Blair Witch (1 Viewer)

[Edwin Pereyra]

Out of curiosity Edwin, what horror films did you enjoy?

The Exorcist, Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, The Shining and Halloween are some of the ones I enjoyed, while they may not be the scariest.

~Edwin

 

[Matt Stone]

I'm with Edwin on this one. I did not find BWP scary, but I thought it was a very innovative style, and a kewl movie in it's own right...but it didn't scare me, and it doesn't hold any re-watchability for me.

I also enjoy the same scary films as Edwin's list...

 

[Seth Paxton]

Well both myself and the fiancee found BWP very scary, even knowing it wasn't real.
If I were out in the middle of nowhere and something was outside my tent every night, I would be scared shitless, especially if it/they attacked my tent while I was in it. Going along for that ride was what was scary, just as going along for the ride in The Others or The Omen make them scary.
You don't have to believe the film's subject to enjoy it, as Vickie can attest to.
I also got to see it during limited release when the lines for the arthouse in Houston went around the block. It brought back memories of Star Wars and Raiders lines for me.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

The Blair Witch Project was one of those films in which I mildy liked at first only to think a little more about it and how worse and worse the film got for me.
I would like to make the following points, and you folks are more than welcome to refute them.
1. Actions on part of the characters were too hokey:
Suspension of disbelief is something of a natural requirement in watching a film, particularly one that is fictional. I never questioned what happened during the film, only to realize how stupid certain parts of it were upon further reflection. For these parts, it was hard for me to suspend disbelief.
Two examples immediately come to mind. One is the map incident. I've thought about it inside and out, and I have absolutely no clue why anybody in that tense situation would throw away a map. Granted, it could've been that it was done out of frustration, but the film didn't use that explanation at all, or uses it very poorly.
The second part I could not accept is that the "filmmakers" decided to keep filming and not put down their cameras. This part struck me as awfully silly. The explanation that Heather Donahue needed a psychological crutch was woefully inadequate. And believe it or not, I've seen some pathetic excuses in defense of this rather terrible, inexplicable action. Any real person would've dropped the whole filming act, and gone searching for their friend or run like cowards. What adds insult to injury is that they didn't continue on with the documentary, and the audience was supposed to accept that the "amateur video" as a first-person perspective.
2. Filmmaking decisions:
Like any other film lover, there's always some opinion about how a film could've been made better, and I'm no exception to the matter. You can go ahead and skip this part.
Anyways, this relates to my gripe from above. I thought that it would've been a hell of a lot better if the filmmakers had made a consciencious decision to stop using the "home video/amateur film look" after the friend disappeared and started using the "movie film" look. The reasoning behind this thought is that since a vast majority of the audience knows the film is indeed fictional, what's the point in continuing with the "documentary" look? Like I said before, the whole "let's keep filming even though our friend is gone" was plainly stupid. It's at this point the film should've turned to a third perspective view that chronicles the characters actions.
3. Realism acting overrated:
Everbody makes a big deal out of so-called "realistic" acting. From what I think I remembered, the actors were given very vague instructions on what was to happen to them, and most of the dialogue was improvised. This was supposed to create a more realistic reaction to events that surrounded them. So what? The fact that the filmmakers already made a setup makes the "performance" less realistic. And even if such said portrayals were realistic, how is the alleged authenticity any different from a great actor who can emote the same exact thing?
This is the same gripe I had with Bicycle Thief, but that's another story.
Oh well, I wish I were as blissfully happy as the fans of this film.

 

[Vickie_M]

The second part I could not accept is that the "filmmakers" decided to keep filming and not put down their cameras.

I assumed they used the lights on the cameras to see where they were going since it was pitch black, which was why the cameras were on but also why they "didn't continue on with the documentary". Again, that explanation worked for me, so I've never questioned it. Once you start seriously questioning stuff like that, it'll eventually lead back to "uh, excuse me, are there actually such things as witches or supernatural beings? Of course not...what a lousy movie!"





still no cell phone rants...yay!!

