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THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT review v2.0
Alright. Back in February of this year, I promised
that when THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was
released... I would write a more complete review.
Since basically my first piece at the most could be
considered a ‘preview of coming attractions’.
But you know... This movie, and my experience with
it has been so unique that instead of a review per se,
I’m going to talk about this whole BLAIR WITCH
thing... that is no longer centered around this movie...
It is now a mythology... an urban legend, every bit as
pervasive as a Loch Ness monster blurry photo... or
an out of focus distant shot of a Bigfoot traipsing
through the forest.
When I wrote my first piece on this film, it was
freshly after the film debuted at SUNDANCE. To
fans of the movie... this was the second coming of the
Horror Genre.
A lot of people did not know what to expect. All they
knew is that people that have seen the film seem to
react in this delightfully happy manner of being...
mysterious when talking about the movie.
When I saw the film, I knew instantly how this movie
should be treated. It’s a supernatural story that you
tell at a campfire. It’s the couple out in the woods
that were killed by the hook man... but still, for me,
this was more persuasive.
Here is a tale, a horrifying experience that when you
tell it... You can scare the living bejeesus out of
people. I know... I’ve done it.
Back in February, someone associated with the film
and Artisan sent me a screener. I don’t know who
sent it, but it came to the house while I was in
Holland at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
I received an email from Father Geek that said:
“Harry,
Your sister and I saw Blair Witch. It scared the living
shit out of her. You’ve never seen anything like this.
Dad”
I stared at my screen in the press room in Rotterdam
and began getting scared. First off, my sister is an
easily spooked little girl. I made sure of that when I
was raising her. I always felt that ‘fear of the
unknown’ was far more powerful than beating a child.
So I raised Dannie on all of that which goes bump in
the night. Zombies, werewolves, Krueger, vampires,
ghosts, goblins, child murderers, serial killers... They
were the bogeyman that waited in the barn.... That
existed on the other side of the cattleguard on the
Ranch awaiting to GET her.
I read her ghost stories and created fresh ones. She
never ever got out of line.
At Christmas I wrote
letters via my left hand from Santa to her. I had these
rubber boots that I tracked ash out of the fireplace
and over to the table of cookies and milk. The letter
would say:
“Dear Little Dannie,
You haven’t been
reading as often as you should. I’ve left you a box
filled with books. I’ll know next Christmas if you
haven’t read them all. So be a good girl or this is the
last Merry Christmas of your life. Remember, I know
when you are sleeping, I know when you’re awake, I
know when you’ve been BAD or good.
BE GOOD,
Santa”
She read all 100 books by the next year and learned to read... really really well. That's the power of mythology.
When I saw the film, I was by myself. The lights in
the living room were off. The house was empty and it
was the dead of night.
I plopped the tape in, I had a soda sitting on the arm
of the chair... And I watched as the ominous title
card, with the opening lines of... The Legend....
appeared on screen.
Then, the video camera springs to life.
And there is Heather Donahue. I didn’t know much
about the film. I hadn’t read the website. There were
NO articles about how they made this.
“In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near
Burkittesville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. One year later,
their footage was
found.”
That’s what I knew. And then there’s Heather,
cheerful... hopeful. A bit self involved, but excited as
could be to be SHOOTING her project. I also felt
she looked a bit like Annette Kellerman, the apple of
my eye. Annette is also into film in a VERY
hard-core way. She’s all about picking up the
camera, getting a couple of friends that know the
equipment and shooting something out in the woods... the middle of nowhere.
The film is incredibly amateur. Every mistake that
you would make the first time out with the camera.
Shoddy camera work, erratic and terrible sound.
Locked down shots and hand held. No nice and
smooth pans. Not a lot of B-roll. But you know
what.
That’s what this is. It felt like a home video. As if I
was watching somebody else’s moments. In fact.
knowing Robert Rodriguez the way I do... He runs
around filming everything even more obsessive than
Heather. On top of that, he then feeds it all into his
AVID system, mixes THX SDDS surround sound
HOME MOVIES with movie sound effects and a
professional score laid down.
But this is several levels below Robert’s home
movies. He’s a filmmaker with an eye for what to
shoot and how it leads to the next shot.
These amateurs are like so many others out there.
Their films drive you insane at Film Festivals. They
always interview family members about how come
they became alcoholics. Why they decided to
become gay...
But here, instead of some tedious history of an inbred
family or a coming out of the closet ‘revelation’....
This was one of them... Ghost stories I used to tell my
sister to keep her ass honest.
I had no idea where this was headed. I began to get
disturbed when I realized how complete Heather’s
coverage of the behind the scenes were. “Here we are
waking up” “Here I am drinking this nasty liquor”
etc...
When she gags on that drink... that was not her
drinking ice tea out of a liquor bottle... That was the
real shit... The look on her face said it all.
Then they’re in the woods, they leave their car
behind... And dread inched it’s way in. And I knew...
I’m not going to see that car again.
They’re out hiking around, trying to get to two
locations then back to the car. It’s that simple.
Nothing too difficult. It’s not rocket science. You
have a map. You have a compass. Unless you are a
complete friggin moron, there is no excuse to get lost.
They hit their locations. It’s a long hike. Grumbling
about distances begin. There’s a mild panic about
being lost, and doubts in Heather’s leadership
abilities.
Well... I’m entranced at this point. When I was 10
and 3/4 years old, I went on a Boy Scout hike in BIG
BEND National Park. Our leaders had everything
mapped out.
The first night out... in the middle of nowhere... Our
water freezes and separated the plastic on it’s mold
pieces and... our clothes get soaked. The packs
weighed 75 pounds. We’re kids. The second day, we
hike and hike and hike... We never come to the trail
that’s supposed to be there. Our leaders become
confused. We’d come the distance. We’re
overheating. We were exhausted. My senior Patrol
Leader grabs the map from the Scout Master.... Sits
down.. begins writing down some figures and
discovers that the ‘planned’ hike for the day isn’t the
8 miles our Scoutmaster thought it was.... But 16, and
he hadn’t taken into account CONTOUR LINES,
which... since it was mountainous.... Was
SIGNIFICANT. Fighting and grumbling begin. One
kid began hyperventilating... turning red in the face
and nearly passed out.
I’m tired, exhausted... but I internalize. Every break,
I broke out my little diary and wrote about the in
fighting. The anger. The accusations.
I’ve been lost in the middle of a grand expanse. A
deadline, a badly scouted out series of hikes,
incompetent leaders, limited supplies... And no way
to communicate for help.
It felt exactly like this did. The fighting between
Heather, Josh and Mikey was dead on. The sides...
the ganging up... the exasperation, the sense of
dread...
BUT...
We didn’t have any additional strangeness. Nothing
attacked our tents at night. The wind was bad
enough. We heard no wolves or coyotes... and
certainly no screaming in the darkness. No strange
totems appeared outside of our tents... Noone
disappeared while on watch. And... the laws of
nature didn’t fuck us in the ass like they did Josh,
Heather and Michael.
We weren’t visiting graveyards and slaying sites. We
were merely in the wilderness. Noone told stories
about a witch in this park.... Or zombies or any of
that shit.
But here... In this document of these three’s last
days... This was honest.
By the time this movie ends... I’m scared. I click it
off before the end credits. That’s enough... I don’t
want to hear that atonal sound (like that of THE
SHINING’s masterful teaser trailer).
Instead, I go wake up Dad and I just start babbling to
him about how fucking creeped out I was. I mean...
was that a snuff film. Is that what I just saw?
Well, we know what this movie is. And shortly
thereafter so did I, and I knew....
When you find out the truth.... print the legend.
That’s a journalistic law I learned from THE MAN
WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALENCE.
I decided I’d play this movie straight.
This little screener copy became my most favorite
possession for MONTHS. People would come over
and I’d set the film up for them. Prime them, and
then unleash it on them. Watch them become
enthralled. We’d talk about the film minus the end
credits which is the greatest spoiler of all in this
movie.
I took the tape over to Quint’s 18th Birthday party. It
was him and about 4 of his best High School friends.
I showed it to them beginning at midnight. Shut it off
before the end credits... Began tying some of it
together for them.... Giving my ‘theories’.
Asking them what they saw in the rag. Was that
teeth? Was it brains? Was there an eye? Was there
a thumb? Was it a liver or an intestine? What was in
the rag? Each of them had a different answer. And
that scared them.
Then there is the end. 27 seconds. And what was
that last image. Was that figure floating or merely
motionless? Why was the figure the way the figure
was? Was it hanging on a hook? What’s going on
there?
What did you hear in the screams? Was that a baby?
Was it the missing friend? What was he/she
screaming?
What happened to them? Was it supernatural? Did
they just get lost?
Well... I don’t know... But for me, if you hike North
according to a compass for an entire day... it is
impossible in the natural world to end up where you
started. That can’t happen. If that can’t happen.
Then anything could have happened.
And then I left them shivering scared high school kids
to their own fears.
I love this film. I love scaring people with it. And...
for those that love ghost stories and flash powder...
This is the one to get your girlfriend closer in the tent.
This is the one to terrify your little brother with. This
is proof that bad things go bump in the night. Why?
Because... where are Heather, Josh and Michael?
And why does nobody know?
That’s the magic of this film. Find out everything,
then take someone that knows nothing. That’s never
heard anything other than....
“In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near
Burkittesville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. One year later,
their footage was
found.”
I know people that are so scared, they don’t even
want to see the movie.
Now the movie itself is not the scariest movie ever
made.... But you can make it the scariest movie ever
made. For me... this movie allows me to play
William Castle. I’m the fat guy in a suit, smoking a
cigar and getting my kicks from the shivers and
gasps.
Yeah baby... I like that.
Now... Well, if you listened to my first review and
didn’t try to find anything else out... but saw the SCI
FI channel piece you’ll get additional scares.
Additional documentaries.... Diary evidence.... The
rusty film cans... The excavation for bodies. The
history of the serial killer that lived in those woods.
More accounts of the Blair Witch... the legends.. the
fears of the townfolks.
Then you have fandom. The people that read this
site, blairwitch.com, Dark Horizons and Corona
Coming Attractions. We buy Fangoria, we read
Ebert’s reviews and laugh at the rank amateurism that
I exhibit in these so-called reviews.
Well... Some people have become obsessed with the
mythology... some with the technical aspects of how
this film was put together. Some people are
expecting a movie like THE EXORCIST or
ROSEMARY’S BABY... but that’s not this.
At THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT’s heart it is an
experimental film. A movie that is not a traditional
narrative. A movie created out of the most amateur
filmic techniques known to every hack film student
that never went on to make a film.
But... There’s that friggin legend....
“In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near
Burkittesville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. One year later,
their footage was
found.”
When Heather pulls back the sleeping bag on
Mikey’s motionless body... and you see the lack of
blood in his face from sleeping out in the cold. When
the lens cap on the camera is removed and the lens is
fogged up. When in the darkness they are screaming
back at the noises, and the camera’s light illuminates
just a patch of woods and the cold fog of their own
breath as it drifts in the darkness.
These things feel honest to me. And I’ve never seen
them in any film before.
The camera is not an omnipotent being... The camera
is operated by our main, frightened and scared
storytellers that.... ARE MISSING.
The Blair Witch Project is not a film for those that
instantly dismiss ghosts and witches. It’s not for
people that think horror is about butcher knives and
blood drenched household and carpentry tools.
This film, for me, is scary for all the things it doesn’t
resolve. For everything is merely alludes to. It’s a
creepy film. Almost like a document of something
that happened. Like that shot of the woman running
into that speeding train... But, instead... what if we
had a feature length document of her last day. Say
she was making a little home movie to send her
husband overseas about her... just living a day in
Germany. She always leaves the camera on. She has
extra batteries and video tape. They’re packed in her
backpack.
The video is on as she’s trying to beat the train... and
she gets killed. Somehow the camera survives as well
as the footage in the backpack.
Suddenly we know who died when trying to beat the
train. Turns out she was like people we know and
love. Suddenly... a train isn’t just a train anymore.
And for me... Camping isn’t merely camping anymore
either!
I feel a bit sad for those that don’t love the movie. I
understand the disappointment of getting too hyped
for a movie... And for me... I wish I could attend
every screening and set the film up. Personally, I
would have gone on tour with this movie. I would
not have granted interviews with the press about
HOW the movie was made... But rather, be P.T.
Barnum.
Well... here’s a film that you can be P.T. Barnum
with. Because there’s a sucker born every minute.
I’ve received letters from kids in countries around the
world that are scared of THE BLAIR WITCH.
The Blair Witch kills children you know. She does.
They say it happened in that forest. That those three
kids... The Blair Witch got em.
And don’t you let anyone forget that. Be a
showman... Sell the concept to that friend who’s
always a sucker. And scare the shit out of em.
It clears up the sinuses. It adds blush to the cheeks.
And besides... It’s fun to be in on the scare. Scare
someone. The Blair Witch can help you.
Have a little sister? Have a little brother? Is your
Mom easily scared? What about your boyfriend or
girlfriend? Remember...
“In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near
Burkittesville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. One year later,
their footage was
found.”
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+ Expand All
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That pretty much sums it up.
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It's been 3 weeks since I've seen it, and now your review has creeped me out again. How will I sleep tonight!
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For the real story behind the popular urban legend, go to snopes.simplenet.com/horrors/ghosts/blair.htm
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I saw the flick. It was crude. I too got sea sick from watching. The movie had some scary shit-some. Little kids laughing at night is just unwholesome. faceless Men talking in the distance is just as bad.Little bloodied hand prints is unnerving. Some people in the theater screamed,not because the movie was scared but a kid in the front row stood up and ran across the theater making his fleeing silhouette look like a gost in the theater.I am saying what went around me. People yelled and screamed I didnt. Maybe if this was a starting point for a well filmed movie it would of been good.
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EVEN... If you look at this film as "just a movie," it still gets under your skin and manages to elicit a sense of overwhelming and petrifying horror that no slick hollywood production will ever get. There are no words to describe that horribly unpleasant feeling you get when the 3 filmmakers first wake up in the middle of the night and become hysterical at the otherworldly noise or sound surrounding the dark forest. It isn't a typical "excitement" horror that most films generate, it's the exact opposite. It's a sense that you don't want to have. It's an unpleasant bloodcurdling and totally believable emotion that somewhere, at some point in your life, you've had before... I thought I would never be truly scared by a film once I got to the age where I understand special effects and I began making my own films and stories, but this movie changes all of that. Even if you convince yourself it's just a movie, your mind will know that there's part of it is just... possible.
By the way, did anyone check out the SciFi channel "documentary" before watching the movie? Does it add to the tone of the film? -
When you see this film, you need to watch with an open mind. This isn't Steadicam horror like The Shining. This is through the eyes of the terrified. If you go in expecting to see something on the par of Friday the 13th or Scream, you get what you fucking deserve. This is a film who works with those who are willing to work with it. If you can drop your cynicism enough to believe what the cameras are showing you, then this will scare the shit out of you. If you can't, or you have to see that one special effect that makes it more interesting to you, go see Godzilla(American), or some other moron film. I'm elitist about this. The flat truth is, if this doesn't scare you, then you're one of the walking dead clogging our shopping malls. Use your imagination, if you can. This may be vitriolic, but I don't care. I think this is one of the best horror films in the past thirty years. And I've seen a lot of them, Dario Argento's vastly overrated films to Hitchcock's genius to De Palma, and Carpenter, and Craven, and Cronenberg and many others, some great, some serviceable, and many hacks. When I came out of this movie, I was actually discouraged from making films. I was thinking, "There's no way I could pull that off." I am going on record and saying that The Blair Witch Project is the best film of 1999. So far, anyway. And I'm not trying to overhype this film. The flat out truth is that the cameras used are a storytelling medium, and if you don't like the handheld amateurish video style of this film (or if you have motion sickness easily, as some one in the theater I went to did and puked on the floor - although I'd like to think that the movie just scared the bile out of them) you won't enjoy this. This is a movie where your imagination will fill in the blanks. SPOILER Thers a scene when the tent collapses on the three and they run off screaming into the woods, and Heather screams out "OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!!!?!?!?" and the camera pans to the left slightly. I was probably seeing things, and the people who I saw the film with didn't see it or catch it either, but it looked like the tree was one HUGE totem effigy like they found earlier that day in the woods. That creeped the shit out of me. If anyone else saw this. let me know.
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If this doesn't scare me I'm below YOU? Come ON... I saw it about a month ago and heard that it gave three adult co-workers of my friend (we works at a theater... how they got the print I dunno) and we all left the theater thinking "WHY?"
I can see how this could be frightening, in theory, but the obvious (and, dare I say, BAD) acting just took all sense of reality away.
Now, don't get me wrong... I think all this Scream and whatnot so-called horror is for the birds. I have yet to watch a film that terrified me.
In any case, maybe it would have been better (but far more ridiculous since audience members would run off in droves after the first ten minutes from the amateurishness) if they had left off the opening legend... then at least you wouldn't KNOW they were gonna get creamed... -
See above.
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ARE THEY WORTHY of oscars?....lol......*spoilers*.............or are they going to remain dead?....hmmm...my theroy on the last scene that harry touched basis on..about mike being in the corner (hovering,hanging,etc)
my thought is that he is doing what that one guy said at the start of the movie in the interview....that when that guy killed the kids he had one of the kids stand in the corner....face the wall while he killed the other one....am i remembering this right?...or did i screw it up cuz i have to wait 2 weeks till it comes out here in vegas to see it again
can't wait to doop the parents into going and making them "believe"
THIS IS WHAT MOVIES SHOULD DO....control your life
and i agree with the above post,..........imagination is a plus........and that part at the start of the movie (in 1994.....)
because it sets you up for the inevitable.....but how it gets there is the true journey...and a good journey it is!
>>>WINKIE<<< -
Harry,
went to a D.C. screening this weekend...i had impossibly high expectations..have been waiting 6 months and bought all of the hype..what a let down...my initial reaction when the screen went black was confusion followed by disbelief - quickly followed by anger...it is with a heavy heart i must say..it sucked -
WHEN THE HELL IS THIS MOVIE BEING RELEASED???? I know it opened in limited release on July 16th. But I live nowhere near a city where it played. I've also heard that it's being released to theaters around the country on July 30th. THEN I heard it's going to be released sometime in October. WTF?? I don't care how I see this movie: in the theater, on a bootleg video...I JUST WANT TO SEE IT!! Also: this movie HAS end credits? I know its inconceivable to think of a movie without end credits, but I thought a movie like this would have no credits at all, to enhance the realism. Oh sure, give credit to the actors, but do it in a creative way. Something like: "In memory of Heather, Mike, and Josh." But adding any kind of credits to this film kind of spoils the effect of a "found" documentary in the woods, doncha think?
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This so called movie is the worst piece of honky bullshit I have ever witnessed on the bigscreen. It looked like something three middle school kids shot on some bored ass weekend in suburban honkeyland. What that fuck was this shit! Worst movie since "Plan 9 from OuterSpace." It s not a film, its a fucked-up home movie made by some low-cash white kids. It cost them muthafuckers $20 G's. Now all these retared ass white movie goers are gona go out and lay down their hard earned money and make this cock blasting mutha rich and fat like my man Ebert. Don't spend your money on this shit- go out and buy a DV cam and make your own amature home movie, have some fake ass scared people running from nothing and make yourself a million dollars. I didnt pay, I got in free, my boy Leroy works at the theater donwtown- he snuck me in through the back. I didnt pay and I still almost walked out. Alot of white bastards were screamming like I was about to cut somebody, go rent "Menace II society" or "Malcolm X" or "The shinning" - Ya that's on great honky flic by Kubrick. The best white filmmaker ever born. Or go rent "Repulsion." Anything but this amature piece of shit. -
Jul 19, 1999 5:58:40 AM CDT
DON'T MAKE THE DISTRIBUTOR OF THIS SORRY ASS FILM RICH - AND DON
by negroenforcer
GO OUT AND PURCHASE A $1500 DV CAM AND MAKE YOUR OWN VIDEO WITH BAD CAMERA WORK- DON'T SEE THIS PIECE OF SHIT.
THE NEGRO ENFORCER -
Swa it opening day. What a madhouse! Anyway, when I first left the theater, I thought "Hey, that really wasn't all that scary." The more I think about it, the creepier it seems. SPOILER SPOILER The collapsing tent scene and the ensuing mad flight through the night, and the last sequence, from when they find the house until the camera drops to the floor, are THE scariest things I've seen in a film. My pulse raced, my breathing became labored, and I felt weak. Goddamn, that was cool! SPOILERS END. Anyway, I am one of those poor souls prone to motion sickness, and this movie almost meade me lose my lunch. I had to leave to splash water on my face, and I spent much of the last third of the movie with my eyes closed, taking occaisional glances at the film. EVEN with this less-than-ideal viewing condition, I loved the freaking movie! Take some dramamine, don't sit in the front row, and don't watch this with a critical eye. Suspend your disbelief and let it take you away.
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Jul 19, 1999 6:06:48 AM CDT
Here's why it didn't work for some and it does for me.....
by barsoom brawler
Ok, I can see why some would b dissappointed after months of waiting for this film. But I think it has far more to do with the crowd you're watching it with, than anything else. As an example, the night I saw ID4 was opening night, the crowd was pulling the theatre apart before the film even started and by the time the president gave that cheesy speech, I thought everyone was going to stand and start singing "America the Beautiful"! Christ, that night was better than most concerts I've been too as far as adrenaline levels go. So this friday I hike all the way up to Philadelphia, (because it won't play till the end of the goddamned month nationwide!) and caught it in it's first big exposure. First off the theatre did a great job with atmosphere. They had changed the light bulbs in the theatre to that funk flickering candle flame bulbs, ushers helped you down the aisles to your seats using mag and mining flashlights, and they had some type of surreal spooky outdoors sounds being played over the system. No stupid "Clap if you like to play with yourself slides" they had a freaky little short playing about Victorian monsters. Spring heeled jack, real life "vampires", witches, etc.. "Blood" popcorn was served (CHEESY, I know. But it added to the atmosphere.) Then the movie finally rolled. For the entire length of the movie the tension level rose. People kept freaking out simply because no one else in the theatre was staying calm. This is what movies were meant to be! Escapeism at it's best, but always with the knowledge that you're hand are safely in the car. That delicous sense of fear, tension, excitement, all for the price of a ticket. Don't go and critique this one folks. Treat like the Scream Machine at Great Adventure. You're not going to get hurt but it's fun getting the shit scared out of you!
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I just moved to Montgomery County, MD, not long ago. I've seen the Curse of the Blair Witch and I know those woods where those kids were filming. Burkittsville is in nearby Frederick County and the town welcomes visitors, but they want "no trouble and no surprises". I haven't seen BWP yet but a local radio station was advertising a screening in the very woods where it happened.
Don't come down here. It's not safe. -
Don't read if you don't want to be spoiled (P.S. don't bitch at me if somebody's already posted this, I'm late for work as it is and can't read all the talkbacks). If you'll remember the one killer from the 40's would make one of the kids stand in the corner while he killed the other one... this figure sure looks like it's standing in the corner. Makes sense to me, but nobody else seems to think that's what's going on. Oh well.
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What I love about the discussions about this movie are the 80/20 split between those who bought into the movie to some degree (the 80 percent), and got a good scare, and those (the 20 percent) who couldn't get past the (admittedly deliberate) unprofessional camera and sound work. Those of us who demand smooth camera work and THX sound from the movies we watch DO HAVE A VALID POINT. Nevertheless, I would like to point out that plenty of movies have tons of bells, whistles, huge budgets, professional polish, and still manage to pull defeat from the jaws of victory. (see ID4, Waterworld, Wild Wild West, Lethal Weapon 4, and other assorted action-movie shitcakes)
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http://www.phillynews.com/daily_news/99/Jul/16/features/FCOV16.htm
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I would have to disagree Nebog: The figure that Heather's camera sees as she turns the corner in the basement is DEFINITELY Sound Man Mike. The guy has his back to us, but he is chubby, and wearing the same white ballcap and flannel shirt. When I get to see this movie on DVD, I would like to do a frame by frame of the tent scene and the final scene, to see if there's a glimpse of the thing pursuing them. I get the feeling that there won't be anything to see. There was probably a direction to the actors to throw the camera down at a certain mark.
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Go see Lake Placid instead, it's got alligators, or crocs, or -- LOOK AT THOSE SNAPPERS!!!
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Jul 19, 1999 7:05:29 AM CDT
Black men do it better because they have all that time in prison
by getbent
What a brilliant review! Do you know the only difference between you and a Kennedy? About 90 feet of water.
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Say Harry, have you ever heard of the movie, "The Final Broadcast"? It showed on Encore or Starz or something like that recently. Sounds like TBWP is pretty much the same move with (hopefully) a better ending. The Final Broadcast was about 3 cable access guys who went looking for the Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrons of New Jersey and were never seen from again. Their tape is found and you find out that the guy shooting the "documentary" is really the killer. The last 5 minutes of the movie were lame, but the rest seemed O.K. I wonder if the TBWP people saw "The Final Broadcast" before they made their own movie. (Can't seem to find it in the IMDB)
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Nothing I have seen about this movie tells me it will be good. I have several friends that REALLY wanted to be scared and impressed by this movie, but weren't. And to some of you posters above: EAT MY SHIT for telling people who didn't like this movie that they "just didn't get it" or are "mindless zombies" or whatever. Not everyone likes the latest trendy movie out there. Fool. And Harry, a movie is a movie is a movie. If it don't stand on it's own, then it don't stand on it's own. It should not need a PT barnum intro.
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I think nebog is %100 correct. Michael has been placed in the corner, so that he doesn't watch as "CrazyMan Wilson" (Indiana Legend) puts an ax into Heathers head. He gets his next. It just creeps me out to think Michael, as an adult, was so compelled to obey the evil son of a bitch, instead of going Bruce Lee on his ass! That must have been one "its no use to even try" scary motherfucker, to make him give in and comply- knowing he would die next. >Shiver<
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I saw this film on Saturday and, in the words of Austin, "It freaked me out, baby, Yeah"!! This movie was absolutely fantastic. It completely absorbed you into what was going on around the three characters. What some of you haven't brought up is this....SPOILER ALERT... When they are sitting in the tent before they tear off into the woods, you can see HANDS beating on the FUCKING TENT!! That alone sent a shiver through my spine. Those sounds that they used were perfect as well (the footsteps in the forest, Josh's voice, the kids laugh and cackle, etc.). Plus ending it with Mikey hanging in the corner and then that loud pop as whatever it is hits Heather was just genius. I cannot wait for the DVD version of this movie so I can freeze every damn frame to see what was what. Another thing that I love about this movie is that they did not show you what was stalking them. Is there a real witch? Is it a psychopath that uses the legend to his/her advantage? Is it a group of druken rednecks that had a little too much fun? Did Joannie really love Chachi? This was, for me at least, a completely engrossing film experience. As for that shaky-cam making people sick. Youy have got to be kidding me! Suck it up you sissies and take some Dramamine.
