From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Posted on January 23, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one we will be revisiting a 90’s Horror Film that we have talked about before in 2017, but it was not a themed update like this one, and I feel that it deserves a second look as the film was a phenomenon when it came to horror cinema and was a early trend setter when it came to the “found footage” style that is going strong even to this day. Of course the film is The Blair Witch Project and for this update we will be also looking at the single comic issue released by Image Comics based around it. The Blair Witch Project really is an iconic film that captures the attention of not only horror fans but also that of the mainstream viewer as the film was said at the time to be one of the scariest films ever made and along with the buzz that the film was real made it a must see in the theater event for so many people. So if you are ready, let’s grab our backpacks, our cameras and head into The Black Hill Woods and see what horrors The Blair Witch has in store for us all.

Let’s start by taking a look at Elly Kedward who is also known as The Blair Witch and her ways of dealing death to those she has marked. Elly Kedward was a strange old woman who lived in the town of Blair when she emigrated from Europe in 1800’s and became the town’s creepy old lady. And after she was murdered by the townspeople, she became supernatural and with this came new powers that aid her in her quest for revenge on those who make the mistake of being in the Black Hills Forest and not taking her warnings serious. Elly is said to be able to change her appearance with her always looking like an older woman, but some have reported that she is covered in black horse hair and that just the sight of her is so frightening that it cause terror and panic in those who are unlucky enough to see her. She is also said to be able to get into the minds of people and cause them to commit murders as well as do self-harm, and this is very deadly as she can have another person do her evil deeds and end her prey’s life. Elly is also dead and that means she truly has supernatural powers and makes her an evil spirit that has dark magic. The Blair Witch’s main tools of dealing death are her curses that allows her to mess in the minds of her victims and make them see, hear and feel things that may or may not really be there. She can also mess with nature as well as things like compasses making you lost in her woods and travel in circles never getting close to being able to leave her woods once she has marked you. She can also sound like other people and make you follow it to a location that she wants you to be in. She also uses people’s personal items and body parts in her curses and finding one of her bloody bundles can scare a person to their very core. Plus just her name and story is something that people that live in the area do not like to mention and keeps them out of the woods our of fear. The Blair Witch is very powerful and as of now no weakness or way to defeat her as been found, making her very deadly to those who cross her path.

So now that we have talked about Elly Kedward and her killing ways, I think now we should take a few moments to talk about the film she is from and that is of course The Blair Witch Project. Like always, we will start with the film’s plot that I will be getting from our friends at IMDB, and then after that I will be writing about the film’s production and then my thoughts of the film. So of you are ready, let’s watch out for stick figures in trees and bundle of sticks with human teeth in them and see what The Blair Witch Project is all about.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

“Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.”

Florida film students and friends Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick in 1993 decided that they wanted to make a horror movie, but wanted to make it a little different from the others being made at the time, as they wanted it to have a documentary feel that would break the mold of masked slasher killers. The pair would write the screenplay and put out a casting call for the three main roles being the college kids filming a documentary for a class project the actors hired were Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams with other actors hired for minor roles including Patricia DeCou, Ed Swanson, Bob Griffin, Sandra Sanchez and Jim King to name a few. The film had a budget of around $500 thousand with Artisan Entertainment stepping in at the end to distribute the film. The film was shot in Maryland with most taking place in Seneca Creek State Park with even some shots taking place in Burkittsville, the location the film takes place in. Almost all of the film’s dialogue was ad-libbed with the actors only getting left notes for them to talk about key things and move the story in a direction. Once done, the film would have a few reshoots thanks to Artisan and would be scored by Tony Cora and would have a theatrical release starting on July 14, 1999 and was met with mostly positive reviews from both movie goers and critics. The film’s marketing at the time was fantastic and truly built a buzz for the film as it was made to look like the film was really found footage of three real missing students that something supernatural might have happened to them. The film would have coverage also in many main entertainment sources like Rolling Stone Magazine, MTV and Fangoria Magazine to name a few. The film would make around $248.6 million and was a big success for Artisan as well as horror films in general. In 1999, the film was # 10 for the year and many viewers ranked it as the scariest film of the year as well. In 1999 The Blair Witch Project was released alongside such other Horror Films as Sleepy Hollow, Werewolf Of Ohio, The Mummy, Terror Firmer, Wishmaster 2, Candyman 3, Warlock III, The Clown At Midnight, Ragdoll, Virus, The Rage Carrie 2, Stigmata and Retro Puppet Master to name a few. To this day, the film has a massive following as it has spawned two sequels, comic series, tons of merchandise and has influenced indie filmmakers all over the world.

