"I think it's safe to say at this point that we're lost..."      

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (R)

Reviewed July 31, 1999 - Check out The Blair Witch Project Website.

In October of 1994, three student filmmakers (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams) went into the Black Hills Forest of Maryland to explore the mystery of the "Blair Witch," a person/force supposedly responsible for an unexplained series of murders and disappearances in and around Burkittsville, MD (formerly Blair, MD).  The students, armed only with a 16mm camera, a Hi8 Video camera, a DAT recorder and some camping equipment, set off for a weekend in the haunted woods, hoping to create a brilliant documentary on the legend.  Unfortunately, the three are never seen alive again, the only trace of them being the film they left behind in the woods, found a year later by students from the University of Maryland's Anthropology Department.

And so begins The Blair Witch Project, a 90-minute terror-filled film which pieces together the recovered video footage shot by the ill-fated trio.  Who were these students?  How did they get lost?  What exactly is the Blair Witch, and what happened out there in the woods?  As we follow the three students along on their filmmaking expedition, we slowly discover some of the answers to these questions, all the while watching these initially eager and fun-loving youngsters transform into scared and desperate human beings simply fighting for their sanity and their lives.

Yes, The Blair Witch Project is scary--scary in that chilling, mentally draining sort of way that can end up leaving a sick feeling in your stomach.  Shot exclusively (and sometimes dizzyingly) with shaky handheld cameras, this grainy, often badly lit film does a brilliant job of giving itself an air of authenticity.  Its "real-life amateur home video" feel draws you into the story, and makes you care about the three filmmakers.  For their parts, each of the three filmmakers/actors do a great job with their roles, expressing the full range of human emotion (especially fear) so realistically that you question whether they're acting at all.  Considering that this film was created for a mere $25,000, the end result is an experience that is far more terrifying than most of the horror films coming out of Hollywood these days.  Does The Blair With Project sound like your idea of fun?  If so, then don't hesitate to see it at your nearest local theater.  Please, just leave the kiddies at home, okay?

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

Kim gives this movie  star: "I believe that hugo fitch is hotter than maxwell frere." (3/15/01)

maxcolodi@aol.com gives this movie  stars: " I believe that Maxwell Frere and Hugo Fitch are the same person." (2/15/01)

lakesha.christ gives this movie  stars: "I realy like the movie" (1/29/01)

maxwellfrere@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "Perhaps a better title for this film would be "The Let's See How Far We Can Shove a Camera Up Heather Donahue's Nose Project", although I do admit that a nude scene from the annoying female protagonist of this ersatz-quasi-pseudo-faux home movie, would have bumped up my rating a star, her porcine nostril openings (so intrusively shot from below here) notwithstanding. Yeah, I guess if there's a chick in a film, I want to see her naked at some point. I'm not talking about Betty White in that alligator movie, just any chick between say, seventeen and forty-five. Anyhow, you can tell at the beginning of this movie that nobody's going to be taking any clothes off, that is, until Mike allows for a critical examination of his chest hair pattern by Josh and Heather, which is just about the level of dialogue you would expect to get when filming without a script and asking three "gen-x"ers to extemporize. When Heather apparently considers her observation that one cannot get ! lost in post-modern, suburban-sprawl America profound, she repeats it several minutes later, despite it's having elicited a roll of the eyes and a sigh in this viewer the first time she uttered it. And you'll be too busy screaming "The Skipper!" at the screen during the trio's discussion of Gilligan's Island (in which Alan Hale, Jr.'s character is repeatedly referred to as The Captain by Heather and Josh) to notice Mike's unfunny correction of them. (For you trivia buffs, The Skipper's name is Jonas Grumpy.) No, if it's crisp dialogue you seek in a movie, check out Casablanca. Or anything with Claude Rains in it, for that matter. The only thing preventing a bout of cine-somnolence was the distracting (and as played out as "Stairway to Heaven") hand-held-camera-technique employed here. Having said all that, I must give credit to "Blair Witch" for accomplishing what it set out to do; evoking the sense of dread that anyone who has ever been out in the woods in the middle of the! night hearing noises in the dark has experienced. As for what happens at the end of the movie, that's anyone's guess. And really, it doesn't matter, because all we need to know is that something bad is going down, and we're seeing it from the first-person perspectives of our (now) two remaining terrified participants. What it is we're seeing is hard to say, but it sure does look and sound scary, and after all, isn't that the reason we watch horror movies?" (12/3/00)