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Two weeks ago I had never even heard of the Blair Witch or of the mysteries surrounding the legend. I happened to be watching the SCI-FI channel one evening and saw a preview for the hour long documentary on the The Blair Witch Project. The preview looked eerie. I knew instantly that I had to see the whole thing.
I enjoy trying to scare the shit out of myself by renting movies I think will do the trick and watching them late at night, alone, and in the dark. It never works, I think mostly because I know that the entire thing is a fabrication.
True stories can be haunting, and in the case of the story about these three young filmmakers it is especially so.
I taped the documentary and played it back around midnight. I found about half of it to be pretty lame and only mildly interesting. There wasn't very much of the students actual footage, just mainly some interviews with people about witchcraft and the legend behind the Blair Witch.
There was a point when the documentary went from so-so, to nothing short of extremely freaky. Anyone who has seen it knows. The part where they come back from commercial break and show the psychopath in the jail cell. If you look up "scary man" in the dictionary you see a picture of this fuckin' guy. Rustin Pyre, the freak in the woods. How about the little kid that escaped him? Trying to imagine what that could have been like is almost nauseating.
Well, I was spooked after that segment. Then they talked about finding the backpack and how it was impossible to be located where it was and all that shit. I was being reminded of The Philadephia Experiment which I had recently viewed and done some checking in to. This stuff is mysterious. It makes us wonder. We try to fill in the blanks and all sorts of horrible shit comes to mind. That is why it's so powerful, because thinking about it forces the story and the images to remain resident in our minds long after the show is over.
The last segment showed more of the footage that was found. It was film shot at night and to be perfectly honest, it scared me. You can't see more than fifty feet into the darkness and they're running with the camera and screaming. It's pretty disturbing.
I don't scare easy. But I'm 24 years old and I went to bed a little bit unnerved. I didn't check the closets or look under the bed, but after I closed my eyes I didn't want to open them again to peer into the darkness of my room. -
Jul 19, 1999 8:46:06 AM CDT
Saw the Blair Witch Project, and lets hope Hollywood and the lik
by spike lee
there was not one note of mood music in the film. We didn't have the crutch of creeping music, and I loved that. MEMO TO FILMMAKERS. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WRITE THE THEME TO HALLOWEEN, SO DONT EVEN BOTHER WITH THE MUSIC IN YOUR HORROR FILM BECAUSE YOU DONT NEED IT. I saw the film at an art house in Houston, and the theater was packed, and I'm talking about lines around the block on a Sunday morning. Everyone was talking about the end and how scary it was, but dont forget about the great writing and dialogue in the film. There are some true funny moments. It's going to do to the woods what Jaws did for the ocean. GO SEE THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT IF YOU LOVE HORROR FILMS, AND IT'S A MUST SEE FOR ALL FANS OF FILM. It lived up to the hype.
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Saw it Saturday night. Really wanted to like it. Couldn't make any damned sense of it. Is it about the Blair Witch? Is is about a serial killer from the '40s who's still alive? A copycat killer? A cult? What the hell?? An hour and a half of arguing kids is bad enough (I kept checking my watch the whole time to see if there was enough time left for something interesting to happen), but when the only scary thing in the movie, for the most part, is a pile of rocks or a stick man-- Jeez! Come on! People found that scary?? No one in this theatre seemed scared. I didn't hear a single gasp or scream or anything, and the room was sold out. When it was over, people seemed mostly confused or bored. I just wanted to know what the hell it was I was supposed to have just seen. Sure, it was a neato idea, but it just made no sense. Wish I had my money back...
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*SPOILERS*
The Blair Witch Project. Scary? Not even. Creepy? Hell, the orgy scene in Eyes Wide Shut is far more creepy than anything in Blair Witch. Let's talk about using your imagination while watching a movie. According to Nordling in an earlier post, Blair Witch offers nothing if you don't imagine every little detail that should be going on in the background from frame one. My God! If I wanted to do that, I would have directed the damn movie! If a person has to go into a movie and tell themselves "I must use my imagination", then the movie isn't worth much. A film should open up your imagination by what you see on the screen. Let's take the TX Chainsaw Massacre. In Chainsaw, we don't really see all that much happen on screen, but what we do see MAKES us imagine what could and will happen. Now I know this is what the filmmakers intended for Blair, but this is not what they arrived at in the finished product. The hype would make you believe that they did, but I saw otherwise.
In Blair, we are given a documentary style presentation that is supposed to be viewed as reality. Fine. If reality equals boring, then I would say these guys succeeded. There is nothing eventful or shocking that even approaches TX Chainsaw in this film. Chainsaw wasn't even intended as a pseudo-documentary, but it comes across as more realistic than Blair Witch. Oh sure, the process these guys used to create their film is cool, as is the backstory. Not writing a script and putting your characters into situations to improvise is one thing, but you sure as hell better come up with some interesting situations. Seven clumps of rocks? Oh my God! I'm so scared! Blue gel smeared on a backpack? I'm pissing my pants! Don't even get me started on the horrific Tinkertoy and Lincoln Log collection that was hanging in the forrest!
This film does nothing to advance the horror genre anymore than Scream. I just think everyone is so thrilled by the evolution of this film, that the quality of the actual film doesn't even matter anymore. Everyone (including me) is looking for that one film to come along and scare our pants off, that we tend to latch onto just about anything a little out of the ordinary in hopes that it will move the genre in a new direction. This isn't it folks. Not even close.
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Blair Witch is a damn good film, but I don't neccessarily feel that this is the greatest work of horror the screen has ever seen. It's not a Chainsaw Massacre, it's not an Exorcist, it's not a Halloween. But you know what...I probably would've been scared shitless if I had no idea whatsoever what it was about like Harry. His opinion may be somewhat biased because he experienced the film before the plot and turn of events was exemplified in every major movie publication. The ending was creepy, but there weren't nearly enough scares to qualify for the coveted title of best "work of horror the screen has ever seen." I'm going to definitly see it again, and hopefully I'll appreciate it more the second time around. The bottom line on The Blair Witch Project is that it was overhyped to death! I seriously doubt that the above mentioned classic horror films received half the amount of coverage as this one.
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Jul 19, 1999 9:24:01 AM CDT
I've made sandwiches that are scarier than "The Blair Witch Proj
by napoleon solo
After reading six months of online raves and spending many a happy hour browsing the Web site, I got to see a preview of "The Blair Witch Project." This is not a scary movie. Yes, kids, I know all about seeing a movie with an open mind and letting my imagination be toyed with -- that's why I was so jonsed to see it! But I've seen it and it's not scary. It's a record of the most unpleasant camping trip in history, punctuated by some mildly spooky scenes and marred by a basic storytelling error: they let us know the witch (or whatever) would only strike at night. The daytime stuff was bad improv out of the John Cassavetes school; the nighttime scenes didn't deliver anything near the punch we were promised. And why was all that juicy stuff from the Web site left out of the movie? You can imagine yourself a creepier movie simply by browsing the Web site. Big BIG sense of disappointment in this house. The people who champion this movie are just like the filmmakers in the woods: they're chasing something nobody else gets to see.
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FWI I loved the film. Thought it was terrifying. Girlfriend thought it was so-so.
Anyway...... SPOILER.....
I've heard a theory advanced, which I now subscribe to, that Josh is the off-screen killer at the end of the film--possessed by the Blair Witch, as the homeless guy is in the story early in the film. He forces Mike to stand in the corner while he kills Heather. I think it makes quite a bit of sense. Josh gets the blue gel on his stuff, appears to go rapidly crazy, and then dissapears from the tent at night without anyone hearing. Later they hear him screaming, and Heather finds his teeth giftwrapped in the morning. A possessed Josh could have ripped his teeth out. At the end of the film, we hear Josh calling for help, leading Mike and Heather to the abandoned house. Then, at the very end (correct me if I'm wrong) Mike says that he sees Josh and then runs down to the basement.
END SPOILER
People who've seen the movie, let me know what you think about this idea. Personally, i think it makes the movie scarier.
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Jul 19, 1999 9:34:29 AM CDT
Please, please DEAR GOD SOMEBODY help me, please, pleasssseeee I
by geekboy
...I don't care what peoples opinions on this film are. For me it heralds a new era in horror films *BUT* i am not going to swear to this statement until i have seen the film so will somebody place tell me, if so, when this film is going to be released in Britain and if anybody knows whether it is going to be on general release or selected. PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW.
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SPOILERS****ok for people who had a bad time at the show because of kids yelling etc-- you should have been at the theatre i was at. the movie started and it was pin drop quiet-all you could hear through out the movie was laughs at mikes comments and quiet gasps at the stuff they found. this movie is meant to effect you after it ends if you see the sci fi channel thing everything comes together-that house was the monster of the movie- me and my friends have the theory that this is the same house that the girl was lead into therefore the search party as well as the house that the serial killer lived in (1 in the corner while 1 was killed)and then they found they're equipment under it!this movie scares you because once you look at the movie as a whole-its terrifying how it all ties together perfectly,its all too real......
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The creepiest aspect of the ending for me (SPOILIERS), aside from the glimpse of Mike propped up in the corner, is the quality of the sound. Did anyone else notice that, once Mike's video camera falls to the ground, and the viewable screen switches back to 16mm b/w film and Heather's POV, that because the sound is still being recorded by the video camera in the basement, it almost appears that Heather is running up on herself? Does that make sense? See, Heather is yammering and screaming up in the attic as she races down the stairs and through the house, trying to catch up with Mike, but because the audio at this point is still being recorded on the videotape in the video camera, her voice appears to be far away when matched with her b/w film POV. So, when you match the sound record in the basement with her POV on the other end of the house, it appears as though she is running up on her screaming self in the basement. Does any of that make sense? Did anyone else notice this? And if I overexplained it, my apologies... :-)
Peace and love... Mr. Dark. -
ok how many honkys do you know with the last name sanchez sweet heart??
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By the way, Beasel, I had the same thoughts about the ending, for the exact same reasons. (SPOILER) Kind of makes sense that if Mike is propped/standing up in the corner, it is because Josh/Blair Witch is ordering him to do so. If you were Mike and you saw the actual Blair Witch, as opposed to seeing "just" Josh, wouldn't you be more likely to void your bladder and faint dead away (pun intended), than to march over into the corner? Unless he's already dead, which was my other thought... and I guess that's really the best part of the ending... that you don't have quite enough info to determine exactly what happens.
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the last comment about the sound--we were trying to figure that out to and how strange it is that when heather is walking from the attic to the basement she actually saw something that chased, drove, whatever her to the basement. our theory is that heather is the one who saw everything and poor mike was in the dark thats why he was used at the end-i think mike may even live, because in the sci-fi special the story of the little girl being lead to the basement of the house by the witch and hiding there until she crawled out a window. heather was the one who found the teeth, intestines,?? and when she ran "what the fuck is that"??? and finally her camera confessional about being afraid to keep her eyes open or close them-she looks like shes looking up at something thats freaking her out.....ps i also agree with whoever said josh could have been possessed by the blair witch because the first night when they hear him in the woods he almost sounds like theres pain being inflicted on him as he calls them-but you hear the sounds of only him out there.....ok i'll shut up now
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What is it about this site? Someone dares to criticize the latest flavor-of-the-month movie, and other posters jump all over them, accusing them of being morons, idiots, or worse, saying they don't "get" the movie. Where does it say that everybody has to like the same things? The attitude on this site seems to be: "Everyone's entitled to my opinion." I haven't seen the movie; I'm just commenting on the comments.
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Along with Geekboy, I have know idea on the release date or if the film has already been released. I live in the U.S. and I just learned about the Blair Witch Project on AICN. Was Blair Witch released or will it be released in theaters or is it only a TV movie or documentary type thing? And what is this Blair Witch thing on the Sci-Fi Channel? Is that it, is that the real thing? I sm looking forward to this film with anticapation-- I would graciuosly thank anyone who can give me the information that Geekboy and me seek.
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.....so please excuse the couple of spelling errors (ex: know=no and sm=am) or any grammatical errors. =)
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I think it's getting a wide release July 30. My advice is to avoid reading anything before you go. Don't watch the sci-fi channel special either if you can help it.
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While I appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do, and the methods they used to film this movie, it didn't get much of a reaction out of me. Now, let me start off by saying that I am a HUGE wuss, and stay away from horror movies nearly 99.9% of the time because I will have nightmares for years. Nightmare On Elm Street scared me, Serpent And The Rainbow scared me, Mr. Frost scared me and I refuse to watch the Exorcist. Which is why I was TOTALLY surprised that this movie had NO PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT ON ME WHATSOEVER. My boyfriend, on the other hand, was affected by it for an entire day, and had trouble sleeping at night. I just don't get it. The only thing I can think of is that I just couldn't get into the suspension of belief that is necessary for you to feel you're in the woods with them. Mostly, this was due to certain behaviors by the characters which seemed implausible, coupled by the fact that they did not build up the legend enough to the point that I was actually AFRAID of a hairy witch running around in the woods. Did anyone else feel this way? In the end though, I appreciate what they were trying to accomplish, and the simplicity of the methods they used were brilliant. Very innovative.
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Okay, first off I'd like to start off by saying that I am NOT a Mallrat. My best film-going experience of this week was Eyes Wide Shut, I went to Blair Witch HOPING to see something unique, not dissappointed by that. I wasn't expecting Scream, I was expecting something unnerving and creepy like Michael Mann's GREAT 1980's adaptation of Red Dragon, "Manhunter". I think my expectations for this film were just too high, I WANTED to suspend disbelief, but the fact is, that if this film were really as good as people think it is, It would have been able to convince me, even despite the hype. I ADMIRED the amateur filmmaking style, I was entertained by the interplay of the characters, but I was NOT scared by the ghost story which a bit too shallow and cliche to be convincing, IN MY OPINION. Am I an idiot? You judge. I will admit that the final sequence in the house was a bit creepy, but that's about it. ***/****
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Here we go again. After months and months of hype, suddenly everyone's gone all defensive about the work at hand. Maybe, just maybe, is it possible that this isn't a good movie? Can it be so? After all that hype could it -- yikes -- be bad?
I haven't seen Blair yet, and the more I hear about it, the less I want to. I know the story about how it was produced. Reminds me of how we used to torment our friends who babysat in junior high school by calling the house and hanging up, tapping on the windows, lurking in the shadows outside and rustling the bushes. Of course, we never thought to give the babysitter a camcorder and cash in on the prank to the tune of millions of dollars.
A couple things here disturb me. First, that you need to have "an open mind" when you see this. Since when is that a prerequisite of moviegoing? Put something up on the damn screen that compels me.
Second, that we "shouldn't believe the hype." Then why was it hyped in the first place? This isn't Phantom Menace we're talking about here. Obviously someone, somewhere liked this film, right? I think we should believe the hype, if only so that we'll never listen to hype again after the inevitable disappointment.
Third, and the thing that bothers me most, the notion that this is a "film" made by "filmmakers." It's neither. It's a clever idea that got lucky. Filmmaking involves something more than tossing people into the woods and making scary noises at them. Filmmaking is about cinematography, storytelling, etc. This baby is all gimmick. Go see Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer if you want to see experimental horror done by real filmmakers.
The bottom line: Stop treating Blair like a film, because its not. -
This movie seems to have become Pulp Fiction-esque concerning it's effect on an audience. It's either, Holy Shit, this thing is incredible," to "Boring, not all it was hyped to be." For me, it did live up to the hype because when I was growing up, I used to spend time at my grandparents farm and you would hear some really wierd shit going on in the woods at night. I remember staying awake at night, hiding under my covers with my lightsaber...er...flashlight waiting for the ghosts outside to get me. I think this is why the movie had the effect it did on me. It played on a rather irrational fear that I had as a 8-year old. The great sound effect work, the acting and the last 30 minutes made up for any bickering in the film. I agree with some of the posters that say there are parts that are flimsy as hell. SPOILERS AHEAD... The part about losing the map? Come on. No matter how pissed you are you never toss away the most important piece of gear for any reason. Why go into the woods without some sort of weapon? Every time I go camping deep into the woods (Texas has alot of that) I always take my shotgun and because you have no idea what might run into out there (rattlers are not fun to squat on when you gotta go). While there are flaws to this movie, I still enjoyed it because of past fears that I had and this movie touched upon them. The fact is horror is the most subjective of all genres. Personally, Jaws is one of the scariest movies of all time because it deals with what lies below the ocean surface and how you can get attacked in an instant by something that sees you as no more than an extra value meal. There are people out there that don't find that scary at all. Fine with me. You are wrong as hell for not agreeing with me, but that is ok. It's all good. The fact ramains is that there will never be that one definitive horror film that we can all agree on as the best horror film ever. This griping will continue on for a few weeks and then it's on to the next big thing. To those that enjoyed the Blair Witch, I'm right there with ya. To those who didn't, maybe the next big horror project will be the one for you. Out.
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Ya know, those people who disliked
BWP have a point. I mean, sure this movie is supposed to be filmed in a way that it seams realistic, but come on....
Lets remake it better...
Step 1- Steadycams. I mean I don't know about you, but as a poor college student, whenever I go camping or whatever, I ALWAYS bring my Steadycam and Boom mike... After all I want to create a REALISTIC picture of what I'm going through... WAIT!!!!! I just had a BRILLIANT idea! I'll bring my Steadicam with me to Disneyland next month, so that my vacation videos won't seem so fake! INGENIOUS! On the plane, at the hotel, on the rides! I'll lug it around with me everywhere. YES! I mean it couldn't be anymore difficult than lugging it through the woods for 8 days.. And proffessional movie amking equipment should be well within my budget!
What else? Oh,. we'll need 300 stout men to carry all the lighting equipment and generators and such, so that we can light the woods to a realistic level at night.
Ohh... and you know what would be tottally awseome? Ninjas! While walking through the forest, they can strumble across a clan of Ninjas training in the woods... and then the filmakers continue along, and the footage cuts to one of the ninjas, who also has a steadycam, and he can show an epic bnattle between the Ninjas and a CGI Blair Witch-like creature, and then the camera can break, and when Heather and Mike and Josh get lost, they can return to the ninja camp for directions, they find them all slaughtered.. then the director can show up, and tell Heather and the guys tro act reallly scared when they see the bodies...
Oh, and then we can give the REAL blair witch a steady cam, so we can see it's POV.
Yes that would make this a much better movie!
PS, if anyone agrees, then I'm leavin. -
I STILL will not go into the water. I won't even swim in freakin' lakes without wondering like a schitzo what's beneath me the whole time. Blair didn't accomplish anything near that level of psychological trauma for me.
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Um.... Pilcrow, don't you think you should maybe SEE THE FILM before you start cutting it down? Your comments might be a little more valid. I generally like to know what I'm talking about before I tell people to avoid a movie.
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Oh, how I wanted to love this movie. Read all the great reviews, wanted to take my girlfriend to a scary movie, waiting for "The Haunting". "This is supposed to be really scary!", I told her. "The critics loved it!" "It's this realistic documentary style thing, and I think it's based on some real story!" Let's just say I over
hyped it.
I feel RAPED! All build up and no pay off! Yes, it got creepy a couple of times, but it felt like we were watching three city kids intruding on a hillbilly craft fair! Condense the film to about a half hour tv show (no one should have to pay for this.), and make it look like damaged footage that is recovered from the woods and maybe I would have enjoyed it.
I kept apologizing to my girlfriend for making her sit through this dud. I kept thinking, "Okay, now it's going to get scary!". When it was over, before the credits started rolling, I was still hoping there was more to come. A follow up investigation, something, anything to make me feel like I didn't just get taken!
Anyway, sorry for the ramble, but it's good therapy after getting raped! -
I watched the "Curse of the Blair Witch" special aired on the sci-fi channel. The special was a one hour long, and included more of the teams interviews in Burcketsville. It was narrated, and showed about 5 minutes of actual footage from the film. Part of it showed interviews with the archeology team that discovered the llost film and cameras. This is why I believe there was a supernatural killer (Blair Witch), not Josh or the original serial killer. The archelogical team was excavating around an old house foundation. But the house was not there. The fondation was over a hunred years old. The film and cameras were accidentally found below the foundation, about basement depth I suppose. They had these experts "fake" who said it was impossible for anyone to have placed the items behind the old wall. Somehow, they had just materialized below the foundation.
Plus, Mike wouldn't just stand in the corner, he would try to fight or escape. And the compass was being screwed with as well. Once in the cellar, Mike was possessed or something. Then.... -
This film did not live up to my expectations... I felt more like I was getting an ulcer from the nervous tension of watching three people bicker and point fingers at each other. The end, however, is very creepy but abrupt and I was waiting for more to push me over the edge to terror, which never came. The various end theories make the film in retrospect seem more scary than it was at the time, especially the theory that Josh becomes the pawn of the witch after being "slimed" and toys with his friends to lure them to the house. Even without losing a wink of sleep after seeing it, I find many of the scenes and images coming back to haunt me daily proving that while Blair Witch is not necessarily terrifying, it resonates on a very basic but eery level.
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I saw the movie on Saturday and left confused and vaguely uncomfortable. I wasn't sure of whether I liked it or not, because I couldn't be sure of what I had just seen. The sense of horror has steadily grown in me since. I now realize that this movie affected me like no other has before. My adult brain has been conditioned to respond in a certain way to horror on celluloid, but this film scrapped all that. It tapped into a claustrophobic fear that I haven't felt since I was a child who believed in ghosts and could be paralyzed with fright by something unseen. As an adult these fears may have become repressed and removed from my normal thought process, but BWP showed me that terrified kid who still lives in me. If I ever go camping again I'm bringing a firearm. I can't wait to own the DVD and surprise unsuspecting Hansels and Gretels with it.
BTW, if you are a horror-phile, Check out Hannibal - for days after I finished reading it I had to make a conscious effort to keep from shrieking aloud as the images that the book had etched indelibly on my brain filled me with helpless dread. -
Jul 19, 1999 1:12:57 PM CDT
While I agree that they were trying to create fear without showi
by dennis
I agree with the other poster who said it would've been much more frightening with a glimpse, or some physical element to make the threat seem real. (The idea of grabbing the girl backwards with a cable would've been interesting.) And why wouldn't they try to fight it? Once they realized that the fire WASN'T attracting it, and that they WERE being hunted/stalked, why not break off a few thick branches, sharpen the ends, light a fire, and wait for whatever it was to come out of hiding, instead of staying ALL TOGETHER in the TENT like SITTING DUCKS?! The problem is that there was no real backstory presented in such a way that you were truly AFRAID of what could be in the woods. A woman covered with horse hair -- big freakin' deal! The goop on the backpack was also ridiculous. Use something more natural, like vomit, or blood or urine or something that looked a little more organic, not like somebody's toilet cleaner! Minor details like these may not seem important, but if you want to believe what these characters are going through, they are absolutely necessary.
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I'm not telling anyone not to see Blair Witch without seeing it myself. As a former film critic, I'd never do such a thing. Rather, I'm commenting on the hype that surrounds this particular film and the way that certain people now feel a sudden need to defend it, as if the hype has spun out of all control and the film cannot possibly live up to our expectations. See, when a studio film gets hyped and it sucks, everyone shakes their heads and says "The studios blew it again." When an indie gets hyped, or, to make matters worse, wins that rarest of prizes known as general release, disappointment at the box office turns into disappointment with indie films in general. The people who don't like it will classify it and, by extension, other indie films as "artsy" and "incomprehensible" and stay away, this at a time when indies need all the general audience support they can get. Blair Witch is shaping up to be a watershed for the future viability of indie films in general release, and that makes me nervous, especially when more deserving projects that involve actual filmmaking and not gimmicks, such as The Autumn Heart and American Detective, languish on the sidelines.
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What a CREEPY (for lack of adjective originality) movie! I didn't think all that highly of it when I left the theater last night. However, when I tried to go to sleep, I couldn't. I kept thinking, "Even though this movie wasn't a true story, it COULD easily happen." I kept hearing things outside, in the apartment; I kept waking up. The last movie that did that to me was "The Exorcist" -- which everyone keeps comparing this movie to with regards to its creepiness and psychological screwing-around. But this movie had NO special F/X whatsoever. It didn't need them! I'm going to make another comparison if I may: Remember the story/movie called "The Monkey's Paw" (which we all saw back in grade school)? It's the story of a guy who is given a stuffed monkey's paw. He's told that if he made three wishes while holding it, the wishes would come true. But he is also warned that the wishes are taken VERY literally. The first wish is for one million dollars (or some large amount of money). His son is subsequently killed in a machinery accident -- and not just killed but mangled (though you never see any of the accident) -- and the guy and his wife are given the life insurance money totaling... you guessed it... a million dollars. The second wish is to have their son back with them. So they sit and wait for him to come back to them that night. At one point, they hear a faint knocking on the door, the knocking gets louder, the wife says, "It's him! My baby has come back to us!". The knocking then becomes banging accompanied by moans, the father realizes what's happening -- that (what I always assumed) the son is back but as an animated mangled corpse (though you never see this either), the wife runs to the door to open it, the father tries to pull her away, she begins to unlock the door to let the son in, the father grabs the monkey's paw before she can open the door and makes the wish that his son was dead again. The door-banging stops, the wife opens the door, and all they can see is darkness. VERY creepy, and EXTREMELY effective. The mind is allowed to make assumptions about who (or what) might have been at the door. "Blair Witch" is EXACTLY like this. So my review is a HIGHLY favorable one -- moreso because of the residual effect (I couldn't sleep last night) than anything else.
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Harry, the Barnum idea is great. I wish that, after I saw the film about a month ago, I'd not started hyping it up. So now I'm backpeddling, saying that I'm not sure whether it's true or not, scratching my beautiful bald head and shrugging. Personally, I think BWP is a great creep-out and I'm confident that the heebee-geebees won't diminish with a 2nd viewing. I'm attending the KC opening July 30th and going camping the next day. All the Talkback respondants who think it is not scary, or want to post how no movie can scare them: who cares, don't watch it again and why keep posting (especially that windbag JMS Powers, though he is amusing in the manner of a small child flipping the bird.)
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Y'know, I've noticed that people have decided that if you weren't scared, you didn't like this movie. I saw this movie a couple of months ago. I posted that I didn't think it was even close to being the most terrifying thing I ever saw. I also said that everyone should check it out because it was such a well done movie. I never saw a film done this way and really think this was one of the most creative efforts in movie making. At one time Harry shifted from calling it "terrifying" to "creepy." I'll agree with that, creepy is the better word.
Hey, if it scared you so bad that you can't sleep at night -- kudos. That is what I was looking. It's not because I didn't get it or I'm not imaginative. How pompous that guy/gal is to make such a sweeping statement like that. You know what? I had bad dreams about the film BEFORE I SAW IT! I knew the premise and couldn't shake just how scary it could be. Then I saw it and the bad dreams stopped. So can I say that if your imaginations too good it won't scare you? -
I DID like this movie and would recommend it to anyone.
