'Blair Witch Project' star coming to scare the snot out of Cincinnati

“I’m scared to close my eyes! I’m scared to open them! We’re going to die out here!”

Those words spoken by Heather Donahue in the 1999 film “The Blair Witch Project” horrified millions of people, especially those who thought that the fictional film was an actual documentary and that the three stars perished in the woods. The actors used their real names for their characters in the movie. This low-budget film grossed nearly $250 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable independent horror films in history.

And now you can meet Donahue – the lead actress – at Cincinnati's HorrorHound Weekend this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Donahue was born in 1974 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 1995 with a bachelor's in fine arts in Theater. She was cast in “The Blair Witch Project” in 1997. Donahue was interested in the film because it was an improvised featured film and she wanted the opportunity to have creative freedom.

Donahue left acting and is now a writer, businesswoman and life coach. She changed her name to Rei Hance in 2020 and now lives in Maine. We spoke to the actress about her life and career.

When and why did you decide that you wanted to be an actress?

“That was what I trained for in my whole adult life. It came out of a love of stories and books and reading. For me, it just seemed like a natural extension of that. I always loved creating stories, creating new worlds.”

Many people thought that the film was a real documentary and were surprised to see you were OK, and some of them were angry at you and asked for a refund. What was that like?

“I don’t do that job anymore – and haven’t for a long time. That was an ornate punishment for a job well done. That was a very interesting experience at the time because 'Blair Witch' was so polarizing. People really loved it or really hated it and I heard from both of those people. And I think as we know now that the Internet is a bit older, we do hear more from the people who hate it. The people who hate something tend to be a little bit more vocal.”

'Blair Witch' was an improvised feature film. Since you made up 100% of your lines, what directions did you have?

“We got little notes inside tiny thumb canisters that we found at different waypoints using a GPS.  The GPS would lead us to like a milk crate that would have some notes in it and we would just improvise scenes based on those little scraps of paper.”

That had to be very different.

“I was doing improv comedy a lot in New York at the time and doing experimental documentary-style movement theater that was also based on improvisation, movement improvisation. So, for me, when I saw there was going to be an improvised feature that was actually a pretty natural extension of everything that I had loved and had been really feeding me creatively up to that point. So, I felt like an improvised feature would be the next right step even though everybody was like you’re not going out into the woods with a bunch of guys you don’t know from an ad in ‘Backstage.’ That’s crazy. Don’t do that.”

What was your favorite line from the movie?

“Those are things that I said 28 years ago once. I really liked the scene in the supermarket where we buy marshmallows. I would say ‘marshmallows’ is probably my favorite line. Marshmallows are awesome.”

I read that during the filming, not only were you in the woods but you did not have craft services and you did not even have port-a-potties. How unpleasant was that?

“It was only unpleasant when it was raining. And the one day it was raining, we actually bailed and knocked on somebody’s door and actually came out of the woods because it had gone a little too far that day. We were like, we are trained actors, we don’t need it to be this difficult. This is beyond what we agreed to.”

Did they have adequate snacks and beverages for you guys?

“We had some PowerBars toward the end. That was always the plan. That was what was in the ‘Backstage’ ad, ‘We care about your safety but not your comfort.’ That this is going to be an improvised feature. One of the producers had been through Army survivalist training. I was actually over-prepared. I had brought a hunting knife. I had my boots. I had read up on all kinds of survival skills. I was ready. But we had PowerBars and it was fine.”

Are you friends with your former costars, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard, or do you just speak to them at conventions?

“We normally just see each other at conventions and we are always very happy to see each other. We shot that movie in eight days like 28 years ago now. We were kids. It was a really long time ago. When we shot that I was 22 or 23 and then by the time that it came out, I was 24. I had done one year of work out of college and we shot it.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of "The Blair Witch Project." Is that why you are doing these cons?

“Yes. I tend not to participate in too much 'Blair Witch' stuff but I really do like seeing the fans and I really like hearing people’s stories that they have connected with 'Blair Witch.'”

After 'The Blair Witch Project,' you did awesome work in other movies and TV shows. Looking back, what was your favorite acting role and why?

“I really enjoyed working on ‘Taken.’ That was fun because I was in Vancouver for six months just having a grand old time making that show. And I loved being part of the first table read of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’ There was nothing stopping them from going forever because their story engine and their characters were just so full.”

Do you regret using your real name in 'The Blair Witch Project'?

“Of course. I would never have agreed to that today.”

Is that why you changed your name to Rei Hance?

“There are a lot of reasons for the name change and that was certainly one of them."

