It seems like forever since 1999’s The Blair Witch Project shook up the horror world. Its innovative found footage videocamera style kicked off a wave of similarly shot films that’s made the idea feel like old hat today. However there’s a direct sequel being released in a couple of months made by one of the most capable writing/directing pairs in the horror business and early reviews are universally strong. Blair Witch is back.

In fact this is really Blair Witch 3, because just one year after The Blair Witch Project came its follow-up Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, a textbook definition of how not to sequelise a hit. It wasn’t even shot in the same way, dropping found footage for a traditional filming style, directed by someone who was famous for making documentaries rather than horror. It killed the franchise.

Now 16 years later it’s being revisited by Adam Wingard, the director of You’re Next and the excellent The Guest, with a script by the screenwriter of those two. The movie was original falsely-titled The Woods, and only revealed at Comic-Con as being Blair Witch with its second trailer. Which is here:

The plot this time goes as follows –

‘A group of college students ventures into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of James Donahue’s sister, Heather, who many believe is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch after her disappearance 15 years prior. At first the group is hopeful, especially when a pair of locals offer to act as guides through the dark and winding woods, but as the endless night wears on, the group is visited by a menacing presence. Slowly, they begin to realise the legend is all too real and more sinister than they could have imagined.’

A collection of top web critics have already seen the movie and their reviews have been universally enthusiastic, describing it as a constant terror-fest. Public enthusiasm for the franchise was thought long gone but has just been lying dormant (everyone seems to recall well their experience with the first), with the trailer totting up 4.5 million views in a week. The trailer itself isn’t all that effective, more of a beat-for-beat retread, but it seems clear that it’s the trailer’s fault, not the film’s.

Blair Witch is released in the UK on 15 September and the US on 16 September.