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Dome makes some valid points about this movie, but then so does Vickie.
Even if your a detractor of this film, you have to admit that the whole backstory setup, and marketing of the film are works of sheer genius! I mean come on, if you can convince an entire nation that your movie really happened when it didn't, you've done something special. I especially love the backstory they came up with which just stinks of realism and you can see that they really thought this thing through and did their homework. Really well done. Except for the whole "A year later their footage was found" thing, I had a problem with that. I mean could videotape survive being outside in the woods all year!? I highly doubt it.
I really like the film. It's so simple, and it plays on our fears. I appreciated the fact that what we're supposed to be watching is an edited together version of their footage by the police of Burketsville after the footage was discovered. This is why your idea of switching to "real" movie style wouldn't really work Dome, it would have let the air out of the whole thing. It wasn't a "movie" in the traditional sense, but a faux reality hoax documentary. We we're supposed to be witnessing three kids, essentially, film their own doom, which was provocative to me.
The way the filmmakers tied together both the film, and the excellent documetary was a stroke of movie making genius. I saw the documentary first before seeing the movie, and having seen all the testimonies by their freinds and relatives, it helped me during the film having that to draw from. They disappeard in the woods of Burketsville while making a documentary about a legendary local witch a year ago, people were worried about them, their footage was found, put together by the police department, and aired for the world to see. This was the movie we got.
I watched it for the first time on Halloween night when it hit dvd, I had the lights off and was totally in the mood, it worked. The major source of the scares for me in the film was how it portrayed the woods as at first lush and green, but as the film went on, dead and lifeless, almost like a metaphor for how the kids are feeling, at first excited and jubilant, then as the situation gets more and more bleak, scared and desparate.
The acting to me was very plausable and real. IMO the technique the filmmakers used was great, by just giving them a base of referrance to draw from and letting them expand on it with their own dialogue and actions, the filmmakers were able to allow reality to come through, but at the same time serve what they wanted, a sort of controlled reality. As if to say "We don't mind you saying this and doing that, but it must bring the audience to the basic storyline we told you about." If that makes any sense at all.
I really liked the charactor of 'Heather', she came off as being very ambitious, but she was also a bit of a bitch which I kinda liked. Seeing her, and the others as well, slowly break down over the course of the film is understandable, especially when they keep going in differnt directions only to end up back where they started. That would get to me too.
A lot of people had a big problem with the charactor of 'Josh', I can understand that with all his "Dude we're in the middle of the fuckin woods!" Dude this and dude that routine, but it didn't bother me, my brother talks just like him.
The charactor that I personally identified with was definatly 'Michael', he came off the most realistic of the group IMO. He was scared to death, so would I be in that situation to be sure. If there's something out their in those woods trying to kill me, i'm not stepping one foot out of that tent!
The film is a lot like Moulin Rouge in that it's definatly an aquired taste. But for me, it's an effective little experiment in unseen terror. I won't even bring up that aweful sequel. Prime example of a sequel being big budgeted, but substituting fear and style for a heavy metal soundtrack, unlikeable teenagers, and no purpose other than to cash in on a successful original.

 

[Julie K]

I mean come on, if you can convince an entire nation that your movie really happened when it didn't, you've done something special.

This is one of the things that got me cranky about the movie even before I saw it. The whole "is it real?" crap seemed to me to be nothing more than brazen marketing hype and I was distressed by how many people believed it.

But I went and while I've certainly seen worse movies, I have a special hatred for this one. I simply could not feel any sympathy or attachment to the characters. On various book newsgroups there are sayings about the Most Deadly Words when reading a book: "I don't care about these people" - these words are often followed by the sounds (figuratively) of a book being thrown against the wall. That's how I felt in this movie, except I had to stay to the end. I've never left a movie while it's playing, but perhaps I should make a few exceptions now and again. I should have left because not only did I hate the characters (the movie would have been redeemed if Leatherface made an appearance and chainsawed those annoying people into sausage-sized bits) but I was also bored out of my mind. I've spent a great deal of time outdoors and rustlings in trees at night just doesn't trigger any worry on my part.

I hated the characters and didn't find it scary. I got annoyed by the marketing campaign. That's why I can't stand BWP.

 

[Jason Boucher]

Just another chance to say that BWP is not a film--it was a publicity stunt. Hated it!

 

[Mark Palermo]

I think what initially turned off a lot of people is that when BWP came out, the media kept labelling it as "the future of filmmaking." I'm sure glad this didn't turn out to be true, though I appreciate Blair Witch as a mildly effective gimmick-film.

