Rating: 
Summary: VERY impressive...
Review: Well, let's start from the beginning (which is usually the best place to start, but who cares?). This IS NOT the most frightening thing I have ever seen. It's not meant to be. I found it VERY effective as a horror, however. It wasn't truly scary, but it was VERY ominious and quite eerie in it's delieverance. Never have I seen a film made in such a fashion, and it was highly effective. The 'camcorder' style only proved to make the entire experience more effective, and pushing the fear factor further. The acting is superb, and the constant use of adlibs (I'm guessing they're adlibs), was impressive, and only served to further the plot, and make the overall story more moving. Strange symbolism, confused rumour and fictional, but real news reports only serve to (helpfully) confuse the viewer, and the climax in Rustin Parr's house was FANTASTIC. Well worth the £3 it cost to rent it, and WELL worth the £15 it cost to buy. Congrats, Heather, Josh and Michael. Getting lost in the woods payed off after all...shame about the sequel, though. Wanna hear what I said about that? Read my review on the Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review page.
Rating: 
Summary: A film that allows you to scare yourself...
Review: I saw this film a year after it was released. I knew the film was fiction. I didn't buy into the hype. I didn't see the preview short films on cable that were used as a precursor and marketing tool to promote interest and background for this film. I saw clips of this film, as well as an interview with Heather Donahue, and wasn't too impressed by what I saw and heard. However, the film was in the video store for a low price, and the time was right to see the film, as Halloween was approaching. I brought the film home late one evening to my spacious apartment, popped the film into my VCR, turned off the lights, and proceeded to watch the film alone.The results were a unique and brilliant film. No script, no incidental music, acting is totally improvised based on a vague plot the actors were given, film is shot entirely from the visual perspective of the three students involved in the story, etc. Viewing this film scared me like no other viewing of a film ever has. However, the film ITSELF is not scary. YOU SCARE YOU, provided you have imagination. The film throws you into a situation where your imagination is provoked into running wild; and providing certain memories of your youth are triggered (this is very important to the experience of this film), i.e. getting lost in deep woods, camping in deep woods at night and hearing eerie noises, thoughts and images about witches, you will scare yourself in a way you never thought possible. It was weeks before I could set foot in the woods again without being "creeped out". After viewing this film once, maybe twice, the scare factor is finished. The film doesn't hold up well as entertainment after the first or second viewing. Nevertheless, the intial scare is well worth it. Two main reasons why people didn't like this film are: 1. They have NO imagination. 2. They believed and bought into the film's hype that this footage was real, sat cynically in the cinema surrounded by other people and distractions, etc. critiquing the film and taking out a white glove in their mind every time something questionable happened in the film in the hope of debunking this film as a hoax. Not a very open-minded way to watch a film. If you haven't seen this film and you are a fan of old-fashioned horror, as opposed to big budget special effects and blatant gore films with annoying and cliched soundtrack scores, then I highly recommend buying it and watching it at home at night alone and with all the lights off. If you really want to scare yourself, listen to the film's audio on headphones whilst watching the film. Why did I give the film only 3 stars if I thought it was so brilliant? Well, to be honest, because of how this film was made, I don't think this film qualifies for a star at all. The Blair Witch Project is more of an experience, rather than a highly artistic, or even somewhat artistic film. There's nothing artful about this film, nor is it a film that offers anything at all in subsequent viewing. However, I will give this film 5 stars for a scare factor rating. Question is...do you, the viewer have a 5 star imagination?
Rating: 
Summary: funny stuff
Review: i enjoyed the movie, not because it was scary but because of its one-liners. giving out lines such as 'tell me where you are josh',' i gave you back the map haether'and you've gotta f**kin be kiddin me.The acting is amazing, the script is briliant, what else can i say. masterpiece
Rating:
Summary: Clever Idea But Over-Hyped
Review: By now everybody, except those living in caves knows about Blair Witch Project, how it was filmed (shaky camcorder documentary style), what the plot is, how cheap it was to make and how much money it made. This was a very clever idea, very cheaply shot and if you happened to be one of the lucky ones to see this movie before all the hype (about it being the scariest film ever) then you were probably thrilled but sadly it was over-hyped and for everybody who subsequently sees it, it is usually a let-down. It's just not a very scary movie but it is original and it does have a spooky ending which stays with you for days and nights afterwards. All in all though this is a triumph mostly for the internet marketing campaign that made it such a hit, rather than for it's originality, which is a pity. However, it's a pretty good buy at a bargain price (...).
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Scarest Movies Of All Time
Review: This film scared the crap out of me I don't care what people say this is one scary movies. The only movie thats more scary is Stanley Kubricks The Shining but thats a classic big difference. Anyway some people mite not like it do to the photography and the way the film is made. But the film is scary and when I say scary its scary watch it you will love it. Don't watch the second blair witch its horible its one of the worest movies I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Blairwitch scared me to bits!!!
Review: Probably the most original horror film of all time (which is based on fact or so they say) concerns three students filming a project on the legend of the Blairwitch. As they set up camp in the woods of Maryland they soon find themselves lost but they're not alone. It seems the Blairwitch isn't just a myth....it is reality. Excellent performances from debut actors who actually have the same names - Heather Donaghue and Michael Williams to name but a few. The crying and the noises (although we don't see the Blairwitch herself) is more than enough to chill anybody's nerve. Watch out for the ending, and Heather's screams are sure to freak you out too!!
Highly charged original which, surprisingly is very underrated!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good movie, but not much of a DVD.
Review: I think that this film is brilliant. It's unique, it's well done, and it's the only film that's ever actually scared me. However, the DVD features are well below average. I'd recommend the video instead - it's cheaper and you're not missing much.