hugofitch@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "Having seen this movie long after it first hit the theaters, I didn't expect it to live up to it's much-hyped hype, and alas, it fell short. However, given the build-up this film received, nothing short of a masterpiece could have filled the bill. From what I understand, the filmmakers did not provide the actors with a script, and it shows. None of the players here will be confused with Ronald Colman or Bette Davis. This shortcoming is best endured by ignoring most of the banter until night rolls around, at which time the fun begins. I found myself listening intently, trying to discern what the trio was hearing in the woods that was causing their frantic reaction. The depiction of panicked fear in the dark is the payoff for sitting through the daylight-hour scenes, which consist mainly of the disintegration of the laid back cordiality the trio shared at the innocuous outset of their weekend. The discord was brought on by adversity, in this case being lost and spook! ed in the woods. The cycle of daylight wandering (and arguing) followed by nighttime horror went on longer than I had expected. Eventually, one of the three disappears, and the film approaches it's climax. It was during this climax that I was finally affected by the shaky,hand-held camera technique (that unfortunate by-product of the age of limited attention span mtv-viewers-turned-auteurs)employed here. The final scene in which the two surviving documentarians are running up and down the stairs in the house actually induced queazyness.(I re-wound, watched it again, and reproduced the effect) As for that final scene itself, can anyone tell me what happened? I mean,I could tell early on that there would be no true "payoff" here, as that would mean revealing the object of the students' terror, and there was no way the filmmakers were going to veer off that path, a time-tested horror film technique. So,I was expecting an abrupt end, but what happened??? Was that Michael standin! g facing the wall? Did we see him hit the wall as viewed through his camera lens moments before? And what happened to Heather? None of this really matters to the makers or fans of this film, as it only serves to foster more discussion of the product. I've yet to see the sequel, although from what I've read, it's not worth the effort to see. " (11/23/00)

kernx@cs.com gives this movie  stars: "what was the plot? amateur filming of a totally boring rendition of the cast getting lost in the woods and self destructing over nothing. the film should get an award for the best advertising which probably cost 10x the cost to make the movie but was very effective. bush or gore should hire the advertisers and win the election" (10/28/00)

brittgirl41@hotmail.com gives this movie  star: "I think the was the most stupid&boring movie I have ever seen.I and my 12-year old friends could have made a scarier movie than this.I think it was a waste of money.All it is,is a person holding a camera and running.Ha you should see Scary Movie it shows a GREAT impreasion of your movie.If I could choose A differint star it would be 0." (9/30/00)

cjfam@webtv.net gives this movie  stars: "ths movie kept me up for a wek tring to figure out what hapen to the guy at the end, what or who could it have been, and could it have really been true I was terrified and to scared to see part two" (9/18/00)

muirs4@hotmail.com gives this movie  star: "i thougth this movie was suppost to be great well it wasent.i thought it sucked." (7/19/00)

melissa gives this movie  star: "at the end of the movie it wasnt even scary and i thought it was suppose to be scary. they should have showed them getting killed" (7/2/00)

drycell@webtv.net gives this movie  star: "Scary? This was without a doubt the most boring film I have EVER seen in my life. I could see it scaring a four year old, but how a grown adult could get even slightly scared by this overblown hype is beyond me. Maybe these are the same people who still get freaked out when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday.What a waste of film and an hour and a half of my life." (5/10/00)

vassaga gives this movie  stars: "the only good thing about this film is the end shot where you can see mike standing in the corner - the rest of the film is filled up with swearing and funny sounds, as for being"the scariest film this year'ha!!!it was funny, and when they sing the national anthem.... if you dont go to the website you might not understand the significance of him in the corner - as it was not made clear at the start of the film.terrible movie." (12/12/99)