The Blair Witch Project was a horror film that truly was an experience and to be honest was the last film that built so much buzz around itself that many people truly believed that it was real footage from a real spooky event that took place in the woods of Maryland where three college students went missing. When I saw this film opening weekend, young ladies in the theater were crying at the ending believing that they just seen the last moments of peoples lives on the big screen. And after leaving the theater my friends and I all were buzzing about what we had just seen and all of us were fans. Some of them would end up turning on the film once it became cool to hate it…as like with all big hit films The Blair Witch Project started to gain its haters who wanted to complain about how boring it was or how bad the acting was. The one thing that I understood that people disliked about the film was all the shaky camera stuff made some people get motion sickness. The film’s woods and rundown house setting is what helps add the truly creepy nature of the film as do the screams of Heather who at times seems like she is losing her mind from fright. And to me it really is crazy that Heather Donahue did not become a big horror actress throughout the early 2000’s and beyond, but it is said this was also by her choice as she retired from acting in 2008 and in 2020 she even changed her name to Rei Hance, and even at one point in time was a medical weed grower. The film is also one that I have found myself watching once every year or so and this always sparks me to also watch the sequels. When the film was released and beyond I would have the films’ theatrical poster, trading cards, keychain, comics and the Movie Maniac figure from McFarlane Toys, plus owned the film on VHS and later DVD. The cultural impact of this film when released is really hard to explain to those horror Fans who were too young or born after its release, but let’s just say that it helped breath life into horror films in theater as well as kicked off the found footage craze that is still going strong to this day. If you have not seen The Blair Witch Project, watch it one dark and stormy night with the lights all turned off and allow yourself to be taken away to the cursed woods of the Black Hills and allow The Blair Witch to scare you silly! And that is also one thing I want to point out: the film makes you question if The Blair Witch is real or if someone is messing with the students, with one of my favorite theories being that Josh and Mike are the ones who are setting up Heather as they want her dead and they are the ones that lead her around the woods and are tormenting and scare her before they kill her in the old house…think about this theory when you watch the film next.

The Blair Witch in the 1990’s alongside such films as Scream (1996) and The Mummy (1999) really did help keep horror valuable at the box office and is what sparked the 2000’s boom of spooky releases. But now that we have talked about The Blair Witch as well as the first film she is from, I think that it’s time now that we review the one shot issue from Image Comics that was released in 2000. I want to thank Lone Star Comics for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I also want to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s get a little deeper into the Black Hill Woods as I hear that there are some really good camping sites for those of us that want to be scared silly by strange noises in the night.

BW: Dark Testaments # 1 **1/2
Released in 2000 Cover Price $2.95 Image Comics # 1 of 1

The year is 1986, and Davis Crane was a former school and principal who finds himself in jail after trying to kill two infant twins at the local hospital. His actions puzzle the law and Crane feels that something drove him to attempt this crime. While sitting in jail Crane remembers back to his youth and being friends with the twins Rustin and Dale Parr, and even as kids there was something wrong and dark about Rustin Parr but he watched him as he was kind to animals and skilled with a carving knife. He remembers back when the brothers had a fight over Dale killing a squirrel, and Rustin disowned his brother for the death. And that night as Dale was in bed sad, The Blair Witch came to him and promises that things will be ok. The next day at school The Parr Twins are once more speaking to each other but now refuse to talk to Davis as well as their fellow classmates, that is until Rustin is beaten up by town drunk Matt Patterson and tells Davis that The Blair Witch was real and that he hears her in his mind. As Matt Patterson is taking to jail, things start going wrong for him as he pukes up blood and a small tooth that was not his, his daughter strangely dies and the town is struck with fear as they think something supernatural is at play. And later Dale Parr is show and killed by his father while they went hunting, and while said it was an accident many think it was a way to stop The Witch who had touched the boy as rumor is that The Parr Twins were born thanks to The Blair Witch. Time passes and Rustin Parr never returns to school and when Davis finally see’s him he warns his friend to stay away so that the Witch doesn’t hurt him as Matt Patterson is hit by a truck in front of them and dies. And when Davis Crane grew up he stayed away from Rustin Parr and even moved away from Burkittsville to go to college, joined the army and fought in war. Once injured Davis returns home to become a teacher and even was there when Rustin Parr came out of the woods and the bodies of the kids were found. Back to sitting in jail, Davis knows that it was a shadow ghost of Dale Parr that made it look like he was trying to kill the twins, as he was really trying to save them. As the cops leave for the night Davis Crane sits in his jail cell and he knows that the ghosts of The Parr twins will be coming for him in the shadows and darkness.

