a Hebraic language, and Futhark, a proto-European language that dates from the first millennium B.C. (BWD) “I didn’t see Heather - but I did see a house. I believe it to be the house you described to me over the phone the last time we talked - the house that Heather found in the forest. Forgive me if this next part sounds a little melodramatic - realize that what I see is often a metaphorical, rather than a literal, representation of reality. In front of the house, I saw three men lying on the ground, bound to each other - I couldn’t quite see how - in the shape of a triangle. One of them was Buck Buchanan. I didn’t recognize the other two. I felt an awful sense of apprehension witnessing this scene, as if something terrible were about to happen.” Excerpt from Diane Ahlquist’s letter to Angela Donahue, dated Apr. 25, 1996 (BWD) On Apr. 25, 1996, Sheriff Cravens confirms to Buck Buchanan that the location where the missing students’ footage was found is the burnt foundation of Rustin Parr’s house. (BWD) “Tomorrow at midnight marks the observance of the ritual Sabbat of Beltane - the season of renewal, of new life. I don’t think the timing is a coincidence: I don’t believe in coincidence… I know you don’t believe in any of this, Buck. But please, please humor me: this forest is an evil place. I can sense that already… I don’t mind telling you that I’m extremely frightened. The danger there will be great. I can protect us, if you’ll let me.” Excerpt from email to Buck Buchanan from Diane Ahlquist, dated Apr. 28, 1996 (BWD) “That psychic who’s here had a dream about (Mary Brown) last night, how she was trying to warn us about something.” – Carlos Sonenberg (BWD) DIANE AHLQUIST We were talking about the dream I had last night? MARY BROWN That’s why you came down here to see me. DIANE AHLQUIST That’s right. Because in my dream you were trying to warn me about something. You said I had to be careful about going into the forest because– MARY BROWN Because of the witch… You need to be careful, too. CARLOS SONENBERG Me? Excerpt from interview with Mary Brown on Apr. 30, 1996 (BWD) On Apr. 30, 1996 Diane Ahlquist, Carlos Sonenberg, Stephen Whately and Buck Buchanan head to the foundations of the Parr house to investigate, and so that Ahlquist can perform the Sabbat of Beltane ritual in an attempt to connect with Heather Donahue. BUCK BUCHANAN We’re at the site, and we’ve been searching the entire afternoon. We’re about to call it quits – looks like it might rain. JEN COLTON Not a cloud in the sky down here. BUCK BUCHANAN Yeah, I don’t know where this came from. It was supposed to be clear all night. We’re not really equipped for a storm. Excerpt from phone conversation between Buck Buchanan and Jennifer Colton on Apr. 30, 1996, 6:20pm (BWD) DIANE AHLQUIST Within the circle, we’ve now created sacred space. A space where we can move between dimensions – this physical one, and the one beyond. As this is Beltane – a time of transition – the walls between the dimensions are particularly easy to breach… CARLOS SONENBERG Did you hear something? STEVE WHATELY No. BUCK BUCHANAN No. CARLOS SONENBERG It sounded like a girl crying… There’s (it is) again. STEVE WHATELY I think I heard it too. BUCK BUCHANAN Go check it out, Steve. CARLOS SONENBERG I thought we were supposed to stay in the circle. BUCK BUCHANAN I’m using my discretion. You have your gun? STEVE WHATELY Right here… BUCK BUCHANAN What’s the matter? STEVE WHATELY I fell – twisted my ankle. CARLOS SONENBERG I’ll go… I’ll be right back… DIANE AHLQUIST (unintelligible) STEVE WHATELY How long has she been babbling like that? BUCK BUCHANAN Started right after you left. STEVE WHATELY What’s she saying? BUCK BUCHANAN How would I know? Does that even sound like English to you? STEVE WHATELY …Do you want me to go after (Carlos)? BUCK BUCHANAN Give him a few more minutes. DIANE AHLQUIST I’m in the house. STEVE WHATELY What did she just say? BUCK BUCHANAN She’s in the house? STEVE WHATELY What the fuck does that mean? …Diane? BUCK BUCHANAN Look at her eyes. She can’t hear you. DIANE AHLQUIST Oh, God, it’s everywhere! I can sense it everywhere! STEVE WHATELY That doesn’t even sound like her. DIANE AHLQUIST I’m running through the house. Up the stairs. Down the stairs. Mike? Mike, where are you? STEVE WHATELY This is creeping me out. Buck? DIANE AHLQUIST I’m in the basement. Oh, God! The smell! BUCK BUCHANAN I don’t […]

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