What is the meaning behind The Blair Witch Project's stick figures? While 1980's Cannibal Holocaust might be considered the forebearer of the found footage genre, The Blair Witch Project is the movie that popularised the format. This 1999 film was a tiny budget indie affair co-directed by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, with the premise revolving around three students who go missing when researching the titular witch in Burkittsville. The movie is made up of their recovered footage, which sees them getting lost in the woods and gradually descending into madness as they may - or may not - be stalked by an unseen entity.
The Blair Witch Project was one of the first films to use the internet as a marketing tool, which propelled it to become one of the most successful independent movies ever made. It quickly received video game and novel spinoffs, though its first sequel Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 was famously a mess that is widely hated by fans. The franchise was revived again with 2016's Blair Witch which acted as a direct sequel to the original. This entry's marketing campaign saw it pitched as an original movie dubbed The Woods at first before the truth was revealed shortly before its release. Unfortunately, the reviews were lukewarm and it was another commercial letdown.
The original The Blair Witch Project stands as a groundbreaking horror movie and features many classic scenes such as Mike standing in the corner in the movie's haunting final scene. A recurring symbol from the series are the stick figures that are prominently featured in both the movies and promotional material. The stick figures are the totems of the Blair Witch Eddy Kedward, and co-director Sánchez told WatchMojo the symbols act as a portal. This means once the students see the stick figures hung around their tents, they're not escaping the witch or the forest alive.
The Blair Witch Project's stick figures were created by production designer Ben Rock, with the design being based on a symbol from the book Magical Alphabets. The simple design came about from the need to create lots of them in a short period of time for the scene, so they couldn't be too elaborate. It's also revealed in 2016's Blair Witch these stick figures hold powers, as - in the movie's best jump scare - a totem representing a character is snapped in half, leading them to be torn in two also.
The Blair Witch Project's stick figure symbols remain one of its most ominous visuals. While a new movie sequel likely won't be happening anytime soon, the franchise was revived for a well-received 2019 video game.