The Blair Witch Project

[J-Val]

The Blair Witch Project has a tendency to be the Marmite of the film world; you either love it or hate it.
Personally, I thought it was pure utter genius, a refreshing breath of air from the world's most unoriginal genre (Horror). Using a minimalistic style, and none of the usual cheap Horror tricks, it still manages to convey pure unbridled terror. The actors sound natural, look natural and act natural, to give a completely believable performance.
The film's only flaw is also one of the strengths. It is slightly too ambiguous, slightly too vague. The people who will be scared most by this film are those with imagination.
If BWP had resorted to using some cheap Horror thrills, or providing a little more for us to be afraid of, I think it would have been received much more charitably.
All in all, The Blair Witch Project is like Portal; short, brilliant and underappreciated.

And just ignore the sequel. It's pap.

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

I can't really add anything here-- I'd have to agree with you on all points. Although it took me a few watches to get a real sense of the film's true value, I have to say it's the metaphorical diamond in a big pile of cow shit.

The problem I seem to see when I force my friends to watch is that they do not go into the movie expecting the type of movie that it is-- if that makes any sense at all.

 

[J-Val]

The problem I seem to see when I force my friends to watch is that they do not go into the movie expecting the type of movie that it is-- if that makes any sense at all.

Yeah, I understand what you mean. I got it for Christmas and my sister, who had watched it before, coerced me into watching it as well.
We than had a fun time watching the haux video, released on the Discovery Channel before the film was released:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202493/

It was apparently so effective that IMDb listed the actors - who used their own names in the film - as "Missing, presumed dead".

 

[Divinegon]

J-Val's right. You only get scared if you have a big imagination. That is why I got genuinely scared at the last seconds of the movie. That silent creepyness where you see nothing, but you end up thinking something is there terrified me. Like clinging to your chair, expecting a screamer to suddenly shout out at you.

And the whole "This really happened with these actors" was a good move, until you know, they revealed it was fake. Which is a bit of a shame, I suppose. But I wouldn't expect people to not notice the actors walking around like it was nothing, when they should be dead.

 

[Joe]

I actually went into it thinking it was real-ish. The Sci-Fi Channel (this really should've been my first clue) ran a "documentary of the documentary" where it interviewed people from the fictional area, and it seemed legitimate enough at the time to get me into the theater thinking it was some art house video, kinda like that one with the guy who got eaten by bears.

Anyway, I left the theater knowing it wasn't real, but it was definitely one of the scarier horror movies I've seen. Actually, if you look back at what made The Exorcist good (great, believable dialogue and characters in a situation you want to be real), The Blair Witch Project hit a lot of the same notes. And like The Exorcist, it wasn't what was onscreen that was scary. It was the feeling you had when you walked down a dark, wooded path.

And as bad as BWP2 was, the chicks were smokin' hot.

 

[the_carrot]

I actually went into it thinking it was real-ish. The Sci-Fi Channel (this really should've been my first clue) ran a "documentary of the documentary" where it interviewed people from the fictional area, and it seemed legitimate enough at the time to get me into the theater thinking it was some art house video, kinda like that one with the guy who got eaten by bears.

The stories about that movie before it came out really got people interested. I think it's still the most profitable movie in history, it was made for something like $40,000.00 and grossed in the neighborhood of ten million. Selling the movie the way they did really worked. I wonder if they expected it to do so well.

 

[GloatingSwine]

The stories about that movie before it came out really got people interested. I think it's still the most profitable movie in history, it was made for something like $40,000.00 and grossed in the neighborhood of ten million. Selling the movie the way they did really worked. I wonder if they expected it to do so well.

Two hundred and fifty million. Not ten million.

I personally thought Blair Witch was tedious and unscary, though that probably wasn't helped by seeing it at the cinema, when it's handicam small-o-vision format probably works better on the small screen, and the fact that by the end I wanted to personally murder all three of the characters.

Thinking about it, Blair Witch probably came a decade too early to really do everything it could have. Release it in 2008 as a viral video, or even torrent only, so even getting hold of it spreads by word of mouth, and it could easily have spiralled into the biggest hoax ever perpetrated.

 

[the_carrot]

The stories about that movie before it came out really got people interested. I think it's still the most profitable movie in history, it was made for something like $40,000.00 and grossed in the neighborhood of ten million. Selling the movie the way they did really worked. I wonder if they expected it to do so well.

Two hundred and fifty million. Not ten million.

I personally thought Blair Witch was tedious and unscary, though that probably wasn't helped by seeing it at the cinema, when it's handicam small-o-vision format probably works better on the small screen, and the fact that by the end I wanted to personally murder all three of the characters.

Thinking about it, Blair Witch probably came a decade too early to really do everything it could have. Release it in 2008 as a viral video, or even torrent only, so even getting hold of it spreads by word of mouth, and it could easily have spiralled into the biggest hoax ever perpetrated.

I wonder where I got that figure from. eh.

 

[beoweasel]

Kinda weird we're talking about a movie that was made what...10 years ago?

 

[end_boss]

I am a big fan of Blair Witch Project, so I agree with everything in your post except for one thing:

Since WHEN was Portal under-appreciated? It's becoming the cult following poster boy of the gaming community! It's getting to the point where people might not even be considered to earn their "gamer" stripes until they've played through it and know the words to "Still Alive" off by heart. Even Yahtzee said he couldn't think of anything to criticize about it. YAHTZEE said that! By now every major webcomic has done at least one strip to pay tribute to how awesome Portal is. If that's underrating it, then what would be giving the game its dues? A companion cube balloon at the Macy's Parade?