This is a pretty interesting comic as while it is about The Blair Witch, it is more about The Parr Twins who at a young age were very odd and were said to be the spawn of the witch herself. One brother grew up to kill kids in the name of The Blair Witch, while the other was shot and killed by his own father while still a youth. And the story is told from the prospective of one of their childhood friends who watched their descent into darkness and is now being dragged into it at his now older age. Davis Crane was a good kid who grew up to be a good man as he went into teaching and even fought in a war protecting our country, and even when at the hospital and the staff thinking he was trying to kill two infants, he was really trying to protect them from an evil spirit. Davis was friends with The Parr Twins growing up and while they were odd, he still watched out for them as well as cared about their well being. And now because of them his life and reputation is ruined and he will rot in jail or even their spirits will take his life away. The Parr Twins Dale and Rustin when younger has very different personalities as they both were very odd and both caring and cruel at the same time. They are said to be the “blessing” of The Blair Witch as their mother was unable to have kids and after giving her an offering, the Witch allowed the two to be born and this also meant that they were connected to her. Dale was the first to show signs of being evil as he cursed a man who did his brother wrong that made the man’s daughter die…but before his evil got to out of hand he was shot and killed by his own father. While Rustin would try to get his under control but he did set up the killing of the man who hurt him and later would kill children in the woods. They were doomed from birth as they were touched by evil and that darkness consumed them. Matt Patterson was the town drunk and after losing his cool one-day and beating up one of the Parr kids, a curse is placed on him and his life goes terribly wrong filled with sadness and death. The Blair Witch is around and wandering the woods as well as talking to The Parr Twins gearing them up to do bad things all for her benefit. The comic is pretty bloodless and really the horror comes from the Blair Witch’s curses and the uneasy feeling that everyone in the town has because of her being around and causing issues for everyone with her thirst for revenge. The cover for this issue is a strange one as I am not sure who that is supposed to be on the cover surrounded by blue light and the stick figures, while weird I would say that it is eye catching for those who like the film. The interior art is done by artist Charlie Adlard and is pretty cool, while not overly detailed, it works as it has a kind of spooky appeal and his drawing of the witch always in shadow is great. Over all this is a pretty entertaining comic based around the legend and lore of The Blair Witch, but I do have to say that I wish it had featured more of her. Check out the artwork below to see the style used by Adlard in this comic book.

The Blair Witch Project was so popular that it had several comic series based around its legend from several publishers with Image being one and Oni Press the other. There are always rumors of new sequels or reboots of the film in the works and who knows, maybe one day we will get another film entry. Lionsgate is now the rights holder as they bought out Artisan Entertainment many years ago, and while the sequels thus far have not captured that lightning in a bottle like the first film did, they are very entertaining in there own way. And for fans of The Blair Witch Project if you have never seen the 1998 film “The Last Broadcast” that as well is a horror found footage film this time about the Jersey Devil and a public access show on the hunt for him, you should check it out as it’s a weird one that has lots of twists and turns. But as you can see, we have found our way out of the woods, and before we end this update I would like to let you know that the next one will take us to the waters of Mexico as we take a look at the film Black Demon and the comic series Black Demon Tales based around it. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update as we talk about the Aztec version of Jaws…or is that The Meg?

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Darkness Falls (2003)

Posted on October 21, 2018 by bloodlinematt

Many Horror Movies take inspiration for their plots from sources like real life tragic events, fever inducing nightmares and even folklore, and one of the biggest movies that did this when I was in my early 20’s was Darkness Falls, based on the legend of the Tooth Fairy turned up a notch to scare kids and terrify movie goers. In the early 2000’s Horror was making a major comeback at the cinema with lower budget horror bringing in extra cash for studios much like today with Blumhouse setting lower budgets but making great profits, and Darkness Falls was one of these films released. Fairy Tales can be scary, and the Tooth Fairly can be super scary when she not only takes your lost tooth but also your soul! So if you’re ready like I am, lets take a grim trip into this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update for Darkness Falls.