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Oh how I wanted to enjoy this movie. I bought into the whole publicity deal the same as anyone else, and just barely managed to squeak into the 5:15 PM show on opening night here in Philadelphia by sprinting all the way over from work (every screening later that night was sold out -- perhaps because star Heather Donohue is from the local 'burbs and graduated from the downtown University of the Arts, she does look a trifle familiar. Heather if you're reading this, did you used to work at The Taco House?). Granted there was one funny line: "Rednecks aren't this creative." Almost as funny as the girl who yelled at her boyfriend as soon as the end credits began to roll: "I can't believe you took me to see this piece of crap!" (Actual quote, folks). Where do I start? There's nothing original in the "cinema fake-itay" approach; check out The Last Broadcast, Man Bites Dog (which has the same damn ending!! Cameraman gets killed and drops camera) or even the 60s comedy David Holzmann's Diary. Any credibility was blown for me after the first five minutes of painfully fake "we're just being natural" dialogue. Could that have been more forced? Please. And I'm afraid the premise of the movie does not excuse 80 min. of absolutely shitty cinematography. It just plain gave me a headache, they should have called this The Blurry Witch Project. As others have pointed out, the film fails the first test of grade-A horror: establishment of nonstop mood of terror. This film is so stop and start. "Oh it's daylight again, so now we're in for several more minutes of walking and whining." Night-time scenes keep promising a major payoff but never deliver; sorry, rock-noises just don't cut the mustard ...and that ending is sooooooo poorly imagined. There's something sad when the ad campaign for a film is so much more shrewd and carefully plotted than the product itself, sure wish the "directors" had put some of that into the actual film. By no means is this in the same league with Night of the Living Dead or TX Chainsaw. Out.
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Funny reading the different views on the BWP, same thing happened in my house during the Sci-Fi special. I was bascially freaked out, and my kids 17 - 11 kept wanting to change the channels. But you should have seen them at about two in the morning when I went around to the back of the house and tapped on the windows were they sleep at(I left a half drunken can of coke on the ledge for additional effect). It seems that they are always here stuff back there now. Hmmmmmmm!!!!!!
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All the stuff Harry wrote above adds up to a lot of bullshit. After reading his review of BWP and his review of Lake Placid, it seems like he could take any movie, regardless of how bad it is, and put a positive spin on it. But his review just reads like a justification, somehow trying to make this movie more than it really is. If I saw it at a student film festival or an independant film festival I would say "hey that was pretty creative" and then move on. But people are calling this movie mind blowing and saying it is one of the scariest movies ever made, and I have no idea how someone can say that.
I didn't mind the slip shod camera work or the home video like experience. In fact that was well done and gave the movie a more realistic feel. What bothered me was the fact that it wasn't scary at all and I felt like I and everyone else was duped by amblin into thinking this would be a scary movie. The trailer at their website flashes quotes such as "scary as hell," "scariest movie since the exorcist". And so when I left the theater I felt like I had just been tricked into spending two hours of my time and $8 of my money into seeing a movie that was billed as being something that it really wasn't.
There were two main elements that kept this movie from being anything but scary. One was the unbelievably poor acting. The two guys did a pretty good job but the main actress was terrible. Everytime she acted scared I didn't buy it. For instance, when they realize they've walked in a circle in the woods and she sees that log across the river which was there at the beginning of the day, she says, "it's not the same log, it's not the same log....it is the same log, it is the same log *sob, sob*" I just didn't buy that. That's just one example of her poor acting and dialogue. And since she had most of the lines in the movie, I couldn't really get into the movie because she kept reminding me that it was just a movie.
My other problem was that it seemed like the filmakers weren't willing to take any chances. Besides that sign that the three of them saw in the trees and those piles of rocks, there really wasn't anything creative about the movie. It seemed like the filmakers were too tentative about screwing up their movie, so they just pretty much avoided showing anything. There really wasn't much in this movie.
There was nothing great about the Blair Witch project. I have no idea where all of this hype about it came from. I bet the filmakers are even surprised and are probably laughing their heads off when they read reviews such as "scarier than the exorcist". They shot a home movie based on some camp fire story which I could have come up with in five minutes, and now it's being aclaimed as setting a new standard for horror films and everyone is buying into it.
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You know, I haven't been posting comments for very long, but I'm amazed at how personally some folks seem to take their movie-going experiences. I mean, I've seen some bad films, too, and I've felt gyped out of my $6.50 and that two hours of my life, but I can't say I've ever felt the need to generally trash everyone who liked that particular film. Sorta detracts from any solid arguments you might have made, because all anyone will remember were the unnecessary putdowns you threw around within your diatribe.
"Gullible idiots? Frightened little insecure babies? Stupid asses? Retarded? Just stupid?" You sound like an angry teenager, JMS Power. Grow up a little. Or take an anger management class. Here we go: take a deep breath and count to ten. Now exhale. Feel better?
Funny thing is, I actually agreed with a couple of the points you made, but for the life of me now, I can't remember what they were.
If you want to talk intelligently about filmmaking, drop me a line... or, better yet, since you disliked BW so much, go make a better film (I don't know you, so maybe you have). And that's not a taunt, either. Anybody can make a film. Think of it this way: success is the best revenge. Make a better film and maybe you'll feel vindicated. And if you do create something better, we'll all get to enjoy the rewards of your labors.
Or you can keep running your mouth.
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My first reaction was that the ending was weak. Mainly because, as others have said, there is this tremendous investment in trying to figure out what is happening, and then when something DOES happen, we STILL don't know what's really going on. That makes sense if you consider that at its core this film is attempting to be as close to reality as it can while still being a work of fiction. It's trying to show you how real this could be while at the same time doing a smoke and mirrors behind the scenes. One need only watch the Sci-Fi Channel special "Curse of the Blair Witch" to see that the filmmakers went out of there way to work it from that angle. --
As far as I can tell, everything within the film is driven by a core logic: How would this look if these events happened to you firsthand? Would an ancient witch show herself to you, pronouncing your doom before wiping you away (all caught on tape)? Would backwoods devil-worshipers do the same? Would trees reach out and suffocate you? Would the ground open up and swallow you? Absolutely not. It would be something much more devious and simple: something would hide, taunt, lure, and kill. --
Without any significant hints to easily wrap up what is going on at the end, we have no closure. And without that closure, the film stays with us as we dissect it for clues to what happened. Just like real life tragedies. Even with all the recorded evidence of the encounter, we don't really know what happened. Brilliant. --
One more thing, my all-time favorite film is, and always will be Night of the Living Dead. Blair Witch just might be number two. --
Shannon -
Sketchy, I liked your thoughts on the film. JMS Power would do well to follow your critical lead. And I agree with some of your comments, especially regarding the acting. Funny thing... I had just mentioned to a fellow filmmaker that one of the parts of the film that bothered me was Heather repeatedly bemoaning the log on the stream. That little bit of theatre-/over- acting stunk on ice.
But you say you could have come up with the concept for the film yourself, in five minutes, no less. One question: why didn't you? Every time someone says something like, "I could have done that," that person frequently sounds bitterly disappointed that they, in fact, did not do that.
Just an observation.
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Where the HELL do you get off writing a review of "Blair Witch Project" when you obviously have ZERO observation skills?
First of all, ANYONE who watched the film knows damn well what "that figure" was doing in the basement: IT WAS MIKE (the sound guy)AND HE WAS OBVIOUSLY IN THE CORNER, IN A STATE OF EITHER SUBMISSION OR TRANCE!!!!
This was set up earlier in the film when the guy tells the story of how the crazy old man in the woods would take the kids in TWO AT A TIME and make one STAND IN THE CORNER while he killed the other. This was done because he "didn't want their eyes on him".
Do you mean to tell me that you missed the ENTIRE "PUNCH LINE" of the film?!
Also, for the record, it was a tongue and teeth in the bundle of sticks tied with stips of Josh's shirt.
If you're gonna review a film, watch it with your eyes OPEN. -
taken a dump and called it a masterpiece, I didn't. I know shit from shinola. Do you?
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Blair Witch has always had potential for me. Any movie that gets picked up at Sundance has potental for me. But this one isn't just another crap-fest shown on the Sundance Channel. It brings in a whole mythology, a following. If this movie truly succeds, we'll se Blair Witch copy-cats for a few years. Amatuer filmmakers trying to pass off crappy filming with a less then intriguing plot line. But they won't live up to Blair Witch for two main reasons. 1) Their stories will be hollow not like the Blair Witch mock-legened that leaves all my friends wondering if this actually happened or a brillant marketing campaign. 2) The preformances by the cast are so raw and pure they add to the home-movie style rather then subtracting from it. With Blair Witch, this isn't people trying to pass off a fake home movie...this is a home movie. It gets Dave's stamp of approval. Even if you have to drive multiple hours to see this movie, do it. It'll scare your pants off...
~D@ve~ -
More than a few people have been wondering if TBWP is a true story. My answer: Of course it is! On an unrelated topic, is it true that the TBWP directors wanted heavy-metal legends Spinal Tap to do some songs for the movie, and that the Tap wanted to, but they couldn't find the time, what with their world tour and the recording of their latest album? That would have rocked and kicked ass!!!
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I wish I never heard
any of the hype. I
wish I never heard it
was real. But still,
it scared the hell out
of me. When Heather
ran in the dark and
screamed, "WHAT THE
FUCK IS THAT?!" a
genuine chill ran
through me. When she
and Mike found the log
over the river and
Heather cried, "It's
the same log," over
and over, I could
really feel her
emotions, although
those audience
bastards that laugh at
anything really
spoiled the mood. Damn
those people,
especially when
Heather and Mike
screamed at each other
over turning off the
camera, the audience
kept laughing, totally
destroying the moment.
Thankfully they shut
up when Heather went
into a high-pitched
scream. Anyway, I tell
you it was that last
scene in the house
that did it for me.
The hand piant, the
"writing," and
especially, of course,
Mike staring in the
corner, that totally
wiped me out. I was
scared to go through
my own house that
night. It's that
scary. -
I wish I never heard
any of the hype. I
wish I never heard it
was real. But still,
it scared the hell out of me. When Heather
ran in the dark and
screamed, "WHAT THE
FUCK IS THAT?!" a
genuine chill ran
through me. When she
and Mike found the log over the river and
Heather cried, "It's
the same log," over
and over, I could
really feel her
emotions, although
those audience
bastards that laugh at anything really
spoiled the mood. Damn those people,
especially when
Heather and Mike
screamed at each other over turning off the
camera, the audience
kept laughing, totally destroying the moment.
Thankfully they shut
up when Heather went
into a high-pitched
scream. Anyway, I tell you it was that last
scene in the house
that did it for me.
The hand piant, the
"writing," and
especially, of course, Mike staring in the
corner, that totally
wiped me out. I was
scared to go through
my own house that
night. It's that
scary. -
Everytime a film with any kind of expectation or buzz or hype attached to it comes out there's always a segment of the audience who feels obliged to tell everyone how disappointed they were, how let-down they were, how they "really wanted to like the movie, but...". Well, guess what? WHO CARES? I've talked to people who had no clue why There's Something About Mary was such a big deal because they didn't find it funny at all. Well, humour's a very subjective thing. So's horror. If BWP happens not to scare your socks off, then fine. Just don't whine about it as though you've been somehow gypped or misled.
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Jul 19, 1999 5:26:49 PM CDT
Theory about that chilling, so frickin cool final scene
by bravenewsquirrel
I definitely, definitely agree that the final scene is a "reenactment" of what happened to the kids in the whole hermit thing in the 1940s. It's what makes that final scene so spooky. I gasped out loud, and I'm one of the most reserved movie people you'll ever But... Here's another thing I've been thinking about that's up to interpretation. a "living dead" Josh was under control of the witch after she messed him up, and that's why they heard him, and he killed them. I'm not sure if it works out... It might...
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Sorry, but after reading Nordling's post I could only give the others a cursory glance. He said Dario Argento's movies are overrated. This is an extremely odd opinion to have if you want to make horror movies, as Nordling does. Have you seen "The Stendhal Syndrome" yet? That's his '96 movie about a policewoman raped by a serial killer, and it makes "Silence of the Lambs" look like Nancy Drew. Really, it reminded me of early Roman Polanski, the way it got under that woman's skin (Asia Argento is a phenom). THAT gave me nightmares. Then there's "Suspiria," and come ON--I'll just say that last Halloween the local Boston arthouse showed a double feature of "The Beyond" and "Suspiria," and after "Suspiria" the whole audience broke into loud spontaneous applause. And that was just the R-rated version. Now if Nordling and Harry and y'all are right and "Blair Witch Project" is that scary, I'm going to have a delightful heart attack. I can't wait. Leave Argento alone, though. I mean, now that "Blair Witch" is out, is nothing sacred???
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Although I've visited AICN many times this is actually my first forum post! I just had to register so I could put in my theory about the ending. First off, I initially thought the same thing that beasel and others have proposed about Josh being the killer. According to the mythology, that killer from the 40's had one little boy (Kyle) stand in the corner while the other kids were murdered, then Kyle was let go unharmed. The murderer also claimed that an old lady (the Blair Witch?) told him to kill the children.
So the theory that Josh also came under the witches spell makes a lot of sense. That would explain his leaving the camp and even making those yelling noises. Then at the end, he grabs Mike and through some manner (maybe Mike was just in shock at this point) puts him in the corner, waits for Heather and whack!
In this theory, both Mike and Josh would then be alive so their disappearance may just be the result of both of them coming to their senses, discovering Heathers body and deciding to make a run for it instead of trying to explain to the authorities what really happened.
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Harry, I've been reading your site for quite a while and you've always struck me as an essentially honest person. You bugged shit out me in an earlier post about BWP when you urged people to lie about the movie -- to tell people that it was real -- but in this post, you made clear the context. Now, I'd like to drive home the point: One of the big treats in this movie is to take some friends and lead them to believe either that the footage is all what it appears to be or else that there is some question. By doing so you could heighten the impact of the film. But if you do so, do it responsibly -- don't do it with people who will go off and tell ten friends that BWP is fact, not fiction. Don't leave your friends hanging after the movie blasts through them. Tell them about the BWP site so they can see that it's all just a movie with an incredible amount of back story. Lying to your friends to make a movie scarier is just turning up the fiction volume. Lying to strangers just to spread lies is, well, a step back into the darkness and is not only irresponsible, it's irresponsibly wrong.
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One thing I'm surprised that no one has theorized on more is the issue of the backpack. It was buried underneath the cabin in a way that had to be placed there long ago. maybe they were traveling backward in time - the excavation of the house was one of a foundation - all other aspects of the house had disappeared. After a year? I don't think so.
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I was just thinking about it, and this film might just scare me! I'm the kinda person who will walk down the road at night and hurry up just to be out of the darkness faster. Or hear a noise at night in the house, and not know what it is, and my imagination will instantly conjure up terrible explanations. While camping last month, I stared at a clump of weeds, because it looked like a face. From what I gather, it seems like I would be a prime candidate to GET BWP. Am I on the right track here? Although it seems like the majority of you people don't like it... I can see your points as per the 'filmmaking' qualities of it. Yes, filming improve dialog in the woods is just about the easiest thing you could possibly film. And I agree, there is a lot more to filmmaking than just running a camera. But, BWP is just one 'type' of film. So, I might just see it. ALSO PLEASE NOTE. It seems the women don't like this film.
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Okay, I don't care if Joe "mother-fucking" blow hated it or this or that or fucking SHUT up ALREADY!! This movie will "MARK my words" big the biggest suprise hit of the summer, I am doing promotions for the midnight screenings of Blair Witch on Fridays and Sat nights here in San Diego, It is on two screens only at the HIllcrest cinemas and man you should have seen the lines and all showings this weekend sold out by mid-afternoon, They had to add a Sunday Midnight screening, it's hype yes, but 95% of the audience loved it and were scared, creeped out, or were shitting in their pants! I have seen it six times and it just gets freakier and my heart thumps louder and louder everytime. I am very happy that this movie is on it's way to becoming a box-office smash and a horror classic of the nineties, it's about time! 2000 and beyond should bring us mindfuck horror movies that will cause people to bring their own Depends!
I am looking foward to all other supernatural freak-fest coming to the screen the rest of the year, and yes I am looking foward to Scream 3, but mainly I cannot wait to see Heather Donahue on stage at presenting a oscar crying and shivering "OH mY god, I, I , I, I am so scared...I, I, can't open the envelope..."
Please honey, give this bitch the Oscar.....she went through hell and back!! -
Glad to have sparked this discussion about the guy in the corner... but wasn't Mike operating one of the two cameras in the house? You know, one of the two that fell to the ground suddenly? I assumed he was operating the video cam, since Heather was the last to get whacked, but I didn't get the sense that Heather was running *towards* the vidcam, but rather, away from it. I got the impression that they were both upstairs when Mike suddenly said "He's downstairs!" And then not soon after, whammo. Heather follows suit. I had been thinking it was Josh in the corner... I know he was skinny, but even a skinny guy can look bigger with his shirt untucked. Also, I didn't think it was a tongue Heather found... I thought it was all teeth. I dunno, I just thought Mike got whacked too soon to Heather's whacking to have been coaxed/coerced/forced into the corner by the Blair Witch/crazy man/Josh gone nutso in time to set up for Heather. The kid's bloody handprints on the wall was a good effect though.
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...definitely a disappointment, no matter how much Harry praises it (I might remind you that a certain film ending with "odzilla" and beginning with "G" got high praise last year as well). I liked it, but, well, it's not high on the list of must-purchase-DVDs (which, according to my friend at Artisan, is going to be one humdinger of a DVD, regardless of whether you liked the movie or not).
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I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure I read that the dialogue about the kids and the corner etc. was added after test audiences thought the ending was too confusing. That means early video screener copies probably wouldn't have it. I have such a copy and don't remember any dialogue detailing the killing of the kids. This has probably been covered already, but I don't have the time it takes to read these books that many talk backers are writing about this film.
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Why are the people who yell out "that sucked" the idiots? Hey, that's an easy one. Because any moron who takes it upon himself to yell out his cheap opinion in a movie theater is an imecile. End of story.
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...am feeling quite disappointed wih my evening. This is perhaps the worst movie-going experience I have had this year. The biggest problem, other than Heather's 'acting,' is the structure of the film. It is episodic in structure, in that each passing day is meant to build tension. We are supposed to be scared to death of whatever it is that is in the house. However, we are not. Each day is just like the one before; when the day breaks, we are subjected to more mindless pacing about when they should be heading in SOME direction. And in between daybreaks are unimaginitive attacks of the camp which produce no surges of adrenaline like any good horror/suspense movie should produce. Also, Heather is so annoying with her incessant filming and her annoying idiosynchrasies that we, at least I, don't care if this 'thing' gets her. I actually WANTED to see her die. (At least I wouldn't be subjected to her camerawork.) I had anticipated this film as much as anyone, and I even drove a hundred miles to see it. I spent the trip back lamenting the fact I paid $6.00 plus gas money to see this 'film.' Seeing how much this film is being bult up, accompanied by the fact that it is only in limited release now, I would advise anyone to not waste time traveling farther than their local theater to see this film. It is REALLY bad!!! */****
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Yes, you read correctly. Anybody who says different obviously doesn't appreciate or understand the ART of cinema. This was the most original movie I have seen in god knows how long (It also scared the shit out of me). It just shows that special effects and absurd budgets take a back seat to a great script and originality. The woman (Heather O'Donohue I think) was fantastic and gave a performance that is oscar worthy. For a fucking horror movie! Who would have thought. I can rave on about this film but you have to judge for yourself. Hands down one of the best films of the year.
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...they very clearly state in the movie that the guy in the 1940's made the kids stand in the corner while he killed the other one. I did not see "Curse Of The Blair Witch" until just now (literally, the credits are rolling... I taped it from last night after MST3K), and I was able to cull at least that much from the movie. Whatever interpretation you wish to make of the final scene, it is at least a clear reference to that killer's MO. And, just to foster my belief that it was Josh in the corner, not Mike... even though the 40's killer brought the kids "in pairs" to his house, he killed *7* kids. Therefore, he had to kill either *1* or *3* at least once... which, if it was three, would tie in OK with this case.
My point is, however, that it *is* explained in the movie about the kids standing in corners. And no, I wasn't all that taken with the movie, I'm not defending it, just pointing out the truth. -
Before you nuts out there jump down my throat...I meant EP1..not the original.
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i've read quite a few messages about how punk-ass kids ruined the film's effect by screaming. well, despite the huge crowd at the theater i went to (Harkins Arizona Mills 24 in Tempe, Arizona) and the fact that the theater was packed (all shows sold out before i got there - thank the powers above for credit card ordering!), the entire theater was remarkably silent during much of the film. we all laughed at the early grumblings of Mike and Josh, tittered uneasily when things started going strange, and a suprising number of folks (including myself) gasped in total horror when Heather found what was in that bundle of sticks. and that last delicious moment before the 16mm camera fell - jesus god, one of the more terrifying things i have ever seen.
what amazed me is that the effect on me was pretty much what the filmmakers intended despite the fact that i had already seen CURSE OF THE BLAIR WITCH and the website backstories. in fact, i think this helped immesurably in making that final shot as spine-tingling as it was by making me realize for a split second the implications of the final image. when i explained it to the folks i went with, i witnessed their shift from being disturbed to being creeped out to being terrified by it.
and yes, harry is right, it is better if you don't see the end credits. -
Once again... Blair Witch Project is a cult movie. No one is expecting everyone to like it, and everyone won't like it. Cult filmists (?) will get a kick out of this, and it'll be in their video collections ready to pop out to show unsuspecting friends. So, you kids who didn't like it can ease up on those of us who did, because no matter how much technical prowess you spill on us, we're still going to like it! **** DeVore: The directing in this case is not positive construction but negative construction. Instead of building a story and building characters and then filming, the boys took filming and then chiseled it down to a story and characters. It's a *new type of directing, and they did a good job at it, and, in my opinion, are worthy of praise for that. Out of the 20+ hours the trio shot, 8 hours were considered believable events, and then those 8 hours were refined to create what the Blair Witch Project is. **** Some fun stuff: On our way home from the movie we stopped by a friend's house (who was at a later show) and left a pile of rocks at his doorstep. I'm taking a "virgin" friend on Thursday and plan on getting her room-mate to tie some stick men from the ceiling in her room. Also, I have one of the old screening videos of the movie and am going to show it with an LED projector under the trees outside at midnight at a tiny little film festival I hold at my house. *** I can see how you could hate the movie... but the way I figure, it's a load of fun even if it isn't a cinematic masterpiece. I personally think that retouching the strange noises in the night and making them louder and crisper would make those night scenes more confronting and terrifying to people who knew the movie wasn't true. But I'm not going to let that get in the way of me using the movie to scare the piss out of my friends. **** Maybe some of you will agree with me... I didn't realize what effect the movie had on me until I went out into a friend's woody backyard that night to look for rocks. There was a little bit of tension caused by recollection that just felt eerie. And that's what the movie is about, I think... It's subtle. Rather than spooking the bejeezus out of you quickly and starkly, it leaves a little piece of itself deep within your brain; a little piece that is just waiting to explode.
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sadly, you are the people that give Hollywood reason to abandon filmmaking and produce muck like WILD, WILD WEST. it's sad that BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD isn't completely fictional, because it seems to be based on actual people.
now, i'm not saying y'alls is stupid. not really. but i am saying that THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT isn't meant to entertain folks like you. pro wrestling, sure. jerry springer, sure. but anything requiring a little faith, a little concentration and a little bit of intellectual sophistication is not gonna do it for ya, folks. don't ask me why Hollywood puts out mindless drivel like WILD, WILD WEST and GODZILLA. turn around, look in a mirror, and tell yerself: "i enjoy mindless drivel. i go to the movies to turn off my brain and look at the pretty pictures. i don't want to be challenged. i want only to be bombarded with fast moving digital effects and loud surround sounds. i want eye candy and ear candy, and that's ALL i want."
BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was not made for you people. those of us who get it know this. nothing you can say will make us NOT get it, just as nothing i can say will make y'all get it... -
If the movie makes you motion sick, you have problems and must have never watched one of your own home videos. Shakey camera is NOT a problem with this movie. If you think it is, then you dont get it. And when I say that, I mean you dont get that this is supposed to be that way. Honestly, go see the Haunting when that comes out and tell me which one is scaries. Beter yet, tell me what horror movie in the last 10 years was. Look in the new Entertainment Weekley at the top 25 scary movies of all time, and tell me how many were made in the last 10 years. Not many, huh? So shut your fucking mouth! It's a movie. You guys are probably the same people that have such a huge problem with Jar Jar and analyse every fucking Disney movie looking for a gay or racial stereotype. Its just a movie. And I'm also drunk and it took me 10 min. to write this talkback.
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I am starting my own horror movie in the next several weeks and I am impressed with all the hype surrounding the Blair Witch Project. Its not easy making a movie so for those people out there who say that it sucks and they can do better, why don't you make your own horror flick and show the rest of us that you are right. For first time viewers who have trouble deciding whether to watch it or not because their friends say "its not worth the money" just make up your own mind. Its nice to watch something "different" for a change.
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I saw a movie called "The Last Broadcast" at The Cleveland Film Festival a bit over a year ago. The premise is basically the same as Blair Witch. But Broadcast revolves around the Jersey Devil. This movie, still not able to make it big, was made *first*. They have a website:
http://www.tebweb.com/lastbroadcast/
I guess some people just know how to market the hell out of something in order to make up for its cinematic shortcomings.
I am boycotting Blair Witch! Sick of the hype, sick of the ripoff.
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It's building up a heap load of controversy; on both sides.
WARNING: There are spoilers ahead. Although if you've read this far the movie's "spoiled" for you already, but that's okay, because the directors seem to prefer it that way. They've compared their opening "In October of 1994.." thing to George Lucas' "A long time ago..." It's a setup. It's the prologue. They did not mean to make a hoax. Their intent was to suspend your disbelief, and if you approach the film in the way it was intended that's exactly what you get.
I once said in another forum that Blair polarizes the audience. You either love it or hate it. Someone then corrected me because they were kinda so-so about the film. That may be for a small minority of the audience, but the vast majority both online and in the theaters are polarized. It either works for you or it doesn't. [Man! I wish I could use paragraph breaks in here. Harry?! Paragraph breaks please?? It would make reading everyone's posts easier!]
I just read this whole TalkBack. My turn. A few thoughts in response to everyone; lovers and haters of Blair alike.
