The Blair Witch Project ending explained

What happens

Following Josh's cries, Heather and Michael reach an abandoned house. In the basement, Michael stands silent in a corner, Heather is attacked, and the camera falls. We never learn who or what did it.

The last image

The camera drops and the picture cuts to black, with Michael still standing facing the corner.

Three readings

1 · The witch did itA supernatural force, as the legend promised, has finally caught them.

2 · Michael is responsibleHis silent stance echoes Rustin Parr's rituals, so he may be the one who attacks Heather.

3 · Left unexplainedThe film deliberately withholds a cause, so the dread is yours to finish.

What it says

By never showing the cause, the ending proves the film's point: fear grows from what we can't see. The camera records everything and explains nothing, so your imagination supplies a threat no effect could match.