The two male actors in this movie were actually the Directors, writers and had a big vested interest in the movies. They'd both go on to work on more projects including one of them working on a great little film called Midnight Son. There was one big problem in the plan. The actress that gave us the iconic image of:
You know that lady. Well, she went ahead and did some work in a Steak and Shake commercial. The other half of the watercooler conversations became "Well, I'm sure I saw her somewhere else" and it broke the momentary magic that the film had over the audience. In fact, without that magic, this film can be reduced to an okay but not overly great movie.
The film follows three people as they make a documentary about the Blair Witch. They interview towns people and go to try to find the witch. That's super spooky in itself. See, we're talking about a time when filming began to really open up to everyone, not just some people who could afford a huge camera.
Horror in and of itself did not adopt found footage films from the Blair Witch Project, but what did happen was people understanding that they could freely create whatever they wanted with a house hold budget and make statement. (McPherson Tapes, shout out to a shit movie that scared the hell out of people but was probably a more accurate shot at the first "found footage film")
I digress, the three go into the woods hunting the witch. During the time of the film we're told about the trials that took place (Salem Witch Trials to be specific ...well...sorta) We also get back story to some of the terrible things the witch did. So, naturally lets go unarmed as fuck, be without a map or back up system and try to find this woman.
That's when shit gets real. They hear noises at night...noises in the woods spooky. They start finding dead animals and begin finding set pieces...er....sorry...the woods being messed with as they try to find their way out. Such as this:
My critique now a days as that without the idea of this being real, its lost its interesting moment in the sun. When this movie came out people were reading the police reports that were made on the website, and people were genuinely becoming invested in the story. After all, who hasn't had a moment of bravery and wanted to go hunt some fucking witches, right? Right.
What we do have is a film with a lot of shakey footage. A LOT of SHAKE. The interviews become unauthentic and uninteresting, the tension that is suppose to build loses its bite and the final moments of the film do not cause that unease or uncertainty that you felt when this first came out.
You're just left like a coke that has been left out all night long. There's still some sugar there, but the fizz is all gone. That's really sad to say too. The film actually does a really good job with the last 20 minutes or so. You have a scene where you're not sure what's happening to one of the characters. The very last scene is just a great stress creator. Just look at it.
So, the bad. Shakey cam. The film spends a lot of time contradicting itself. For example, you're told that the towns people don't want to talk about the witch then the next parts of the movie are all about the townspeople not shutting up about the witch. There's a lot of undeveloped tension. You're suppose to be filming a movie about this witch and you have nights where you listen to foot steps in the woods or other noises like cackling. Yet, the characters don't try to get this on film.
Worse documentary people ever.
The best part of the movie is really the last part of it and that's just a final epitaph to a film that couldn't hold up its end of the bargain when it comes to lasting horror. What this did for horror in general was much more impressive. A lot of younger people really believe that this is the first found footage film. I already shouted out what my guess for the first found footage movie is, but as you research more about the people who made the film they were inspired by...found footage films. That's right.
Over a 4+ year time frame this movie went from being an idea to a full creation. If I reviewed this movie when it first came out and the fear of it actually being real was still there, then I think I would say you have to watch this today! Right now! NOW NOW!
That's not the case. We're years and years later. What this film really did was pave the way (and quite literally sometimes) for films like V/H/S, V/H/S 2, Paranormal Activity and so on. While Heather Donahue (The actress of course) would find her way to making several indie films and an episode of its Always Sunny, the other two actors continued their time in horror. V/H/S 2's Director is in fact Eduardo Sanchez. He's also the Director for the TV series of From Dusk Til Dawn as well as Supernatural. He also did the second Blair Witch Project movie, but...lets...not...talk about that....
The point is that Blair Witch paved its way for others to find an expression. I find the found footage films to be really fun to watch and sometimes far more terrifying than traditional filming and I think we'd have a lot less of that if this movie didn't exist. Final Verdict: Take a watch for historical significance but ...you can pass.
Final Thought: This film was the foundation for how horror would gain a new entry into the part's that terrify us. By taking the normal everyday person and empowering them with a camera, you could find new ways to tell stories and create much more compelling threats that bridged from a media form to everyday life.
While the movie doesn't stand up, the sentiment it leaves with it does.
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