Mark

 

[Rich Malloy]

It's a movie that probably appeals more to film-maker types than average moviegoers. The setup and execution were brilliant, a truly interesting exercise in experimental filmmaking with a bit of the gonzo-guerilla approach mixed with cinema verite and the dogme-95 aesthetic.

It was very effective on the audience I saw the film with. Many horrified reactions, screams, gasps. I got the chill-to-the-bone feeling on several occasions. The ending setpiece in the cabin was extraordinary, from the little handprints and baby shoes, to the bizarre aural effect of hearing the sound only via the camcorder (running downstairs into the cellar). Brilliant final shot (copied to similarly creepy effect in "Signs").

Never sells-out the psychological angle, maintains ambiguity about "the truth" to the bitter end. I certainly wouldn't say it's a film as accomplished as Wise's "The Haunting" or Dreyer's "Day of Wrath", but the unresolved question of whether the "evil presence" is supernatural or psychological (power of suggestion/group hysteria/personal psychosis) is a far more creepy approach than "showing the witch" (not doing so being one of the more witless criticisms).

Every experimental film can be described as "gimmicky" - Deren's "Meshes of the Afternoon, Marker's "La Jetée", Figgis' "Timecode", Merhige's "Begotten" - it's the nature of the beast. But to dismiss such films out-of-hand is just as silly as proclaiming them "the future of all cinema".

 

[Darcy Hunter]

While I will say that TBWP worked for me, I can easily see why it wouldn't work for others. I've had many discussions with friends about most of whats been covered in Dome and Vickies posts and I can say that I agree with points from both. I will add that I did know that it was fake from the beginning having discovered this film through Aint It Cool News and Haxon's website, but it still managed to freak me out. I know alot of people were turned off by the whiny leads (especially Heather Donahue's character) and the stupid decisions they constantly make. I guess I assumed that they were just casual campers, and not true survivalists, so when the days drag on, and the madness set in (I'll explain in a bit), their irrational behavior ("losing" the map, going in circles) just made sense. My only real complaint is that they should've interwoven scenes from the Curse of the Blair Witch that aired before the movie came out. This was a really well produced special reminiscent of those old "In Search Of.." shows that created a wonderful back-story to the witch and the town. It helps explain some of the actions of the characters and adds an extra layer of dread to the proceedings.

 

[Russ Lucas]

Most of the reasons why I loved it have already been mentioned, but I'll add one more. A typical convention in horror movies is that the audience knows more about the danger than the on-screen actors. We know that the seemingly benevolent person who offers a ride is really a killer, or we know that there's a murderer following a victim around. We've got more knowledge than the actors, but are left helpless to aid them. TBWP departs from that convention in that we usually know less than those on-screen about the danger. The things that they see or hear are often not shown to the viewer or shown partially. The folks on-screen have more knowledge than us, but they can't tell us what we don't know. The close-up shot of Heather, and what prompts them to run into the woods are two examples that come to mind.

It's easy to say the film's success was due to the proliferation of the net and savvy marketing, but I think that the same kind of tension and buzz could have been built in large measure by simple television commercials had the net not been around.

 

[Jeff Pryor]

Blair Witch Project was the ultimate campfire story realized on film. Some like being spooked, others don't have a clue.

 

[Mitch Stevens]

Let me first start by saying that I absolutely loved this film. I hold it in my top 10 films of all time category. When I first saw the teasers on TV, I know from the start that it was just a movie, and that it was fake. How did I know this? Well, I'm sure that the parents of Heather, Mike and Josh would not under any circumstances let a film of their kids being murdered hit theaters across the nation. I'm 100% positive that if I was being murdered on film, my parents would not allow that film to be released theatrically. It just common sense.

Next, I too got lost in the woods with a cousin of mine. My entire family was there, and even some friends of the family. My cousin and I, decided to go for a walk, and as we were heading back, we got lost. Somehow, we lost our path back to our parents, and no matter where we went, we would end up somewhere very far from them. My cousin started to panic, because we had been lost for 2 hours, and nobody could find us. I kept as calm as I possibly could in that situation. I just wanted to find my way back. We started screaming at the top of our lungs for someone to hear us, but nobody could. There were trees all around for miles and miles, with no one in sight. After one more hour (and my cousin crying like a baby) of screaming we heard our families also were screaming our names out, looking for us. We followed the voices, and finally found them.

