In the beginning was the Sundance festival. Then came the web
page. The marketing campaign followed. By the time The Blair Witch
Project finally opened in New York, people were camping outside
the theatre where it was showing. A film which cost a $40,000
dollars to make has gone on to take more than $100 million in
the U.S. and looks set to become the most profitable film ever.
So why didn't the big film companies see this one coming? Perhaps
it has something to do with a middle-aged belief in that technology
represents the future. It also represents nascent evil in films
such as The Matrix, The Phantom Menace and Virus. These films pit humans against machines. But for a generation brought up with PCs, Macs and the World Wide Web, technology is not frightening;
it can be mastered. This generation watches blockbusters for the
spectacle. What it does fear is that which is not known, that
which is suggested. The past not the future.
Aided by the actors' naturalistic representation of three scared
and lost adolescents, co-directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel
Myrick recreate the video format perfectly. But while the acting
is entirely convincing, the trio's emotional range fluctuates
wildly. One minute they are buoyant with jock humour, the next
they are screaming with fear. And they scream a lot.
With little incidental music (just sound effects) and no attempt
to compete with contemporary, effects-laden horror flicks, fear
and terror in The Blair Witch Project is of the old-fashioned
kind: created by your imagination.
Reader comments about The Blair Witch Project
sophie mc donald (sophiem@trident-ha.org.uk) writes:
this film was ok as far as films go but if you could just see the witch or something move when they were out at night in the dark then that would of scared people more
Gareth Rees (Email address withheld) writes:
'what's missing in todays cinema is realism'
The story was good, the acting (although over top) was acceptable, the cinematography was different (not bad just different). However, what irratated me most about this movie was the inability for anyone to think straight - they take half a day to get into the woods and three days to leave (or fail to leave), they cross a river three or four times without once thinking about following it out - the sun could have helped them leave - and so on.
This film is more about the inability of americans to think in straight lines than it is about a 'scary' situation.
I have heard people give excuses about what may have been the reasons - but at the end of the day this is a poor story not thought out and badly portrayed - under no circumtances does this movie live up to the hype.
Ghost (Email address withheld) writes:
This film has to be respected from a commercial point of view. Bearing in mind that this was an independent film, shot on a low budget. As far the film is concerned, not frightening, nor believable.
It was innovative and the acting wsn't bad, but overall it wont go beyond the average film.
Scott. P (Email address withheld) writes:
I loved this film, the fact you see nowt makes It the little bit Better as it builds the tension better. The very real acting is real as improvisation was the key to success. It's no wonder people [Not me] thought it was real. I dissagree with ghost to the extent that I think it seems real, After all who said there really was a witch. Unfortunately its cursed with possibly the worst sequel to date.
JimBob (Email address withheld) writes:
In the review Iain Tibbles mentions that this is all about lack of technology but isn't it exactly the opposite. A DV camera and marketing on the internet? Only with recent technology can filmmaking really be open to everyone. And thank God it is, because this film successfully scared the bejusus out of me. I know it would have been tempting to show the Witch at least just flashing past the camera or somthing, but I think that your imagination makes much better monsters than any $40,000 budget could. Effects like children laughing in the distance at night were far more scary than a lot of fangs or whatever. It also adds to the scare value that most people can relate to this, there's a big scary wood on a hill not too far from where I live and everybody has their own local ghost stories. Finally I'd just like to say how damn good the acting was, it made up for the lack of budget and as you spent the whole film with practically just these three students it was important that it was so good. They were utterly believable and also strangely loveable. I was so sad at their fate that it felt more like a tragedy than a Horror movie or thriller.
zero g (Email address withheld) writes:
Simple and direct.No CGI required.this movie made me jump.The suspense was great.I loved the utter desolation of this film.The fact that nobody was around to help these kids made it scary.I can watch this movie over and aver again.
nicholas (Email address withheld) writes:
I don't particularly like horror movies. I saw this film mainly because of the hype created by the medium. After seeing the film, I conclude that all is just media hype. There is nothing worth watching in this film. Amaterish.
manisha (enigma1980uk@yahoo.com) writes:
This film scared the life out of me!
That's probably because I have an overactive imagination and I am quite scared by the thought of witches/blackmagic/evil spirits and suchlike. I think it was a fantastic experiment and I liked the way that it was left to the imagination.
miguel tipacti (encumbramientodelaperfeccion@latinmail.com) writes:
full suspense film , a low budget effort movie that consider for the people a good example with any drop of blood.
Ellie (Email address withheld) writes:
I thought the last 5 minutes or so were genuinely frightening, with claustrophobic camera angles to good effect.
I would agree that most of the film is sad rather than scarey, in the way the friendships break up under stress.
I think you do see a flash of the 'witch' towards the end, in the form of some rather hirsute arms. Or did I imagine that?
Madge (Email address withheld) writes:
Personally, I think the key to understanding The Blair Witch Project is to understand the notion of "motivation".
Contextually, when under stress the actress felt compelled to question her motivation. Through doing so, the audience too is challenged/provoked into the questioning of their own motivations and even beleifs.
Honestly, "motivation" is not something that I would have naturally picked up on and I needed to have it pointed out to me.
hayley (Email address withheld) writes:
you know if i hadin't known it was acting i would have been scared out my wits...i personally thought that gal was a right good actress....and you know it makes a change to see something different...i was hooked all the way through so.....x
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