gillianlover@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "It disturbs me to see such a low level of intelligence on this website with the reviews for "The Blair Witch Project". Some of you have been saying that it wasn't scary at all. Quite frankly, if you prefer the horror of the "Scream" films, then you are unable to appreciate clever cinema. The horror of "The Blair Witch Project" is achieved through leaving it up to the imagination - you never see the ghosts, you never see what is hunting the film students...all you hear are the noises coming from the woods. The darkness is absolutely chilling in this film, and the colour generates a purely terrifying atmosphere. Furthermore, the acting of the three film students is amazing. I don't think I have ever seen more realistic expressions of fear than those in this film - especially from Heather Donahue. However what truly makes "The Blair Witch Project" effective is the cinematography. The hand-held cameras make the film unbelievable realistic, while the constant motion and rocking of the cameras leaves the audience jilted with the movement which generates a sense of lack of comfort also. The film builds up terror right up until the final shot, where it just explodes with horror. This is a truly unnerving film experience that deserves to be praised. It's a new form of horror that we have never seen in films - REAL horror...not artificial Hollywood thrills." (12/4/99)

darth_davo@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "I don't know what to say on BLAIR WITCH, as it does leave you thinking. It never explains what is going on, let alone show the horror and the witch. But this in mind, it creates a feel that no movie has done for quite some time : FEAR. The thing about this 'fear' which Blair Witch has and others don't, is its sense of realism. It is fake, yes, but it seems pretty real because of the style of shooting. It makes you closer to the characters and in an up close and personal way. These characters build the film. The plot about a legend of the witch is like a messy piece, but these characters mould it. The interactions and ending up, breakdowns, of these characters is dramatic and wonderully portrayed. It was surprising though, how funny the first half hour was. The 'Marshmellows' was funny as well as some of the one liners shot out in witty style throughout. When this love for the characters is in place, Blair Witch tries to rip it back and twist it around. The horrors of the noises in the woods and just the woods itself it utterly frightening and the ambience of the film is in one word : CREEPY. Damn creepy. Here, in the darkness does the camera-work work best. The fading of the light from the screen is disturbing and with just the voices and cries of the characters in immense fear, it creates enormous anxiety. There are so many thrilling moments - the scary noises at first, then the smashing of the tent which leads to the famous running through the woods ("Omigod, what is that ? What is that !!??" - scary as hell). The scene where Heather turns the camera to herself is thrilling as it feels like real terror and the fear is predominantly real. Chilling words create the suspense that never lets go throughout. The characters are amzing, and the performances of the trio are absolutely brilliant. It is the end scene that makes you hit the roof in fear. The cabin in the woods is chilling and sends your heart racing. I won't spoil it, but the final shot from the film is downright scary and disturbing. Even though it is not fully explained (well, not at all) but it leaves you in the dark about what has happened, and leaves you breathless. When it ended, I'm sure that most of the audience members where freaked. This is why Blair Witch works so well. From the start it builds into the suspense and is more real than anything. The fear portrayed is one of the best yet in move making. It is a landmark for horror as well as independent making - after all, I think the style of camera shooting made it where it is - terrifying. Blair Witch is a non-stop ride of chilling suspense. No one should miss out on the chance to see it." (12/3/99)

double_helix@hotmail.com gives this movie  star: "This movie can be summed up in one word: hype. Every review I've ever heard was either of a great, well-thought, well-plotted movie, or a cheezy, spur-of-the-moment, cause of motion-sickness. I'd say the latter is more accurate than the former. Had there been less structure on the whole "documentary" point of view and more on the whole "Blair Witch" part of the story, I may have become somewhat scared. The incessant motion, fading in and out, and lens flares from the amateur footage, it would be possible for someone to catch the full plot of the movie. It wasn't until days after I saw The Blair Witch Project until I discovered what the ending was all about. A very poor movie in my opinion, but if you keep in mind it was made by amateurs to be a documentary, not quite as horrible." (12/1/99)

anonymous entry gives this movie  star: "I was never scared the whole time - I just felt like I was going to throw up from motion sickness. The only thing that would have been scary would have been if I'd known it was real. Of course, everyone knew it wasn't, and so it just wasn't even a little bit scary. I'd have to call it lame." (11/27/99)

rjf82@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "One of the best films I ever seen..... Very good acteurs. A movie that scared me a little." (11/14/99)

