Did you watch this without knowing what to expect?

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funvibes77@reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/familyguy/s/9YzJuB6VIP

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I think that captures the haters pretty well. I think part of it is in how you watch the movie (or any movie/book/media).

Some stories are about what "happens", the actions taken by characters, how the world is, step by step. Other stories are mental, hero growth stories, coming of age etc.

(of course the absolute best stories combine these brilliantly)

Now, if you sit down to watch a movie, expecting one of those two types, but experiencing the other, it's always going to be disappointing.

Just my 2c.

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funvibes77@reddit

It was incredibly innovative. I mean, it launched an entire genre of movies and was made for peanuts. Plus, the marketing was genius. All that said, I didn't find it to be very scary.

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My favorite movie watching experience to this day. Girl I was dating lived pretty far out in the country and her best friends boyfriend had some sort of advanced bootleg copy. After watching it with no context I almost couldn’t build up the courage to drive myself home. I don’t think anything will ever scare me that way again.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

That's a great memory to share! 💚

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07368683@reddit

I thought is was a true story when I saw it so it scared the hell out of me.

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UrBum_MyFace_69@reddit

Granted I never liked these types of movies, the girl I was dating in my early 20s did. We saw it in the theatre, not knowing what to expect, no social media, nothing like that, and I had to sleep with the lights on for a year cuz it freaked me out so much.

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epicenter69@reddit

One of very few movies to genuinely scare me.

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CreativeProfession57@reddit

gif

We talking about the same movie, right?

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vistaculo@reddit

I was scared…that the crowd was going to riot they were so mad. The two people I talked into going to that stupid piece of shit have never forgiven me.

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CreativeProfession57@reddit

That sounds more about like what I experienced.

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vistaculo@reddit

There were people in my showing that went and tried to get their money back. It didn’t show for very long before it left the theater either.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

🤣 Yep. That was a once in a lifetime experience. Social media ruined all surprise parties.

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RightLegDave@reddit

IIRC, this was one of the first movies to make use of the internet to promote it. I remember they set up fake news sites and reports on the missing students to add to the authenticity.

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Zapp_Rowsdower_@reddit

Even better. I managed the computer dept at a Best Buy. A completely uncredited copy made its way through the department before anyone had heard of it. Scared the shit out of us one by one.

The campaign was genius…they actually did a stealth, underground release that added to the ‘omg it’s real’ backbeat.

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Successful_Sense_742@reddit

I actually thought it was real because of the fake websites and the promotions. Loved the movie. The ending freaked me out. It was only when I saw the trio on a talk show when I realized it was just a very low budget movie (that grossed millions of dollars in theaters on like a $60,000 budget)

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chamrockblarneystone@reddit

No I knew, but I still had a great theater experience.

My friend I saw it with was trying to quit smoking. I still thought the movie was scary and would glance at him every once in awhile. He was not impressed.

Finally the chain smoker in the movie loses his smokes and from next to me I hear, “ooooohhhhh nooooo.”

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KCcoffeegeek@reddit

LOL when Paranormal Activity came out I was 32. Our friend group, like 20 of us, went to see the go out afterward for drinking. The scene where her leg is hanging out of the sheets and she gets yanked out of bed freaked me out big time. We were all debriefing outside the theatre talking about how scary it was and there was a group of maybe 5 teenagers close by. they were all like “it wasn’t scary at all blah blah” for a few mins until one of them said, “um, im lying, that was scary as shit” and then the rest started laughing and saying the same thing, so we felt better about ourselves. I almost always have a leg out of the covers for temperature mgmt and now a month away from my 50th I’ll still catch myself at times when I’m half asleep freaking out, pulling my legs back under the covers and rocking back and forth to get a hard tuck under both sides. Because, you know, 500 count sheets are impenetrable by demons.

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prstele01@reddit

Same. Had to sleep with the lights on. I was 15…

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Crusty8@reddit

I had to sleep with the lights on for a year cuz it freaked me out so much.

Same.

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Far_Recognition4078@reddit

I would love to see this on a big screen. Its a creepy flic for sure.

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MyFavoriteThing@reddit

Saw it in the theater in NYC and was still freaked out in the extreme despite being entirely removed from being lost in the forest.

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VetteBuilder@reddit

Bare Wench Project was better

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NoeticHatTrick@reddit

Yep. Went to see it at a sold-out show on a Saturday morning opening weekend, with my brother. Didn't really see what all the fuss was about after the hype.

Went Monday night (again sold out) with a bunch of friends from work. It kicked our butts. The crowd was super into it, with people jumping and screaming at the right moments. And then we were all creeped out when walking back to our cars in the dark.

I have loved it ever since. I rewatch it about every 5 years, and the second half of the movie still holds up for me.

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ShireHorseRider@reddit

I remember seeing it in the theater. I remember being freaked out.

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Kauffman67@reddit

Dumbest movie I ever saw. Got to the end, people in the theater were freaking out and I’m like “Really? That’s it? That sucked”

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schrodingersdagger@reddit

I've still never seen it. That's it. That's my flex. :D

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Obvious-Confusion14@reddit

I worked at a movie theater when this came out. Never saw it as fps movies make me queasy. A pregnant lady (7-8 months at least) was walking up to me, arms loaded with snacks from the snack bar. Warned her about the film having been filmed with hand held for most of the movie. She assured me that she would not get sick. She puked up in one seat and she just moved over to the next and puked again. She watched the whole film. The last row she sat in was so gross. And I had to clean it up. We called it the Blair Puke Project bc there was always one person who projectile puke hitting the back of the old movie seats, the floor and the carpet runner of the aisle. Hated that movie MORE than Pokémon's first movie. Anyone who worked a movie theater job knows all kid movies are the worst to clean up after a showing. Blair Witch Project was worse. You know why it takes so long between movie showings? Bc the employees are trying to clean up the horror show of the last group of movie goers. Since my time at CinaStar I always carry out my trash and try to not leave a huge mess. Hated the movie so much.

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crisperfest@reddit

Yes! I saw it in the theater with my then-husband when it was first released. We hadn't seen any of the marketing for the movie and had just heard that it had gotten good reviews. There's something to be said about being terrified while watching a movie in a dark room with a couple hundred strangers.

The theatre was jam-packed. People were sitting in the isle. It was almost claustrophobic despite being a fairly large theater. I'm pretty sure if the fire marshall had come in, the whole thing would have been shut down.

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Click_Final@reddit

Yes, I did . still in my top 5. the hype and assumption that it was a real event was masterfully

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Tea_and_Smoke@reddit

This movie freaked me out, so claustrophobic.

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OtterMumzy@reddit

Yes was terrified. Great marketing job.

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Im_The_Gord@reddit

One of the dumbest movies I've ever seen.

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qualistempus56@reddit

Yes generally freaked me out

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buttfirstcoffee@reddit

I never watched it 😬

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Snoo74962@reddit

We had no clue what it was about when we walked into the theatre. Unfortunately, my husband traveled for work every week. We had woods behind our house, and it scared the crap out of me.

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JacksonKittyForm@reddit

I randomly stumbled on a show about the making of it late one night before it was released. I went with a boyfriend opening weekend. Freaked him out. About a week later he called to tell me it wasn't real I said yeah, I know, he was so pissed that I didn't tell him. Still was a unique take on a horror movie & still in my top 10.

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monstermack1977@reddit

I saw it at a midnight showing with my GF without knowing anything about it.

She was visibly scared by it.

When we got home, she went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I thought it'd be funny to turn off all the lights and then stand in the corner directly across from the bathroom door.

She let out a blood curdling shriek and slammed the bathroom door. Took me another 5 minutes to get her out of the bathroom. Part of that was me trying to stop laughing. lol

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Regretsblastype@reddit

My ex did that to me when we watched the grudge. I went to the bathroom and he turned off all the lights and did the aaaaahhhhhhh sound. Asshole. He my ex for a reason (not that reason though).

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ileentotheleft@reddit

I saw it alone at a local theater and the ten minute walk home alone at night in my NYC neighborhood was as scary a walk as I ever had in the city.

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Regretsblastype@reddit

Ok. This movie scares me to this day. The fear of hearing something but not being able to put your back against a wall is very real to me.

The sound of the stone clacking when they were out in the woods and then the dude facing the corner? Nope!