The name Rei sounds Japanese.

“It came from Reigetsu which is my dharma name from when I received Jukai in part of my Zen lineage. I came to Zen because I was a Vipassana practitioner for 25 years and I wanted something that was a lot more grounded, a lot more chopped wood, carry water which is quite more what my life is like. And I wanted my practice and my life to be more in tune with each other and Zen felt like the right fit.”

How did you get into Zen?

“I started doing retreats, month-long retreats at different places, and have gradually come to find the teacher that I work with now. I have a coaching practice where I work with mostly women and I feel like living in the forest and doing my Zen practice definitely helps support that work. I love the mix of earthiness and formality in Zen.”

What inspired you to leave acting?

“There was not really going to be a way to get around being Heather from 'The Blair Witch Project.' Maybe by now, if I had waited like 20 years. I guess I got to experience what success would have been like as an actress and it wasn’t really how I saw my life.”

I read that afterward you got into agriculture.

“I moved to Northern California and was a cannabis grower. And then I wrote a memoir about that. Then I was teaching memoir-writing in San Francisco at the San Francisco Writers Grotto and that kind of naturally, gradually led into coaching because I realized that people who didn’t necessarily want to write a book also wanted to reclaim authorship of their own life and their own story and that naturally fed into coaching.”

Would you consider getting back into acting in the future?

“That would be very, very unlikely. I never say never about anything. But more because that’s my nature than it has to do with any desire for me to act again.”

Have you ever been to Cincinnati?

I have been to Cincinnati but not for extended periods of time. So, I’m looking forward. What is the food of Cincinnati that I should eat? Every city has a food.

Cincinnati chili. There are two main rivals, Gold Star and Skyline. They serve coneys, which are chili dogs, chili with spaghetti, and other dishes.

"I definitely have to try that."

Do you have a closing message for the Cincinnati fans who will attend HorrorHound Weekend?

"I can’t wait to come to Cincinnati and hear everyone’s 'Blair Witch' stories. That’s the part that makes this so fun for me. It is amazing to me that so many people were touched by something that I did for eight days so long ago. It’s wonderful to hear how people appreciate it and it still has a place in their hearts and in their minds. It’s really sweet.  It makes my heart burst. I always love to see people’s cosplay. And I love when people come into costumes. I love the imagination and creativity that I get to see from people. That always makes it so fun, too. I look forward to seeing people’s costumes and come by and say hi."

Celebrities coming to HorrorHound Weekend 2024

The HorrorHound Weekend website, cincinnaticomicexpo.com/celebrities, lists more than 50 celebrities scheduled to appear including:

• “The Blair Witch Project”: Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams (actors), and Eduardo Sanchez (co-writer, co-director, and co-editor).

• From “Cabin Fever”: Eli Roth (writer and director), Rider Strong (Paul), Jordan Ladd (Karen), Cerina Vincent (Marcy), Joey Kern (Jeff), and James Debello (Bert).

• “Re-Animator” actors: Jeffrey Combs (Dr. Herbert West), Barbara Crampton (Megan Halsey), and Bruce Abbott (Victor Crowley).

• From “Hatchet”: Joel David Moore (Ben), Adam Green (Buddy number one), and Kane Hodder (Victor Crowley).

• “Army of Darkness”: Sam Raimi (director), Ivan Raimi (writer), and Ted Raimi (cowardly warrior).

What else is happening at HorrorHound?

• Each celebrity guest has separate charges for autographs, professional pictures, and selfies, and you can find the days they will be featured at horrorhoundweekend.com.

• Vendors will sell toys, movies, posters, clothes, art and other merchandise. There will be Q&A panels and workshops.

• The convention will feature the “2024 HorrorHound Film Fest” on all three days of the con.

• Convention-goers can get a tattoo at “Ink Fusion Tattoo” from one of the currently 11 scheduled tattoo artists.

• Folks at the convention can compete in the “Horrors of Cosplay Costume Contest” on Saturday at 6 p.m. A kids-only costume contest will be taking place before the adult contest at 5 p.m.

• HorrorHound introduces a new event, “The Art of Horror.”

• “Nights Terror After Hours Concert & Party” will return.

If you go to HorrorHound Weekend

• Where:  Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Road.

• When: 5-10 p.m. Friday, March 22; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, March 23; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, march 24.

• Admission: Friday and Sunday passes cost $30 each, Saturday passes cost $40, and weekend passes cost $70. Children 12 and under are free.

• Information: horrorhoundweekend.com.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Blair Witch Project' star Heather Donahue visits HorrorHound festival