Rail gives this movie  stars: "If you lead yourself to believe that it is real just for the duration of the movie I promise it will have you looking over your shoulder when you leave the parkinglot" (11/12/99)

jc116516@jcu.edu.au gives this movie  stars: "This is a wonderfull testamant to what can be achieved in a film with a limited budget, the maner in which the story develops, in a documentary style, adds to the feel of authenticity in this film in a wonderfull way, as does the maner in which the film alludes to danger without actually showing the veiwer anything, allowing the viewers own imagination to fill in the gaps, much in the style in many of hitchcocks works. The story also plays a great deal on the groups disintergration from a focused group to 3 individuals, fear causing them to argue more and more fearcely amongst themselves as the story progresses, leaving the audience to wonder is there a blair witch, or did they simply destroy each other as a result of the fear which assalted them. One of the greatest films of the horror genre i have ever seen. The only complaint i have about it is that occationaly the film work seems too amaturish, leaving the viewer more concerned with attempting to understand with what is being depicted than what the new events mean in terms of the overall plot, all in all though a fantastic film" (11/10/99)

martingessle@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "I´ve seen it twice,it´s worth the price!" (11/10/99)

Joanne gives this movie  stars: "Very cool, dramatic and scary. Well done it has to be the coolist scary movie this side of the Millenium!!!!" (10/31/99)

dogstar@dog.com gives this movie  stars. (10/26/99)

emarcin@earthlink.net gives this movie  star: "The most boring, least suspenseful movie I have ever seen!" (10/17/99)

warrenclan@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "The scariest, most original movie I have ever seen! The most mind-haunting film yet. I definatly reccomend this movie!" (9/6/99)

rlee@flatirons.org gives this movie  stars: "Unfortunately, at no time in the entire movie did I ever feel scared at all. Perhaps if I had been more absorbed into it, I would have been very scared, but sadly The Blair Witch Project miserably failed to do just that. The jarred camera footage is annoying, distracting, and causes motion sickness. Although the actors are good, it does not make up for a poorly produced film that fails to bring viewers beyond the cinema screen. I am sorry to say that, after all the hype, it is my conclusion that this movie is crap." (8/19/99)

juggalof4life@jeckelbros.zzn.com gives this movie  stars: "This movie iz the scariest film since the original "texas chainsaw massacar" i have been waitng years for a film that scare me and now i found it!!! the characters do such a great job that you forget there actors even though they were mutilated by the directors to make it real by setting up un expected stuff this thriller will keep one eye open while you sleep i will tell you one thing "It is going to be along time before i go camping again"" (8/11/99)

kennz007@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "Seriously, go see this movie. It's excellent! Never has a movie scared me but this one did. It's original, extremely freaky, and the acting is so good that the film is almost belivable. It has these part that will stay in your mind forever, they are so freaky and disturbing that it's not even funny. You end us having so much compassion for the actors as you watch them slowly loose their sanity. And the best part about is it's ending, the ending is great! I makes you think about it over and over again and the more you think about it the scarier it is. But the movie dosen't really hit home until you imagine it happing to you, It's so scary. But honestly, everybody sould see this movie!" (8/10/99)

