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SUNDANCE: Desslock looks at THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT with 800k Clip

Published at:  Jan 25, 1999 6:55:17 AM CST

Well the good news is this.... ARTISAN has picked up THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT for distribution, which means that we... will most likely get a chance to see it. Allegedly they dropped a couple of them six zerooed bills in picking it up, so they'll want to make their money back. If the film is half as good as Junior Mintz and Desslock here say it is... well then we are in for a treat that can't come soon enough. Well... here we go...Oh btw... THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT WEBSITE is incredible. It actually gave me the heebie jeebies. VERY COOL, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!












    
cool, very cool


COOL


COOL


It's Desslock dropping in with a few tidbits on the Blair
Witch
Project. I was lucky enough to see this film earlier this month and like
Mintz I was totally blown away by the film. It is one of the most original
and genuinely scary films in years. It's not a Scream clone and that right
there sets it apart from the other horror films from the 90's. This is one
film I don't believe should be spoiled but since the web site has been up
for
nearly a year with lots of spoilers I will give a few highlights. Spoiler
Space


1


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


10



Well, the film is basically about 3 student filmmakers who decide to make a
documentary about something called The Blair Witch. It seems it has been a
local legend in the town (if I remember right in Maryland) for nearly 200
years. The three after interviewing local towns people then set off for the
woods to see if they can actually find the creature itself. The film is an
edit of all the footage they shot.



The film was shot almost entirely on HI-8 with some segments on 16
mm.
As I said I don't want to go into explicit detail on the film but I will say
that the is a scene that takes place about midway through the film where the
main actress in the film is recording herself late at night in her tent that
is just about the creepiest thing you'll ever see. I mean on par with early
Argento work. This is the kind of film that would have almost been routine
in
the 70's when you had films like Susperia, Deep Red and The Exorcist coming
out all the time but in this day and age a real rarity. I sincerely hope
this
film gets picked up and is given a major theatrical release. Hopefully by
someone who will show it as is and not re-score and re-edit the film, so
hopefully not Miramax basically. Well, that's about the best I can do
without
totally ruining the film for everyone who hasn't seen it.




Desslock



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    Readers Talkback

  • Jan 25, 1999 8:05:02 AM CST

    Sounds like The Last Broadcast

    by axos

    Listen, I haven't seen this film at all so I can't say it's good or bad, but please if you watch this, you must go ahead and see "The Last Broadcast" as well. The plotline is very similar and is shot with digital video, hi 8mm and 16mm. "The Last Broadcast" was a hit at last year's ResFest, a touring digital film festival. It was an extremely unsettling movie and very well made. Maybe this is a new genre of horror movie we have on our hands here: the documentary guys in the forest looking for a monster... boy, maybe I'll make one myself...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 25, 1999 8:34:12 AM CST

    scary as I don't know what...

    by reni

    I don't know about the film but if it's half as scary as the website it's going to give me the willies!!!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 25, 1999 11:06:59 AM CST

    Not a New Genre

    by angus

    Of course, this "found footage" concept was used for one of the most infamously horrific movies of all time -- Ruggero Deodato's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. And if the scooper above is comparing scenes to Argento, you can bet the filmmakers are Spaghetti Splatter fans. Can't wait for this one -- now I'm gonna go check out the website...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 25, 1999 3:36:31 PM CST

    Scariest Movie I've Seen In Ages...

    by thezippy

    When I first saw this movie it was positioned to me as "real" (which its very easy to interpret as, given the ultra low budget way its shot).... and it scared the piss outta me.

    I don't know if I'd have been AS scared if I hadn't been uncertain as to its origin/veracity, but I'm sure I'd have still found it scary as hell...

    Hopefully Artisan will do right by this movie... when you get a chance go see it! Its a very clever, well-done, well-acted, interestingly-shot, scary-as-hell flick.

    Zippy

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 26, 1999 3:47:13 AM CST

    can't wait

    by severian

    That site is definitely worth seeing. I kind of got lost in it for a while. The background story is very interesting, especially since (even without the fictional stuff at the end) it seems like it's not over. All the incidents involved are between 50 and 100 years about, and the last was only 50 years ago. I watched all the clips, and even though they don't show much, I can definitely see why this would be very disturbing. How long will it take to get everything worked out, so it can be in theaters? And will it be in wide or limited release?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 27, 1999 5:51:43 PM CST

    The Electricity of Ghosts

    by bswise

    Hey, Axos, you're right. I saw The Last Broadcast at the ResFest and this sounds a might similar. Liked the Last Broadcast, very obviously inspired by ol' Lynch - a bit loose in its pacing, and everyone looked so young, but otherwise, very twisted and disturbing. There really is something unsettling about video and the supernatural. I think Von Trier showed us the way with The Kingdom (rent it if you haven't seen it - about a Haunted Hospital in Copenhagen - ER meets The Evil Dead). Also, the ghost scenes in the digital Danish film, Celebration, were quite strange, involving nothing more than low light and backmasked sound effects. Perhaps its the "belief" that one is watching something "real" (as in "Real TV") when watching something on video that makes it so spooky. Also, the texture of video is strange, grainy and full of glitches. As Altman noted, film is a medium that "exists" even when the film isn't running - the images are still on the emulsion. But in electronic mediums, when not being viewed, the images go to some unseen place - turn off the tape deck and poof, they're no more.

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