Before we get into the film itself, we need to take a look at the killing monster, Matilda Dixon or, as her victims call her, The Tooth Fairy! Matilda was a kind older woman who would give gold coins to the children of the town when they would lose their teeth as an act of kindness earning her the nickname The Tooth Fairy. When a house fire left her face burnt and sensitive to light, she would walk the streets at night wearing a porcelain mask, and when two children go missing she is blamed and hung for a crime she didn’t commit as the kids were found alive and well. Before her death, she cursed the town and the children of it. When they lose their last baby tooth and if they look her in the face, it brings a terrible death to them as she is now a vengeful spirit. Matilda is a supernatural being who enjoys killing and placing cold fear into her victims with not only her appearance but also her sinister screams. She lurks in the shadows and pounces on those who don’t follow her rules of never looking at her when she comes for your last tooth. Matilda can fly and glide through the air to track and hunt down her victims, and once she has them, she does use her looks and noises to put the fear into them before she uses her hands to claw and mutilate. She also uses the darkness to her stalking advantage as she must stay in the dark in order to get her target. Her weakness is light; whether it’s the glow of the sun or the light of a bulb, she cannot stand it as it burns her skin and enough of it will kill her and send her soul where it belongs. So while she has a pretty big weakness in light, she is one murdering supernatural being in the dark making The Tooth Fairy a really dangerous killer for all who has not followed her rules.

So as you can see, Matilda Dixon was a woman who turned her kindness into vengeance when her own town turned on her due to her horrific appearance. Now that we have taken a look at her killing ways, we need to dive into the movie she stars in and for that our friends at IMDB will bring us the film’s plot and after that I will talk a little about the film’s production as well as my thoughts on the film. So if you’re ready, we have to stay in the light and whatever you do, don’t look at her face!

Darkness Falls (2003)

“A vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her 150 years earlier. Her only opposition is the only child, now grown up, who has survived her before.”

Darkness Falls was released in 2003 and was directed by Jonathan Liebesman and was a team up production of American and Australian companies. The film was written by John Fasano and Joe Harris and was a twisted supernatural reimagining of the Tooth Fairy legend and was riding the popularity of The Ring that was released a year before it. It starred such actors as Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield, John Stanton and Antony Burrows played Matilda Dixon aka Tooth Fairy. The film had a budget of $11 million and brought in $47,488,536.00 worldwide making it a hit for Sony. The film also was pretty well liked by critics and fans making it odd that a sequel was never made. The film was released during a Horror Movie boom as 2003 also saw the release of such films as Freddy vs. Jason, Jeeper Creepers 2, Wrong Turn, Underworld, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Willard, House Of 1000 Corpses and Beyond Re-Animator to name a very few showing that 2003 was a good year for fans! Darkness Falls also had some merchandise released like movie poster, soundtrack, novel adaptation, an action figure and of course the comic book. So while it’s not a major franchise, it’s still one that has made its mark on the world of Horror Movies. I want to also bring to you readers’ attention that in the original script, The Tooth Fairy only showed up in the final act of the film and her appearance was way different from the one used in the final film. If you want to see her original look, just get yourself the Movie Maniac figure as that was supposed to be her main look in the film before the change.

Darkness Falls is a film I can remember hitting theaters and the ads being on TV and posters in the theaters, and while I was very much into going to the cinema to see films, for some reason I skipped seeing this one. Honestly I think I skipped it to see Final Destination 2 as they both were released in the same month. It would be when it hit VHS and DVD that I finally watched the film as I was working at Blockbuster Video and rented it and remember watching it with my brother and I found it to be a pretty good shocker with some cool effects and a spooky monster. Once watching it I ended up getting the film on DVD and still have it in my collection to this day, and will dust it off from time to time to watch. I also ended up getting the comic book from Dark Horse Comics as well as have the music score CD that I play on the Halloween edition of Alpha Rhythms on WYSO from time to time. For me what works very well in this film is that it has a very mean and dark tone as our main villain takes joy in scaring and killing children, and I like that she does not speak and only screams and moans making her come off way more creepy. Over all while this film is not groundbreaking, I do find it to be a very entertaining and spooky film from the early 2000’s that has built up a solid cult following and is one that should have gotten a sequel as one was talked about but never made.