Let me tell you, that this was the scariest experience I've ever had, and you feel lonely, frustrated, scared, etc. I feel that the movie "Blair Witch Project" really captured the feeling of what was going inside of our heads at the time we got lost. You see that Mike and everyone for that matter are scared to death, because they can not find the way out of the woods. They do everything they can, but end up at the same place. This is a very scary feeling, and the film captures that very well. They slowly start having breakdowns as they realize that all hope is lost. That to me, is what the film is really about...Not some "Blair Witch" chasing after them.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

John Williamson said:

Even if your a detractor of this film, you have to admit that the whole backstory setup, and marketing of the film are works of sheer genius! I mean come on, if you can convince an entire nation that your movie really happened when it didn't, you've done something special. I especially love the backstory they came up with which just stinks of realism and you can see that they really thought this thing through and did their homework. Really well done. Except for the whole "A year later their footage was found" thing, I had a problem with that. I mean could videotape survive being outside in the woods all year!? I highly doubt it.

This is true. Even as a detractor of the film, I have to admit that the marketing campaign for this movie was absolutely brilliant.
But still, I would've found it more acceptable if Heather and Micheal had decided to keep "filming" their documentary, which would've kept the whole documentary look and feel more consistent. Otherwise, the whole "Heather needs to keep filming because she needs a psychological crutch" explanation is really stupid and pathetic. Besides first-person porn (oops, did I just say that? ), how many people do you see running around and living through the lens on their camera? Don't even say Ricky Fitz from American Beauty either. That doesn't count.

 

[Justin_S]

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT is one of my top 5 favorite films of all time, is the best film of the 90s, and is an absolute masterpiece of horror! This film was so hyped, and it is one of the few films that actually lived up to its hype for me. I absolutely treasure this film, and in all honesty, I watch my DVD of it once every two weeks. Also, in all honesty, I think this film is THE scariest film ever made! I am a seasoned horror fanatic, and no film had ever freaked me out as bad as this one did. The unknown/unseen is truly terrifying as hell, and this film proved it. I still have a hard time sleeping after rewatching this film, because it really gets to me, and no, I never thought it was real.
Whenever I tell people I love this film, I usually get a negative response, but I couldn't give two shits what anyone else thinks, because to me, this film is a true cinematic masterpiece, and I am not afraid to admit it.
I, for one, liked all of the characters, and really identified with them and their awful situation. You can say they were all bad actors, but their performances were 100% believable for me, and that is great acting in my book.
The unknown is extremely scary, and that is never more evident in any other film than this one. The bone chilling tent scene is done perfectly, as is basically every scene of this film. I was terrified from the moment they entered the woods (knowing the inevitability of things to come) to the eerie climax.
You can disagree with me all you want, but to me, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT will ALWAYS be an undisputed classic of cinematic horror!

 

[Esten]

Obvious influences were Cannibal Holocaust(story) and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.(Style and feeling.)
The film did nothing for me,though.

 

[Sean Laughter]

I really liked TBWP. I don't think it's some work of pure genius, but it's really intelligent in its own right. To let people know where I'm coming from I really like "The Exorcist" but have never found that movie to be scariest in the least.

I also can't understand the argument people use when they say, "Why did they keep filming? They're lost in a life and death situation, who in their right mind would keep filming??"

If all of the amateur and professional footage of the 9/11 terrorist attack hasn't convinced people that documentary filmmakers and photo-journalists won't keep filming, even if their own lives seem to be on the line, than I don't know what will. So I find that argument a silly one to use to try and deride the film.

 

[Eric Sevigny]

Well I loved it. Many people who I watched it with back then at the cineplex obviously didn't - they complained of headaches for most of the movie
While on the subject - what happened to plans for a 6hours + DVD special edition, one which I had hoped would not use the theatrical print with the black bars all around, but a feed from the camera? This is one disc I never picked up because of the rumors of SE which never did materialize.

 

[James Lehtinen]

You know, I think that the best comment about BWP was "it was creepy but not scary"... I totally agree with that. I really freaked out at the end of the movie. It just kinda made me say "Oh my god..." Oh and BTW, having the 5.1 was really neat for that movie. It shifts between the "camera sound" and the real sound in the woods. I just thought that was a clever effect to add to the "realism" I guess.

Did anyone find "The Prince of Darkness" to be a scary movie? I could not look at a mirror for a week after seeing it.

j.