Most “scary” movies don’t creep me out. This one and the Grudge (I watched the one with Sarah Michelle Gellar) scared me. Right after I watched the grudge I was in Target at the checkout line and a little Asian boy came up next to me. About 4 years old? He made that sound and I was so creeped out. Asaaaaahhhhhhhhh

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MonkeyTraumaCenter@reddit

I saw the trailer before another movie about a month prior (Austin Powers, I think) and was very curious. I went on the internet and found the website, then watched the “Curse of the Blair Witch” special on Sci-Fi. I saw it opening weekend and left the theater scared out of my mind.

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chromebaloney@reddit

A girl I worked with started describing it to me and the whole level of freaky found-footage aspect. But the action seemed a lot like some Lovecraft I was reading at the time. And it was.

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Livid-Monitor-9007@reddit

Watched it in Seattle when it first premiered. Loved it and when my friend and I got up from our seats, other people were still sitting down staring at the screen in shock when the credits were rolling

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geekamongus@reddit

This was one of the first movies to use the Internet to do guerrilla marketing ahead of the release. They built up suspense and did a great job of making it seem like it was actually a documentary. It scared the shit out of me as a result.

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Beautiful-Habit-825@reddit

Terrified me.

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Either_Sympathy_3767@reddit

Do you mean the motion sickness? Yeah i did not expect that at all

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FrozenH2oh@reddit

I’m shaking my head at poor, sweet, innocent past me.

I thought it was real. I thought it was an actual documentary. I cried tears of fear in the theatre.

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Emunahd@reddit

This. Same. And we had trees all around our property at home and I was terrified of my own yard. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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PogoZaza@reddit

Great marketing campaign, complete shit film.

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madlyhattering@reddit

I kind of knew it was a lost in the outdoors movie, and that it must be suspense/horror, but that’s all.

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dsmac085@reddit

Still haven't seen it 😁

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DirtyHaroldBNE@reddit

I went to the cinema to see this when it came out. This was in Australia.

The DJ from the local radio station was there and oversold it as "the scariest movie ever". A cinema full of high school turds turned up to prove they wouldn't be scared by pretty much talking and laughing through the whole movie, and pretty much ruined the experience. I wish I'd seen it in the USA before all the hype.

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Budget-Procedure-427@reddit

Nope! Despite all the hype I never seen it to this day.

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mcfddj74@reddit

Saw it at a drive in, surrounded by woods & it was a pitch black night with not a star in the sky. Fucking scary.

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TheWholeFred@reddit

Funny story. My friend was walking the Appalachian Trail by himself. That movie came out about halfway through his journey. He is a huge movie buff and stopped in a town to watch it. He said the first couple of nights alone after that movie were horrible.

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-DethLok-@reddit

I saw it in an outdoor cinema in a park - amongst trees.

Yeah. Exactly.

Walking back to the car was somewhat traumatic - and amongst the quietest ever group of people ever leaving a cinema in the history of moving pictures...

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LoudMind967@reddit

I was so pissed. This was vsck when I still believed in ghosts and paranormal shit. It was sold as bring the real deal. I wanted my money back

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challmaybe@reddit

The very same day my sister and I came home from the theater, we heard it was fake. What a time to be alive.

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DarkWolf-23@reddit

Discovery channel made a “documentary” about it before it came out. I legit thought it was real until about half way through the movie, I suddenly realised that even a complete fkn moron would just follow the river instead of going deeper into the woods.

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flayakker@reddit

I took my daughter and two of her friends (all about 14) to this at a walk in, scared them shitless.

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Smart_Map25@reddit

Watched this years after it came out and was absolutely terrified by it.

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Spare-Foundation-703@reddit

Ending freaked me out.

For that Halloween, I made about twenty of those witchy stick things and hung them around my yard.

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Winter-Committee-972@reddit

Giant let down

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Blue-Skye-@reddit

My husband thought it was based on a true story. It took four calls to friends to convince him differently😂🤣

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DMFD_x_Gamer@reddit

I believed this when it happened. Right up until the Oscar show later that year and the cast was there and interviewed. They 100% got me.

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Nantzstoast@reddit

Yup. Watched in the theater. A few friends had already seen it, but they refused to say anything about it or discuss it in any way. There was sort of an unwritten rule that if you saw it you wouldn’t talk about it with people who hadn’t seen it. That would never be possible today with social media.

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WestBeachSpaceMonkey@reddit

Yup, it was tooted as “found footage” saw the midnight premiere, when the credits rolled I was so pissed

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MisterScary_98@reddit

Yes, I saw it in the theater with only a general idea of what it was about. I thought it was brilliant because the first half(ish) of the movie is a satire of pretentious college-age people and the second half is scary as hell.

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ScrauveyGulch@reddit

The last 2 seats were nose bleed. Crazy time watching that.

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unlawfl@reddit

Never watched it.

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196119611961@reddit

Yeah, I wasted all my time that sucked

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procrastinatinrovert@reddit

I never wanted it and more than likely never will

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Wild-Breadfruit7817@reddit

Yes, I’m the movie theater.

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Traditional_Ad_5859@reddit

Person I was dating at the time liked going to movies. We went to a late night showing. After the movie, somebody said that she didn't understand why people were laughing or making other comments bc iT wAS rEaL! oh my gawd, looked up Blair witch when I got home and found out about the online marketing. 🤦🏼‍♂️

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Malfeitor1@reddit

As a much more credulous youth, I did partially buy into this. A friend of mine ran a local video store and snagged a VHS copy of this way before it had a theatrical release. A bunch of us got together and watched it. We had no prior knowledge of what it was…to this day I think that was the best possible way to experience it.

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50dilf4milf@reddit

I don't get it. I wanted my money back. I guess the only people the movie scared are people that have never stepped foot in a forest.

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Snoo52322@reddit

In the theater as a preview. It was totally effed.

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tarhawk71@reddit

I have to say watching this at home in the dark freaked me out a little bit.

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ShakeyChee@reddit

It's hard to articulate what it was like seeing this the first time. Almost no internet (definitely not like today). Only heard about it word of mouth. "You gotta see this thing! It's real!" Searched, found it playing at a small art house theater a couple towns away. Creepy AF cause we had no idea what to expect, and it seemed kinda real. Can't recall for sure, but I think upon leaving the theater I had figured out it was fictional.

Later it got a bigger release, and so it was undeniable fictional. And today it's like duh. But for a little bit of time there was a creepy mystery around this movie that would be impossible to replicate today.

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ucantharmagoodwoman@reddit

Yep, I saw it the day it came out in my local art house theater, right after I turned 19. I'd never heard of it before then. I had no idea what to expect, I only really went on a whim.

Scared the shit out of me.

This was the somewhat early days of the internet, so people weren't used to, like, news that was fake but made to seem real. So when I went home, I Yahooed their names and there were all these "news" articles about how they had gone missing, etc., that the filmmakers had planted online.

I was terrified it was real until my dad asked me if I was stupid and I realized I was lol

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New-Car-3759@reddit

Watched it on overnight pass while I was in Boot Camp. Next night, we had FTX 😳 So imagine having the movie playing in your head while being in the middle of nowhere in a tent, in the rain. Core memory 😂

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AnnieB512@reddit

I did. It's was the first "found footage" movie and it was marketed as a documentary style- we all thought it could be real until we realized it wasn't! It was fun back then.

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ezduzit24@reddit

Yes and one of my friends had to leave the theater in a hurry at the end to throw up because of how ‘shakey’ the filming is in that last scene. Worst part for him was the nearest garbage can had one of those lids that has the side flap and he accidentally let go mid heave so it swung back down to close and a bunch of puke ended up on his pants and shoes. Lol

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Trai-All@reddit

Yep. The shaky cam nauseated my husband. The movie made me want to go camping.

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graspedbythehusk@reddit

My brother said the same thing and that it wasn’t that good so I never actually saw it lol.

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Trai-All@reddit

That it nauseated him or it made him want to go camping?

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graspedbythehusk@reddit

Nauseated sorry!

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StephB567@reddit

My brother warned me about that and I've never seen this movie.

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tangledwire@reddit

I ended vomiting...there was a line at the bathroom a bunch of us throwing up. I couldn't watch the rest of the movie but stayed because my girlfriend was into it. I kept staring at the ceiling...lol

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Space_Oddity_2001@reddit

Same - I saw it in the theater and didn't know anything about it. I had to leave halfway through because I was throwing up and my friends were convinced it was because of the content not the "shaky cam" effect.