So now that we have refreshed our memories of Darkness Falls and its supernatural killer The Tooth Fairy, we are going to take a look at the prequel comic released by Dark Horse Comics based on the films folklore. It’s really cool that a comic was made about this film as it’s a Horror Movie that really does lend itself to be one. And I want to thank Lone Star Comics for having this comic in stock and want to remind everyone that I grade on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So lets stay in the light and enter Darkness Falls…and for the love of comics whatever you do don’t look at her!

Darkness Falls # 1 **1/2
Released in 2003 Cover Price $2.99 Dark Horse # 1 of 1

Emma and William live in the small town of Darkness Falls. The year is 1841, and the young man has lost one of his baby teeth and they are on their way to visit Matilda Dixon to trade the tooth for a tasty treat! Along the walk, the kids talk about how five years earlier Matilda’s husband Sonny died at sea. As they continue to walk, they run across youngster George who tells them how a year ago Matilda’s house was set on fire by accident when kids were snooping. The fire left her terribly burnt and forced her to wear a mask made of porcelain to hide her burns and disfigured face. The children were scared of her now, and she would have to leave the treats on their porches as they left their lost tooth there as well. William and Emma leave George behind after his story as it’s getting later. William’s father is mad and thinks that Matilda has done something to his son and gets a mob together to do something about her! Meanwhile William and Emma get to her house and meet her, and as she gives them treats, the mob shows up and hangs her for “killing” the kids only for them to find the kids okay and all of them are guilty of murder!

This comic is a great prequel to the film and really helps build the mood and world that the film was creating as the plot of this is all about the sad life and tragic death of Matilda Dixon. The thing that works great for this comic is that it makes you feel bad for Matilda as she was murdered for no reason and she really just wanted to make kids happy as she was just a very lonely person who always wanted to have her own children, and a town full of superstitious judgmental people took her life over. Emma and William are two kids who are on their way to visit Matilda to get baked treats for a lost tooth. It’s clear they are best friends and each kind of has a crush on the other, and while they do want the treats they also want to see her appearance as she is kind of the town’s boogeyman. And while they are the cause for her murder, they by no means meant for it to happen and just really lost track of time. William’s dad is a terrible person who bullies not only his family but also the townsfolk to do what he wants as he is a mean spirited person with a bad attitude. George the little kid who is semi friends of Emma and William is also a little jerk as he is the one who plants it into the adults mind that the kids are missing cause of Matilda even though he knows that the woman has done nothing wrong. Matilda Dixon is a woman who had faced all types of tragedies as she lost her husband to death by sea, was never able to have children of her own, has been treated like a weirdo by her neighbors and has been burnt due to plundering kids setting a fire in her home…in other words, she is the victim of this comic tale as she is murdered for no reason. Matilda is really just a lonely woman who enjoys being around youth as she fills it gives her a real purpose in life, and because of the evil deeds done to her they are the ones who forced her to become a monster! The comic’s horror comes from atmosphere and not blood & gore as the comic is pretty much bloodless but still delivers some chills. The cover is cool but is also just the film’s poster making it kind of lame as original art would have been better. The comics interior art is done by Charlie Adlard and is pretty great stuff! Over all this is a solid good Horror Comic based on a Horror Movie that could have made a really good mini series if Dark Horse would have been on board to do so, and I would say if you enjoy folklore style tales and liked the film Darkness Falls give this one a read. Also check out the art below to see the style that Adlard brought to this comic.

Darkness Falls is a pretty good 2000’s Horror Movie that featured a very classic style monster that is perfect for cinema and literature, plus is great for one of our from Horror Comic To Horror Comic update as we countdown to Halloween. As I have said before, I am really shocked we never got a Darkness Falls 2, as I would have liked to see more of the Tooth Fairy and her killing ways. But for my next update it will be our big Halloween update and we will leave the Tooth Fairy and Darkness Falls behind as we will be heading toward Haddonfield, Illinois and witness the killing spree of Michael Myers as the film Halloween will be our topic! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! Oh and remember you can’t kill the Boogeyman!