Guest Author - Andy Boxall

The Blair Witch Project was widely considered to be one the most frightening movies made in recent times. It was also a marketing masterpiece and utilized the power of the Internet to create buzz prior to release like nothing before it. Since that time, the Internet has grown immeasurably and movies such as Snakes on a Plane have had similar success using it as a marketing tool.

Co-director Eduardo Sanchez has been busy honing his craft too, and December 19th sees the release of his first directional effort since Blair Witch. The movie is called Altered and is a departure from the supernatural Blair Witch, this time Sanchez will be terrifying us with monsters! Three old friends return to the woods where they were tormented by an alien force many years ago, with the intention of capturing the creature. When they succeed, they take it to a hermit’s cabin who understood their plight, where they must make the decision to face the consequences of either killing the alien, or ensuring their deaths if they let it live.

The cast includes Michael C. Williams of Blair Witch fame, Brad William Henke, Adam Kaufman, Catherine Mangan, Paul McCarthy-Boyington and actress/stuntwoman Misty Rosas who I consider to be the female equivalent of Andy Serkis, thanks to her astounding ability to bring life to a creature suit. For those unaware of Misty’s previous roles, her most well-known would be as Amy the gorilla in Congo.

Ed Sanchez has teamed up with two of the Blair Witch producers, Gregg Hale and Robin Cowie, and worked with a script written by Jamie Nash to bring this movie to our screens. By all accounts it looks to have been quite a journey and anyone interested in Ed’s career, indie film-making or horror in general would be advised to have a look at all the associated websites that tell a fascinating story.

The Blair Witch was a fascinating movie, especially from a technical and production point of view and anything that is created by Mr. Sanchez is worthy of any horror fans attention. Altered will make very interesting viewing on its release.

In fact, anyone who lives in the Los Angeles area can check this out at a free screening, details of which can be found via the link below.