I can't even guarantee that if I had known that it was "shaky cam style" that I would realize it would affect my vertigo. But now I know to avoid any "found footage" genre movies.

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Trai-All@reddit

Yeah my husband has struggled with a lot of video games because of the camera not being stable enough. We think it may because he’s a runner? Like his body expects shaky views to come with actual motion and when they don’t, he gets sick.

Some games are fine (like Diablo) or let him adjust settings but he’s mostly given up on action games because they’re too unreliable. When he is keeping me company as I play those games on my console, he usually just browses on his phone.

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Ancient_Ad_9373@reddit

Same. It is now technically called cybersickness.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

As far from the trail as possible?

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Bleys69@reddit

I still haven't seen it.

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jjmenace@reddit

Yup, in the theater when everyone thought everything on the internet was real. So damn scary.

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Roundcouchcorner@reddit

This one hit home with the opening scene as I got lost in the as a child. Spinning around and not having a clue what direction to head.

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monkeytitsalfrado@reddit

JOOOOOOSH! WHERE ARE YOU MAN?

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TheSkepticCyclist@reddit

This is more Millennial than GenX

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JojoMcJojoface@reddit

Mostly- I wasn’t quite sure what the deal was. and that was enough, It sure SEEMED and FELT pretty real to me at the time (before social media) It left me truly disturbed for a time

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the-queen-of-bling@reddit

This movie was whack

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PinkRoseBouquet@reddit

I saw it in a theater when it came out. I found it creepy but not all that scary. Scary to me has more explicit stuff (e.g. Exorcist, The Omen, Night of the Living Dead, Silence of the Lambs, etc.)

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Away-Poem-5269@reddit

I cried I was so scared.

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Houstex@reddit

I watched this movie in a small movie theatre, needless to say it was not enjoyable at all, movie was lame and not scary imo

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Gildor_Helyanwe@reddit

i knew it was a horror movie when i went to see it

unfortunately, the only seats left were in the front row - i had to keep looking down as i would get nauseous

i do like the spoof with muppets called the Bear Wit Project

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JacksonIVXX@reddit

This was great when it came out . The hour long documentary they made to go with it made it more believable.

I'd say if you never seen Blair witch watch it at night with all the lights out . It's best in total darkness.

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Seanosaurus-Rex@reddit

I was a child, 12 or so, and this shit terrified me.

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banterbobs@reddit

The real horror show was how the cast got screwed by the studio.

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po1ar_opposite@reddit

I saw it in the theater on a date very early in a relationship. We didn’t know anything going in and we thought it was real. And fucked up, lol

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thebutterflyeffect18@reddit

We took our toddler and newborn camping two weeks after this movie came out. I did not sleep for one second while we were in the tent, and I had both kids bundled and ready to run.

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PressureLife9857@reddit

When I saw this movie, I did not know it was a.. hoax.. I thought it was real. I was so scared I ended up throwing up outside in the movie theater parking lot. I thought.. OMG... what about the families.. how could they show this footage!! I was both relieved and disappointed to find out it was a hoax.. lol

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foodandhowtoeat@reddit

We waited in a forever long line and sat near the front, for what?

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Hour-Pressure-3758@reddit

Yes and it was scary as fuck!

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Krickett72@reddit

I watched this on DVD back in the day. I was so bored I tried to change the channel.

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Lostinaforest2@reddit

This film freaks me out. I had an idea of what to expect in terms of hand held camera work, but the tension was on an other level. The ending OMG. So scary.

Even more scary was when we arrived home from the cinema my wife pranked me by standing facing the corner of the room with the lights off. I screamed my I turned the lights on.

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SlidingOtter@reddit

I heard it was supposed to be good horror movie. I was bored out of my skull. Afterwards, I jokingly asked the theater manager for a refund because the movie was really that bad.

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Repulsive_Client_325@reddit

Yeah, it the jiggly camera work made me nauseous.

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Wifevsofficewife@reddit

I watched.this at a drive-in when it first came out. Man was it great. At least since I was like 14

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No-Estate-7326@reddit

I saw it when it was still limited release in NYC. They had all the props out and me and my girlfriend at the time thought it was just going to be a documentary. Freaked the hell out of me but to make matters worse, I was living in an old farmhouse surrounded by the woods. That’s not all, behind us was a peacock farm. They sound like a cross of a baby and cat. Very similar to some of the sounds from the movie.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

Oh wow, I didn't realize they did all that for the opening. That's awesome.

And, yeah, peacocks sound freaky as hell! No way I could have slept with them nearby!

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Freckles-75@reddit

I grew up in Florida, where some guy had a small flock of peacocks that would scream at 3 o’clock in the morning! The cross between a baby and a cat is good, I always found it more like a cat being tortured or being stepped on.

Those peacocks would even wander across the road at times, and they are the only animals I have ever tried to hit purpose for you with my car.

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iBringDoom@reddit

Yes and that scene (towards the end) made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. And it still gives me the creeps to this day. I have yet to watch another horror movie that did that.

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Freckles-75@reddit

Genuinely, one of the Scariest movies I’ve ever seen. Saw it in the theaters BEFORE it was known to have been made by film students (University of Central Florida) for around $60k.

It was like all the “campfire stories” I heard as a kid, brought to Life. The (now common) “shaky-hand-cam” look Really made it look like “just some film students doing a project on ‘real witches’”.

I Literally Jumped in the theater at the end! I think it was only a week or 2 later that the “truth” was revealed.

I think it Still stands as the highest $$$ making film in history (or at least in the US).

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GorganzolaVsKong@reddit

Hated it - the kids were useless - ending was great though

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Librarianatrix@reddit

I did, yeah! I enjoyed it, but it didn't terrify me the way it did some folks.

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bt65@reddit

Got a real bad copy of it that was sometimes in black and white, with vhs glitches and poor audio, and since it was "a lost tape someone found" i thought it was supposed to be like that, later bought it on dvd and got supriced to see it was in way better quality, but it was so much scarier in poor quality

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International-Day-00@reddit

Got it on a video cassette months (maybe six) before it came out. Had never heard of it. All I knew about it was that was it was edited footage of some kids that disappeared. A group of friends came over and we watched it. Halfway through, we all went outside completely freaked out and discussed if it was real.

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Far_Squash_4116@reddit

I watcher it at night alone completely unprepared when I was in my early twenties. Gave me a good fear of forests for a while.

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joeyjoeskullcracker@reddit

The first time I saw it with a bunch of friends that hadn’t seen it yet, we were all tripping on LSD at my friend’s house and then went into the 75 acres of woods behind his house that looked very similar to the woods on the movie. We all freaked out and the rest of the night was ruined. Everyone left.

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Upset_Car_6982@reddit

u ever been alone in the woods? this hit home..😈🕶

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BiloxiBorn1961@reddit

Yes and was somewhat disappointed. I found the film over acted with poor execution, editing and falsely portrayed as a “true story.”

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DocCanoro@reddit

Yes, at the time it came out it was impactful, it was said those were actual recordings of actual people.

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maxguillotine@reddit

I still haven't watched it because I knew exactly what to expect, even at the time

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augustwest30@reddit

A friend from work and I saw a preview screening the week before its wide release. The theater was packed. All we knew about it going in was it was based on found footage and it was from some hikers that went missing. It was fun to suspend your disbelief and go into it thinking it really was found footage. The actors did a good job of making it look like they weren’t acting, and it really did feel like watching a bunch of home movies.

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ElleAnn42@reddit

I saw it in the theater but knew that it wasn’t real. I recall that it was scary but I wasn’t super impressed.

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SenatorBeers@reddit

Yep. Opening night. Had no idea what it was.

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cybermusicman@reddit

Saw it at the theater opening week. Left wanting my money back.

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jefrix@reddit

I never really understood the "horror". I was raised on a farm in the country, and the first hour of them looking at pine trees and being terrified left me kinda bewildered. The ending was cool though.

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allaboutbecca@reddit

Saw it in our 100 yr old local haunted historic theater with a press chat with the directors. The marketing for this was genius: grass roots, sold as a true story documentary. Still freaked out over the final scene.

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Ca62296@reddit

It messed me up for 2 weeks. I thought it was real- I was speechless when I walked out of the movie theater-

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inot72@reddit

Yes. I freaking loved it and still get a little scared while watching it.

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DynamiteWitLaserBeam@reddit

I lived in a tent in the woods when this came out. There was no way I was gonna watch that. Still haven't.