Rating: 
Summary: Undeserving of so much praise
Review: This movie's success all hinges on schtick. Here's what needs to happen for you to like this flik. If you can ignore the glaring faults of this film as a film, and simply enjoy the "When animals attack!" sort of voyeuristic aspect of it, and not get sick from the terrible camera work, then you'll probably like it. However, personally I didn't like it because: it was obvious to me when the actors were "acting". Mostly the movie is them running around arguing, then getting freaked out. Most of it was unscripted, though there were certain things that needed to be discussed, divulged, spoken, etc., at certain points in the movie. To me it was painfully obvious when this sort of thing was happening. Check out the long-haired guy's line about "why was my stuff covered in that blue stuff?" It's so forced. That's the main problem with this movie is the same thing that everyone says is so unique and great about it: there's no script. So, what you got is some kids screwing off in the woods. It all seems ultra-natural because, well, it actually is a bunch of footage of these three people screwing around. But, when it comes time to make an interesting and compelling movie, the efforts to do so just didn't work for me. The forced plot points, the planted creepy things, the background story, and especially the shaky premise. They're supposed to be film students, yet none of the footage is good enough for an actual documentary, rather it's only good enough for a mock-documentary horror flik that's relying on schtick for it's appeal. If I would have found it scary at all I could have forgiven everything else, but it didn't even scare me.
Rating:
Summary: This still is one of the most creative ideas!
Review: Blair witch is an instant classic. Why? Think back to when it opened. Half of the people who saw this movie were sure it was a real documentary. I can't think of any other movie that had that kind of creative touch. Scary? You bet! It was a classic pyschological thriller. Almost no violence at all and you never get a glimpse of who/what is the Witch. You simply had black and white and three kids in the woods. Add some mysterious happenings and internal conflict - you have the mixings of a great movie. The ending of this movie, to this day, still gives me chills. This movie should be in everyone's collection.
Rating:
Summary: No Hollywood Studio is this clever!! (WARNING - SPOILERS)
Review: Heather Donahue plays your typical snotty film-school student. With Josh and Michael, she heads off to the woods of Burkittsville, Md, once known as Blair, to film a documentary about the town's strange history, and the myth of death and misery stemming from a mysterious cypher of a woman who keeps the town in barely veiled terror - Elly Kedward: the Blair Witch. For generations, the men, women and children of Blair have disappeared in the woods. Sometimes, bodies are found, gruesomely mutilated, only to be lost again. (the stench of death, Heather tells us, is never lost). Some claim to have narrowly survived encounters with the witch, though appear somehow crippled or detached from reality like Mary Brown. Most of Burkittville's residents know of the witch, will vary the extent they're willing to admit believing in her, but share a sheer horror for her. A perverse lunacy suffuses the residents over the course of generations, inspiring some to commit sensational crimes like the mass murder of children by Gordon Parr. The film begins with Heather's interviews of residents, Mary Brown among them. Heather's condescension of her "stars" - most blatantly with Mary Brown - fairly drips over each frame. Heather and crew then head into the woods themselves - and are never seen again. Everything we see is based upon their footage, which they film copiously. At first, the crew is lost. They make the best of a good situation, but food runs low, they become cold, hungry and lost. And hunted. Lost in the woods, surrounded by evil and low on cigarettes, (but surprisingly heavy on batteries and film) the group goes to pieces. A map proves useless, then disappears entirely. They've got a compass, but going in the same direction only brings them back to where they started - the heart of the forest. Recriminations fly. They turn on each other, kept only from each other's throats by the fear that somebody or something is stalking them. At first, they hear footsteps. Then they find strange piles of rocks surrounding their tent, and a section of trees from which hang dozens of strange twig crucifixes. When they return from a futile chase at the sound of what may be a crying baby, the group finds their camp tossed - Josh's pack is missing, his canteen covered with a strange slimy substance. This is an excellent film by any standard - whether made for $40k or the $130 million it made. From jerky handcam motions and seemingly undirected dialog and barely connected scenes, comes a coherent narrative of three normal people slowly consumed by a never seen but very real evil. The transition to bonafide victims of a horror movie is painstakingly detailed. Although there's no special effects - and we know we're never going to see the titular sorceress - "Blair" managed to craft some astoundingly simple yet effective tricks to show how the evil lives is more than a figment of their mass hallucination - the crying baby, Josh's disappearance, mounds of rocks that materialize that seem to appear out of nowhere, and even an honest to goodness haunted house. The greatest trick of all is the fact that BWP isn't really one movie but two - the movie that the crew intended to film (shot on 16MM film and containing interviews with witnesses and Heather's pompous rendition of Blair legends) and the video which was to be their private diary - and intended to show the private side that the crew wouldn't dream of showing on film. The realism is stimulated by the sense that the crew is crafting a horror movie for the 16mm, but keeping video to depict a world that still makes sense, but also one in which they can reveal their burgeoning fears. Soon the Blair Witch breaks down that barrier, and our heroes find themselves trapped in a horror flick that's all enveloping. One interesting facet of this is that the movie ends twice - with the deaths of the surviving cinematographers in rapid succession, but each camera (and it's owner) meet his and her own shocking (if never seen) end. On a side-note, for those who've already seen "Blair", notice how fluid and calm the 16mm footage is towards the end - as its user (presumably Josh) descends to meet with Heather in the cellar of the decrepit house. It's almost like it's not being held by Josh at all. What's going on? In short, it's a mystery, but the beauty of "Blair" is that the film allows that sort of mystery, creating a truly and consistently chilling film.
|
