Rating: Summary: Better than BWP Review: This film creeped me out much more that Blair Witch Project. I watched BWP and my thoughts were, "What's the big deal?" (I also have a review of BWP here as well). "The Last Broadcast" takes a little while to get into, after the character set-ups, police interviews about Jim Seward, etc. but then it gets more interesting when they begin to show the "actual" documentary video of the guys going into the Pine Barrens. The scare factor increases in the last 20 minutes of the film when the video technician puts together the pieces of ravaged video that shows up mysteriously after the murders, which may shed more light on what happened that night in the Pine Barrens. The twist ending of this film is very strange and quite unexpected, so for this I consider "The Last Broadcast" much more satisfying than BWP. Another thing I appreciated about this film when compared to BWP was the fact they could make this film without all the profanities so prominent in BWP. If you liked Blair Witch Project, you'll probably like "The Last Broadcast" even better, but if you didn't care for BWP, you probably WILL like "The Last Broadcast"- it's a creepier and better-made film and I think it will get it's due as a cult classic in years to come.
Rating: Summary: Not a documentary? Review: I can only thank my lucky stars that I was in a hurry when I picked up "The Last Broadcast" at my local rental store. I didn't read the case properly and thought I had chosen a movie about some grisly murders in New Jersey. So,when I got home, I was surprised to be confronted with what seemed to be a bona fide documentary. I became totally engrossed in what became the increasingly unnerving story of an ill fated, overambitious cable TV expedition to out the Jersey Devil. "Spying in on this crime about to happen" to quote the character Clare Deforest was infinitely more chilling than watching some chump in an anorak hacking up preening college students. I have read at least one review which cites the amateurish production and acting and the monotone delivery of narrator David Beard as negative factors. This is essentially why the film works. It had the right low budget feel of a documentary you might see on a minor network channel. Most cable shows are amateurish affairs to say the least and the unsure, almost unprepared delivery of Avalos and Weiler made them seem all the more natural and real. The location video footage was grainy, badly focussed and shaky.....exactly what you would expect! With the finest actors Hollywood has to offer and million dollar camera equipment, the film would have been unconvincing and much less satisfying. As to whether "The Last Broadcast" or "The Blair Witch Project" came first...who cares. They are both worthwhile, ingenious movies and infinitely more disturbing than any of the big bucks frighteners Hollywood had to offer during the 90's. So, accept the amateurism evident in "The Last Broadcast" as vital to its success and be prepared to be confronted by an all too real and believable murder mystery. Of course, if you've read this far, you're not likely to be as dumbstruck as I was at the conclusion and perhaps the best advice I can give you is not to read the plot synopsis on the back of any horror or suspense video...the less you know, the more scared you get!
Rating: Summary: Sour grapes Review: This is the film whose makers seemed to come out of the woodwork the moment The Blair Witch Project captured the hearts of a new generation of horror film fans in the early summer. In episodes of varying degrees of 'sour grapes,' they claimed that the makers of the latter film ripped off their idea of doing a fake documentary in the woods.After seeing this film you will be assured that the makers of Blair Witch have nothing to worry about. The Last Broadcast is an incredibly amateurish, and resultantly unconvincing movie about a seemingly solved murder case that occurred in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in December of 1995. Like Blair Witch, it's entirely fictional and while the film-makers here succeed in keeping the audience interested in much of it, it has the look of a cable production, by a crew with a good degree of imagination but without the talent for implementation that the Blair Witch team had in buckets. Furthermore, unlike Blair Witch, the characters are so roughly-drawn here that you really never care what happens to any of them. After being mildly interesting for at least the first 45 minutes (but only after I resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to see anything professional here), and after finding it more interesting for the next 30 minutes or so, I was completely unconvinced by what is surely one of the dumbest and most contrived endings I have seen in a film. While Blair Witch was low-budget I never thought it was amateurish, on the contrary I saw a professionalism hidden behind that film, with lots of talent and imagination to boot. Alas, this is not true of the film whose makers claim they were ripped off. Hogwash.
Rating: Summary: A very cleverly made movie! A must see! Review: I read an article about this film in late 1997 in VideomakerMagazine. I was interested in seeing it, but was not able to untilits release on video. I rented it, and I must say... BRAVO! Iwatched it a few times, and showed it to a few friends and family. They all loved it. Being a screenwriter/filmmaker myself, I found the plot to be very interesting. ... Now remember this is a "documentary". Some people with "disturbed" minds (Such as the Seward character) act strangely, as though they are trying to act that way. Some disturbed people can seem as though they are bad actors...even in real life. It was a great movie, and I highly recommend it. I still can't tell if I like the Blair Witch better or not. I liked them both... each with their own unique characteristics and styles.
Rating: Summary: Where does this take place?--oh, yeah, THE PINE BARRENS! Review: Comparisons with BWP are obvious: people we've never seen before in the woods with video equipment. That's about it. This movie proves that making BWP was not as easy as it looked, and not everyone can do it. I've heard that THE LAST BROADCAST came first, but I don't much care. In fact, I didn't much care about anyone depicted in the film. I felt no fear, suspense, or even anticipation. With BWP, I felt that I was trapped in the woods with them. It rang true. This movie, however, only made me laugh, and it wasn't trying to. Oh, and did anyone count how many times the narrator said PINE BARRENS? This repetition illustrates the lack of confidence on the part of the film makers. Frankly, they deserve to lack confidence. Oh, and it's one star because this won't let me give it anything less.
Rating: Summary: Outstanding, suspeneful, and unique reality-fantasy meld. Review: I found this underrated gem of a film by accident on the Independent Film Channel one night (that is before my local cable company decided to pull IFC for some stupid reason),and was fascinated by the "documentary/news report" feel to it. It seems that this movie may have been an influence on the oft mentioned Blair Witch Project, but is, at least in my opinion, an even better film. It seemed so real...I actually thought it was.
Rating: Summary: GREAT MOVIE! Way Better than Blair Witch! Review: I really really loved this movie! Great documentary. I highly recommend everyone go see this original, spooky, 5-star movie! Definitely the most original movie I've ever seen, and Blair Witch must have copied it! But it is sooo much better than Blair Witch Project.
Rating: Summary: Puts Blair Witch to Shame Review: "This is a great video... could have bee
Rating: Summary: Last Broadcast, I sure hope it's the last. Review: The Blair Witch Project was a very inventive movie. Let's compare BWP with the Last Broadcast: BWP is much better and will leave you startled. The Last Broadcast will leave you feeling stupid for renting/buying it. The ending is terrible. It could have been a good movie but was ruined. If you want to be scared see Blair Witch but if you want to laugh yourself to death watch The Last Broadcast...I sure hope it's the last!
Rating: Summary: This movie puts "blair witch" to shame- Review: i absolutely loved this movie! it was a true masterpiece. the acting wasnt, (at all times), greatly convincing, but the story was awesome! i thought the ending was a unique way to end this movie. from the previous reviews, it seems like many people were upset with the ending, but i thought that was an origional direction to go in, although it did kill a little bit of the intrigue of the mystery. i would call this more a mystery, rather than a horror. but overall this was nicely done, especially for the money spent, and limited access to many abilities that higher budget movies have access to. that forced the movie to be very origional, and nicely thought out. bottom line is that the blair witch had literally NO PLOT, and was a disaster, as far as movies go. the blair witch didnt have the ability that this movie had, to capture your interest. this movie remindes me of a typical episode of "unsolved mysteries", up until the very end, where the movie- effect takes over. this movie im sure, will have a cult following. of course this is only my opinion, though. and no, i am not one of the movie makers' mothers, or something...once again, excellent movie!
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