The Blair Witch Sequel Everyone Hated Is Now Free—Watch at Your Own Risk
If you've been thinking, "I really want to watch the most widely disliked Blair Witch sequel again, but only if it costs absolutely nothing," then good news: Blair Witch (2016) is now streaming for free on Tubi as of July 1.
Directed by Adam Wingard—back when studios still thought they could turn found-footage horror into a shared cinematic universe—this sequel tried to resurrect the Blair Witch franchise after a 17-year gap. And yes, technically it's a direct continuation of the 1999 original. You probably just didn't realize that at the time, because Lionsgate went out of its way to hide that.
Before its premiere, the film was marketed under a fake title (The Woods) to build hype. The "big twist" was that it was actually a Blair Witch sequel, which sounds clever until you realize they then had to scramble to redo all the promo materials.
Here's how the movie did:
- Budget: $5 million
- Box office: $45 million
- Rotten Tomatoes score: 38% (critics) / 31% (audiences)
Financially, it wasn't a disaster—but artistically, fans weren't thrilled. Critics admitted it was better than Book of Shadows (not hard), but still called it a disappointing retread loaded with cheap scares, shaky-cam nausea, and a third act that goes off the rails in multiple timelines. Literally.
The plot? A guy named James convinces his friends to join him in the Black Hills Forest to search for his sister Heather—yes, that Heather—from the original film, after seeing a random YouTube video that might show her. They bring a filmmaker friend to document the trip, because this is still found footage, and obviously everything goes downhill from there.
The film introduces time loops, glitchy horror tropes, and even shows the witch outright—something the original smartly avoided. Wingard swung big. Viewers mostly groaned.
Still, if you missed it in theaters, skipped it on streaming, ignored it on Blu-ray, and avoided paying for it altogether... now's your chance. It's free. It's short. And hey, maybe you're one of the few who thought it was underrated.
Just don't expect The Blair Witch Project again. That ship sailed in '99, with grainy camcorders, shaky tents, and a marketing campaign that fooled the entire world. What Blair Witch (2016) offers instead is more budget, more polish, and way less mystery.
Proceed accordingly.