Yes. The movie sucks (I love the film. Hold on. Let me explain.) The movie is choppy. The sound is awful at points. There's no CGI. There's no one in a Blair Witch Mask appearing like half the cast posed as Norman's mother in Psycho 2. There's no guy in a black cloak and white mask for you to point at. You don't ever see anything. The end is abrupt and sudden, like a rabbit being run over by a car. There's no clean solution to the film that explains it all for you. The acting appears unrehearsed. The kids say "f***" every thirty seconds. There's entire gaps in the film where the screen in completely black and nothing's happening. The plot itself is about as complicated as someone telling you a joke about three nuns. The dialogue is trite. The setup is obvious. From the first five seconds of the movie you know exactly how it's going to turn out. There are entire scenes where you can't see the actors clearly and you don't know what's going on. Shall I go on? I could go on detailing everything that is bad about this movie. I have said it before and I will say it again. The weaknesses of independent filmmaking are the strengths of this film. Every one of those distracting points I described above are exactly what makes this film so entirely fascinating and special. I am sorry for those of you who have seen it and could not appreciate it. You are right. You are absolutely right, it is a film that Ed Wood would not have been proud of had he made it. It is a movie that makes Andy Warhol's Frankenstein look professionally done. You are correct. The film is atrocious, and it is precisely because of that fact that I love this film so much. It was not made in Hollywood. It was made by two guys who have tried and failed before to affect audiences in a dramatic and exciting way. They paid their dues and they almost never returned to cinema. I'm glad they did. I'm glad they took this idea which had been haunting them and gave it life, because I've seen it twice now and I'll go see it a third time because THIS DAMN FILM WAS BETTER THE SECOND TIME THAN IT WAS THE FIRST. And it was different. The first time I saw the movie, I thought for sure Mike was facing the room when he stood in the corner. I would have bet money on that fact. This second time his face was in the corner. Now we all know his face was ALWAYS in the corner, but my eyes and my mind thought he was looking into the room the first time. The movie CHANGED. And it's not the movie that changed but my perspective of it. The first time I watched the movie, I was thinking it was either really the Blair Witch or some local lunatics playing tricks with these kids like in Deliverance. DELIVERANCE. This time I watched the movie, and WHO mentions Deliverance? JOSH! The one who conveniently disappears. The second time I watched it, my mind came up with the same theories some people are saying now. What if Josh is possessed by the Blair Witch? OR even better, what if it has nothing to do with a ghost? In Curse of the Blair Witch, Josh's girlfriend talks about how she didn't want Josh to go out with Heather on this trip, and indicates that it was all Heather's fault what happened to them. What if there's some 'history' with Heather, Josh and Josh's girlfriend that we don't know? What if Josh and his girlfriend did this as a prank to Heather to get back at her? Maybe Mike was in on it. Maybe they hated her for some reason and did this to drive her mad and things got out of hand. There is so much left open to the imagination in this film. What if the Blair Witch is actually that crazy old lady they talked to at the mobile home complex? That could take you in an entirely new direction! What if it's something entirely different? The movie can be different every time you see it, and it can be different for every person who watches it. In Star Wars we didn't know Darth Vader was Luke's father. You watch the film back in 1977 without that knowledge and it works one way. You revisit the same film after watching Empire Strikes Back and suddenly things that weren't important before take on a whole new meaning. You see where Ben LIED to Luke openly. Boldfaced. Now, MAYBE George Lucas wasn't looking that far ahead. Maybe he WAS. Only he and his hairdresser knows for sure but the point is, with every new tidbit of additional information you or someone else contributes to this film, there's space in Blair to make it plausible, until you really don't know for sure what's going on and you have to make up your mind yourself. You can see the movie over and over again and because it doesn't tie everything up in a bow, you can see it diferently. Maybe that's not the sign of a good movie for you, but to me it's extraordinary. I can't think of a single film I have ever seen that lends itself to repeat viewings so innately. When Orson Welles made Citizen Kane, he revolutionized the film industry with nonlinear storytelling. His film was questioned by the critics and angered many people with financial backing. It wasn't until some time later that it aquired the appreciation it deserved. I think Blair Witch is going to revolutionize the film industry, but it won't do it overnight and it may not even do it directly. There are things other film makers will learn from this film. Ways to make the experience more real for the actors. I predict over a period of time, changes will be made to the creature comforts of the acting talent. Spielberg had his stars go through bootcamp for Saving Private Ryan. He probably did not get the idea from this film, but I predict a lot more directors will go this way to a degree, and I also predict films will leave more open to the imagination and in some cases we'll steer away from cgi and blood and gore. Leave more to the imagination. This will not please theater goers who want everything laid out for them on a silver platter, but for those of us who don't mind working a bit for our 'supper' the changes in store for filmmaking will be a refreshing change. I for one am looking forward to it. I hope The Haunting doesn't do well, and Blair Witch goes wide and makes a formidable showing in the box office. I know it won't make box office records, but I wish it could really send a message to Hollywood. I wish they'd make films more intelligently again.
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I'll get my question out of the way first. Why didn't they just follow the stream to whatever body of water it emptied into? That said, I must say I agree with many of the opinions shared here. It is a creepy film, marred by a predictable structure (Day - Lost and upset, Night - Scared and Screaming) and, at times, overwrought acting by Heather Donahue ("You have endangered us all with you're ignorance"). But overall, it succeeds in achieving a sense of ominous threat. By playing to the kid in all of us who is afraid of the dark (and I'm sitting here alone in my home-office past midnight, looking over my shoulder at every thump I hear), the filmmakers have managed to construct a truly frightening story. Unfortunately, the movie has flaws as well, and I don't just mean the nausea-inducing camera work (although, I believe that the fact that this movie keeps you physically queasy throughout lends a lot to the feeling of emotional uneasiness most viewers feel). The most obvious question, and the one that made this film less enjoyable for me, is "If they were lost, why didn't they just follow the river downstream?" I mean, maybe something supernatural could screw with their minds, or even change the local magnetism so that compasses wouldn't work. But every river leads somewhere, and on the east coast that's usually somewhere civilized, right? I mean, in Maryland wouldn't they eventually end up at the Chesapeake Bay, one of the most populated bodies of water in America? Anyway, love to hear this one explained.
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I've been a fan of horror films since grade school. Even though I love them, they've never scared me...till now. Saw this on a sneak preview the other night, and I don't think I'll ever be able to go camping and feel completely safe. This was the first film I've seen that actually raised the hairs on the back of my neck, even reading your review caused chills down my spine. I think one of the things that make this film so scary, is that the audience fills in the blanks, and what we picture in our minds is always worse than a cgi monster. Like you said, I've heard several takes on different scenes, for instance at the end, I thought it was a hanging body, while my girlfriend said he was made to stand in the corner like the little kids long ago that were murdered. Lines here in Denver have been around the block each showing, so it looks like this is the must see film of the summer!
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Sorry. Prepare yourself for another book. I read all y'all's books so I can rationalize that you'll read mine. You might not but that's your choice and it's okay either way. Anyway, someone mentioned the movie Last Broadcast in the TalkBack thread. I've also heard this movie compared to stuff like Cannibal Holocaust. Is this a unique and original idea? Of course not. It's based loosely on documentaries that were spooky. Obviously there's comparisons people can make to all kinds of films. Star Wars, the Shining, the Exorcist, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Psycho... the list goes on. You can even bring Real World and Road Rules into the mix if you want to. This isn't an original thing. No doubt someone will try to sue them, like Huey Lewis and the News and Ray Parker Jr sued each other over the fact there were similarities between I Want A New Drug and the Ghostbusters theme. Only a trained ear can tell the similarities and in hindsight it's still absurd, but people will sue for anything nowadays. However, does Blair Witch deserve to be criticized because Last Broadcast was made at roughly the same time and one could have been based on the other? Maybe maybe not. That will possibly be resolved someday in the courts, who knows. Armaggedon and Deep Impact were very similar. Twister came out about the same time as some other hack movie about tornadoes. Dante's Peak came out about the same time as Volcano. Mac and Me was an obvious ripoff of E.T. you can go on and on with that. Is it relevant?
Back in 1985, I had this idea that I shared with some friends. I came up with this character named The Harlequin. He was a cheesy superhero. This guy named Justin Graves buys an old mask at a curio shop cuz Justin Graves was the kinda guy who collected masks like some people collect stamps. He was just weird that way. On a lark when he takes it home he puts it on and magically turns into The Harlequin. The mask turned out to originally be owned by a jester who performed at King Arthur's Camelot, and befriended Merlin. When the jester died, Merlin put the jester's soul into the mask, which gave it magical properties. Justin Graves put on the mask and had these illusion powers and the ability to walk on the air, stuff like that. I shelved the idea because even though I loved it, I couldn't quite make it work. It was too cheesy. Too melodramatic, and I could never find the right hook. About a decade later a movie came out that was called The Mask starring Jim Carrey. It was based on a comic book. Now my Justin Graves character was a stand up comic down on his luck. The guy in The Mask was a banker or something. There were many differences but a lot about the plot and premise of The Mask mirrors my idea for The Harlequin. Can I sue? No of course not. Did that guy steal the idea from me? I've never met the guy. Of course he didn't. The difference is I had close to the same idea he did, and I didn't do anything with it but he did. Blair Witch may or may not have been influenced by The Last Broadcast or vice versa. I find that irrelevant. Blair Witch made it to where it did and Last Broadcast achieved its own success and popularity. The movie industry is very complex. Bottom line: There's nothing new under the sun. You may wake up tomorrow morning having had a dream that just stirs within you and makes you want to make it come alive somehow. Was it an idea influenced by the Blair Witch? Did it come from somewhere else? Ideas are often the accumulation of all the input stored in your brain up until that moment. Lord knows what DIDN'T influence Blair Witch, but it is an idea whose time has come. Perhaps the guys who made Last Broadcast just weren't in the right place at the right time. Others have made independent films that looked as cheesy as Blair Witch but they didn't do it the right way. They didn't put just the right combination togeher. After seeing Blair Witch today, I went to the bar lounge next door to the theater and ordered my favorite drink. I usually like the drink with even amounts of juice and vodka. Sometimes a bartender will put too much juice and not enough alcohol. This time around, there was so little juice in it that one drink actually got me tipsy. It was practically all alcohol! It just so happened that this time, after seeing Blair for the second time, I NEEDED that extra dose of vodka. The combination was different than I am used to, but it came at the right place at the right time and I welcomed it. Some other day I would have returned it and asked for it to be made again, cuz I usually don't like strong drinks. It's all a matter of perspective and timing. You can approach this film today and hate it. If you went to see the same movie two weeks from now, you will be in a different state of mind. Maybe then you can appreciate it better. Perhaps after I've seen Blair seven or eight times, a time will come when I'm tired of it, or it will just be a day in which it bores me. Then I can see it again later and enjoy it in a completely new way. Some films can't do that. I'll be bored by Mary Poppins no matter what. Others say it's a great film but I never understood why. Occasionally I've enjoyed it cuz it's laughable: Dick Van Dyke's accent is atrocious. Most of the time it just annoys me and I change the channel if it comes on or I just don't watch it. Blair will have a much more dramatic spectrum of opinions than most films, specifically because of its mettle: what it's made of, and that if nothing else is what makes it such a great film. It's never quite the same twice, because YOU are never quite the same twice. If you loved it, watch it again and see how different you find it to be each time. If you hated it, give it a few weeks or months and try it again. Watch it with friends if you saw it alone the first time, or vice versa. See if your opinion changes about it. Okay. I'm done with my book. Thanks for reading. =)
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There are a whole slew of questions like this in the film. Why was it just the three of them? Would it not have been safer if they brought along more people or found some way to have local law enforcement check on them from time to time? At least their teacher could have accompanied them. In the first scene, we see Heather brings along with her a book about how to survive in the woods, yet she never cracks it open. They had a map, but none of them could really read it. They seemed surprised much of the trail was uphill; could they not even read the contour lines? Why didn't Heather plan more? Why was she so adamant that things go her way? Why did the guys follow her blindly into the forest and continue following her blindly for the first two days before they started questioning her authority? Why'd they keep filming? Heather's motivation for that becomes evident towards the end, but why did Mike keep filming, even in the house at the end? You can go on and on with this. Why did that girl in "INSERT NAME OF A HORROR FILM HERE" walk down that hall without turning on the hall light? Why'd she open that door? Why'd she go into the basement without a flashlight? Why did she turn around just in time to see the evil badguy with the chainsaw cut her in half? Horror movies are like that. I'm reminded of MST3K's opening theme music: "If you wonder how he eats and breathes, and other science facts, repeat to yourself it's just a show. You should really just relax." Why didn't they follow the creek? Well, from a directorial standpoint it's easy. The location they chose to film this didn't have an awful lot of landmarks. It was just forest after forest after forest. The fallen log over the creek was pretty much the only major landmark I saw in the film. Smaller things like the piles of stones may not have visually been as stunning, but when Mike starts yelling, "It's the same log!" and then Heather repeats to him that it's not, then starts repeating to herself that it's not, then you feel ..you actually FEEL is as the camera gets closer to the ground, she falls to her knees (we don't SEE her fall to her knees but your mind's eye picks that up) and she says out loud in defeat "It's the same log." And then she just loses it. That's one of the most powerful moments in the film. They'd been walking south for a day and a half. It couldn't possibly be the same log, but there it is. There's no denying it. NOW... Had the directors thought to have the kids follow the creek. Let them go down the creek for a couple hours, then load them up in a jeep real quick with the cameras turned off and leave them on the exact opposite side of that log about five miles, turn the cameras BACK ON, and they're FOLLOWING THE CREEK and they come across THE SAME LOG... that might have been more striking, but the fact they had to CROSS the log each time to continue going south, and Heather said how much she hated crossing the log the first time, it's just more powerful from a directorial choice. I can see why they did it that way. As for why the CHARACTERS failed to see the logic here, that if you follow a waterway eventually you come across civilization, "just repeat to yourself it's just a show.." Okay. That's a bad answer. Heather was going by the compass. She was trusting in the laws of physics and the tried and true magnetic poles of this planet. They don't follow the creek for the same reason they chose to go south. They didn't believe you can get lost in America. They were waiting for a Seven Eleven to loom over the horizon so long as they kept going in the same direction. I'm reminded of a story in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series where he talks about 'soft places.' How on the planet Earth, before Marco Polo and other explorers mapped and charted practically the entire surface of the planet, there were places on Earth where you could easily get lost. They seemed to go on forever and sometimes people never got back. One can imagine that the Black Hills forest is one of those soft places. You go in and it's just not wholly dependent on the laws of Nature. Something Unknown is at work there. Am I the only one who noticed that as the movie progresses, the tall thin trunks of the trees started looking more and more like prison bars? Was that just me? They couldn't get out. The forest wouldn't let them go.. GOD I love this movie!
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Read every word of your posts, and I'm glad that someone appreciates this film like I do. Cool. As for the above poster that hacked on me about Dario Argento - I must admit I haven't seen every film he's made. I just feel that George Romero did better with less. I think really stark horror is actually better in black and white, like NOTLD.
Look, Blair Witch won't please everyone. It's not meant to. In the context of the film, if you really believe it's real, this can scare you. If you can't, I'm sorry. This world must be a really boring place for you, and you have my pity. As for the acting - I guess about a million critics are wrong, because they all said that the acting in this film is so good that you can't even call it acting. And anyone who wasn't moved and scared at Heather's "apology," well, you have no fucking heart, and you should get yourself to a doctor. And I'm shocked that JMS actually has a girlfriend. I didn't know that you could bring those blowup sex toys into a theater. -
See "DeVore" Above
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Jul 20, 1999 6:12:54 AM CDT
Would have been better if more info from the web site had been i
by kowalski1984
One problem with the movie is that a lot of the background information that puts the witch in context isn't in the film. I imagine it would be a lot harder to follow the film without reading the website first.
Also, I've heard that early prints of the film had no explanation for why Mike was in the corner; after a few screenings, Haxan reedited the film to include the part with Jim Maynard (the local Heather interviews) talking about how Rustin Parr killed the kids. This might account for some people's different experiences with the movie.
My question: The Hi-8 is obviously locked on 'record', because we see it taping for a few seconds after it hits the ground before the cut to the CP-16 carried by Heather. Wouldn't it have shown what hit Heather, or at least kept recording audio? Imagine the end credits rolling over the sound of two people being sequentially eviscerated... -
Pity me for living on an island with no cinema proper - but plenty of cable and internet! I'll probably never get to see BWP before the real millenium, but I'm fascinated, nay obsessed, with all this banter. Reminds me of the last time I was obsessed - Twin Peaks! Used to tape that one and replay to come up with more and more elaborate explanations. You lucky geeks - like it or hate it, at least you have seen BWP! =(
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Okay. So, it would seem that your problem with BWP is in the execution of the idea, rather than the idea itself. I can understand that. What I still don't understand is how anyone can gravitate to one end of the spectrum or the other on this or any other movie. Fact of the matter is, the film has flaws (IMHO, Heather's acting, for one). But, it also has some genuinely suspenseful moments for many viewers. I don't think I'd personally label the film as a "scary" movie, per se, but rather, suspenseful. I guess you don't understand how ridiculous your broadstroke condemnations sound, regarding anyone who was frightened or startled by this film. But, to be fair, you don't sound any more ridiculous than someone who compares BWP to the Second Coming. Personally, I'm happy for the guys who made this film. They figured out a way to do an inexpensive horror film (less than $60K) that did not utilize such time-worn tools as forboding music and actors in masks to cue the audiences as to when to be frightened. So, it didn't work for you. Or rather, it didn't work for your girlfriend. Instead of being bitter about the execution of the idea, go make a better film. And don't think that just because this idea has been used, that it won't be recycled again. Hollywood does it all the time. So, go for it. Or write your own movie. Hell, if you're in Dallas, I'll even help you secure all the equipment and professional actors you'll need. Not to create a "can't we all get along" bandwagon or anything, but geez, for me, one of the best things about BWP is that they DID it and they actually SOLD it. I don't know... maybe you have to be a filmmaker to appreciate how difficult it is to do those two things. Okay, enough rambling. Sorry about that, everybody. Back to work... peace and love.
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Well since i last looked it seems that all you movie fans have gotten meaner and more childish, good job everyone! so according to you guys if i liked it i'm a wussy who's taking a bad film and calling it art. If i hated it i'm just a independence day watching peon who doesn't understand the horror genre....looks like i'm screwed either way.BUT....the comments on how the actors well..acted is something i'd like to touch on....they only got character profiles i believe which i think made the movie-1. heather as an overly dramatic film obssessed control freak.hmmmm i bet you people know no one like that right?!? Then theres the i'm just here cause she'll do all the work and i'll get an A mike who never really likes her and is just the connecting guys buddy. that was the best part! heather and mike didn't know each other until the trip soooowhen josh disappeared they started at square one. thats a pretty good reason why they didn't make the best decisions under their circumstances....what would you do in the middle of no where with a guy you've known for 2 days and a bunch of film equipment?--the only thing that would stop from going over the edge
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Oh god, what the hell was I thinking? To be entertained by a home movie (not even to the level of a freshman film student) while I was bought into the hype. Believe it or not, I think there is more hype in this movie than Episode 1, at least I enjoyed some fantastic visuals. But goddam it, the movie was sold out in Houston (only 1 friggin theater was showing it, art house wanna be River Oaks Landmark, smack dab in the middle of upper class Houston) and had to wait 3 hours for a 6pm showing on Sunday. I waited in the heat and along with smelly gothic dressed trendies. God, it was pathetic. I wasted my time (over 4.5 hours) and my money (even the fresh popcorn couldn't help). I am a movie watcher, a consumer of entertainment, I don't want to have to pay to see a work in progress or someone's idea of a clever idea made into a film. This film is as much as a disappointment to me as any other film overly hyped by the so-called film critics. Joe-six-pack, I may be, but I know crap when I smell it.
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You are aware that Dario Argento produced Dawn of the Dead, right? I love Romero, but I must say that Argento's body of work is far more impressive than Romero's. If you ever want to do a side-by-side comparison of them, put Romero's Director's Cut of Dawn next to Argento's cut. Working with the same raw footage, Dario manages to squeeze out just a bit more of the creep factor, IMHO.
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A few things... Just saw Darth Mauls Ep1 tone poem "one truth"
which goes something like this:
"Fear. Fear attracts the fearful. The strong, The weak. The innocent. The corrupt. Fear - Fear is my Ally!" - Darth Maul.
Doesn't that so sound like something that could have been in BWP?
Just a thought... My second thought... One reason some people may find the movie frightening and others not.. After talking with a bunch of people I know who have seen this movie, I have found a common fact... People who were afraid of the dark as children (whatever age) were frightened by this film... People who never had that fear weren't.
It's a theory, anyhoo... later -
Okay, let's just review some of the things that have been said on this msg board:
1. If you post that you were dissappointed by Blair Witch you're just whining
No... I was posting because of all these comments that everyone who IS DISSAPPOINTED is a fucking moron
2. If you aren't scared by Blair Witch you're one of the Great Unwashed Masses who can't appreciate a real film
Some of my favorite movies: The first two Godfather movies, Fellini's 8 1/2 and La Dulce Vita, Seven Samurai, Dr. Strangelove, Ta xi Driver & Raging Bull (The quintessential Scorsese films), and just cuz I'm pumped on this movie lately, Eyes Wide Shut. Nowhere on my list will you find anything by Roland Emmerich or Jerry Bruckheimer so fuck off. Oh and for the record, no I don't lik e Jerry Springer and I don't drink alchohol of any kind, let alone beer.
3. If you didn't like Blair Witch it's because you don't like the home video style footage
I DID like it. I think it's a great approach, but imo the narrative of the movie is too SHALLOW (that's right I said shallow, not deep) to pull of anything TRULY frightening, for me at least. So chalk this up as another myth.
4. If you weren't scared by Blair Witch, you have no imagination:
My favorite book is The Lord of the Rings (Yes I am counting it as one book, sorry). I love Star Wars (though some would count this as anti-imagination) I have been roleplaying for over 8 years, and for the last 3, complete free form with no rules or systems. I can appreciate some later Fellini (don't take that one too seriously) which as anyone will tell you, is impossible without some sense of imagination ;)
Ya know, it's funny. On here I'm getting accused of being dissappointed by Blair Witch because it's above me. With my friends, I'll get accused of being dissappointed because I'm too much of a snob. Go figure. (P.S. I DID enjoy the movie, it was entertaining, but it didn't scare me.) -
For all people criticizing the movie, you're goin a bit over the edge too. I'm still going to tell everyone to see this movie, because I think they MIGHT enjoy it, and be scared, even though I wasn't. We need to learn to accept eachother's opinions without insulting eachother (and yes, it's something *I* need to learn too)
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Over the last couple of months I've been following this website. I've read comments from Harry and everyone else. This site turned me on to BWP. I saw a couple of days ago and I loved it. I guess what is perplexing me is all the comments about the production values. The fact that's it's mostly video. Shakey camera...etc. And I think people are missing the point. Maybe it's the generation that doesn't know movies without computer effects. I think computer graphics have changed the face of movies. Things we thought would be impossible to film are now very possible, but I think it has also made the movie industry lazy.
BWP was made the way it was to give the effect that it was being made by regular people. As if someone discovered your old videos of Christmas time with the family. And I think that is what makes the film effective. It requires us to use our imagination.
If you've ever been camping or gone into desserted old houses in the middle of the night with a couple of friends and a flashlight, this movie will hit home with you.
If you need special effects and fancy camera moves to scare you, go see the haunting.
But, all I can say is days after having seen BWP, the images have stuck with me.
And for those people whose reveiws of any movie are: IT SUCKS ASS, you know why Roger Ebert is a PROFESSIONAL movie critic and your NOT! -
THIS NOTE IS ALL SPOILERS*** The thing I found almost the creepiest of the entire movie is that you're STILL not sure whether it really is the Blair Witch at the end or simply a crazy person stalking these three. I've seen some notes opining that it's the psycho woman interviewed at the beginning of the film who followed the filmmakers into the woods and killed them. That wouldn't surprise me at all. Then again, it's a movie, so I could also believe that it really was the witch. Either way, that movie scared the crap out of me. BY THE WAY...here's a question for the truly dedicated. Anyone who's read Heather's "journal" (never shown in the movie but excerpted at the website) knows that Heather was actually this sort of new-ageish Wiccan who actually believed that the Blair Witch was a postmodern feminist hero. The journal makes it sound that Heather had an agenda in making this movie, to go and actually conjure up the Witch in order to fulfill this pagan/Wiccan ritual. Does anyone agree with this? It lends more intensity to Heather's "confession" scene in the movie, where she keeps obsessively saying that it's all her fault that all this happened. And, if this was the filmmakers' intent, what do you think they're saying about new-age thought versus how it's used (or misused) in the modern world? jpettus@hotmail.com
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I really hate those F***** A*****
who do that...so F**** WHAT????
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This film is a big deal to me in that, when films like this essentially win the lotto and get distributed and end up on the bigscreen and the filmmakers sign three picture deals...I feel like vomiting. I'm all for someone coming along and breaking into the industry, I wanna go see a low budget flic and love it, and I'm not into wasting my money. I want it to be good. However, the quality of a film is not what gets it on the bigscreen. I guess that's obvious. But once in awhile, once in a blue moon there is that EVIL DEAD, there is that SPANKING THE MONKEY, LIVING IN OBLIVION...so I keep going, I keep gambling that the next flavor of the month has actually put together a great film, and actually deserves the lottery he or she has just won. More so than not, these low budget flics blow. You know, there are lots of great movies out there that we haven't seen, and that we'll never see, really well crafted films. But it's Blair Witch that lands a distributor, and through deceptive hype tactics gets an audience in the seats. It's a shame, but that's the business. There are many and better movies out there to be seen.
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I'm not a critic. I mean I don't get PAID to be a critic. I just know what I like. Admittedly, I find myself more drawn to quote BAD MOVIES unquote. Movies that are MST3K bad. I'm TIRED of top-of-the-line movies with overpaid acting talent and all-powerful music scores and millions of dollars spent on sets and lighting and stunts and explosions and CeeGee eyecandy. I want more shows that are REAL. I want more Blair. If the theater industry wants me to spend large chunks of money at the movie theater, they'll come out with more Blair type movies. A Clockwork Orange was a kickass movie. It make you THINK. Eyes Wide Shut is an anticlimactic swan song by a man who had done so much better with so much less. If Blair's a bad movie, and junk like Eyes Wide Shut is considered GOOD, give me more Blair. Give me more bad movies. I am PROUD to have no taste.
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The ongoing thread among the BWP naysayers seems to be that the film had a great concept but that didn't deliver due to being amatuerish and undeveloped - that it took no apparent skill to make. However, so many people who've liked the film have already expressed so well that it was exactly this raw sense of "found footage" and the lack of traditonal closure that makes it so effective. A lot of people will obviously hate this movie because of its look and approach but I think it was the best way to tell this particular story. For all those who think otherwise, I bet it'll only be a matter of time (especially if BWP does any kind of business) that Artisan - if they're really looking to make a franchise - will not only chase after a sequel but will actually try and remake BWP. It'd still be a low budget film and they'd pull in a wider audience that doesn't think eighty-something minutes of shaky hand-held footage is worth a movie ticket.
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Maybe it's just me, but I don't recall a whole lot of "if you don't like this movie, you're a moron" posts. Actually, if anything, I've seen a hell of a lot more "If you liked this movie you're an ass" posts, especially for our old friend JMS Power, who has taken it upon himself to talk and talk and talk and talk at every opportunity (and virtually every forum) about how much he hates the movie. Actually, not just the movie, but the people who liked it as well. I mean, constantly. Makes you wonder if he doesn't have an ulterior motive. As for myself, I liked TBWP a great deal. I can understand and appreciate why someone wouldn't. It's definitely an acquired taste, that has nothing to do with taste or education or anything like that. Me, I like a movie that allows for interpretation; others go to the movies for other reasons, which is cool. I'm not sure why this stuff seems to be such a personal life-and-death struggle for so many people.