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CawlinAlcarz@reddit

This was a very polarizing movie I recall. There was some controversy about it being plagiarized, lots of people who thought the plot was nonsensical, people who hated the cinematography, and I believe, a lot of people like me... who found this movie terrifying.

The setting was very famliar in look and feel to the woods/forests around where I grew up, so all of that was super familiar looking and definitely set the "mood." There were lots of dilapidated and falling down abandoned buildings all around where I grew up out in the woods, and this also made the setting more familiar (and creepy) to me. We used to smoke a doob out in the woods and scare each other with imaginings and stories about what those buildings were, or what happened in them, or what happened in them after dark...

Finally, the way the people acted put me very much in mind of other people I knew growing up and had sworn to avoid - people who just seemed bound and determined to fuck things up or to be as annoying as possible.

All in all, this movie felt very real to me and honestly scared the fucking shit out of me.

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fuckfacekiller@reddit

15 minutes and walked out. Bored.

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JackIsEyeon@reddit

My experience with this movie was pretty insane, in retrospect.

A friend sent me a video. Said "you need to watch this"...so I watched it. No idea what it was, it was before the big marketing blitz for it...just a video a friend sent me.

I messaged him "what the fuck did I just watch" and he just laughed. It wasn't until later when the movie actually came out that I found out the whole story...10/10 movie experience, tbh.

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CitronTechnical432@reddit

Yes . Not sure what i really expected but I was very disappointed

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ITYSTCOTFG42@reddit

Horror movies usually don't even move my needle but I went into this thinking it was real found footage and it was fekkin terrifying. I was 19 iirc.

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doooshness@reddit

It sucked

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SpritzLike@reddit

Someone in my friend group got a bootleg VHS somehow and called like 15 people over to watch it. It was before the news came out that it was a normal movie. We were all freaked out for like a week.

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BastardofMadison@reddit

I knew ahead of time but still questioned it during.

The funniest thing was a bartender I worked with (who was probably 25-27 but seemed old at the time) insisted for months that it was all real and they died.

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JaneDohhw@reddit

My dumb ass thought it was real at first.

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Successful_Sense_742@reddit

I thought it was real too. My thoughts were they were stalked by people (possible cult or backwoods inbreds). It was because how they advertised the movie as real and found footage was totally a new concept at the time. Great movie. Scary without gore. Or jump scares.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

Awesome! 💚

Wait.

They, did, didn't they?

...

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Hot_Season_886@reddit

Pos

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iambarrelrider@reddit

One of the worse theater experiences I ever had.

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Formal-Regret323@reddit

Never seen it

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Admirable-Cobbler319@reddit

Maybe it varies by area? I remember it was a big deal. There were segments about it on shows like "Inside Edition".

My siblings and I went to see it. I remember we giggling at some parts of it and other people in the theater looked horrified. I guess they all thought we were total psychos.

I didn't think it was scary at all.

BUT THEN, when it came out on video, I watched it by myself and got completely freaked out.

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NarwhalSpace@reddit

I did and it was terrifying.

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New_Asparagus7480@reddit

I don't want to say it was scary, but I walked out of the theater. Shaken. Will never watch it again.

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Due_Finish_5107@reddit

Yes!!! The first reality movie

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Nasty5727@reddit

I saw it in the theater with no idea what it was about. I thought it was great.

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hettuklaeddi@reddit

i mean i heard it was weird and creepy

so beforehand i took my date to a nearby abandoned neighborhood from the 50s to do a lil pregame - walking around in the barn it was like the ground was moving and we realized it was a massive snake nest

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Jolly-Holiday819@reddit

I did! I was working in Indiana that summer. I tagged along with some coworkers not knowing anything about the film, not seeing a trailer or anything. I admit I thought it was real up to a point.

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thermalexposure@reddit

I did! My friend took me to see it and told me not to read anything about it beforehand. So, it was great. But there are many clues that it’s pure fiction. I just chose to suspend of disbelief and really enjoyed it. Really glad I got to experience it as intended.

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Big_Face_9726@reddit

They played a special on the sci-fi channel about this movie like it was real. I went to see it and was totally freaked out leaving the theater. When I got home, I used this new thing called "the internet" to research the movie and found out it wasn't real. So Blair Witch Project was the first thing the internet ruined for me. 😂

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rolfington1@reddit

Same exact situation for me. I watched the Sci-Fi “documentary” and later that day went to see the movie thinking it was all real.

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Big_Face_9726@reddit

Yeah, the "documentary"! That was like our own Ghostwatch situation. I remember news stories about people flocking to those woods to investigate afterwards because so many people thought it was real. Good times! LOL

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Professional-Bed1847@reddit

The fucking dumbest movie ever put to film!

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ironfireman547@reddit

I saw the commercials and stayed away. I knew my motion sickness would fuck me up with all shakey cam stuff.

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Altruistic_Fondant38@reddit

Saw it in a packed theater with one of my bff's. At the very end, when the camera pans to the guy standing in the corner, the whole place screamed! The excitement in the air was fabulous! Now, it's dumb as hell.

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CreativeProfession57@reddit

Oh no, it was dumb as hell then, too:)

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Dazzling-Score-107@reddit

That’s a great way to sum up my feelings about this movie. I snuck out of my parents’ house to watch it. I had to walk about a half mile of country roads with zero houses on it (except mine) in the dark to avoid getting caught when I went home.

17 year old me was terrified.

I rewatched it like ten years ago. And I could not understand my previous feelings for the movie.

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habu-sr71@reddit

True story. One time I was leading a meeting and the invitees were peers and also occasional practical jokers such as I used to be. We all laughed a lot together.

I was first there and posted up a the end of the long rectangular meeting room standing motionless in the far corner like the guy at the end of the movie. Two people walked in and just stopped and called my name. I could only hold the pose and silence for 5 or ten seconds but the wide eyed look on their faces was priceless. And then they laughed and told me I was weird. I apologized too. I probably wouldn't do that again these days either. Far too scared of HR. lol

There is something just so creepy about standing and facing a corner. I it's so instinctively wrong on some deep animal level that might be part of it.

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NVJAC@reddit

Yeah, I'm not a horror fan at all (except for John Carpenter stuff) but the whole "found footage" aspect seemed interesting even though I figured it wasn't actually found footage.

That ending scared the shit out me.

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Amissa@reddit

SAME. I wasn’t scared or affected until the very end of the movie, where he’s in the corner. For whatever reason that got me.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

Yeah, the ending is raw

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Successful_Sense_742@reddit

Had something to do with what the man said about the hermit Mr. Pryor. He took the children to the basement and had one face the corner. Said he couldn't take the eyes on him. He would kill one, then grab the other one from the corner and kill him too.

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Random-sargasm_3232@reddit

I watched this alone in an empty theater slowly drinking a large bottle of beer and it pretty well terrified me at the time. Great pre- viral marketing and bare bones production.

I liked it.

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CreativeProfession57@reddit

So much hype. So much disappoint.

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BlkDragon7@reddit

So true. I had such hopes. People talking about how scared they were.

Instead I got motion sickness and a half assed jump scare. ONE... Half assed jump scare.

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CreativeProfession57@reddit

I wanna add to this comment and ask a question of you guys. It is racial, but it isn’t racist, I don’t think.

How did non-white folks react to this movie? I watch this with some black friends in Silver Spring, Maryland, and I noticed that the ending seemed to have worked as intended in terms of shock value among most of the white folks. But to a single one, the brothers and the Latinos that were watching the movie generated this synchronized snort and roll of the eyes, like “That’s it? He against a fucking wall? Where’s the goddamned blood????”

I have to admit, I agreed with my friends. I wanted my money back.

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lidlekitty_tweezler@reddit

Freaked me out so bad, we went and watched it twice to see if it would be different vibes the second time. All the hype about it possibly being real was a great psy op to get people to go see it.

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RedditSkippy@reddit

To me it was completely overhyped.

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sid_not_vicious-11@reddit

yes I watched it when it first came out

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Anxious-Basket-494@reddit

Yes my friends and I saw this in the theatre…my mom told us that she read in the paper about this true story. We all had to sleep in my bedroom we were so freaked out by the end. Haha. Those were days. Internet spoilers has ruined everything.

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BlkDragon7@reddit

I did. Walked out of it with absolute morons talking about how they were so scared they were sick to their stomach. No, you brainless imbecile. That's motion sickness from something that tainted film making for years.

