'The Blair Witch' at 10

The movie's "reality" may have been manufactured but it set the template for such television shows as "Survivor" and "Fear Factor" that arrived in its wake, programs in which producers put their "characters" through deprivation and punishment in the name of entertainment. And, really, in terms of authenticity, what Sanchez and co-director Daniel Myrick inflicted upon their actors in the Maryland woods wasn't much more staged than the maneuverings of a Mark Burnett reality production.

Another "Blair" reality had an even greater reach. Made for $35,000 and taking in nearly $250 million worldwide, "Blair" inspired a gold rush of do-it-yourself filmmakers to run to the local electronics store, pick up a Hi8 camera and make their own movies.

" 'Blair' looked like it was shot on toilet paper," says Joshua Leonard, one of the movie's young leads. "There was absolutely nothing elevated or untouchable about it. It was like when you and your buddies were 14 and you heard a Germs album and you're like, 'I could do that.' "

Plenty thought along those lines. Submissions to the Sundance Film Festival have nearly doubled since "Blair," helped by the influx of cheaper, easier to use technology. But, for all the effort, nothing has popped. So where can you find all those movies? Try YouTube, a website still six years away from its inception when "Blair" arrived in theaters.

Of course, making that kind of scratch while landing simultaneous covers on Time and Newsweek is a bit much to expect from any artistic endeavor. Sanchez describes "Blair" as a "perfect storm," a freaky convergence of content, Internet buzz and savvy marketing that comes along once in a generation. Love it or hate it (and there were plenty in both camps), the film became a touchstone for a generation of moviegoers and filmmakers.

"Everyone remembers where they were when they saw it," says Mark Duplass, whose movies ("The Puffy Chair," "Baghead") written and directed with his brother, Jay, have become key entries in the independent film movement.

"It became hugely influential," Duplass says. "The semi-improvised nature, the hand-held digital camera work, the naturalistic acting inside a genre piece, the idea of 'We don't have a [lot] of money, so let's build a budget that's appropriate, so we can execute it correctly.' Those guys were ahead of the pack."