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I haven't seen the movie yet, would like to. To those who have loved it, liked it, hated it or loathed it, everyone has got to agree that this was the slickest and about the best ad campaign that anyone has come up for for a movie in a long, long time. Think about it, a documentary on the Sci-Fi channel with supposed experts, and a website that supports it with "historical" documentation, pictures, interviews, and no where to be seen... a disclaimer telling you that it isn't true. Before someone out there says I was "roped" in, yea I'll admit I was. I am a 39 year old with a college degree who lives only 40 miles from the "site", and I've got to tell you until I found out that it was all just a story, I was looking over my shoulder at night. And thats just from the ads, webste and the documentary!!
Its nice to see someone out there still knows how to tell a good old fashioned ghost story that scares the s**t out of you without getting gorey. You know the kind of story I'm talking about, the kind that we used to tell when we were in Scouts camping out in the middle of nowhere around the campfire very late at night. So whether you liked the movie or not, we have to give the marketers a standing ovation for the brilliant ad campaign. Heck even USA today did a long article on the story. -
yep. you heard me. seen a good American movie lately, one that had a really great story that was worth telling? one that didn't drip with computer effects? one that had humor that people other than 14-year-olds (and people who think like them) can laugh at without feeling like idiots? one that didn't cost a bajillion dollars to make? one that was written by one person, and only one person? one that people liked simply because it was a damn good movie? one that in twenty years people will look at it and say "shee-it, Percy, that there's a damn fine flick, if I do say so myselfs!"? PROBABLY NOT. kinda sad, i think. people laugh at the "artistic" flicks put out by the French, the Brits, and the Italians (and I'm not saying they don't make bad flicks too - they do - loads of 'em!) but I think you would be hard pressed to prove how great films like VIRUS and WILD, WILD WEST are compared to LOCK, STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS, and guess which one didn't cost $100 million? hmmm... Hollywood has a lot of waking up to do, and flicks like BLAIR WITCH PROJECT help, but really they've got to start making money off good movies that will stand the test of time. used to be the only movies that would make $150 million plus at the box office were "classics" like GHOSTBUSTERS or BACK TO THE FUTURE. sure, these movies were entertainment for the masses - but they are still just as entertaining now as they were back then. nowdays even "failures" like GODZILLA pull in over $100 million. something is drastically wrong, folks. all of you seeing BWP and expecting a gross-out gore-soaked splatter-fest self-mocking pointless-shocker-ending "horror" film are going to be disappointed. this movie required the activation and use of a brain and a well-developed sense of human compassion - features sorely missing from a large portion of the populace, it seems. (portions of this message will be digitally altered by the studio before it is released to the public to comply with self-imposed censorship rules)
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Can I git an AMEN, bruthah!! (uhm.. I mean I liked what you had to say. YES! A "me too" post! Hoorah!)
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Yes, I'm going to try and speak for some of you because us Blair Witch "naysayers" are taking a lot of heat. Here it goes. Harry, love your site man (not going to be like everyone else and criticize "Ain't it cool" although they probably give ya 30 hits a week, no pun intended) but you REALLY over-did-it hyping this film. I think something we ALL learned from Episode I is that HYPE just ain't good. I really wish Blair Witch would have just appeared out of nowhere like it did for you, Harry. FOR THE FILM ITSELF: yes, I've heard all the defenses of this movie. "You don't like Blair Witch? Why don't you go watch some CGI monster movie with a few M-G's of Ritalin?!" STOP USING THAT IDIOTIC DEFENSE! There are some very intelligent, movie-loving geeks in here that DON'T LIKE THIS MOVIE. This is one of those films where I can say IN COMPLETE honesty that I could've done it better. MUCH better and for LESS than 60k (shit, I did a video project in 10th grade retelling the quest for the holy grail as an episode of power rangers, and damn it, it was BETTER)! Yes, the directors DO deserve some merit for the idea, it was just executed very poorly (hmm, sounds like Lucas). Got a problem with the shaky camera work? I do. But don't tell anyone, cause they'll scream some shit like "THAT WAS THE POINT!" It seems like a film-obsessed girl (Heather) would know a lot more about CINEMATOGRAPHY and concentrate more on the SHOTS. Of course, the quivering nausea of the P-O-V does give a certain effect but is WAY overdone. And the ENDING (AND OTHER MAJOR PLOT POINTS): people, you want an imaginative FILL-IN-THE-BLANK? PICK UP A FUCKING BOOK! AND DON'T START WITH ANY SHIT, BECAUSE I BELIVE THAT MOVIES CAN DEFINITELY INSPIRE IMAGINATION. BUT WHEN THERE'S NOT EVEN ENOUGH TO GET YOU GOING, IT JUST DOESN'T WORK. The website for the Blair Witch project is much scarier and imaginative. This would have made a good summer beach reading (as a novel), but not a movie. This is not really a MOVIE. More like an experience (akin to how Ebert refused to rate Pink Flamingos), but not a very good one.
Connor
Founder of the A.F.L.F.R.M.B. (Association of Film Lovers For the Restoration of Mr. Boogedy, TRUELY scary movie) -
Geekboy - if you're still out there - Blair Witch Project finally gets a release in the UK in October (just in time for Halloween). :)
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Ok, first good news for all us fans: I was watching a news report on weekend movies, and while Eyes Wide Shut and others did much better buisness overall, if you break it down to per theater, The Blair Witch Project outdid them all. Thought I'd mention it.
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Go read the Salon article at this URL:
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/07/16/blair_marketing/index.html.
It suggests that "The Blair Witch Project" has faked its on-line fan base. Read the article before making indignant protestations. -
My friend pointed this out to me yesterday, and I feel pretty silly not thinking of it myself, being the Lovecraft fan that I am. Basically, BWP is a Lovecraft story told in the medium of film. Like most Lovecraft stories, it's in the first person, almost a diary of sorts of a descent into madness and death, much like The Dunwich Horror. All that was missing was the gibbering Cthulhu R'lyeh! yell. Lovecraft never showed his terrors either, not directly. It was always in a flash, or in the corner of the eye. He understood, rightly, as Myrick and Sanchez do, that to show the horror lessens its impact. As Stephen King put it in Danse Macabre, when the creaky door opens, and the lightning flashes, and there's a ten-foot bug in front of you, part of you is relieved, and thinks, "Man, I thought it was going to be a TWENTY-FOOT bug." Hitchcock got this as well. Man, I'm still jazd about this film, and I saw it last Friday. Also, if you have the companion CD (which has pretty good tunes on it, by the way - you can never go wrong with the Afghan Whigs), not only does it have sound bites from the film, but it is an Enhanced CD with a deleted scene from the film, with Heather, Josh, and Mike arguing about directions. It probably wouldn't have worked in the film (it drags, sort of), but it is interesting, none the less.
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is that anyone actually enjoyed it! This has to be without a question of a doubt the worst movie I have spent money to see in the last 3 years.... There was no point in the movie where I felt scared or any sort of suspense. I was checking the time on my watch after the first 30 minutes to see how much more I had to endure. If I had a gun with me, I would have shot the people in the audience that actually were cheering the movie and praising it's brilliance. That sort of stupidity doesn't have a place in my reality. If that includes anyone on the staff of AICN, I am truly sorry for this... BANG BANG BANG!!!
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Jul 21, 1999 8:17:32 PM CDT
This blair witch honky bullshit has got to stop- white folks hol
by negroenforcer
White folks- I plead with yo asses- don't make these fools rich- Just go out and buy your own camera and make your own amauter piece of shit film- if you want to watch a honky film at least go see that "eye's wide shut" shit- this blair witch bullshit wasnt even shot on film- it's video- it belongs on americas honky home video's-
go rent "black dicks invade white pussy" that cult porno made in 1978 by leroy migillicutty- this shite was made for $56 and a ham sandwitch -
Okay,
These movies today are driving me mad. The movie American Pie should bring about a aadness in this country. The movie contains nothing, but young caucasion perverted teenagers flexing on every object in front of them. Why is the youth corrupted by sex and violence. THese movie promote being un-educated, not seeking knowledge,Look at these movies making money out there
south park- white trash honky garbage.
American Pie- All ready stated.
notting hill- Adult white trash.
Blair witch- Low cash honkies with a video camera on the weekend,
DEATH TO THIS SIMPLE CINEMA -
Say it ain't so Harry... Tell me you aren't a pawn workin for "The Man". I Emplore you....
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Tongue is firmly planted in cheek, for those of you who never read A Modest Proposal...
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/07/16/blair_marketing/index.html
This is sort of in response to that salon article someone else mentioned recently, which BTW trounces AICN even more than TBWP's marketing campaign (as if word of mouth generated by people involved in the film is a bad thing. I wish it was done more often) Lemme see if I got this right. It's possible that all of us who are cheering for the success of this film are plants. For example, I'm Sanchez's uncle, and Myrick promised me ten bucks if I'd spend an hour or two every night coming in here and telling everyone how great TBWP is, and I haven't even really seen the film. Now at the same time, all the losers who are coming in here insulting anyone who liked the film, they're really just corporate executives or related to anyone who's made a movie remotely like TBWP in the last two years and they have a specific alterior motive to see TBWP fail in the box office. Anyone who was involved in the making of "The Last Broadcast" or "Cannibal Holocaust" or "The Haunting", and all their relatives are spending their days online, bombarding Knowles website and the rest of the Internet with sheer hate because we all know that the world is listening to the pulse of the Internet, and if someone says a movie is bad on the Internet, all the sudden that means it's terrible. I get it now! None of you are just fans of movies. You're all really tools of satan here to manipulate my diseased mind because of course I can't think for myself. To the naysayers of TBWP, let me give you a hint: you can insult this movie all you want I don't care. Fact of the matter is, it was sold out every show all over the country for the past week. It's opening wide on the 30th. It will continue to rake the money in. You can try to persuade the public all you want, but the money will tell the true story, and Sanchez and Myrick will have enough money when this is all over to open their own film school. Wait until their swimming pools are filled with Perrier and they use dollar bills to towel themselves off. THEN you can go up to their face and tell them they shoulda used STEADYCAMS to make this godamned movie! I SQUISH YOUR WIDDLE HEAD! SQUISH! SQUISH! SQUISH! -
***Spoilers ahead*** Well, I was initially disappointed with the ending, as I really wanted more, but than thought, if they ended it with either Josh as the killer, or some demonwitch or a psycho serial killer redneck, then that would have put the cap on the cheese tube. Instead, we are left to imagine who and what the stalker was. I for one, if I was in a dark woods, a friend was missing, we were lost, and scary sounds were coming from a nearby house, would NEVER have gone in the house! Atleast, not without some sort of weapon. I can't beleive, none of them had a knife, or a gun or a cell phone. All they had was a compass and a map. I also enjoyed the real life banter and jokes, which made everyone laugh. It was like watching a home movie of a camping trip that went horribly wrong. It was fun to talk about it after with the group I went with and all asked what was in the bloody bundle of twigs. I said severed fingers, the next said teeth and a ear, the next said it was a heart and a tounge! Need that DVD now to see for sure! I am also loving how the movie felt like it really happened and the web site is playing right along with it, plus the Sci-Fi channel special. I really want to see a part two of this one, one that perhaps explains the search and the discovery of the gear and other stuff to fill in gaps. I can't wait for the book! I also agree with a poster above that it should have been Josh as the killer, and would have been a cool twist and would have explained what happened to him. But you would have never got me in that house at night!
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I saw TBWP on Saturday in Tempe, AZ at what turned out to be the #2 grossing theater for the movie..(wer'e number 2!!)
Anyway, the movie was creepy, mondo creepy, I wasn't too scared, however, I had the hair on my arms standing upright for 10 minutes after the flick, and a really nasty case of the willies after leaving the theater (that could be the fact that it was playing at the Arizona Mills Center, a mega-mega plex mall that is big enough to see from the moon..don't get me started about parking.
Oh yeah, after getting a seat (30 minutes early) I was informed by my seat mates that Mike Tyson was a few rows behind me...the theater owners must have known too, as they turned up all the house lights for us all to see Mikey.
I am sorry that I read too much before seeing this, it would have been more scary, but overall an effective, creeeeeeeeeepy experience, and a great independent original experience. -
If the young lads responsible for "The Blair Witch Project" make $50 million, it has nothing to do with the truth or falsity of the claims made in the Salon article. Ridicule is no refutation, tongue in cheek or otherwise.
I believe the Salon article. There has never been a scary movie, period, not Jaws (yawn), The Exorcist (a good book and well-shot film, but not scary), nor any other film I have hoped would scare me over 30 years of watching "scary" movies. This is almost moot, I confess. Some people were scared by Bambi. But the level of "sell" for this movie is ridiculous. People do not wax orgasmic over horror flicks. Over Stanley Kubrick movies, yes, over Woody Allen movies, over Robert Altman films and Akira Kurosawa films, yes. But not over films that were designed simply to scare the shit out of you. So many of you who have claimed to be scared shitless by this movie are both stooges and fucking liars. I'd be willing to bet that some of you haven't even seen it. Hey, but isn't it fun to be part of the "in" crowd who can boast on-line about having seen the "in" movie? You betcha, if you have four legs and wool on your ass. I do intend to see the movie when it comes out on video, and I might moderate my opinions then, but for now all I can say to most of you is "Baaa-aah."
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I have seen this movie. It did scare me. I enjoyed it very much. To sum up, you're a fucking idiot.
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I liked the film better the first time around when it was called The Last Broadcast. Did anyone see that? I have a really hard time believing that the makers of Blair Witch did not see The Last Broadcast until after they made their film. I don't buy that for a second. The Last Broadcast was an innovator. Okay, so The Last Broadcast was more of a Thriller and the Blair Witch was supposed to be horror, but the similarities are amazing aside from that - Check out the website: www.tebweb.com/lastbroadcast and you will see what I mean.
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As I type this, I am still afraid. Fear. It got me bad last night. I went out of my way to drive 45+ minutes, pick up the tickets on Tuesday, and then drive another 30 last night at 8:00 PM to take my brother and myself to see this movie. I normally don
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Save your money kids. The most memorable part of the film for me was when half the entire theatre stood up to exit and exclaimed "You have got to be fuckin kidding!" The other half muttered "your kidding?" Congratulations to the spin-masters in making this joke into a money maker. Once again, its all about money and marketing and no substance.
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I did it. Last night I saw "The Blair Witch Project" (hereafter known as TBWP). Damn, was it scary. Absolutely THE scariest movie that I have ever seen. I literally shit myself. It was the best $100 I ever spent. I recommend it unequivocally to everyone who has ever wanted to shit themselves. I don't think I'll be able to sleep for weeks! I'll probably never be able to go camping again! In fact, I was so traumatized by TBWP that I think I will be talking to my lawyers to sue the evil geniuses who made it!!!!!!
Here is a chronicle of my night of horror: I know a guy who works at a video store who really likes horror films. I'll call him "Jason." He has a friend who is the next-door neighbor of the paperboy who delivers papers to the mother of a Safeway sales clerk who knows the Uncle of one of the directors. Somehow, Jason talked his neighbor into finagling a copy of TBWP. I didn't ask any questions, I was just so happy to finally be able to see it, and become one of the elite who has been posting on AICN.
We got in Jason's car after he finished work and he drove for hours. I didn't know he lived so far away, or I would have gone to the bathroom first. Anyway, he finally parked his car near a trail leading into a dark forest. I couldn't believe it when he started walking into that forest, but I wanted to see TBWP so bad that I just followed him. After a few hours we got lost, but we did pass some neat piles of stones on the way that Jason explained boy scouts had kindly piled up so that forest rangers wouldn't stub their toes. Cool!
Suddenly we came to this spooky old house that Jason said was his. After he kicked the door down and we were safely inside, he crashed around in the dark trying to set up the VCR while I talked to the other people who were already inside. Jason hadn't mentioned that he would have other guests. They weren't a very sociable group. They just sat there and completely ignored me no matter what I said to them. They weren't very clean, either, as some of them stank horribly. Maybe they were foreign exchange students.
I won't describe the movie as I don't want to give anything away, but it was so scary that the hairs on my arms are still standing upright. And Heather was such a babe that Mr. Winky will be standing upright for the next month! Even though Josh - whoops, I mean Jason! - had seen it before, it scared him so bad that he just stood in the corner the whole time it was on. Gosh, I just realized that Josh and Jason looked so much alike they could be twins! What a spooky coincidence!
I shit myself the second time they passed that log, and I guess I evacuated my bowels every couple of minutes afterwards. Nothing has ever done that to me before, not Bambi, not Poltergeist, not Taco Bell! I was so glad when the movie was over that I ran out of the house and stumbled through the woods until I found Josh's car. I drove home as fast as I could, and didn't even stop by the video store to return The Shining, which is now overdue.
I guess I lost my wallet when I was running through the woods, so that movie cost me $100. But it was worth it! I don't shower anymore, not since seeing Psycho, so I do stink a bit. When the cops came by asking about Josh's car, they looked at me real funny. They wanted to come in and look around, but I wouldn't let them in without a warrant. I'm guessing that I only have a few minutes before they show up again, so I had better logoff.
Goodbye, you elite cool AICN TBWP fans!!!! I am one of YOU now!!!It is such a SCARY SCARY movie!!!!!!! -
Having read all the postings so far, and having seen the movie myself, I have one observation: There are two camps, one that is totally freaked out, and the other side that wasn't. But it's interesting that even those who were not scared by this movie are so adamant that it wasn't scary. It's clear that the film has an emotional impact, otherwise those who didn't like it would not even be voicing their opinions so fervently, even (in one instance) going so far as to accuse those who were genuinely afraid of being conformists. I still find this movie scarier than any other movie I've ever seen. The reason is that it forced my imagination into action, by not showing me what to fear. I had to extrapolate the horror, and it was created within me. Those who didn't find it scary are probably suffering from a lack of imagination, or they want to be spoon fed their fear, when the emotion itself comes from within. Too often these days people want (and often get) all the answers before the end of the movie. All the discussion in the postings above shows why not having all the answers can make a film great.
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I have not yet seen the movie however my husband and I cannot wait until it's out close to us. I am very excited to be going to see it as son as it comes out. I love scary movies and I want to watch something that will really scare the wits out of me. I have looked on alot of web sites and I am going to try to catch the special on tonight on sci-fi. I believe it is real even though I do not know much about it.
Jen -
I'm not sure what people expect artist to do. If they make a film or an album or painting. Are they only true artists if they let no one see it? What's wrong with promoting something you've worked really hard on? What's wrong with making money? What's wrong with wanting as many people as possible to see your art? As far as I'm concerned most people who are upset with the makers of BWP are mainly upset because they didn't think of it first. And for all the people who have videos they or their friends made that are so much better. Try so sell it if it's so amazingly good and stop complaining because some else got up off their ass and followed their dream.
When I hear about all the different theories that people have about what happened I get the creeps all over again. How many movies do that? -
Got my hands on a pirated copy of THE LAST BROADCAST. I watched it last night and I have to say that I found a number of similarities to the BWP. TLB was way creepy on a number of levels and it really fucked with my head. Does anyone know why its so hard to find anything about TLB. Searching for answers... I think it came out last year.
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Ok, having pondered this for quite a while now, I have composed a list of Do's and Don't's if any of us should ever find ourselves lost in the woods and being tormented/attacked by A). A scary demon witch, or B). A scary Psycho man/woman in the dead of night.
First thing to do: nDon't Panic. Panic leads to fighting and blame, and is counter productive. You will need all the help you can get if you want to survive.
2. Acceptance: Accept your situation. RTealize that creepy shit IS happenning and that you must deal with it.
3. Rescue: In the movie, they had the ability to start a fire. This is invaluable, so remember to always bring lots of matches (and possibly lighter fluid) with you on any camping trip. My recomendation: At first light, gather as much wood as you can for a fire.One Hint: Creepy little stick men make excellent kindling, and enable you to stick it to your attacker by showing them your not afraid. When you have gathered enough wood for a nice big fire, carry it to the tallest tree you can find, and place it around the base of the tree. Then, wait until night begins to fall. If you have time to kill until nightfall, and have cutting implements, try fashioning some crude spears for added protection:). When night comes, light the fire... best case scenario, the fire should move up the tree and act like a flare for park rangers, local townspeople or anyone else who may be able to help you.
worst case scenario: The tree's base burns up before you are rescued, and falls over, crushing you to death, or starts the forest on fire and you are unable to escape.
Medium goodness: Tree topples over, starts forest on fire, providing plenty of light for you to see, and a point of reference for you use in making your way out of the forest. Plus you'll probably attract the attention of local fireofficials, and burn down the witch/psycho's house, ending it reign of terror once and for all:)
Disclaimer:Remember of course though that this survival method should be used ONLY in the above mentioned circumstances, and NOT if you are just lost.
Further Disclaimer: Neither I nor anyone else on this web-site can be held responsible for any thing that may occur as a rsult of my little message. If you are insane enough to listen to my demented ramblings, then you are on your own.:)
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I will have to confess to confusion that anyone could ever have mistaken TBWP as being real. First, the FBI would have been involved, it would have been on CNN, and the footage would have sat in a vault for years before some bright spark used the Freedom of Information Act to get their hands on it. Second, the Christian Coalition would have howled when it was released, probably called it a "snuff film." Third, very few would go see it, as only real sickos see snuff films, and, as a percentage of the movie-going population, there aren't THAT many who are so warped. It would have been a controversial direct-to-video release. Teenage boys and aspiring serial killers would have been its main audience (hey, maybe they still are). Fourth, witches aren't that scary in this Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Charmed/The Craft/Practical Magic era. We KNOW that witches aren't real. When we suspend our disbelief and pretend that they are, we picture them as Neve Campbell, and Neve ISN'T scary. Lastly, no one walks around the woods filming everything when they are absolutely terrified. You throw the camera down and say "fuck this, I'm getting out of here." Anyway, that's my five cents worth.
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http://moviesformen.ign.com/news/2088.html
This is a nice interview with one of The Last Broadcast's makers (Stefan Avalos) , focusing mostly on the making of their film - but also addressing the similarities to The Blair Witch Project. Essentially Avalos says that their movie got its release just as Blair Witch was wrapping up and the that the similarities between the two are just big coincidental. He seems to harbor no ill will towards BWP, saying that they were going in a different (distribution) direction with TLB. It's just my inference, but he's probably very happy about BWP's success, since it will definitely help them pick up vide distribution (something they are currently without)....
Regardless of what the guy behind TLB has said, I'm sure "opponents" of BWP will continue to come to talk back and call it a ripoff of The Last Broadcast. *sigh* Oh well.. -
I just wanted to toss in my 2 cents about BWP. I had the good fortune to be able to the film the other night. I had heard about the films months ago from everyone's favorite movie critic Mr. Ebert. So I was aware about what the producer/director were trying to do with the film (ie treat it as a real event). Even though I know all this information prior to screening it, this movie seriously scared the shit out of me. I don't remember any horror/thriller movie working me over the way this one did. I didn't think that I would be able to sleep after I saw it and frankly the thoughts about what happened kept me very restless. When I first started watching I thought that there was no way that this was going to be scary. Then as things began to progress I began to feel the terror that Heather, Josh & Mike were feeling begin to work it's way into my mind. Then at the end, BANG, I couldn't believe what was happening and was scared shitless. After talking with some of my friends who also had the opprtunity to see it we had to concur that this is really one of the best of the year. Hopefully it will get the recognition that it deserves, but we all know how Hollywood works and that that won't happen.
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I can't understand begrudging any film its success. People who say that artists who succeed financially are "selling out" are people who never tried to make a living in the arts. Every filmmaker in the world WISHES he could be handed a paycheck like James Cameron gets, not to mention a budget like his for their next film. Jeez, you thing TBWP was made to teach people some pure cosmic truth for the betterment of mankind, for which the directors would be happy to have only a little rice for their begging bowls? C'mon, people, wake up. At least you could wish these guys well, instead of faulting them for trying to get the recognition and compensation they deserve.
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I don't really care about the artistic or marketing aspect of this film and, based on other's posts, I guess its not for everyone. All I know is that it scared the shit out of me and the coolest thing ever.
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I don't really care about the artistic or marketing aspect of this film and, based on other's posts, I guess its not for everyone. All I know is that it scared the shit out of me and that's the coolest thing ever.
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This is one scary movie. The things that you can't see leave too much to freak out your imagination.
There is a place in Ellicot City, Maryland called 'Hell House' which is an old catholic school which has been abondoned for some time now. There are many stories of an old man with a shotgun and guard dogs that guard the house at night.
At night you are totally dissoriented by the pitch black night deep in the forest and the smallest noises freak you out. There are a couple hundred (more or less) of steps that lead up to the house. The steps are so steep that a fall would be very dangerous if you trip on the way down. The way up to the house on these steps is littered with broken glass or other various things.
I've never made it all the way in during the late night. We usually shit in our pants after the steps on the way to the house on the small path.
During the day me and a friend went to the house- all the way up the steps and finally saw the entire building. We did some exploring on the first floor only and got the fuck out because of the aura in this place.
I haven't gone since and don't want to go back unless there are lots of people.
I think some of use will judge this movie and all supernatural superstitions to be fake and phony, but I believe the horrors of the past sometime linger on and
facinate and freak myself out.
sleep tight.
if you know of the "hell house" or have been inside.
you can email me at
jb2@home.com
thanks. I'd like to listen to what you have to say
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I saw a sneak of TBWP at midnight, I have to admit it creeped me out. My favorite part of this whole marketing thing though has got to be these cool 'Missing' posters that are all over our downtown (Calgary, AB). I stole one and scanned it, if you want to see it. sorry for the long webaddress... http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/plastikman/735/blairwitchposter.jpg
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after anticipating the release of this "horror film" i finally got to see it last night. I only have one thing to say about it: The scariest part of this movie was when the three of them discovered they were out of cigarettes!!!! This was the biggest let down I have had since I slept with my husband for the first time!!
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To all the cretins whinin' cuz they weren't scared in BWP and to the people arguing with 'em -- just stop! There's no point to it. Ever see that Simpson's Halloween Special where Lisa reads Edgar Alan Poe's "The Raven" to Bart? The little idiot kept interrupting, demanding to know, "When's it going to get scary?" There was no hope in hell that the little feeb would wise up and realize that, unless you're willing to open your mind and let the dread and foreboding and creepiness in on a visceral level, you're never gonna get it. So to you BWP bashers, I got a bit of advice. Stay away from The Raven too. It'll bore ya the same way. And the poetry will probably irritate ya too.
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I havent seen the film yet but I really am intrigued by the story. I dont know anything. I have read everyones reply but I still dont know what it is about!!! All I happen to be intrigued by in the short preview I saw on Tv... If anyone wants to e-mail me...and tell me what happens and if I shoud see it...please please do.
Thank you -
I heard there are some added and deleted scenes from the Sundance showing. Anyone???