I demanded and got my money back.

It had, at best, 1 half assed jump scare. The rest of it was just nausea inducing stupidity.

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Boondock830@reddit

One of the best viral ad campaigns ever.

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tikokit@reddit

Before going to the movie I remember checking out the website which was full of fake newspaper articles (that I believed) so I was a little cautious beforehand, the ending fucked me up a couple of months

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sarcasmexorcism@reddit

i was way up in that shit. it was amazing to see the internet in action.

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halfway_laststop@reddit

Yea. Went to this house and they were watching a copy from the theater the weekend before release. They were so pumped, I was nauseous in about 5 mins.

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cantcountnoaccount@reddit

I had a pre-release copy through work. My bf’s roommate watched it before we had a chance to. I asked him if it was scary, he said, “maybe.. if you’re scared of crafts.”

10/10 burn Steve-o

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dirtycoldtaco@reddit

Yes, and it made it all the better. Entire theater walked out in an unsettled silence, and friends canceled out on a camping trip for the following weekend. Would be difficult to recreate the experience now.

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nikeguy69@reddit

lol we went to see this at the movies I was a little scared. Months after movie kept seeing small branches stacked evenly

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NopeYupWhat@reddit

I know many people liked that movie. After all the shaky cam, I was a little annoyed. The ending came, and I was like “is that supposed to scare me?”, because it did not. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood that day.

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dzbuilder@reddit

Never saw it. It never had a lick of interest for me.

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ZeroScorpion3@reddit

I liked it a lot but the ending was a disappointment.

It would have been better for the final scene if she just saw a child standing there staring at her when she ran down the steps.

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clevernattyboo@reddit

I saw it at the theater after following all the web promotion and stuff so I was all in. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t scaring me. But then the end came and I have rarely felt such intense fear. Terrified. Went home and our cat, for like a week, kept going and sitting facing the corner in the living room. It was so weird. We called her Blair Kitty after that. I was also terrified to do laundry for a minute cuz it was in the basement of our apt and it was creeeeepy.

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mnemosis@reddit

I had to walk out of the theater because of motion sickness. But watched it at home and loved it.

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PanicBlitz@reddit

Saw it the week it came out. Everyone left the theater in dead silence.

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Jurgis-Rudkis@reddit

Meatball eyes.

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Higgs-Bosun@reddit

My younger brother brought 5 cd-roms to my apartment that were just numbered and we watched it one file at a time on my 17” Dell CRT monitor. I knew NOTHING about what I was seeing. I thought he found a snuff flick.

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ocTGon@reddit

I was one of the few that thought that it was a silly movie...

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PlannerSean@reddit

Went opening night in Orlando, and am so glad I did. (Though sadly the theatre I saw it at was shit)

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Crash217@reddit

Me and at least half the people I worked with a sporting goods store went and watched the late night premier after closing the shop. All we knew was it was supposed to be spooky and shot like home video.

I lived way outside of town in a house in the middle of the woods and my 17 year old ass was SPRINTING into the house at 1:30am because I was freaked out LOL.

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brian428@reddit

Before it came out there was a brilliant guerrilla marketing campaign. I remember a web site that purported to be real which described the biographies of the “missing” students, historical background on the region and the witch legend, how the footage was “found”, etc.

If I recall correctly, the videotape was “found” in the undisturbed wall of an abandoned house in the woods that was like 200 years old. Confirmed with carbon dating the surrounding materials. Meaning there should be no possible way that tape could have been inside that wall. Yet it was.

It was quite convincing. (Unless this is all a false memory…it WAS a long time ago lol).

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Wenger2112@reddit

Yes. Went with my college camping buddies. The arguing, getting lost really hit home.

I don’t think we all ever went backcountry camping together again.

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aradiacat@reddit

I remember before it's release, Etv released a "documentary" about the back story.

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Rekrapfig@reddit

I saw this at a movie theater in Killeen, TX (home of Fort Hood). Most of the audience, including myself, were active duty army. All of us had been lost in the woods at one point of our careers and had no sympathy for the kids in the movie.

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Round-Western-8529@reddit

I expected a good movie, I was so let down

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justme7256@reddit

I knew a little about it but we were visiting friends in Denver when it came out. We decided to go to this small theater that decorated the whole place using those stick “people?” like are in the trees in the movie. Gave it an extra creepy vibe. Seeing it that way was very cool.

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edwardothegreatest@reddit

Didn’t think I’d suffer motion sickness and have to lie down.

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dustymag@reddit

Yes, as an .AVI that my roommate brought home on a USB stick. He knew the producers in some way, and this was marketing, I guess.

It was distributed as found footage. We watched it and it scared us, but I mean some of the acting isn't great (townsfolk) and leaves it open for discussion.

But the last act was super scary, thinking it might be real. Old abandoned housed are scary at night anyway.

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DripalongDaffy@reddit

Saw this in the theater, my wife at the end was white as a ghost and paralyzed with fear, couldn't even get out of her seat. That movie gave her PTSD.

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Ill-Extension-4839@reddit

I was one of the first ppl to watch this film. About a month or so before it hit most theaters. We were told it was found footage. Nothing about it being film student’s new work. Two of my boys and I brought our girlfriends to it and watched in absolute fear. After the film we were all silent on the car ride home. “What the fuck did we just watch?!?” We were shook!! Then for the next week or so my buddy’s girlfriend was showing signs of some sort of PTSD. She shut down. It wasn’t until the real story came out that the film wasn’t some sort of snuff film and was a “project” they were working on. :) Then it blew up! Huge box office. Way to market to young 18-20yo w free late night showings!!

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simonpyman@reddit

Same here, thinking wtf did I just watch! Definitely an original idea at the time.

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Purple-Equivalent949@reddit

I didn't expect to be routing for the whitch by the end.

"We've crossed this bridge twice, we're going in circles!!!" Yes, if only there was some easy to follow, directional landmark, perhaps under the bridge, that they could use as a guide to get out of the woods... Characters so dumb I remember it a quarter century later from a movie I saw once.

My buddy asked if I wanted to leave after 30 minutes and I still regret not going.

I was living next to a movie theater that summer and think I saw EVERY movie that came out, and this was the worst (yes, including "phantom menace" and "deep blue sea"). Definitely the most boring.

The jump scare at the is pretty good though.

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BoggyCreekII@reddit

A friend of mine was on the crew for this movie so I knew all about it going in, lol.

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FormulaBob27@reddit

Saw it in the theatre. Great movie and still one of my favorites.

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anras2@reddit

I still haven't bothered to see it. Everything was spoiled for me ahead of time.

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punkdrummer22@reddit

Never seen it

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cats_are_asshats@reddit

True story: my bf and I were working in the bush, staying in camp, sleeping in tents for weeks on end. We had a day off so 5 of us went to town and to do laundry and catch a movie. We watched THIS fucking movie and then went back to camp. Massively bad decision. My bf and I burned through so many batteries because we began sleeping with a flashlight on

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Unfair_League_1937@reddit

Yup, and the worse disappointment ever. Was gearing up for all the hype only to be let down.

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from_one_redhead@reddit

Fuck this film. It sucked then and it sucks now

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tbodillia@reddit

No. I hated the shaky cam trailer. I have never seen it.

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Puzzleheaded-Ad-379@reddit

A good friend of mine went to an advanced screening at the University of Maryland before it came out in the theaters , which is not too far from where it was supposed to take place, and she was terrified walking home after the movie past wooded places in her neighborhood when everyone still thought it was real

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lil_grey_alien@reddit

I was in art school in MD at the time so we looked at it like an experimental art film, which it kind of was. Regardless my friends and I had fun scaring the crap out of each other for a semester by standing in corners of rooms with the lights off.

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yazzcabbage@reddit

I saw an advance screening with zero info going into it. The whole theater was freaked out when we left.

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Gibder16@reddit

Showed this to my teenage daughter not too long ago. She loved it. Still holds up to be honest. Good movie!

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unclefes@reddit

I'll be honest, even as a career marketing guy, I did not clock this as fake and I was mightily intrigued. I love this kind of thing - cryptically, legends, true mysteries - and so I was probably primed to be a believer. Plus the performances, esp Heather Donahue's, seemed very believable. Frankly, I was disappointed to learn it was fake, but still enjoyed it a lot.

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Hot-Butterfly-8024@reddit

Yes.

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Spring-Available@reddit

I copped it as fake when I saw that it had writers. So I didn’t buy into the hype.