 

[J-Val]

Since WHEN was Portal under-appreciated? It's becoming the cult following poster boy of the gaming community!

Exactly, a CULT following. Just like The Blair Witch Project.

 

[end_boss]

Since WHEN was Portal under-appreciated? It's becoming the cult following poster boy of the gaming community!

Exactly, a CULT following. Just like The Blair Witch Project.

The difference being that there are just as many people who hate The Blair Witch as those who love it. Actually, from what I've seen, MORE people hate it than like it. I'm ALWAYS having to defend the merits of BWP in every forum I go to. On the other hand, I've not heard the first criticism of Portal, everybody sings its praises, no matter how different their opinions tend to be, "Still Alive" is becoming the anthem of die-hard gamers everywhere, t-shirts and merchandise featuring the companion cube are selling out within hours, it has completely overshadowed Team Fortress 2 and Half Life 2: Episode 2, which were supposed to be the MAIN COURSE for the Orange Box, and GLaDOS is widely being declared (not the least of which is by me) the best video game character of all time. So at what point is it under-appreciated?

 

[Thegreatoz]

i agree J-Val, it was a good movie, and was the only movie that has managed to actually scare me. It was really really....REALLY freaky.

WHERE IS THE F-ING MAP!!!

 

[broadband]

you know the end of that movie wasnt the real one, this is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkHI7aZrNI4 haha

anyway i dont know what think about that movie but some games where made some time ago with a nice storyline the first one was about a researcher that investigated the rustin parr case in 1940-and something and the 2nd is about some kind of resurected civil war soldier that rescues a girl, and i didnt played the 3rd one

 

[Esta]

The Blair Witch Project has a tendency to be the Marmite of the film world; you either love it or hate it.
Personally, I thought it was pure utter genius, a refreshing breath of air from the world's most unoriginal genre (Horror). Using a minimalistic style, and none of the usual cheap Horror tricks, it still manages to convey pure unbridled terror. The actors sound natural, look natural and act natural, to give a completely believable performance.
The film's only flaw is also one of the strengths. It is slightly too ambiguous, slightly too vague. The people who will be scared most by this film are those with imagination.
If BWP had resorted to using some cheap Horror thrills, or providing a little more for us to be afraid of, I think it would have been received much more charitably.
All in all, The Blair Witch Project is like Portal; short, brilliant and underappreciated.

And just ignore the sequel. It's pap.

Pretty much what I would have said.

Great movie, unique style, incredible tension, and leaves it all to your imagination and own fears.

Sequal was utter bollucks.

 

[GrowlersAtSea]

I didn't like it, and personally thought it was undeserving of as much media attention as it got and the very high reviews.

I understand why people liked it, but it made me a bit motion sick and honestly it wore out it's welcome about halfway through it. At first I was liking it, it was creepy, anyone who's ever even been off-trail in a woods can identify with some of the feeling conveyed in it, and the characters seemed likable. It's very "real" feel and the constant disorientation that the camera work and atmosphere could almost make you feel the panic of the characters.

But as it continued to be muffled noises, really shaky camera work and crying it really lost me and I just wanted it to be over. I don't honestly know how the film could have alleviated that but afterwards I was really struck how my opinion of the movie changed from liking and enjoying it to be frustrated and anxious for an ending.

Was it better than the current hot trend in horror of cheap torture type films? I'm sure. And honestly, I would rather see more movies like it than the generic torture or slasher movies that horror is dominated by these days.

Change and boldness is nice, and I would rather more movies made that try for a change and even fall flat on their face that I criticize still ten years down the road to another generic movie that I don't bother with or forget immediately after.

 

[sebboh]

I liked this movie in a very strange way to me, in that I liked the IDEA of how the movie was presented so much that I accepted a rather boring flick. The plot was so original it tickled me with delight, a documentary PRESENTED as a documentary and then going haywire with mysterious a happenings. Then it all being filmed from a hand/camera perspective brought such a depth of realism to it that I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen from another 5 minutes of walking through a forest while some people rambled. Caps lock aside, this was a boring movie but so original to me at least ill give it a thumbs up. How do you give a boring movie a thumbs up?

 

[Agent Larkin]

Thought it would be a horror film and it wasnt quite scary. Only thrilling bit was when that girl was stuck with herself and the camera.

 

[DerpyDerpyDerp]

TBWP has been one of my favorite films for a long time, and I completely agree with you on most things except I don't see its ambiguous-ness as any sort of flaw. I've often felt that scares are much better when they aren't shown. However, as you addressed, this leads to people without a large imagination to feel a sense of disappointment. Acceptable losses as far as I am concerned.

Also, as for the actors, the film was almost entirely unscripted, so most of their reactions were genuine. The only guidance they got were little notes each day to tell them what direction to go and one or two things their character needed to do.

 

[quiet_samurai]

I first saw it years ago in High School. It was during that magic first two week period when the producers and anyone involved with the film said it was 100% real and the film was a mish mash of footage thought to be lost. Not only that, but the Sci-Fi channel had a documentary about it claiming the film was real footage. So needless to say I thougt it was terrifying, and was then both releaved and yet slightly disappointed when they told the world it was completely fictional.