Thanks
Rom -
Based on what I've read in here, I think those denouncing TBWP as [insert derogatory adjective here] are in the vast minority. They could be two or three people posting in here under several different names, especially since some of them seem to have the same kind of grammatical and spelling mistakes. The last time I looked at Harry's voting poll for this movie, a vast majority had said it's a 10, putting the ratio up to over 8.25. Even if there are several different people vocalizing their displeasure with TBWP, they're still in a vocal minority. I've gone to see this film three times now. I'll be seeing it again with a friend tomorrow morning. Every show is sold out. Does that mean the majority of the world consists of sheep being led to the slaughter? Nope. It means a lot of people like the movie. The sheep are the ones going to see Eyes Wide Shut and Wild Wild West. I'm not usually into 'independent films' personally. I just know what I like. I am going to start paying more attention to independent films now. Up until now I've thought they were all pretentious crap with very little plot or characterization. If more independent film works as well as TBWP, I'm there, dude.
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I don't know if there were any taken out from Sundance or not. I have noticed that the reviews from Sundance list the movie as being 87 minutes long and some of the reviews from now list it at 84 or 83 minutes long. But if you want to see a deleted scene from the film go buy Josh's Blair Witch Mix CD and pop it in the computer. It has an added scene (viewable by Quicktime or Real Player) of the three griping about just how lost they are. I don't know if it would have worked as well in the context of the film - it drags, a little - but it is interesting.
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for those who didn't grasp the dread and fear this movie inspires, you must've not spent time living in or around woods, when its so dark outside you can't see past the trees, but you could swear something there was staring back at you. when the pilgrims left the old world for religious persecution, i don't think all of them were christians. i think there were druids among them, and they brought something old and evil with them, and it got loose in our woods, and has been there for a long time. think about it, every story you've heard about ghosts, witches and the like take place in the woods, and there always the forest's near the thirteen colonies.
i think the ones that hate this film are the ones, who, deep inside, are scared the most by it, and hating it is the only way to deal with the fear. -
After this posting, I'll probably be made to go stand in the corner, but here goes - I felt rubed by TBWP. (Don't get your panties all in a bunch and take it personally. You didn't make the movie!) I like good fantasy / horror movies. I'm not a sub-literate gorehound and special effects creep.(One of my favorite ghost movies is Jack Clayton's The Innocents. Now that movie is subtle and scary.) I just feel that after I had read and heard all the hype about the film, it demystified the movie for me. I knew how they shot it, how they worked with the actors, how much it (didn't) cost to make and so on. By the time I saw it, I had to much right brain information about the film to have it work any magic on me. I think the film would have worked if someone would have just handed me a video and said nothing more than "this is really strange". (The film's "reality" would work better on the television screen, anyway.) At the end, I found the characters and cinematography just plain irritating. Face it, the film was too stylized, processed and edited to look as random as it was intended. I think all the deceptive hype is going to hurt the movie in the long run. Ten years from now, people will remember the marketing for this film much as they do William Castle's "fright insurance". If anyone is interested, I do have a theory on "who done it". It was a disgruntled environmental artist whose installation was discovered before it "was ready".
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Your movie sounds scary but you need to remember one thing. That there can't be an evil without a good. I've decided not to see this movie based upon the fact that I'm a Christian and I know that this movie will do nothing more than load garbage into my head about things that happen to those who aren't saved by Jesus Christ. Those who are saved such as myself will stay protected from evil like "The Blair Witch". And how can you be so sure there is a "Blair Witch"? Whether there is or isn't, it's all just works of the devil, something I choose not to get mixed up in. Thankyou for your review because now I know the real truth about what kind of explicit evil that will be portrayed and I ask you how you have the guts to put that in theatres and raise your children based on these sort of things that will just mix them up and lead them to be confused people in life. I critisize the fact that your little girl is so scared at night because you fill her head with these strange and unordinary stories just so you can teach her some respect. I'm sorry but that is just not the way you should be raising your children and it breaks my heart to think about what your little girl has to go through having a father like you.
I'm sorry to have ever heard of your movie/story because now that garbage is filled in my head, and I had no warning of what kind of immoral things that would be put upon this movie. Thankyou for listening to my opinion. -
Me and my friend's take on the tent scene it that the tent collapses becuase it is being banged on by the spirits of the dead children slaughtered in the past who have come back to mess with our young heros. The slapping on the tent had small hand imprints and the chilren's laughter could be heard prior to the incident.
If you could hear my friend Geoff do the sound of the children laughing, you would probably just laugh at him like I am, but it sounds pretty close. -
I have not actually had the chance to see "The Curse of the Blair Witch" on Sci-fi, because I do not get that channel, although, I hope I can get someone to tape it for me. Anyway, I have been reading up alot on reviews and of opinions and story line. I think that I even saw it compared to Phsyco in how it will be remembered, not bad really. The movie is suppost to be so scary,even though their is no blood, gore or anything. Phsycological effects make it even more scary because of what you think not what they show you, usually people tend to make things worse then they usualy are, and from what i heard that is what they play on. the film should be great.
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If Hollywood wants to jump on the BWP bandwagon, how about a similar mysterious story about the first settlers that vanished without a trace on Roanoke Island back in 1700's (or whenever it was) It had a similar theme and could be explained by witchcraft or something. I got a feeling, we are gonna see a rash of Witch movies coming from Hollywood soon, as they tend to mirror popular like films. Just hope they stick to the "unknown" formula as well as BWP did! Haunting sure didn't...
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Whoops, just did a quick search on it and it happened way back in 1591! Go here for a quick history lesson and imagine BWP and see if it wouldn't work as a movie....
http://www.excite.com/reference/almanac/?id=CE044309 -
Anyone who doesn't get the sci-fi channel and is wanting to buy the Sci-Fi channel special who missed it, can get it at thier site for $20!
https://www.scifi.com/blairwitch/ordervideo.html
Here is the Schedule of it if you don't want to buy it and have access to the channel and a VCR:
July 12 at 10pm & 1am EST
July 18 at 8pm & 1am
July 22 at 11pm
July 30 at 3am
July 31 at 1pm
Aug 2 at 10pm & 2am
Aug 5 at 3am -
This has to be the worst movie I've seen in years. It was at
best an 84 minute commercial
for steadycam and at worst, the
moral equivalent of a carnival
freak show. I am disgusted. I
never bought into the characters
and the only cool scene for me
was the little kid in the beginning shushing her mom. As I write this, I am still nauseous from watching the thing. Anyone up to a class action lawsuit against the producers?
I think I'm going to go throw up
now and lay my head down for the
rest of the night and hope it doesn't take me days to recover from this.
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...because what's the point if you're going to dislike every movie that has an "evil" in it? I honestly have no idea why you're here. Why bother coming here and reading a review of a horror movie, it sounds as though you'd dislike most everything in the entire genre, and the entire world of movies. I really liked The Blair Witch Project, and I will say that there have been some very legitimate criticisms of it. But to not like a movie because it isn't all Jesus, hearts, and flowers is just ignorant. What's the point of watching any mainstream movie then? Hollywood rarely presents anything with a positive religious slant, so why watch movies? I guess we should never go out to the theatre, and just keep our TVs constantly tuned to the Trinity Broadcasting Network. As a matter of fact, I think we ought to just burn every film that doesn't score a .60 or lower on the patented CAPAlert scale, becuase otherwise it's clearly just degrading, worthless and meritless trash.
And as for your criticism of the way Harry bravely and diligently helped with his sister's upbringing......well, yes I guess telling a child ancient myths and stories of evil and sin and immorality and its consequences just to keep them in line and obedient -- well that's just flat out wrong. Telling them "things that will just mix them up and lead them to be confused people in life." How disgusting. And that sort of behavior, that sort of child-rearing, it doesn't sound a bit like what Christians have done for centuries and centuries -- nope, not at all. -
Yeah right! You'ld have to be handicaped to get lost in those woods. If, I were in H, J & M shoes I would've climbed up a tree to see where the f--ck I am..know what I mean?
The feeling I aquired while watching this film was no where near the feeling of terror. The only feeling I felt was sick to my stomach. ; ( -
Both bigmclarge and Ash5006 represent opposite sides of the same coin of ignorance. Nobody brought any 'evil spirits' to America, dude. If you're so concerned about your fragile lil Christian soul, whatya doing wasting it reading AICN? Both of ya oughta get your heads outa yer asses and recognize WHY films like BWP work, when they work. It's cuz the makers recognize how the psychology of fear works. Darkness and disorientation augmented with cues meant to create a feedback loop is what they used. Believe it or not, engineers use the same understanding of the psychology of fear to design rollercoasters, but instead of the primal fear of darkness and the woods (or any unfamiliar place) they play on the innate fear of heights and loud noises. Ignorance is no crime, guys. Trying to spread it ought to be.
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Jul 26, 1999 11:36:23 AM CDT
Filmmakers hype thier own film... and I can see why... it is ter
by jenocide
Apparently the filmmakers began giving thier own move rave reviews...
It goes to show us the herd mentality on this flick.
And for those of you who thought the film was real? Do the world a favour and kill yourself.
The less idiots out there the less the rest of us have to suffer with bad movies. -
Were all you naysayers looking for the knife with the dripping blood? Did you want to see the face screaming in the night? Did you want to catch a glimpse of an old wrinkled hand dropping the bundle of sticks outside the tent, moments before Heather comes out? You probably look for the actor in black in a puppet show. The fun part about this movie is this: Its ALL in your IMAGINATION. Obviously from some of the previous postings, some of you haven't used that muscle since you were 4. Its ok, there are plenty of really bad spoonfed horror movies to rent. Hurray to Harry (This is my first time on this site) Kith Kenobi and Chasuk (you are creative!) for making me laugh. And P.S. Witches who practice Wicca RARELY brag about it. ANd the bad witches a few and far between but like any curse (Like Cher) it always comes back to surprise you. Sign me - Just a Stick Doll from Elly Kenward's pocket
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Here is part of a Q&A that Joshua Leonard did with A&E on July 13th.
Q. So what's going through your mind after the food diminished and the exhaustion increased? I know they put you in the woods with limited supplies and a lot of unexpected disturbances. Did they really put you in that much anguish to add to the realism?
A. When we signed on to do the project, one of the first things they told us was, "Your safety is our concern. Your comfort is not." And they made that blatantly clear from the very beginning. You understand that intellectually, but still there's no way to really prepare. When you're on your third PowerBar day, when your cigarettes are gone, when you haven't showered, when you've been kept awake, when you've got a sleep deprivation thing going, when you're exhausted, when there's two inches of rain in the bottom of your tent -- you've got to act. You're wiping your ass with leaves and you're with two total strangers 24 hours a day and there are babies crying outside your tents at 4 in the morning. There's only so much that you can intellectually prepare for, and then you go out and that's where you get the method, that's where you get the reality.***
I would say that sums it up.
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I just don't get it. Believe me, I actually was dying to just like it-not love it. It's been years since I've seen a truly mind warping scary flick (Shining, Damien, etc...) I had never looked so forward to a movie in quite some time. Went to a premiere out here on the W-coast and walked out feeling as if I had been made a fool of. You can give someone an x-mas present and wrap it up in $1000 worth of paper to make it look good, but if what's inside is a pile of dog crap-that's what the recipient will always remember-I'll remember the dog crap. When this movie was over, as the final scene dimmed-almost in a strange sync-numerous people in the theater screamed "Are you f-ing kidding-was that it!!!!" My feelings exaclty. Ok-kids get nosy, get lost, scream at each other, and then die. Each had their turn at being the object of the other two's frustration-cornball writing. The package is selling this movie-Like I said, trust me, I was so eagerly waiting to see this movie deliver - just remember what was inside the $1000 wrapping. jl
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Jul 26, 1999 11:40:09 PM CDT
brain dead people (like JMS POWER!) shouldnt see blair witch
by br1mst0n3
i was fine before i read the bullshit posted by some of the asses who compare blair to jaws, pshyco, or scream..how can you compare this movie to anything before it??!! a good example of this is JMS POWER
"All this talk about how the movie is scary are from people who watch too many horror comedies like Scream (Yes, Scream is a COMEDY you stupid asses who trash Kevin Williamson)"-JMS POWER
first off...now i know that your a total dumbass because scream is in no way shape or form a friggin comedy. Just because there are a few comical scenes in the movie doesnt make it a comedy, A more appropiate catagorization would be a murder-mystery type movie, since the idea of scream was to have the audience guessing "who done it" the whole time, then surprise them at the end. people with half a brain dont make stupid fuck-ups like you did.
MOral: keep your goddam mouth shut if you cant even tell what type of movie you are watching. JMs propbably walked into the theatre thinking he was gonna watch a western from the amount of intelligence he displayed.
whats with this bitching and whining by everyone about how "i wanna see the witch waaa...i couldnt see what was chasing them waaaaa" i mean c'mon if you watched the movie like your supposed to WITH YOUR EYES OPEN AND YOUR MOUTH SHUT ..**::::SPOLIER::::::::...by the time you get to the tent scene where they're running for dear life you dont wanna friggin know what was chasin them, think about it you are lost in this "so- called" haunted woods where people supposedly died. strange shits been goin on all friggin day, night comes, you hear people giggling and movin around in the woods..in the middle of nowhere!!! them somethings' trying to grab you through your tent. you start runnin..put yourself in that situation, not movie style either no firestorm cannons at your disposal or jujitsu training, just you, 2 other guys and a camera. If this really happened to you in real life who the f*** is gonna stop runnin, turn around and go.."gee, i wonder what it looks like" especially if your trailing in the back of the group runnin away. if you would great, maybe i'll go campin with you and if somethin outside is making strange noises lookin to kill us, i can send you outside to investigate, while i get my a$$ outta there. MOral: dont trash the directors just because they didnt do all the work for you this time..if your attention span is too short to pay attention for the first few minutes of the movie then dont watch it, if you dont have an imaginative bone in your body then dont watch it, if the word "witch" automatically requires that there be a old crone with a long nose ,hairy moles, and a black cat with a broom stick, then dont see this movie. Bottom line: people who see this movie and bitch about how the filmakers had no imagination and were lazy because they didnt hand everything to you in a handbasket should think about who's really lazy. also think about a small word filmakershave to worry about, called BUDGET. how much money do you think they had to burn on this film?? 300 kazillion monopoly dollars ..i dont think so.
i swear if i hear one more Texas chainsaw ,jaws, excorcist was a real horror film, im gonna bitchslap someone. When was the last time you saw those movies...yea think really hard....could it be on TNT's monster mash marathon at about 2 in the friggin morning.ever wonder why its on at 2 in the morning. well the TNT studio figures that 1)if your a$$ is too broke to afford anything more than basic cable and 2)your dumb a$$ is expecting to find anything good on at 2am AND on TNT then they might as well show you something that will put people like you to sleep so they can sign the F*** off the air. and for DAWN OF THE DEAD, the director of that one is the same loser who got kicked off the Resident Evil movie project because he wanted to put sunglasses on the zombies..oh yea, that one was sheer horror genius at work right?
and going around asking friends (yea JMS POWER! , all 13 of em) if they hated the movie means absolutely DICK considering that the damn thing is showing in over 1000 theatres, which on average seats at least 150 people. do the math with me...all you told me is that there's 13 other people in the world as braindead as you are, or at least in training.who knows, under your expert leadership they may attain the title of a full fledged dickhead.
. "I laughed my ass off when I saw a post where someone mentioned that he saw hands hitting the tent before the characters ran out in one scene. Of course you saw hands, because it was the directors hitting the goddamn tent!!"-JMS POWER
yes JMS, the directors were wrong not to hire actual demons and goblins to hit the tent for them.
Unfortunately Mr. Powers the only stupid , gullible, idiotic insecure babies are those who will take you seriously, the same person who thought that its scary to see people attached to cables pulled from a frame of shot.
Bottom line: if you like the movie, then you understood it and what the directors wanted to accomplish by certain things the way they did. if you hated the movie then you didnt. as simple as that. A lot of people out there thought it was good, but if you think you can do better than some so-called "no talent, lazy, unimaginative, ameture filmmakers" then you're welcome to try...any takers????..i didnt think so. Put your constructive criticism here and leave it at that, dont blast filmmakers and peope who liked the film because you wanted to see jason axe josh while he was fucking heather and meanwhile mike being slashed by freddy kruger in his sleep and you didnt get what you wanted. shut up, stop whining, cut your losses and next time be smart enough to watch the matinee if you're unsure of seeing a film all you cheap bastards talkin' about "i want my money back" . i hope you do get your $5 so you can buy your happy meal and play with your inspector gadget toy. maybe then you'd all stop bitchin' about how you and your best friends cat hated the movie because your 5 year old brother could've thought of a scarier movie than you ever could. -
I agree with MisterWinkie above. (stop reading if you don't want to be spoiled)...
Regarding that last scene-- he was standing in the corner, just like those children they heard about from that guy in town. When I saw him standing in the corner I got the serious willies-- just like the big wheel scene in the Shining. In fact, a friend I saw the movie with didn't really know what was going on in that last scene-- when I explained it to her, she got the willies all over again! Yikes. For me, that last scene was a master stroke and made the movie. -
First of all I would like to talk to all thosse people who said that this movie is trash. Why did you say that huh? Was it because it didn't have multi-million dollar special effects? Was it because there wasn't blood all over the place and knife weilding psychos? Or maybe it was because it challenged you to use your brain and your imagination to put the story together and figure out what happens in the end. Some of you may be challenged to do this and if that is the case then I understand why it is you disliked this movie. On the other hand, to the people who did like it and were scared to death by it...kudos. This movie is great because it doesn't have all the glamour of Hollywood. That's why it did so good at the independent film festivals. You all obvioulsy payed the money to go see it and cared enough to write about it on here so cut the crap and fess up to the fact that you liked the movie and probably will see it again!!!!!
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Here is my theory of the last scene. Mike is standing in the corner 'cause thats the way the killer from the 40's made the kids stand. He made the kids come downstairs in twos but couldn't stand to have their "eyes on him" so he would make one face the corner while he killed the other. Also i think the witch posessed Josh, and he led them to the house to kill them. He makes Mike face the corner and ambushed Jennifer as she came downstairs to see Mike facing the corner.
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First of all let me respond to you by saying that in no way should I scare you. I am not a crazy psycho that is all gung ho about this movie. I think that the movie is a great movie. Of course there are going to be some people that hated the movie just because, but it doesn't mean that the people who liked it should just laugh off the insults thrown at it. It is true that everyone has their own opinions about things and you can certainly have you opinion about this movie. I look at the movie and recognize the fact that it is a low budget movie and it wasn't designed for millions of people to see for seven to eight dollars a pop. It was made to be shown at a film festival and that's that. The fact that a group picked it up is purely coincidental. I am sorry if you don't want to talk to me because I am as you put it "scary", but hey just because I like the movie doesn't mean that I think all movies should be amde like it. It was an entertaining movie that departed from the norm and that is why I liked it. Peace out!!!!!
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*****SPOILER****I just wanted to say that I totally agree with Nebugipfel (I hope I got that right) about it being Josh in the corner at the end. I had watched The Curse of The Blair Witch before going to the movie and the killer from the 40's killed 7 kids whial he made one stand in the corner. It was my understanding that this kid escaped. Anyhow, I think it was Josh in the corner because I don't believe there was enough time for it to have been Mike. Also, why wouldn't Mike fight back, or at least try to run? It makes sence that Josh would just stand there, seeing how he has been tourchered for 2 days - I think it was his teeth and pieces of skin in the stick bundle.
I really liked the movie. I believe it was Broomhour that said the movie got scarier after they saw it. I have to agree. I walked out of the movie thinking "that wasn't too scary" but later that night, lying in bed, thinking about the last scene, I had the major heebeejeebees. I had a nightmare that night. I kept hearing things outside. I can now say that the final 5 minutes of the movie scared the crap out of me!
**Climbing on my soapbax and putting on flame suit**
Being this my first time to this sight, I have to say that it is too bad that so much flaming goes on here. There is so much name calling going on here, and it doesn't do any good. Please. Either you liked the movie, or you didn't. Regardless, it is your opinion, and we are all entitled to our own opinions. Calling someone nasty names is not going to change their opinion. **climbing off soapbox**
Have a nice day :~) -
Instead of criticizing someone about spelling the word imbecile, try and remember basic grammar. I really admired your capitalization of the word when after a comma in one of your rants. Perhaps a little slip on the keyboard? It's interesting how you take the discussion to a very base level. Now why don't you go back to your room and think of what you said. Or better yet, why don't you go make the perfect movie since you have all of the answers. I thought TBWP was a good movie but not worthy of page long postings. Lighten up, go see American Pie, and have yourself some fun!
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...to the person who defended BWP while trashing the likes of Jaws, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Exorcist (not to mention George Romero himself), I have to say it's imperitive that you smarten up and learn a bit more about horror films before you sound off. To ask where the last time that we've seen the three above films is ridiculous. Each of these films is recognized as a classic and is continually being discovered by new generations of fans. Keep in mind that these films are all over twenty years old and are still an indelible part of American pop culture (all three rank in the top five in Entertainment Weekly's recent Twenty-Five Scariest Films of All Time). In twenty years, it's likely that BWP will also be shown on TV at 2:00AM - at least I hope it will be. Not everyone is lucky enough to see a film on its original release and most horror fans can recall seeing some of their favorite films - such as Horror Hotel, Carnival of Souls, the original Night of the Living Dead or Shock Waves - on late night TV. Great horror films have a tremendous afterlife and if BWP is lucky it might be one of those films that endures year after year in the twilight world of late night televison and video. And as for George Romero being described as a "loser" (!) - I guess he would have to be the only loser who has a film (Night of the Living Dead) in the Museum of Modern Art. NOTLD, Dawn of the Dead, Martin, Creepshow, and Monkey Shines (and the brilliant non-horror Knightriders) are all the work of an iconoclastic writer/director who has nothing to prove to anyone. And as much as I thought BWP was an effective and ingenious horror film, any one of Romero's films took more thought, skill and craftsmanship to make. I can get behind defending the merits of BWP but not at the expense of classics that have already stood the test of time.
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I love plays, precisely because I don't want to be spoonfed things. But I do need to be given a hint. ///I went into this movie expecting to see "something made of nothing." (I mean, even the best Hitchcock is nothing more than flickering lights, right?)/// I genuinely wanted to like it. I'm very easy to please, entertainment-wise. I wanted to feel _something_. To be scared, or if not scared, entranced, impressed, or intruigued. /// (Notice I said _feel_ something, not _see_ something...I agree with whoever made the comment that when a director shows you a 10-foot monster you say "oh, well I thought it might be a 100 foot one. I can deal with a 10-foot one.")///It didn't work. There's a difference between viewing terror (and I agree the actors were scared, and yep, I saw that) and SHARING terror. /// You know what I've found has actually improved the movie for me? Reading this discussion forum. Most conventional reviews don't say very much. The official BWP web site is wonderful and should almost be required homework. (I don't have cable, but it sounds like the SCIFI channel special's the same way). ///And let's ignore the fact that normally a movie is A Movie. Singular. Self-Contained. No homework required./// But I really admire the participants of the forum for adding extra interpretations and sharing them, and shading my recollection of events. /// I really wish that the movie itself had done the same. /// (You can leave gaps and still direct well...that's why people still bother putting on the same plays for centuries: various interpretations are a joy, but it's still something typically decided BEFORE the curtain goes up on opening night. )There are still variables of the live performance, and of the viewer's predisposition, but I normally come out of a theatre feeling that it was...complete. Not necessarily definitive, but complete./// Overall review: TBWP as a movie: needs work. TBWP as a multimedia package, complete with discussion forum (despite flame wars): a project worth considering.///disappointed, but not discouraged in the end result.
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AT LAST! Reviews that are constructive, even if they are negative, slightly. Luke Cage, Jaws was the movie that made me scared of the bathtub when I was five. I was sure that Jaws could swim through the drain and get me. The primal fear of being prey cannot be underestimated. When horror movies use that well, and not for some excuse for a little T & A (not that that's a bad thing ;) ), then they really get under the skin. George Romero knew that too, and Night of the Living Dead is one mf my favorites as well. Can't agree with you on The Exorcist, though. This movie, truly, made me laugh the first time I saw it. My mom grounded me when I would go through the house, saying demon-shit like, "The sow is mine!", "Lick me!", and "Stick your cock up his ass, you motherfucking worthless cocksucker!!" As Michael Keaton says in Beetlejuice, "I've seen the Exorcist 67 times, and it keeps getting funnier EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT!!" I felt that Blair Witch took advantage of the prey thing, and made you feel it too. I now realize the fact that it doesn't work for everybody, but it's all about experience. I've been lost before - not as cosmically lost as the three in Blair Witch, but lost none the less. This movie freaked me out. And I like the fact that I didn't see what was hunting them. Webpixie, just wantd to say that I liked your post. It was critical, but intelligent, which is cool. The thing that irritates me the most here is when people say how much this movie or that sucked balls with little or no explanation why or actually insult a person who enjoyed a film, which just makes me get online and tear them a new asshole - I have very little tolerance for that sort of thing. But you constructively broke down why you didn't enjoy the movie, or why you though it failed. I can appreciate that. Not agree with it, but can appreciate that. Thanks.
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I'm kinda embarrassed to admit this, but... the very last second before the movie ended, I swear I thought Mike was going to turn around and say something like, "I really had to take a piss." Am I the only one out there who thought that for a split second? I guess I was expecting some cheap teaser scare that you see in most horror movies today. I liked the movie; would've liked it more if the acting was a little better. The guys were fine, Heather missed the mark on too many occasions.
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Harry Review Mad Libs
The (adjective) (noun) part (number) Wow I just have to say I spent all (measure of time) staring at my (electric device) wondering what I was going to say about this movie. But before I wrote anything my (a relative) called from the (a public building) where they were screening another new movie called The (adjective) (nonsense word) (verb)(an animal), a foreign type film which is supposedly very (adjective). But back to the movie I'm reviewing. I have to say, I expected this movie to be (adjective)--but you know what?? It was (adjective) and way more (adjective) than any movie I have ever seen. It was about a team of (noun) scientists who discover that (verb ending in -ing) with Mother nature will only end in a (a significant event). I urge everyone to see this movie, if only to experience what will surely become a classic line of dialogue: "(The strangest thing you've overheard this week)!"
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I wonder if Blair Witch would have still been this popular if it weren't for the success of shows like "The Real World" and the proliferation of webcams. Voyerism is "in" right now so BWP came along at just the right time. One reviewer said the film is like "The Real World goes to hell", so no wonder people are loving it. Of course, if it continues to draw in crowds after the first few weeks of wide release, then it must mean the movie is pretty darn entertaining. Bad movies can't survive for long on just plain hype.
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Ok, I for one haven't seen BWP yet, that's tomorrow night..
I do however, have a question that hopefully someone can answer.
What is up with all the hateful flaming?
Isn't the entire purpose of this BBS so you can share your opinions and theories about the film?
So why does it result in name calling and racial related comments?
Who cares if you got the film, who cares if you didn't?
Who cares if the director is white, black, green or purple?
People, there will never EVER be a film or book or anything that everyone agrees on. Can't we accept this and allow others to voice their opinions without degrading them for having them?
Don't you think it is time you grew up? The reason that we are individuals is because we have our own feelings and ideas.
Wouldn't it be boring if everyone loved it, or saw the same thing, or had the same opinions?