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stayre@reddit

Yes. I saw it in the 1st couple of weeks, and totally bought into the marketing. I was effing terrified.

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rdwulfe@reddit

So I hate "horror" movies. Most of them are terrible, dumb plot, huge plot holes, etc.
This movie, didn't know shit about it going in, and enjoyed the hell out of it in the theatre. Scary, nerve wracking, had us all talking for months afterwards. I loved the minimalist style, the almost lack of gore, etc. This movie was genuinely great, and their "advertising" for it was perfect. Had us all believing in it.

So well done, pretty much unrepeatable, happened at JUST the right time.

I still hate horror movies, rarely watch them, but Blair Witch goes down as an amazing experience.

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RainbowBrite1122@reddit

This was pretty groundbreaking at the time. I think that was key to its success. Now it’s just cheesy.

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adknh@reddit

Yes!!! Freaked right out! Had to drive home in the dark through a really creepy, desolate road, and was so scared!!! 🤣

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MossIsking@reddit

Yes loved it.. as it turned out, it was the last scary movie I ever watched.

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tekfunkdub@reddit

No, I lived in LA at the time and was spoiled by the buzz

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unmitigateddiaster@reddit

Yes. And I thought it was real

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Popcorn_Blitz@reddit

I kind of feel like this movie is a litmus test for our generation. If you got caught up in the hype, looked into it, it scared the bejeesuz out of you, etc you're my kind of people. If you thought it was dumb, you weren't scared, you knew it all along, you're from a different tribe.

The folks that got motion sickness are right on the line.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

Yeah, that sounds about right. The comments reflect this duality perfectly.

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SSNs4evr@reddit

Yes. And left the theater disappointed. I've never watched the sequel(s) and told my kids it's stupid.

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_ism_@reddit

i STILL haven't seen it but people talk about it so much lately. Should I see it or is it ruined by all the pop culture references and SNL skits i'm sure i've seen about it?

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

I think it's a cultural icon and deserves a 90 minute slot some evening. Make sure you're in a dark room. Bring popcorn 🍿 🧹

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strub420@reddit

First time I ever saw a movie in a completely packed theater. We walked in and the only seats were in the front row. Felt nauseous by the end because of all the camera motion. Cool concept though.

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Sometimes_I_Do_That@reddit

It was all filmed right down the road from me,.. and when it came out, people seriously thought it must have been true,.. it was wild.

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kenderson73@reddit

I grew up near there and knew it was fake. No one wanted to believe me even though I knew all the ghost stories from the area.

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Sometimes_I_Do_That@reddit

A few years ago, there was a dude who did tours in Seneca Creek showing the different filming locations,.. I should have gone on one, but didn't.

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Impossible_Grape_Ape@reddit

Bro. Yes, in the theater in a small ass town in Bryan, Ohio The theater was dated as well.

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Wrong_Lingonberry_79@reddit

One of the worst movies ever made.

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Mephistopheles545@reddit

In the theater and I was pissed when it was over.

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daisymae25@reddit

NGL, I felt for the hype and thought it was real.

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texan01@reddit

Watched it, got really annoyed at the actors, and left before it finished.

It was lame.

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mtbbikenerd@reddit

Creepiest movie I’ve ever seen. Never watched it again.

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Popcorn_Blitz@reddit

A friend of mine came to my boyfriend (eventually husband) and I telling us about this thing he'd heard about on some forum and he wasn't completely sure it was bullshit. Oh the glorious time we had looking into it- the thing that made me decide it was probably bullshit was the teensy-est detail. Somewhere in the documentation there was something about the area where she went to college. I found a few colleges in the area and we looked them up and found their community news and there was nothing about it.

So by the time we got to the movie we were pretty sure it wasn't real but not completely sure- maybe we were wrong about the college thing. The whole thing was so much fun. I'm not sure it could happen again but I'm so glad that it did.

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Agent7619@reddit

That there is the only movie I've ever walked out of the theater in the middle of the movie.

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noise_generator1979@reddit

I thought this was the worst movie I'd ever seen.

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ggoptimus@reddit

I was dating someone who wanted to see this. I was so motion sick watching it. She wasn’t very empathetic about the sickness and I decided she wasn’t the one.

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BizarroMax@reddit

Yes. But I assumed it was fake and didn’t really get the point and I didn’t think it was scary or what all the fuss was about.

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nekkid_farts@reddit

Didn't expect the headache and motion sickness

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zebuli79@reddit

Saw it in theaters at 19 years old.

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bleachblondbuctchbod@reddit

I went into this with an open mind and still hated it

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Spiritual_Parfait_94@reddit

I saw it when it was released in theaters. The internet was pretty new and the advertising was smart. They made it seem that it was real footage found. I’m a seasoned horror fan and not much scares me, but I kept my lights on for two nights while sleeping after seeing this. Watching now, still a good movie, but less scary.

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Geopardish@reddit

I haven’t watched it yet.

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dripdrabdrub@reddit

Unfortunately, something i don't usually do, I bought into the hype and watched this movie in the theater in 1999. One of my co-workers hyped it up so much. What a huge disappointment and wasted money.

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AmbitiousRaspberry3@reddit

I watched this when it came out in theaters on opening night. People were definitely freaked out. There was a group of girls next to me who were screaming and losing it so much towards the end, they had to leave. It was a memorable experience.

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cramp11@reddit

Awesome marketing. Actors unknown, rumours it was all found tapes... definitely sucked me in.

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Funnygumby@reddit

I hated this movie

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Substantial-Being-35@reddit

I knew, but I let my wife believe it was real. She's still mad about it.

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rawmerow@reddit

Yes. I convinced all my cousins to go telling them it was real and they were all traumatized. (WE). after when we found out it was fake, they were all pissed at me and Blamed me for it.

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dneste@reddit

My wife was about 6 months pregnant when we went to see this in the theater. We made it about halfway through before the shaky-cam made her too sick to finish watching. I think it was 5 or so years later that I finally watched the entire movie! 😂

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needanap2@reddit

I actually was an intern at a marketing firm and watched it before it was released to the general public. A market research questionnaire was given out after the movie for us to fill out. The movie was not even being discussed so it was a true no idea what was going to happen when we watched it.

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Which_Preference_883@reddit

Yep. In the theater when it originally came out. Scared the 💩 out of me!

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Unable_Basil_4437@reddit

... saw this in portland, i think it might have even been an early release (not sure).

like seriously wtf did we just see ? wait, did this really happen ?! it was revealed later it wasn't actually found footage and was scripted. but man, at the time i definitely thought it was real.

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seruzawa@reddit

It was annoying because the idiots were too stupid to just follow the river downstream once they were lost.

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Agreeable-Ad-5235@reddit

I was afraid to. I thought it was real.

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EV1L_SP00N@reddit

I got dragged to the cinema to see this by an ex girlfriend, I hated every bit of this film, the hype was way to high for it.

The whole hand cam this was just not entertaining to watch and distracted me from any story it did have.

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Ginger8682@reddit

I see it in the movies at the time not knowing anything about it. I remember liking it at that time. A couple of years ago, I watched it again with my teenaged daughter and I didn’t tell her anything about it. It scared the crap out of her. She kept asking, is this true. It wasn’t until like 10-15 minutes when it was over that she called bull shit and was “ok” with it.

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krush_groove@reddit

Opening night at midnight!

But I was all in on the website and as much hype as I could get.

Theater was totally silent after the end.

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cerealandcorgies@reddit

I'm still nauseous from it

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Honest_Lab4829@reddit

I still can’t remember if I watched this all the way through.

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Wombat-comando@reddit

Worst film I've ever seen. I saw it in the theater and it gave me a headache.

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djbuttonup@reddit

Yes, all we knew was that it was an Indie horror movie, we all loved it and were properly scared by the ending.

The best part: the funniest weirdo in our group then made bundles of sticks tied in flannel with Finger Spies (they were a giveaway from something on campus so we had dozens kicking around) inside and left them on all of our porches that night. Still fucking hilarious.

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Jef_Wheaton@reddit

I rarely watch horror movies, but I was staying at a friend's house, and the local 1-screen theater only had this showing.

Her house was a creaky 120-year-old farmhouse at the edge of the woods.

I did NOT sleep that night.

I saw the movie again after it came out on VHS, and it was laughably bad.

"Moments in time". It was the right movie at just the right spot in history. It was a moment that can never be re-created.