ronin_1981@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "This movie is in the tradition of independent films. It is filmed using camcorders for crying out loud. But that is one of the main reasons why this movie is so effective. It gives us the illusion that what we are seeing is real, and what happend to these people was real. What truly scares us?, that which we can't see. There are numerous shots of the forrest, of pitch black, or of the camera being flung around crazily because they are running away from something. But we never see anything, only hear terrifying noises and screams in the darkness. Noises of people being tortured and of little children circling their tent, and the reoccurring cackling sound they hear at night. The scenes where they just sat and listened were terrifying. My heart sounded like I ran a marathon. Even shots during the day, which weren't as scary, were at least creepy, and gave us a creepy feeling towards what was going to happen next. Things appearing around their tents when they wake up in the morning or, people disappearing, or just wandering into a part of the woods covered with eery stick figures, placed in the trees. I don't want to give away exactly what they found and their significance because it is all part of the scare. Thinking about this now is kind of creeping me out. This film proves that it does not take expensive CGI, or special effects or gore to make a scary movie. Just a little creativity. I am so sick of the recent chain of horror movies like, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Urban Legend. They weren't scary at all. They were just an exercise in the horror genre. Another high point about his film is the actors themselves. They gave excellent performances. Their performances were crucial to the effectiveness of the film and they pulled it off nicely. I don't think I have ever seen anybody as scared as them in a horror movie. And their screams were the most chilling screams I have ever heard in the whole horror genre. Without spoiling the film I just wanted to mention the ending of the film. It is absolutely terrifying. It had me practically ripping the seat up, and closing my eyes in fear. It is very, very scary and not for the weak at heart at all. I really want to discuss it but I don't want to ruin the movie. I will just tell you this. Look at the very, very last shot of the movie, it is absolutely chilling. It still scares me just thinking about it. The Blair Witch Project only cost $30,000 dollars to make. So far it is selling out theatres across the country. If you are like me, sick of all the recent horror movie, then see this movie. It was worth every penny. It pretty much guaranteed me to not go camping for a little while and to sleep with my light on." (8/6/99)

ashakis@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "My bestfriend came home one nit told me about this movie that she read about in the paper called "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT" she told me it was really scary from what the paper was saying and it seem so real so she wanted to go see it. Me am not a fan of scary movies i did not want to see it but when she told me it was low buget I thought how scary can it really be. It was only playing at one movie spot and it was sold out so we got the tickets for the next day the gril who sold us the ticket sd make sure you get here 30 min b-4 the movie start. The movie was saling out very nite. When i was leaving to get into my car I over heard people say it seems so "real" how did they do that its so scary. So the next day we get there 30 min b-4 the move start and the movie was already packed we where luck there where still some good sits lft some people had to sit in the front row. The movie started and finshed and all I can say is it was very scary not because there was a lot of blood or alot of killing you now the stuff that is in all scary moves it was none of that thats what made it so great. This movie had you asking yourself who? what? when? and where? very time you thought something was going to happen it did but it didn't this movie allowed you to use you imangination that is why it was so scary it takes you back to you child hood the small things that made you scared hearing noises and you don't know where they came from or getting lost and thinking no one will find you. This is a scary movie because it allow you to leave the movie thinking is this movie real? could this realy happy? did this realy happy? and if so are people still going into the woods and not coming out and the ending of this movie was the best. It was left incomplete. So now you come up with what realy happen. I love this move. my hat goes off to the film maker and the casted. I think HBO should do the behind the scens look at this moveie. GO AND SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (8/3/99)

ramsesny@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "After being the most hyped-up movie in the past couple of weeks I just had to see it expecting to see something that was purportedly scary and on the edge of your seat thriller. What I saw instead was a boring drama that never really took off. Scary? Please... Nowhere in the movie did I feel scared. In fact, everytime I expected something to happen nothing ever did. In fact, the ending to this film was one of the most abrupt, incomplete endings I have ever seen. What happened and what was the point? I felt cheated when it ended. It was so evident that this movie ended on a bad note when the credits started to roll and the entire theater resounded in unison with a sudden--"Huh??? WAS THAT IT??" Fortunately, regardless of the above, it was not THAT bad. (Yes, I have seen worse...)At least the movie tantalized the viewer at some points into thinking that something was going to happen.. Even though nothing ever did.. PROBLEMO NUMERO UNO! Want to watch a scary movie .... Stay with the Exorcist or Halloween... Even the old black and white version of Afred Hitchcock's Psycho is still 5 times scarier than this! Maybe I will have better luck with the Haunting next weekend." (8/2/99)