*shrugs*
That's my question / rant.
Take care of you,
~ Christi -
I am not easily scared by any movie, but this movie was the most devastatingly horrific film that I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on. I don't know if the film is actually really from the three film-makers, but even if it isn't, believe that it is--the experience will be well worth it. You and the rest of the packed movie theater will exit through the heavy doors of the movie theater, silent, and in a cold sweat. I love it.
Enjoy -
Nightmare on Elm Sreet, the Shining, Poltergeist,the Amytville Horror, Fire in the Sky. These were some of the true horror movies which really scared people.
Over the last couple of years, we have been fed a LOT of crap. With the exception of the FIRST scream, all these slasher movies have had horrible storylines and for some reason which insults my intelligence, have done somewhat well at the box office.I have recently heard about tbwp. My take on the controversy is this:the myth of the witch and such is true, but the 3 students is not. simple as that. Some very smart filmmakers have decided to take a very scary legend and make a movie about what "also could have happenned".This idea is a great one, and should revolutionize the horror industry. More movies should be made about real life legends like this. Trust me, there are more real-life stories out there that are much scarier than this. They just need to be found. bottome line--all those superficial teens that screamed a thousand times at these retarded slasher movies are gonna shit their pants when they see a movie like tbwp. why? Because the people in the movie got the feeling of I CAN'T SEE IT, BUT I KNOW IT'S OUT THERE. not some dumb guy runnin around with a knife and a mask -
It's clear from reading these posts that there is a split amongst the two camps here: the moviegoers and the filmgoers. Neither is superior over the other; they just appreciate different things. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT is a film (no elitism implied); more specifically, it is cinema verit
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I don't want my post(s) to become a bashing of other people's tastes, but for those of you who have commented on the "bad acting," you quite simply do not know what you are talking about. There was very little acting in the film at all. The producers actually sent the three "filmmakers" off on a journey to make the "documentary." Although Heather, Josh and Mike had a vague idea of the story, for the most part we are watching them live the experience we see on the screen. Each of them received separate instructions daily via a note left nearby the campsites (along with fresh batteries, film, etc.) that told them where they were to go and what to accomplish each day. However, NONE of them had an idea as to what the producers had in store for them. They were even left out in the woods longer than they thought they were supposed to be and actually ran out of food. (The scene where Mike eats a dried leaf? That's real. He's fucking hungry.) There are few scripted lines in the film and some improvisation, but for the most part, even though they knew they were being played, their fear is real. (In fact, I would suggest there be no best actor nominations simply because they weren't acting.) So real that, after the last scene was shot and the "invisible crew" came out to announce a wrap, it took ten minutes to calm Heather down. As I understand it, the producers were concerned they would actually have to get her psychiatric help.
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I had the same idea myself. He could have been possessed. What I think is scarier is the idea he WASN'T possessed, that the "Witch" is an evil spirit that drives one insane. Josh is a normal guy lost in this psychological hell and driven to commit murder. Frightening because ANY of us could be capable of such horrific actions if the darker recesses of our minds were freed of our morals! *skin crawling*
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I noticed it, too. Made sense and yet contributed to the confusion of the final moments of the film, intensifying the effect of the last image. Jeez, I'm still spooked! :-)
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LOL. I think you could have a great future as a production executive at a major Hollywood studio! :-)
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I had actually let the sad spirit of many of these posts get the better of me and composed a harsh diatribe in response to NegroEnforcer's blatantly racist remarks, but decided not to post it. After reading most of this thread, I find it tiring that there is no good forum on the Internet for intelligent people to discuss their opinions of films. This site is replete with posts, both pro-TBWP and against it, written by people desperate for a sense of worth. It is sad that people like JMS Power! and others like him feel they must verbally assault people with different opinions in order to compensate for their lack of self-esteem. In the wake of all their immaturity, I salute Mr. Dark and others who really try to champion a forum of debate, not debunk. To them, I suggest ignoring the infantile posts. All they want is the attention their parents never gave them. That is why I'm deleting my harshly worded reply to NegroEnforcer. Sure, it's fantasy to think by ignoring the problem children they will go away. But perhaps by watching closely and learning whom doesn't deserve the dignity of a reply, we can invest our time reading opinions that matter, whether we agree with them or not. Anyway, that's my two cents. :-)
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all you people who wanted to see the killer in the movie are crazy. it would have been pretty stupid to see some stupid witch or Jason Vorhees type running around. It is the fear of the unknown that makes this film scary. It is like when you're a kid alone at night and you hear something and get scared. If you knew that it was just a dog or something making the noise, then you would not be scared. That's why you don't see Jaws until the end of the film. blah blah blah
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i haven't even seen the movie, or the special, but i looked into the websites for this yesterday and it was probably the scariest night of my life when i had to walk home from my friend's house and couldn't fall asleep till five in the morning.at least these people aren't arguing whether it was real or not anymore. go see the movie and get scared. if you don't, then you've got a twig up your ass
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i'm gonna have to agree. more THREATENING things should have been put in the movie. not slimer running around in the forest. jms, u crazy bastard, u r right. but ya know something? this movie actually woulda been AWESOME if we all didn't go and find out that it isn't real. dammit, we screwed it up for ourselves. boy did we blow it. DAMN
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Tell me something, O Master of What is Not Frightening.... Have you ever heard anyone read Poe's "The Raven" ? (I know it's unlikely that you've read it, but maybe you stumbled upon a reading.) Man, is that a boring poem or what? A trained bird flies into this guy's house and all it does is says, "Nevermore!" All set to boring Victorian poetry Nothing in the least bit scary about it. But ya got really, really close in your assessment of the BWP. You said that all those people that it scared the crap out of just built monsters in their head. BINGO! And you didn't. BINGO! again. Now, I won't say it's cuz your imagination is too low-wattage to manage to fill in the blanks. That would be rude. Let's just say it puzzles me that your attitude that other people being capable of doing that which you can't is somehow the film's fault. The failure, like the monster, is in the mind of the beholder. Deal with it. But don't try to steal the potential enjoyment of those who DO have the ability to appreciate the film.
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If the serial killer from the 40's didn't like the eyes of another child watching him while he killed, why'd he bring them downstairs two at a time? Kill 'em one at at a time! *sheesh* KSamp.
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Since you have chosen to reply to my post with a little more decorum than others on this subject, I'll gladly discuss the topic with you. However, please refer to your first post in this thread with the subject "If you were scared, I pity you. Have mommy get you a new nightlight bulb." Doesn't quite sound like you're singling anyone out; rather, it seems as if you're trying to provoke a response by insulting those whose opinions differ from yours. If you truly found TBWP to be a bad film in your experience, then please feel free to share your thoughts. Some of your arguments are actually valid points, but by displaying the childish attitude in your posts you completely invalidate your message. If I offended you by mentioning my distaste for your style of self-expression, I can't help that. When I see someone attack a film and insult those who enjoy it, especially if that film has enjoyed HUGE success, then my impression of that person is as I stated above. Others in this forum have managed to present interesting arguments against TBWP that I can respect. You, and those who have posted similarly, loose my respect because, IMHO, you present yourselves as struggling feverishly to prove to yourselves that you are above popular opinion. You are free to disagree, but please don't try to tell me people here deserve your flames when, as evidenced in your first post, you were clearly looking for victims to flame in the first place. You said I was smart, so don't insult my intelligence. That's all I have to say about that. See my next post for my response to your ideas of the film.
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Jul 29, 1999 5:40:31 PM CDT
JMS Power!--RE: To the person above, you miss the point (Spoiler
by that guy
It is clear we appreciate the movie, or fail to do so, for different reasons. I felt the movie was cleverly exectued and successfully suspended my disbelief even though I knew way too much about how it was made. I found I was able to identify with the actors and, even though I knew the production team was right around the corner at all times, felt their fear with them. I could imagine what was going through Heather's mind at the end of the film and I was chilled. You, however, have had a different experience and I can respect that. I have read your post and believe you have some valid points and I feel glad that you have shared them with me. Your arguments have made the film a richer experience for me and I will keep them in mind upon a second (third, fourth, fifth?) viewing. Hopefully, we can agree to disagree on this matter. :-)
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I think that it was Mike that was standing in the corner at the end of the film and that the Blair Witch posses people to kill for her. That one local-guy that they interviewed said (about the killer that they'd found in that house) that he took the children two at a time and made one stand in the corner while he killed the other because "he couldn't take their eyes on him." I believe that the witch possesed Josh and that he killed Heather first, making Mike stand in the corner. It's just an oppinion. Oh, and I thought I saw a tongue, some teeth and possibly a finger in the bundle that rag in the bundle of sticks.
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Jul 29, 1999 8:43:38 PM CDT
THOSE WHO HATE BLAIR WITCH ARE A BUNCH OF FUCKING ASSHOLES(CAN S
by nastee_flembot
Those people that hated Blair Witch are a bunch of fucking morons. If thats the case, then I'm a goddamned moron too. Those who liked this flick said that it was to be experienced in the mind. If thats the case, the only thing my mind experience was fucking nausea watching this flick. And for those of you that say that those who didnt enjoy this flick have no imagination ,well FUCK YOU!I'm a goddamned animation artist and I was born with imagination. I can even scare myself too. Want to know what scares me?When I see a figure bobbing up and down in my darkened car just as I am about to get into it. And want to know whats even scarier?Finding out that that bobbing figure is not imagined but a real person who is trying to steal my car. Thats fucking
scary! A real person fucking with you is scary cause when was the last time a ghost shook your hand. And another thing,Someone posted that this was cine verite-something like a documantary and we were seeing people as they would be in true life, and a steadycam would be out of place. I have seen two documentaries that stuck with me-Hoop Dreams and Crumb. They are true life. They both use steadycams and they don't suck.Good bye,From Idiot to the FUCKING MORONS!I guess now you know I hate that fucking piece of turkey shit film TBWP.Or are you idiots thinking in your own mind that I really enjoyed this highschool toilet paper roll. -
The amatuer student filmmakers portrayed in BWP would likely not have access to such an expensive piece of equipment as a Stedicam. Just a thought.
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Like you said, I wasn
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I took a good amount of time and read through the talkback (its slow here at work at two in the morning), and I think there's something to be said for the sheer amount of hostility and fervent defense of people's opinions about TBWP. When the Macintosh computer came out, people loved it or hated it, but it eventually developed into a standard GUI model that almost everyone uses today. I'm wondering if this format of film-making will bring about the same change in the film industry that the Macintosh revolutioninzed in the personal computer industry..a return to basics and a reevaluation of how films are made. I don't really care about everyone's opinion's here...I think the fact that everyone has such a strong opinion about it is merit enough for me to go see it.
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well, enough of the NIGHTS of DEBATE about whether tbwp is good or not. i wanna ask you people, WHO ACTUALLY LIKED SCREAM 2, URBAN LEGEND, AND THE I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER MOVIES? IF YOU SAY YES, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT REAL HORROR IS. THOSE MOVIES SUCKED
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I noticed one of your complaints of the movie was that it wasn't threatening enough... after all... they are just some piles of rocks... HOWEVER... It wasn't the rocks, or even that someone(thing) had put them there... it was what the rocks stood for.
7 kids murdered... 7 piles of rocks... and then later... 3 piles of rocks... 3 kids murdered? It's called foreshadowing... now, I didn't realize that until the car ride home (it was 2 hours long, so there was plenty of discussion), so I think not everyone caught on to that...
I also think that the tent scene where the tent nearly collapses because SOMETHING is pushing on it was a good plot device, because it easily demonstrated how claustrophobic their environment was...
And the stick binding with Josh-parts in it was cool... not all of you may know, but the bundle of sticks is a "binding spell" used to keep people from leaving a certain area... notice how they came to the log again? They couldn't get away, and the stick bundle confirms that.
I think you made a good point about the slime stuff... I thought of Slimer -
Yep, you've almost got it. A spoof that parallels BWP could be very funny, depending on the cleverness of the writer. It could be funny to most of both the 80 percent who love the movie and the minority who didn't. But there'd be this funny phenomenon that would be more pronounced depending upon the success of your spoof. If your take-off were successful enough, there'd be this group of vocal little shits who would be whining in the Talkback about how lame the jokes were. Now, the admirers of the film would point out that such a thing as humor, or horror, is so subjective that it's stupid to denounce a movie just cuz you personally didn't get it when so many others obviously did. To whine on about the lame camera tricks or the lack of decent wit might be completely true for the self-centered lil twit railing on, but that doesn't negate the fans' love. It just means the dope failed to find the humor in your spoof. Kinda like the way you fail to see the horror in BWP. See how it works? Nah, probably not.
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I am totally amazed, thrilled and confused! I am amazed by the fact that people actually think BWP is a good movie, or ahem, film. Where's the story? I got more interest out of perusing the web site and the chat rooms. The story itself does not come out in the actual movie. I am also amazed by the fact that people were frightened by this movie. What is it that I should be so scared about? What is the Blair Witch? SPOILER...you know the scene when Mike is standing in the corner at the end of the movie, and how that was supposed to be one of the more frightening moments in the movie? Well, the people in the theatre laughed, thinking it was a prank. I mean give me a break! I am thrilled because I know that I can put together a movie with about 30 grand and make a fortune if I have the right publicity. In fact, the movie itself wont actually matter. All I need to do is generate some hype and I'll be set. I'll have a poor dialogue and story full of expletives during the daytime scenes. And at night, I'll have strange bumps, noises and far-off screams that never reveal themselves. And the kicker will be when all of the characters die in the movie but we don't even get a glimpse of how they die or who killed them. I'll just let the moviegoer, or ahem, filmgoer, use his or her imagination and make up stuff to make the film better for them. And the sequel will just be a big black screen with screaming going on in the background, and we can all leave it to ourselves to figure what the hell is going on. And lastly, I am confused as to how their can be any comparison whatsoever with other great horror flicks. How on earth is BWP scary? We don't know squat about the Blair Witch (unless you see the Web site), we never see anything that is scary except a pile of rocks (which do a masterful job of foreshadowing I hear) and some twigs tied up into a strange shape. Is this what freaks people out? I must admit, I wanted to be frightened and freaked out, but I left the theatre thinking I just got duped into paying money to see someone's home movie about a hiking trip where they got lost and heard some noises at night...oh yeah, and got slimed by some goo. You know what? On second thought, if I completely suspend reality and never ever allow even a slight recollection of any decent horror movie into my mind, then I might say that BWP is a good movie. The lesson to be learned is that in today's movie business, hype is where the dollars derive from. The substance and content of films doesn't even matter. And by the way, no one seems to care that these filmmakers copied The Last Broadcast and are now reeping the benefits of copying someone else's idea and making it much worse.
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Musta hit a nerve to get Powers so worked up. I understand, dude. Publicly displaying your lack of imagination and then trying to defend it has got to be embarrassing. But thanks for nailing shut the issue and establishing beyond doubt that you're just ranting cuz you just don't get it and ya wanna wish away anybody else getting it when you didn't. Yep, them grapes look awful sour, all right....oops, I mean, that's there's a horrible movie, no matter who sez they enjoyed it. Yessir
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I have a few things to say about this movie. First, I'm probably more scared after the movie than during it but thats still a close race. I have to give credit to the filmakers because they made one hell of a movie and didnt spend 100 million on it either. But thats the key. In this movie you have hardcore action and true horror without all the stupid ass computer generated effects. I had to see this movie alone since my girlfriend doesnt like to get scared and if she did see it she would have shit all over herself. SPOILER I will have see this movie again when it comes out on DVD but I swear if you look at the surroundings when they are running in the tent scene there is some really freaky shit out there. Im not really sure what all it is but it scared me and Im still scared. Sometimes it looked like little white faces or objects were hovering in the distance but I could be nuts. Also the very last scene in the house scared the piss out of me. I mean if you actually put yourself in their shoes like you were going through the things they went through, I would have probably had a heart attack. Anyways see the friggin movie.
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First, I understand the discussion about imagination. Clearly, imagination may allow you an opportunity to get a little freaked. SPOILER...But in all honesty I do not know what people are talking about when they say they saw freaky objects on the screen during the tent scene when the characters run away. I was expecting this scene and tried very hard to see anything but couldn't. So waht is everyone talking about? I mean if it gets to the point where you have to convince yourself you actually saw something even though nothing is there, then maybe "imagination" isn't the word. I think to truly appreciate this movie we have to speak in terms of "self-deception". It sounds to me that all people who enjoyed this movie are knee deep in their own imagination. So when do we actually get to judge what was on the screen? If we are to be left entirely to our own imagination then why didn't the creators just use the proper medium and write a book? I can't get over the fact that I was expecting the ending to be much worse than it actually was. No, I don't need to see the witch (or whatever it was supposed to be that makes this the scariest movie ever) or blood and gore. I need to see images which convey fear and anxiety. Maybe some shadows, someting, anything please! All I saw was darkness, tree branches and the other characters. How is that supposed to be scary? I don't know about other people but I cannot walk into a theatre and turn myself into an imagination machine. I want to see somebody else's imagination at work. BWP requires too much of a strecth. With all due respect, those of you who were spooked by this film are fooling yourselves. I apologize for this rant but I totally disappointed by this movie...all the hype...now I have to explain to all my friends why I insisted on them seeing this crappy movie. Boo! Sorry, just checking.
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Why didn't these morons take a few cell phones along to call for help, or more people or a gun? Also, EWS is still far more imaginative, while ELCTION remains the top film of the year (s0 far). I can't wait for TBWP DVD, maybe the director's commentary will explain to me what the fuck was goin' on!!!
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I am SO IMPRESSED with Blair Witch. Now wonder it came from an independant. Can you IMAGINE the response from the suits at Sont or Universal?
"What? We don't get to SEE the monster? NO blood? And whats this about no soundtrack? Oh, they sing Gilligan's island & Star Spangled banner? That's not a soundtrack! And the plot, oh the plot. Can't we spice it up I mean cant there be a love scene in the tent as the blair witch sneaks up on them? Or maybe they find buried trasure & she's guarding it? And why aren't there any credits at the beginning? Hel-lo? And how did you plan to market this film? Word of mouth? Website? I can see that you fellows have no idea how to make movies in Hollywood these days..."
and thank god that they didn't. -
I just saw the Blair Witch Project... I thought it was definitely NOT all it's hyped up to be. Granted, I knew lots about how it was filmed and directed, but STILL! Heather Donahue is the world's most incompetent filmmaker. (And as a student filmmaker myself, I think I can tell.) What the heck was that dialog about "It's an American camera-we don't need to light-meter?" SINCE WHEN? That and she was just plain obnoxious from the get-go. I wanted to kill her myself! The apology scene was jsut totally farfetched anddid not fit with the rest of the movie, and it just seemed really stupid. I read an interview with the directors and they said the only thing they did was set out "a few strategically placed props" out for the kids to find. Gee, I wonder what those would be? I really couldn't tell. (sarcasm intended) I just thought this movie was lame. Granted, I went with three guys-two are obsessed and want to make their own version at a local abandoned factory (their santiy is still pending) and the other was truly scared. I wasn't impressed. Go figure.
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SPOILERS below
1) Follow the damn river! - I was screaming this in my head for half the movie.
2)Remember that little scene towards the beginning of the movie where the sound guy was leaning on that big stick in the ground?
Is that forshadowing something in the last scene? -
Didn't convince me. I've been in situations creepier than this, and I've shot random improv on video that feels very similar to this. I was not scared or creeped out, but I was annoyed by the obvious improvisational dialogue and acting. I am not outright condemning the film, in fact I applaud the filmmakers for cutting it together and selling it to a distributor, as well as the power of hype. This film sold out the theaters in my city consistently, and apparently entertained the majority of its viewers. I can see the artistic merits of a film like this. But I was never frightened, just hoping for a fright that never truly came. I am a victim of the hype machine.
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Your comments on the sequels is the best part of my entire Blair Witch experience! Thank you wholeheartedly for cheering me up...;D
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I saw this movie tonight after months of anticipation, and the @$$holes behind me were giggling, snoring, and commenting on the movie the whole friggin time! Now, if you don't like the movie, that's cool. I'm alright with that. But save it for the car ride home. I paid my 7 bucks, I wanna see the movie! As a result, the atmosphere (which is basically all the movie has going for it) was ruined for me, so I didn't get to really get into the movie, which sucks the big one. Also, if you're confused about the cell phones: It was 94. The technology was different and cell phones were bigger and more expensive and not too many people had them. And the guy who said the thing abouth the seven stones and foreshadowing... good call, buddy. I came to the same conclusion.
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saw BWP tonight-- it's funny how for a lot of the movie i was feeling like, "oh, this isn't very scary" but then every once in a while it would peak out into levitating, nauseating focal points of pure terror. when i got home, i found my roommates left town for the weekend. i'm alone, and i'm scared of my fucking shadow. now, that's a movie.
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You are required to sit in the movie theater with the lights off, and imagine horror.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHARHAR..*COUGH*...oooohhhh, MAN that's funny!!! -
i cannot express my disappointment in this overhyped, amateurish, seasick-inducing piece of crap.
i have been following the buzz since Sundance and loved the website and, most especially, the stellar "making of" special on the Sci-Fi Channel. if the film had been scrapped and that special shown at theaters, we'd have all been better off.
And, assholes, i completely understand that they were trying for a "cinema verite" look to the thing, but i know 6 year olds that can shoot video with a steadier hand. if these guys were film students they would've flunked out in the first semester. (and i taught video production for 2 yrs at carnegie-mellon university)
it was not atmospheric, it was simply annoying. and, the poor sound and video quality made any building of tension impossible because the audience could not hear or see what was supposed to be frightening the characters. the bloody thing in the bundle of sticks was a mystery--could not make out what it was and so it did not shock or scare anyone.
this was a case of a great, great concept ineptly handled. a basic understanding of narrative might have been useful. the ONLY good stroytelling device in the whole dismal thing was the last shot, which was the payoff to the story told at the beginning about the old hermit in 1940 taking the children 2 at a time into the cellar and making one face the wall while he killed the other. so mark had to face the wall as the witch (?) killed heather.
i saw this with my 9 year old and she was not at all impressed. the r-rating is merely for language--- which was another annoyance. if i wanted to listen to 3 people mother-fucking each other for an hour and a half, i'd listen to a radio talk show. the fights were boring and poorly motivated, and, unfortunately, were the bulk of the film.
and the crowning disappointment was that these characters did not die of some supernatural manifestation but instead, merely died of stupidity. where was the "how to survive in the woods" book that heather showed? why wouldn't these idiots follow the damn stream till they came to some sign of civilization? east? west? bullshit! follow the water. and even if they lost the damn map, at least they should know what direction the town was in, based on where they entered the woods. just go back that way. and why wasn't anyone looking for them on the third day they were missing?
i have vented enough. i looked forward to this and was infintiely disappointed.
so, to the directors, sorry guys, but i hope you never make another movie.
cjcoltz@yahoo.com -
Jul 31, 1999 12:46:38 AM CDT
no ifs, ands or buts, this was the worst horror film i have eve
by pubicenemy
I WAITED AN HOUR IN LINE TO WATCH THIS HORRIBLE DISPLAY. IT WAS NOT WORTH IT.
DESPITE THE REVEIWS THIS MOVIE WAS NOT THE LEAST BIT SCARY OR ENTERTAINING , UNLESS YOU THINK PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND WITH A CAMERA AND SAYING "FUCK" EVERY 5 MIN IS ENTERTAINING.
THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME THERE WAS THAT I EXPECTED SOMETHING SCARY TO HAPPEN BUT NOTHING SCARY EVER HAPPENS.
WELL, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THIS MOVIE SUCKED PUBES AND WAS THE WORST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN, YES EVEN WORSE THAN THAT MOVIE SPAWN.
FOR ALL THOSE WHO AGREE THAT THIS MOVIE SUCKS (AT LEAST) 20 COCKS, I GAVE A LONG LOUD "BOO" AND I WIPPED OUT MY COCK AND JIZZED ON MY SEAT. -
i will be lost in this pool of talk backs.......but i must say...this movie works on 2 levels : either a) you like it...or b) you dont..its that simple..i saw it a few weeks ago and then saw it again tonight (july 30th).....with all my friends who didnt have the opportunity to view it with me my first time. I truely enjoyed the movie the first time...but going in the second time..i was less thrilled. I know...i have a strong feeling.and it is obvious..this is a one hit wonder on you...one viewing is all you need. I went with a group of 16 peeple...took the whle back row,.....and after it was over...i believe out of all of us..only 5 liked it.......and only 2 were not aware that the movie was a hoax..which was even better...i dont know how they manage to steer clear from all the talk about it..but they did.....and thats another thing that upsets me....is the media.....i know they are just "doing there job"...but do they have to say on every local news channel..or movie review....or news paper article....telling you that...they should just say "stay through the credits"......find the truth
now that upsets me.....i know it doesnt take THAT much away from the movie.......but......it just feels like you are robbing movie goers of ..an important part of the movie...i know u can say ..."simply change the channel"...but hell....local news stations bring it up as a spot before the commercial "coming up....this weekends release of movies which includes the mock umentary [or fake story-which every they choose to use] of 3 kids trip into the woods...."
and you dont have time to change the channel......my friend thought it was real...and i couldnt wait to have her come along till she looked in the paper for show times and right next to the show times in big text......was an article titled
"THE LITTLE HOAX FILM THAT COULD : BLAIR WITCH PROJECT"........thanks again....the cool part is....before i didnt want to have kids...now i do......do to the fact that 10-20 yrs down the road when my child reaches that "age"......i can show him/her this and fool her/him...lol....evil i may be...but hey.....who knows.....this might be that movie that u might hear about in film class in 2010....or 2020......about how it revalutionized movies [so to speak]......and ya never know.......it might become something...even though it is getting crapped on by the nay sayers [and yes..alot of people booed at the theater we were at...but when i saw it a few weeks ago---before alot of people knew it was fake--they were frightened]...i feel this film WILL make a staple in the movie world.....>>>WINKIE<<< -
To be perfectly honest, I believe the kids were being fucked with, and eventually killed, by local rednecks (as Mike or Josh mentions early in the film). Everyone seems hellbent on the idea that the "Witch" was somehow responsible for everything. Think about what the guy fishing said..."You damn-fool kids never learn"? Just a thought.
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I think it was Mike in the corner, but all of the non-supernatural explanations (or even Josh-possessed) don't satisfy something that Harry and only a few other posters have mentioned: whoever it was, he (to me anyway) appeared to clearly be well above the floor. I couldn't make out a noose or rope, but he definitely looked to be completely off the ground.