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Koren55@reddit

Worst movie I’ve ever seen. I was going to walk out but my husband thought it was going to get better. It didn’t.

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uodjdhgjsw@reddit

Dumbest movie at the time . Could not believe people like it. I wanted my 99 cent rental fee back

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A_friend_called_Five@reddit

I'm here to upvote you and take my fair share of the down votes. I really want to like this film more. The lore and the premise are really cool; I like the concept and the whole setup. The marketing was very effective. But the main characters are not likeable; 70% of the film is annoying 20-somethings arguing and throwing F-bombs at each other. It actually makes the film a bit boring. I don't think I dislike the film as much as you do, but I think with better dialogue and likeable characters, it could have been better than it was.

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mEp1973@reddit

My husband and I saw it in the theater and the screen was completely black for a few minutes. At first we all assumed it was just part of the movie, but then everyone realized something was wrong. Finally my husband got up and went to complain. The manager gave us 8 free movie tickets and fixed the problem 🤣 That movie still scares me. If I have to be outside at night, especially in our back yard with woods at the bottom of it, I repeat to myself "Don't think about the Blair Witch, don't think about the Blair Witch"

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IMpertinente_1971@reddit

I liked it more. It awakened an atavistic fear.

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atom631@reddit

oh man!! I saw a screener of this months and months before its official release at Angelika Film Center in NYC. My college roommate’s brother was a music producer was given the tickets and in turn, gave them to us. Keep in mind this was late 98, early 99…so the internet as we know it was kinda in its toddler stage. We had NFI what this movie was about and there was ZERO information we could find on it. So we decided to go bc we thought see a movie so far ahead of release was a pretty cool opportunity.

I dont scare easily and this movie rocked me to my core. I had never seen or ever heard of “found footage” technique. We legit thought this was real, like some sort of documentary. When the movie ended everyone in the theater just sat there and stared in disbelief. I knew we were sharing the same emotional response to the film. it was absolutely wild!

When the movie got closer to release and information started to pop confirming it was “just a movie”. I had such a feeling of relief. LOL.

Honestly, looking back at being able to experience this film completely blind like this was absolutely incredible. I was 100% in the right place at the right time to have had the opportunity. Il never forget it.

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moopet@reddit

I'd heard some hype about it but not more than, "you need to watch this". I didn't know what it was about or that it was "found footage".

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wetsuit509@reddit

Was BWP was the first of it's genre? Love found footage now but when this kame out I was still young enough (religious enough) that it fucked with me for a solid week. The first Paranormal Activity ranks up there with this one for me.

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houseofyesterday@reddit

Cannibal Holocaust predates it. So does The McPherson Tape. (Watch both!)

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wetsuit509@reddit

Ooh, noice! will do. thanks ;)

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

It was definitely the first one I ever saw!

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Nobodys_Loss@reddit

Better yet, my friends and I dropped acid and the. Went out into the woods in a state park. That was a dumb idea.

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SoraShima@reddit

Same experience!

They also made a companion TV documentary about the history/mystery of the Blair Witch and the local town - both in tandem hit pretty hard to a teenage me!

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_Roxxs_@reddit

Yes and besides making me nauseous, it wasn’t what it was made out to be, it was disappointing.

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ruby651@reddit

Nope. I read about it in Premiere magazine and spent a good amount of time on the websites they created about the Blair Witch. They did a very good job for the time.

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Single-Ad967@reddit

I saw it in the theatre and witnessed a lone gentleman a few rows in front of me have a genuine fear based panic attack. He was hyperventilating and making a lot of noise with all the moaning. I thought it was scary too. With the viral ad campaign and website it did seem real at the time.

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houseofyesterday@reddit

The final minute is still absolutely chilling. I remember seeing it in the theater out in Woodland Hills when it first cane out… some dude yelled “What the fuck?!” And he meant it. He was not trying to be funny. Top 3 moviegoing nights.

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C_W_H@reddit

Indeed. Alone at my g.f.'s (at the time) house that was in the middle of the woods (Oregon). It had just been released on DVD. I was scared shitless. Did not sleep so good.

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Carnivorous_Mower@reddit

No. It was pretty obvious what it was. Sucked in my missus though.

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mehoart2@reddit

I remember the hype of this movie was what made it so popular. There was a website (and remember websites were still in their infancy back then) that had most people believe that this was found footage, so when it hit the theatres, everyone was taking about it whether it was real or not.

Thats what really made me love this movie... the lead up and then the execution of socially fooling everyone.

The movie itself is ok.... not my favourite, but I enjoyed it.

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jbrown4728@reddit

I was not into horror at all. One Friday evening I was flipping around the channels and came upon a documentary on the Sci Fi channel about some footage that was found in some woods, I missed the beginning and the end of the program and had no idea that someone hadn't actually found undeveloped film. I was curious and talked my wife into going to the Ken for the morning showing the next day. For the first half of the movie at least I bought it hook line and sinker, I remember just not believing that I had not heard about this and being completely drawn in by the confusion and fear that was on the screen. I remember when the film was over my wife and I walked to the car in complete silence, both of us thinking about what we had just seen, we decided to just go home to a familiar location with locked doors and were both up all night.

Fun fact, I bought the DVD when it came out, I have never opened it. We also never went to the Ken for a movie again

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bigstrizzydad@reddit

The Bare Pimp Project !

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pdxritchma@reddit

I remember being so hyped up to see this one. I thought it was gonna be super scary. Turned out the theater was way too crowded (opening weekend) because it was soooo hyped up. I ended up being mostly just bored and had to take short breaks from the screen due to motion sickness.... The next weekend I decided I would give a very unhyped movie called "The Sixth Sense"a try.. It was opening night and there was just a handful of people in the theater. I was blown away how good it was. Within weeks I recall the Blair Witch audiences fizzle out while the sixth sense box office went through the roof.

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Mumchkin@reddit

We left the theater wanting our time and money back. It was so horrible.

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jakec500@reddit

Saw it at the movies. Some dude stood up crying and screamed this is the scariest thing I have ever very seen and ran out.

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45thgeneration_roman@reddit

Yes. I was abroad and missed the hype and the spoilers. I saw it fresh and holy shit was it scary

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Defiant_Network_3069@reddit

Saw it in a screening with the guys from the local comic shop. No idea what the movie was about or to expect. Was told to get in the car we are going to the movies. It was the same situation when I saw the Clerks movie.

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Chzncna2112@reddit

Only thing I knew, my friends said it was really scary. I thought it was pathetic

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allotta_phalanges@reddit

I knew it was fake, but scary. Took the ride in a theater! Two teenage boys behind us (who'd seen it already) were yapping in the scary parts. I told them to shut it several times and finally stood up, loomed over their seats and threatened their lives. That actually worked! This movie scared the shizz outta me!

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temporalcupcake@reddit

I think this movie was only good if you didn't know whether it was real or not. I think I had missed the hype, and I didn't think it was real. But I also wasn't sure, because I didn't know anything about it. And we watched it at home, so that removed any public bias /opinion, which made it easier to doubt it was fiction.

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Flashy-Friendship-65@reddit

Knew it was some sort of horror. Took a girl to watch it at special screening. We watched it at an outdoor show, in the woods, at midnight.

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CoolDragon@reddit

I got nauseous from motion sickness.

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TesseractToo@reddit

I loved this and the online found footage but the sequel was so dumb, it was like they were explaining everything for the stupid kids. The thing that made it interesting was the unanswered questions

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Senior_Confection632@reddit

Yes and it was delightful

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Major-Specific8422@reddit

watched it then went camping that night

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

Did you bring a map?

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Major-Specific8422@reddit

My friend threw it away….

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

What an asshole! But you did bring a compass, didn't you?

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Major-Specific8422@reddit

No!

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MyriVerse2@reddit

Every time I've ever been camping we didn't have maps or compasses.

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MyriVerse2@reddit

Nah. I watched the TV special and read articles on the internet. I knew everything I possibly could without being spoiled.

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HK-Admirer2001@reddit

I knew I was old because this movie gave me motion sickness.

