Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
Written by: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard
Produced by: Robin Cowie, Gregg Hale

The Nutshell

Three filmmakers head into the woods to film a documentary about a legendary witch. They never return, but their footage is found years later. This is that footage.

The Review

    The Blair Witch Project is the most intriguing horror film to come out in years. It takes away every special effect, every hockey-mask wielding psycho and every big gooey alien bug, leaving us with what makes horror terrifying: our own imagination. They leave the job of scaring us to our own imaginations, adding only sounds and rustling in trees to help us envision our nightmares. The only problem is that the viewer has to wait until the final five minutes for that fear to manifest itself.

    The plot is simple. Three student filmmakers hear about a mythical witch that lives in the forest near the town of Burkittsville (formerly Blair). They decide to make a documentary about the witch, interviewing townsfolk, and then heading into the woods to try to find evidence of the supernatural. The problem is that strange things start happening to them in the night, starting out small (strange far-off noises) and building into something more sinister and terrifying with each passing night. The three lose their map, get hopelessly lost and never make it back to civilization (this gives nothing away, the film opens with a written statement asserting the same things).

    The film is entirely improvised, with the three young actors saying whatever comes to mind as they trek through the woods. Blissfully unaware of any future frights, the three are self-assured (especially leader Heather Donahue) and light-hearted. The actors manage to be plausible, with many conversations making the audience laugh heartily. Too many times however, the dialogue consists of arguing about why they can't seem to find their way out of the woods. The reason for getting lost is a bit silly, as is the premise that the three would continue filming right through the film's terrifiying climax. However, the shortcomings of the dialogue are somewhat balanced by the true fright evident in the actors at key moments. One scene in particular, where Heather apologizes quietly to the parents of the others, alone in the dead of night and utterly scares, is amazingly real. One would almost wonder if the actors had started convincing themselves that it really was happening.

   As to the scariness, well the rumour is true. The Blair Witch Project contains some of the most terrifying scenes ever filmed. The climax of the film is the most haunting of all. The end is so tense, so nerve-wracking and terrifying that I felt nauseated. The only aspect of this film that takes power away from the film's ending is its pacing. No matter how big the scare, when it takes us over an hour of repetitve, simple dialogue to get there, it isn't worth it. Horror fans will want to catch Blair Witch for its original style and methodology. The Blair Witch Project truly is a revolutionary horror film, as revolutionary as The Exorcist or Night of The Living Dead were in their time. But that revolutionary nature is unfortunately hidden under what quickly becomes some of the most boring dialogue of the year.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

Press "back" to return to the previous page, or click on a link:

Adventures in Cinema front page        The O.F.C.S.        Max'd On Movies