The Objective (2008)

In the supernatural thriller *The Objective* (2008), writer-director Daniel Myrick locates the action in a remote mountain region of Afghanistan, where a team of US Special Ops forces is dispatched with the ostensible orders of locating an influential Muslim cleric. While on this mission, they quickly find themselves lost in a Middle Eastern "Bermuda Triangle" of ancient evil and faced with an enemy that none of them could have imagined, as their high-tech equipment proves useless against a foe that defies all known reality. This film earns its place among Daniel Myrick's best for several reasons, particularly how it masterfully revisits and recontextualizes many of the themes and techniques that defined his breakthrough hit, *The Blair Witch Project*. Myrick once again crafts a narrative of mounting dread, where an elite, seemingly indestructible team is slowly chipped away by an unseen, ancient, and ultimately unknowable force. Moving beyond the found-footage gimmick, *The Objective* showcases Myrick's ability to build suspense through atmosphere, sound design, and the psychological unraveling of his characters, rather than relying on cheap jump scares. Its bold fusion of military realism with cosmic horror, set against the stark, isolating backdrop of Afghanistan, creates a unique and unsettling viewing experience that resonates long after the credits roll, proving Myrick's enduring talent for blending the supernatural with grounded terror.