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Happytobehere48@reddit

Didn’t know what to expect. I remember the internet was around and I think it was the first time the internet was used to kinda fool you into thinkin it was real found footage. Anyway me and fiancé liked scary movies so we went to see it when it came out. I remember we had to go to a late show because I worked until 10 pm or so. It totally freaked me out. I was riveted and scared shitless. I remember walking out of the theater and hearing a lady behind me telling her partner “ I can’t believe I stayed up to 1 o clock in the morning for that”. So I guess everyone wasn’t a fan haha. I got the vhs when it came out and my younger sister decided to put it in one morning. It was a cold rainy morning and she didn’t want to get out of bed or do anything so she decided to watch the Blair Witch Project alone in her bedroom on a cloudy dark stormy early morning and she told me later that she’s never been so scared in her life. I think the ambiance and being alone added to her anxiety while watching. Anyway, Blair Witch is a classic for me and the only found footage movie I ever thought was any good.

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The_Spyre@reddit

I sat on the lawn in front of the movie theatre on opening night with my then girlfriend and a ton of other people, waiting to see if we could get a ticket. We did and I thought the movie was pretty freaky. Then, years later, I found out the actors were paid next to nothing even though the studio and producers made loads of cash.

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Inside_Ad_7162@reddit

Yes I did. I'm a brit, was in the US on business. I was staying on the ground floor of one of those cheap hotels that have individual units & no employees there at night. It was Oct. right next to a reservation, & all I could see out the window were bare trees, like a forest amount, not a lil manicured cluster. I was bored & and decided to watch it on my 2nd night on ppv.

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UnknowSoldier64c@reddit

Stupid movie

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PhineasFreak1975@reddit

Love it and still watch it regularly (often on my days off as background noise while I doze/nap).

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luckeegurrrl5683@reddit

I hate horror movies, but I watched it at home with a blanket in front of my eyes. Then the end was disappointing.

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TurnLooseTheKitties@reddit

That was one massive let down for myself to leave the viewing venue perplexed. Perplexed at how anyone could find the production scary.

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Boshie2000@reddit

Fell asleep halfway through.

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SithLordPopCulture@reddit

The “found footage’ or “shaky camera” genre was born from this movie. The movie was so over hyped.

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Kennesaw79@reddit

I saw it in a little indie theater in Atlanta on opening weekend. I didn't think it was real, but it was still a freaky movie-going experience anyway.

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1singhnee@reddit

I followed it on the website leading up to the release. It was the first movie to really be promoted online before. It was pretty amazing the way that they played it up as though it was a real thing.

I think the website was better than the movie to be honest.

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Maximum-Shoulder-639@reddit

Friend threw up in the theatre and I couldn’t sleep quite right for a few nights LOL

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Empty_Barracuda_7972@reddit

Omg I’ve never seen this. Gotta check it out.

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MonachopsisEternal@reddit

I watched it in a dollar cinema in Toronto on an evening with pouring rain. Lots of homeless took shelter in the cinema and sadly so many had mental health issues.

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StrummerBass101@reddit

Yep. Totally feel for this lol. I was hooked on the website before the movie came out.

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Spazzy-Spice@reddit

Saw it when it first came out when people thought it was a real thing. Small theater and at the end, everyone left in silence. Freaked the f out!!

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Serious-Knee-5768@reddit

Yeah, I only heard it was really terrifying. "It's really gets in your head, man, eek!" Big let down. I had such a bad headache afterward from the shaky 'found footage' cinematography that I couldn't go out with friends later.

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mden1974@reddit

They made that movie for like 900 bucks and it made 53 mil 1990’s dollars. Made me sick to watch and the end scene freaked my out

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Savings-Baker-9083@reddit

Never seen it, Never will. Those kind of movies with the shaking swiveling trembling filming make me terribly sick. I'm still not over trying to watch Clover Field with my husband 🤢

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drhman1971@reddit

They had a fake reality type show on TV the night before this released claiming it was real and all found footage and that people actually died. I saw it opening day and there were actually people there protesting the movie because they thought the movie was exploiting people's deaths. (Meanwhile the actress was in like a Steak N Shake commercial so anyone making the connection realized it was all fake).

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Fickle-Woodpecker596@reddit

Saw in the theater when it came out. Wasn't that impressed.

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Anxiouslycalm10@reddit

Still cant watch it

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C-romero80@reddit

I still haven't. Actually had forgotten about it till this post lol

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cuntybunty73@reddit

I don't see what all the fuss is about with this film because I absolutely hated it

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Law_of_Attraction_75@reddit

Yes, I had just moved to Seattle from Michigan and it was part of the experience.

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TroyTony1973@reddit

Nah, we lived in England and missed it in the local theaters, by the time it came to base theater the jig was up

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Username_888888@reddit

Yes and hated every minute, plus stopped watching scary movies altogether. No more horror for me.

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Ladymistery@reddit

Yes.

I actually had to leave because it was giving me vertigo.

and I really, really didn't like it.

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DontYuckMyYum@reddit

yes. was so bored and then confused by the ending.

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KieferMcNaughty@reddit

I watched it something like a YEAR before it was released. At a sneak preview at my college. There had been no marketing for the movie at that point, except for like a single sentence in Premiere magazine that lead me to believe it was a real documentary.

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HappyIdeot@reddit

Couldn’t believe anyone didn’t understand that if you’ve found a river, then downstream will be civilized

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Live-Blacksmith-1402@reddit

I've never seen it. It came out in my early 20's, I believe. A lot of my friends saw it, but I never got around to it.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

Well, what are you waiting for!? 🙃

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Live-Blacksmith-1402@reddit

The right time.

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Historical_Fault7428@reddit (OP)

What could be a better time than Valentine's night?

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Live-Blacksmith-1402@reddit

Well, I have to work a bit in the morning so I'll be heading to bed after my cup of matcha. There's always tomorrow!

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ValuableRise2895@reddit

Watched irmt in the theater on the Sunday night. Really thought it was real

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GrandUnhappy9211@reddit

I saw the fake documentary on the Scifi channel, so like many people, I thought it was real.

The people behind me in the theater kept opening snacks. So I couldn't hear anything anyone said in the movie.

And I had a crush on Heather Donahue for years.

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Digflipz@reddit

Yes and played the dumbest tricks the weeks following as well

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aqaba_is_over_there@reddit

I had heard all the hype and the premise. Also not a big horror fan. I mostly just looked for the mistakes.

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idanrecyla@reddit

Just knew it was a phenomenon and wanted to see it because everyone was talking about it. I remember not being blown away by it and realizing I don't want to be scared

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ProStockJohnX@reddit

I thought it was extremely creepy but enjoyed seeing it.

Then I went wilderness camping with a few co workers a week later. I couldn't sleep the first night at all, I kept hearing noises.

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Apprehensive_Bit4726@reddit

That movie sucked giant hairy ass. So bad. Not scary. Just stupid.

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exscapegoat@reddit

I get motion sickness very easily. I couldn’t even watch preview without getting barfy

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xologo@reddit

I liked the people who thought it was real

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TigerTheLion77@reddit

Stayed to the end credits disclaimer about “this is a work of fiction…” or whatever because we still weren’t convinced or sure if any of it was real or not.

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AwayOutsideAgain@reddit

Me and my wife soared in a movie theater in Manhattan. It was more like an art house movie theater the day it was released.

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VendaGoat@reddit

Yah, I saw it in the theater when it was Hyped as "So scary you'll scare yourself to death"

Me, and this is no exaggeration, the theater, at the end, where nonplussed.

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Avasia1717@reddit

i went with my friend. i was bored for most of it. he was freaked out. paranoid, kept looking behind us. scared out of his mind.

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ob1dylan@reddit

I saw it at an art house theater (they had the little stick figures hanging from the ceiling all around the lobby) on opening day. I didn't REALLY believe it was real, because how could the families allow it to be released as a movie for public consumption, but the hype had me second guessing it. The local comic shops had comics about the backstory and the disappearance of the film students. I watched it again a year or two ago, and it's still disturbing.

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ZuesMyGoose@reddit

I didn’t know what to expect, but did know it was fake. My older Gen X brother saw it before it was revealed as not found footage or whatever and he definitely enjoyed the hype more than me.

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movieator@reddit

The lead up to this on the internet was brilliant marketing.

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beansoupscratch@reddit

I watched it and throught it was lame. Then when I got older, I started geocaching and hiking. I live in New England so there's lots of old cemeteries and ruins in the woods. I kind of got a little creeped because sometimes I feel weird things like there's a presence.or I shouldn't be there.50 year old me can relate.

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i’m lying, i spent just as much time looking at the screen as i did over my shoulder. stupid 100 ft screen with thx.

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bizoticallyyours83@reddit

I've never seen it