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In the past two weeks, I've received a ton of e-mails about my posts on this movie. About 85% to 90% loved the film, and 10% to 15% absolutely hated it. The haters were VERY vocal on how much they hated it. The lovers just shot me a line or two, or asked a question about the ending. I have come to two conclusions: 1. The haters, while very verbose, listed some seriously lame-ass movies that they thought scared them. If I hear about The Exorcist being the scariest film ever made I'm going to puke. The Exorcist was BULLSHIT, and unintentionally funny. It is one of the worst cases of overhype in film history, and William Friedkin shot his director load on The French Connection, and that's about it. Filled with lousy performances, with the exception of Max Von Sydow, and contains some of the most laughable dialogue in memory. See it again, if you don't believe me. 2. The haters know the fact that they are in the MINORITY on this. I won't lie, I know some people who scratch their heads on what all the fuss is about, but most of the people I've talked to personally who have seen it were creeped out and thrilled. Some of these people weren't film fans in general, but some were. This is a very polarizing film. In an earlier post I said "If this doesn't scare you, you're one of the walking dead clogging our shopping malls." Okay, I had just seen the film, and that was a bullshit statement, and I apologize. But I felt the need to defend this movie. It seems anything that smacks of slight originality here is attacked and ripped to shreds. No one can agree on everything, and this world would be a boring place it we did. But, what, exactly, do you haters want from this film? You knew going in to BWP that you weren't going to actually see anything. All the reviews I've read allude to that fact. You knew about the shaky handheld cameras, and you bitch about the filming quality, as if the filmmakers could actually lug a 400 pound Steadicam into the woods on their budget. You bitch about the low grade actors, who were obviously amateurs. All the people I know do talk like that. Granted, I have some seriously foul-mouthed friends, and the word fuck is thrown around like we re-invented the adjective. You rant about the obscure conclusion, and are unable to make up your own minds about what happened, and get angry that the film wasn't more clear. In today's spoon-fed film market, we should CHEER ambiguity. You really don't have to know everything at the end. Kubrick understood this. We don't know everything about things we see every day. Cinema can be an impartial viewer, like God looking down, or you can actually get behind the eyes, see what they see, know what they know. Or, more importantly, not know what they do not know. It's all in how the medium is used that defines its success. I thought Blair Witch used that medium in a way not often shown in film before, and I applaud them for that, and I stand by my statement that it is the best film released so far this year. I have not seen The Last Broadcast, and will keep a look out for it. If I think that it's a ripoff I'll let you know. Is it available for rent? Anyway, to sum up, good movies letely have been few and far between. Film can be a great medium, but this decade has shown us more misses than hits. We should tend to the spark of originality and turn it into flame whenever we can. The question is what sparks and what doesn't. To me, Blair Witch sparks. It doesn't have to for you. But, please, actually defend something for once, instead of tearing it down just for self-gratification. If you truly believe something sucks, say WHY, for fuck's sake. Be constructive. Say how you would have improved it. Don't dumb down. I'm sure I'll get hacked on for this, but I don't care. If you can't be constructive about your criticism, please, don't bother. If you can, you might actually point something out to us that we didn't realize, and change some minds in the process.
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Jul 31, 1999 7:31:10 AM CDT
Blah Blah Witch Project as if directed by Oliver Stoned.
by greenlightscafe
Tacky camerawork, no name actors, three teenagers with a lack of social skills, lousy editing, scenes just stop for no reason, then next day it's light. Strange shit happens. Noises outside the tent, they get lost. Control freak loses the map, but one of the guys did them all a favor by kicking it in the river. Witch symbols and stuff found. Erry. They follow the river and end back where they crossed it. Stones found outside the tent. Blair witch? Or which one of the other two are fucking with me? And so it goes on, and on and on. I walked out after an hour of this badly filmed, badly told story about a trio who walk into hell--their own hell? But we never saw these kids "normal" to begin with. It was billed as the greatest horror. I wasn't scared onc!! I was more scared in MUPPETS FROM SPACE. The ending I'm told is at the house where the kids were in the corner, bloodprints to get out. The legend was true. I wanted it to be about the witch funking their normal minds, that the witch had taken the map, that the witch had bulit the stones around the tent, that the witch killed them all, at the forty-five minute mark. And the bullshir I hear from people who love it: it's the fear you don't see, it was a great documentary. I've seen great documentaries, and this isn't one of them. Tacky camerawork, lousy direction and no script. And Hollywood can't tell the difference? No wonder I can't sell my six blockbusters guaranteed to send an audience out wonderfully entertained. And if Blair Witch is so great why was it on 29 screens? They studio don't even trust it.
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Psycho. Carnival of Souls. Night of the Living Dead. Dawn of the Dead. The Crazies. Martin. Suspiria (the only Dario Argento film I liked). Jaws. Rosemary's Baby. Hell, even The Omen. Halloween. Burnt Offerings. All the Hammer films (excluding the Dracula ones, which were admittedly silly) The Conqueror Worm. An American Werewolf in London. Invasion of the Body Snatchers(both the original and the remake). Need more?
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Jul 31, 1999 9:25:23 AM CDT
Constructive Criticism should only be used when the film is stil
by nastee_flembot
Constructive criticism? I think constructive criticism should be only used on a film when that said film is still being worked on and not after its final form has been released to the masses. Lucas showed Phantom Menace to his directing buddies before he released his monster to us.He showed the film to Spielberg,Scorcese and who knows who else. Lucas even pointed out that his buddies told him how to improve his film but did he? Hell no. He pointed out that it was his film and the same said directors criticized EP4 and look how well it turned out. IF Lucas had the top directors constructively critique his work and Lucas brushed off their criticism, then how can a couch potatos constructive critique expect to be listened to at all?
If you still want some constructive criticism then how about this. maybe the Blair Witch directors should of filmed some extra scenes after they were done editing the film together. Filmed scenes that would of mad ethe film a coherent whole. And now for those of you that say that this would go against the whole"cinema verite" thing, lets take two known films that did this in the past. The first was Jaws. If there are and Jaws fan out there,you know that the film was made up as they went along. Rober Shaw(Quint) who also writes, helped Spielberg write some of the scenes and strengthened the movie. Another film?How about Casablanca. Thsi movie scens were written the day before they were to be filmed?So maybe Blair Witch could of done this too. -
A few thoughts from someone who appreciates movies with a less than happy ending: Saw the movie with a packed house last night and NO ONE got up when it ended. You could sense the audience getting quieter as day turned into night for the three filmmakers. Watching Heather's confession hit me at an emotional level that very few films do. Whatever was in the rag was far more horrifying than anything in the "body count" horror films the major studios recycle. This film will be thought about for a long time. Hopefully, there won't be a sequel.
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I saw Blair Witch yesterday morning. While initially, I walked away from the theatre a little creeped out from the film, the toils of the day made me forget about it by night. That is, until I came home. I walked up the stairs of my darkend house and heard a little whisper from my 14-year old sister:
"Laura? Are you there? Did you see the Blair Witch Project yet? That was the scariest thing I've ever seen. Can you turn on the light? Can you leave your door open tonight?"
I talked to her for fifteen minutes or so about the movie before turning the lights off and going to my room. As I was leaving I noticed my poor dog trapped in my little sister's arms. She was holding onto him as though he were some kind of protection from being alone in the dark. Later that night (or very early that morning) my neighbors were outside in their backyard making noises, weird clacking noises that just so happened to remind me of the noises from the film! I opened my eyes for a moment to see my sister standing in my doorway in a timid position. "Did you here that? What was that? I'm scared."
Finally, I got her to return to bed. Later, I walked by her room around three in the morning only to find her hugging the dog like a teddy bear watching infomercials silently as if they would shelter her from the night.
So maybe this movie didn't scare everyone. Maybe it didn't impress everyone. But it sure did scare the hell out if my sister so I guess it made the right impression on someone. Hey, I'll even admit that the neighbor's mysterious noises throughout the night even made me jump out of my sleep! -
I have spent the last little while reading talkbacks on this forum, and I have noticed that there are two kinds of people who posted here. The people who loved BWP (like me) and the people who hated BWP and thinks anyone who liked it is a moron (and dosen't mind telling them). Well, I have one thing to say to you: go back to watching your Scream and Urban Legend movies. This is a grown-up horror movie, this is not one of your pansy-ass teeny-bopper slasher flicks with pop soundtracks and actors/actresses from Party of Five or Dawson's Creek. This is a movie that will scare you to the core, it does not rely on 'jump' scenes and 'shocking' endings to carry itself. This is a movie that is scary because it is so real. When I went and saw this, I was amazed at how into this movie the audience was, when the cameras stopped and the credits began to roll, the audience sat in shocked silence for several seconds. As I walked out of the theater, I could hear others talking: "What was in that rag?", "What was that goo all over Josh's stuff" and "I wonder what happened after the cameras stopped rolling.". I doubt many of them got a decent nights sleep that night. If you didn't like this movie, I really pity you. Just go back to hanging out at the mall and bitch about it to your friends who work at the GAP, because 9 out of 10 people I have talked to liked this movie. The only people who don't seem to like it are the shallow, whiny mallrat types.
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In the time that you've spent ranting and raving about how much you hate the movie, you probably could have written a wonderful horror screenplay. Oh wait you already have. It's the very creepy story of an individual who believes he's really really smart, because he knew that the movie was fake. Before you get pissed off again, take your ritalin and have a mountain dew. I have news for you- All movies are fake. No really it's true. If you want to sit in a movie and look for aspects that don't seem real, then maybe we should attack your favorites. I'll leave the Rainbow Brite crap alone since that seems to be a sensitive area. In the Psycho shower scene, I imagined chocolate syrup instead of blood. In the Exorcist, I imagined Campbell's split pea soup spewing onto the priest. And how many times have we all been in the ocean and pretended being dragged down by a shark for the benefit of friends on the beach. You have a choice. You can "suspend disbelief" and watch a movie. You chose not to. This is your option, and you're entitled to the opinions above. But, why does someone who hates the movie so vehemently, become the most prolific contributor to a web chat about it? Clearly you've been affected by it, to the degree that you need to spout your anger towards it repeatedly for two solid weeks. I understand that you didn't like it now. Thanks for clarifying. You've made many points (some of them actually are good points). But you were the kid at the birthday parties who would try to trip up the magician to prove that there wasn't any real magic, weren't you? I enjoyed, and have recommended the movie, with the warning that there is a possibility that they won't be scared, because I understand that people have varying tastes for fear. I chose not to think of the director's in the woods. I chose to let my imagination fill in the blanks. You mentioned that as a weak argument, but it's not an argument. It's just a choice you didn't make. But as I wrote way back, fear is an internal emotion, and horror movies only awaken the fear inside you, whether it be fear of the dark, the supernatural, the Devil, or whatever. If it didn't awaken anything in you, fine, quit your bitching. Often, I see a movie I don't like, because I thought it would be good, and am disappointed. I don't, however, make it my crusade to pan it. Get over yourself, already. Go bitch about Rocky VI or something.
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I agree with you that TBWP has created a debate between the rather large majority of people who enjoyed it and the miniscule minority of those who didn
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Uh, I
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Shh! You're hurting the value of my Sundance Promo Posters on eBay!
The rate I'm going, my rent is going to be paid through the rest of the year -- so be quiet! Blair Witch Rocks! (please disregard earlier post) -
I did not care for Austin Powers, Wild Wild west could have been better, and many films that I have seen over the years have been blah...almost forgot, I did not even care for Star Wars (I changed the name to the The Boring Menace), BUT I have finally found a film that was a complete waste of 90 minutes of my life...The Blair Witch project. This movie was not scary (see Deep Blue Sea for scares folks), funny, or anything that would redeem it in my eyes. All it was is a movie about 3 actors who cussed at each other in the woods throughout the film, and I wanted to put an ax through each of their heads because they were so annoying. What a fucking waste of film, how the hell can so many people be giving this film up to 4 stars????!!!! I REALLY!! wanted to enjoy the film, but I was led to believe it was something it most clearly is not (if this is the most frightening film many people have ever seen, then they have not seen but one film that sells itself as being scary...The Blair Witch project. This movie should not win oscars, it should win rasberry awards. No wonder so many bad movies get made, if people like movies like the Blair Witch Project they will get what they deserve (asked for).
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Jul 31, 1999 4:49:52 PM CDT
Blair Witch seems Oddly familiar, a suttle rip-off??... HELP-Me
by daily123
HI:
Saw "The Project", and was not scared at all. Perhaps I'm too familiar with the Real Woods, especially being from up here in Canada. Most sceens looked like they were shot in a well groomed City Park. However, a lot of the positive hype talks about the "Originality" of this film. Well, I strongly beg to differ. As soon as I saw the first trailer of this Movie on "Much Music" [Canada's version of MTV] it vaguelly reminded me of another Film I had seen about 10 years ago. The name escapes me [reason d'etre for the "HELP-Me" in the Subject title] at the time of this posting. The film was a fairly short Video of a family aparently being abducted by Alien Beings from their Rural Home. It was done under a similiar premise to "The Blair Witch Project". However, I did get a bit of a tingle from it, and received a 0% scare factor from "The Project". Perhaps that is because this type of story presentation only works once?! So, perhaps it is this Witchy Work of fiction that is the actualy rip off?!, dare I say? As for the scariest Movie I have ever seen?! Well, that would have to be John Carpenter's 1980's version of "The Thing" with Kurt Russel. .....Sorry "Project" but a theatre release for this amaturish home job, was not necessary, and also a bit of a rip at the usual cost of $8.00 for a theatre seat. Wait for this one on the B-Movie Late Nite TV circuit. Don't even waste your money renting it
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Jul 31, 1999 5:18:11 PM CDT
Say What you want here, read quick clean movie reviews........
by daily123
http://www.catfighters.net/movies/index.html
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Some sites to see....
http://www.burkittsville.org/
The Town's reply, with a breakdown from a local historian.
http://seattle.sidewalk.com/detail/62022
Movie review, thanx Kurt Stricker.
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=3841
'Nother review.
http://gw.pct.edu/homepage/student/TORJES29/blair/blair.html
The Unauthorized Blair Witch Project.
http://tbwp.freeservers.com/main.html
Fanatic's Guide
http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/bio/the_blair_witch_project
Actor Bios
The verdict...It's great marketing, and therefore Bullshit.
Have a nice summer.
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The Josh theory makes sense, but for one thing: there was definitely a TONGUE in the bloody scarf; and during the climax, Josh is very clearly calling out to Mike and Heather. You can't pronounce 'Heather' or 'Mike' without a tongue. What's up with that? Otherwise, I'm finding myself a victim of the "Blair Syndrome": walk out of the theater disapointed, then feel a growing fear as the hours pass, dwelling on that final image and what happend in that cellar...
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Saw it last night with a packed house (selling out every night its been shown here) and my impressions follow. Very well done little film! I tend to spook easily when it comes to scary things in the night, esp. in the woods. So I was quite on edge the whole way. Enjoyed the way everything is ok then little by little, some by their own hand and some by unknown reasons, things fall apart for the trio. Glad I stayed away from spoilers esp. the website, which is an excellent addition to the legend (view after the film not before). Some of the braindead "dudes" walked out going that it "sucked". Consider the source of that criticism then and on here. Not for the unimaginative. As me and my friend walked home thru the night to his home we passed an older gothic style building under renovation. Of course some noise spooked us as we passed by - reminds me of my terror after seeing Jaws in '73. Never going into the woods camping again.
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I just saw this movie with my girlfriend. WOW!!! Talk about getting the shit scared out of you. The idea of this movie alone is incredible. All the planning too. The editing and sound job is excellent. If you expected to see a special effects driven horror film (ie The Haunting) you will be disappointed. But if you have an imagination and are willing to use some degree of thought this movie will be one of the best you have ever seen. Great movie. It is a movie, right? Or is it something else.
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Before I saw the movie, I was told to pay attention to what is said about the hermit who killed the seven kids in the '40s, because it makes the ending, and the kids' fate, creepier. So I listened...and I think Mike is standing in the corner because the old guy serial killer took the kids down to the cellar in pairs, and made stand in the corner while he killed the other...when I pointed this out to the folks I saw the movie with, they ooh'ed and aah'ed. However, none of them could tell me,were Mike's feet touching the ground or not? And at one point is there a noose either hanging from the ceiling, or a shadow of a noose on the wall?
It's a cool movie to discuss, because there are so many possiblities...
But one thing bugged me. The old run right in to the scary house thing...I mean, anyone who watched horror movies in the '80s would know better than to do that!!
Saramom -
If ever there was a movie that fucked my shit up that hard, I can't remember it. Watching it has warped my long term memory. What I can say is that, Star Wars aside, this is the coolest, if not best movie of '99. I won't be surprised if thisgets nominated for the Best Pic Oscar. I mean, what else this year has come close to being an "Oscar worthy" movie? Best summer movie, at least.
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I only hope they could do a bunch of movie like this one. For me it was trully a virtual adrenaline rush experience. Instead of really going camping in a forest, you pay 8$ and you watch thing like the Blair Witch flick and it's like you're really camping and you have an incredible adrenaline rush for bonus. You can't ask more than this. For me it was the first time I was seeing a film made with cheap camera on a big screen theatre and it was so cool. Don't know if it was the camera but it really feel like I was with them in that forest. They are not too many flick that have done this for me.
I hear a bunch of peoples talking about a flick called The Last Broadcast? Is it in VHS for renting? If it look like BWP i want to see it also. By the way I don't care if BWP is a ripoff of that flick or vice-versa. So what. It's the way it work in America. If you want to make money with whatever you made then just do whatever it take to achieve it. The people behind BWP know that so I hope they will make a bunch of millions $. Only in America :) For people that have not see BWP yet don't listen to peoples that are telling you to avoid it. Go see it and make up your own opinions. So what if you don't like it. From my movie experience, I think that maybe 1/2 of the times I was rip of my 8$ when I go to the movie theatre (last one was WildWildCrap oops West) so the way I see it is that you have 50% of chance to like it or 50% the other way around just like all movies that come out. -
Scary, yes but the behavior of the three film makers angered me with their irresponsibility. They were lost from the beginning and then did what all people do when they're lost: they panicked. If they had planned before they set out, kept their heads or at least not wasted so much time arguing they would have gotten out.
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Let me say something about my grandparents house in Tennessee. My grandparents own about 200 acres of land near crossville Tn. I'm talking DEEP woods. Just the noise of the crickets and cicada's at night is enough to drive you nuts. Well, 2 weeks ago our yearly family reunion was held there since they have the largest house of anyone in our family. There were so many people there in fact, (over 100), that some of us were forced to camp out on the lawn. Myself included. I slept in my grandpa's one man tent behind the house. About 25 feet from the edge of the woods. And let me tell you those woods go on and on for about 25 miles in every direction. I had nothing in the tent with me except for my packpack full of clothes and a jug of water. And guess what? I slept perfectly fine. In fact I had one of the best nights sleep I've had in a while. But I tell you this now in all seriousness. THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY I AM EVER CAMPING OUT EVER AGAIN. I'm almost 19 years old and I too, (like some other poster), never thought I would see a movie that would actually SCARE me. Prehistoric, carnal fear. I've got fingenail marks in the palms of my hands from squeezing my fists! The only movie I've ever seen that had the same sort of effect was 'Rear Window'. There is a sickening feeling of helplessness I always get during the scene where Lisa is in Thorwalds apartment and he discovers her. The lights go off and all you can hea is lisa screaming, "JEEEEFF, JEEEEFF!!" All Jimmy Stewart can do is sit there biting his fist, sweating bullets. These are the only two movies that have made me curl my toes and breath a little faster. And I'm talking about a ALFRED HITCHCOCK movie here people!!! If this tiny little independent movie can move me the way a Hitchcock classic can, that surely says something. By all logic, anyone reading this should be able to make a movie this good. Most of us already own a home video camera. I'm sure many of us live near woods. An abandoned/condemned house doesnt take that long to find. It now seems apparent that special effects arent necessary to scare people, (duh), so you dont need millions of dollars. Why then arent there hundreds of movies like this? You have to remember, this IS a professionally made movie. Its just very cleverly disguised as a 'documentery' But that doesnt matter. The illusion works. Hell, even some people in this talkback hated it because, "It looks amateurish" Exactly. I dont know why its taken so long for a movie like this to come about. The 'MOCumentery' scenes in the original 'Night of the Living Dead' should've sparked the idea in someones head long ago. Well, I gotta go, I'm gonna try to get some sleep. I just know I'm gonna dream I'm in a tent in the middle of nowhere, and there are cackling witches outside my tent trying to claw there way in. Brrr.
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Ths is a film that is not nearly as good as its hype. The website is better, as was the mockumentry on cable. Those elements were a nice touch, and were well done. But the film itself was nothing special. The film had its moments, but the ending was weak. The film didn't scare me which I thought was the whole point. It really was a cool concept and the idea still has potential. They just need to flesh the concept out better.
By the way, this little indie flick is about to make these filmmmakers very rich. They hyped this film like crazy, and there is a tidal wave of tie-ins coming, so all you high brow elitists who talk about small, brilliant films not bound by the all mighty buck, you are full of crap. This film and concept is no different than what all the big studios do. What has been done with this film is no different than what Lucas did with Episode One. The difference is Lucas has money and success and laughs when little flannel wearing film students call him a sellout, while the makers of TBWP have no money so they become the underdogs even though thier film is medicore. You want to know the difference between TBWP and Episode One? When Episode One ended, most people were very pleased with what they had just see. With TBWP, most people are dissapointed. Maybe we are all stupid? Or maybe you elitists are just self important, tedious bores? -
by the success of this film. Now, I'm not a member of the camp that thinks it was a complete piece of shit. I enjoyed the opening scenes quite a bit - the film crew bantering, the interviews with the locals. And the ending with Mike standing in the corner was somewhat creepy. It was an interesting idea. It was a film I wanted to root for. I wanted to see a film that would reinvigorate the horror genre. This wasn't it. It simply didn't do it for me. Moreover, it didn't do it for the whole audience I was with. And I saw it with an audience that wanted more than anything to be scared shitless on a Saturday night. A full house of teenagers of every race and creed in the Valley. In short, this audience was eager and easy to please. And it was utterly dead to this film. No, scratch that, there was a healthy amount of laughter during the funny parts. But for the "scary" parts - nada. And it wasn't the silence that comes with "you could hear a pin drop" tension. We were bored and somewhat irritated by the whining and carrying on. And at the end there was a collective sense of "was that IT?" The trailer for "The Sixth Sense" was infinitely more scary. I think the failiure of the film for me lies in the initial concept. Yes, it's a novel idea to make a horror film out of "found footage." And it worked up to a point. The point where it stopped working for me was the tent scene. If I was out in the woods at night and my tent was under attack from what could be a witch, a serial killer, or even just evil rednecks out to fuck with me, I WOULD NOT BOTHER TO CARRY MY CAMERA TO FILM MY POV AS I RAN FROM THE SCENE LIKE A FUCKING MADMAN. The movie lacked any credibility after that. The contrivance gutted it. And so - not scary. I'm probably not the first person to make this point, but I haven't had the time to read all the epic posts on this movie. I acknowledge that this movie seems to have struck a nerve with other filmgoers. I believe them - I think they were honestly scared and not kidding themselves. And I envy them, frankly. I wish I had gotten SOMETHING out of this film other than the knowledge that it will give the whole indie scene a tremendous shot in the arm... Hopefully I will have the experience of those who weren't too impressed initially but later found the film getting under their skin alone in the dead of night. But it's well after midnight, and it ain't happening.... Maybe after midnight tomorrow. We'll see. In the meantime, I wish the filmmakers well, I hope they break the bank, hell they already have, and that's all to the good. It'll make it much easier for other indies to get their shit done. But I feel I saw a) an interesting but ultimately mediocre film and b) one of the shrewdest marketing campaigns of all time. It occurs to me that maybe I should be seeing the Blair Witch Project as a "happening" with several elements,namely the ad campaign, the website, etc. - with the movie being the least effective part of the whole. Thoughts? I thought THE VANISHING (the original, not the piece of shit Hollywood remake) achieved the pervasive sense of total dread, fear and annihilation that TBWP aspired to.
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Thank you. Thank you so much for showing everyone on this site how to write an INTELLIGENT negative review. It was nice to read the opinion of someone secure enough with himself that he doesn
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I know it's just a film...
But what I was wondering is...
Where did Josh go when he was on watch? Did the Blair Witch Entice him and use him to kill the others in the last scene like she did before?? This smells like a sequel to me. Maybe Josh shows up a couple of years later.. And doesn't remember anything. We acutually never saw him disappear right?? -
Thanks for your comments. I still think The Exorcist is funny as shit, though. But I can understand how it could be immpressionable to youth and to the religious. Seriously, if it takes a movie for you to test your faith, it wasn't all that strong to begin with. That's what all the protesters who yelled at Last Temptation of Christ (a flawed but sometimes brilliant film) didn't understand. But I got grounded when I was a kid repeating the lines at home (I can do a pretty passable impression of Mercedes McCambridge's voice). It's just not appropriate to yell "LICK ME!" while in the kitchen. The other movies I mentioned aren't easy to mock, even today, either. You could mock the outfits they wear, I guess, but that's about it. When it comes down to it, you NEEDED to see what the Blair Witch was, or whatever was hunting them, and I didn't. The scenes in Jaws (which I also feel to be almost a perfect film, and other than Schindler's List Spielberg's best job directing) that DIDN'T have the shark visible in it were moments of sheer terror. When the shark becomes truly visible (not the scene with Brody's son on the sailboat, after that) the film kicks out of its horror mode and becomes an adventure story. The music John Williams plays when the barrels are flying past the boat is almost comedic. Only at the end does the shark regain its true menace. That's why I love Jaws so much. Look, in the end, this film creeped me out, and really scared me. It didn't scare you. And I know most of your posts are disappointment, because you admittedly held this film in high regard before you saw it. You'll probably like The Sixth Sense, though. And that's one we'll probably agree on, and I'm looking forward to it. Let me know what you think of Iron Giant as well, if you see it. See, it is possible to respond to JMS Power! without silly insults. I'll try to avoid that from now on.
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Are you kidding me?
This student film has to be one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the movie going public that I can remember! "Blair Bi-Atch" has perhaps the most positive buzz of any flick that I can think of this summer. I felt (after the lights came up on the oh so anti-climactic ending) that I'd been had - suckered!
It was like a joke had been played on me! After seeing a neat psuedo-documentary on Sci-Fi last Sunday and reading all the glowing reviews I was prepared to thoroughly enjoy a good scary flick shot on the cheap I'm all for less-is-more but sometimes less is just well, less.
I'll allow for the annoying and jittery cinema verit -
Are you kidding me?
This student film has to be one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the movie going public that I can remember! "Blair Bi-Atch" has perhaps the most positive buzz of any flick that I can think of this summer. I felt (after the lights came up on the oh so anti-climactic ending) that I'd been had - suckered!
It was like a joke had been played on me! After seeing a neat psuedo-documentary on Sci-Fi last Sunday and reading all the glowing reviews I was prepared to thoroughly enjoy a good scary flick shot on the cheap I'm all for less-is-more but sometimes less is just well, less.
I'll allow for the annoying and jittery cinema verit -
I have been an advid horror fan ever since I was a little boy. Maybe its because my birthday is on Halloween, or my brothers and sisters 5 and 2 respectfully, always told scary stories and watched scary movies and scared the living shit out me at times. Anyway, when I heard about this movie, I knew it was one I had to see. YOu could just tell it was going to be a good one. I went to see it on a saturday afternoon (alone) because my wife didn't want to go. That was Ok I Like that sometimes. I remember going up to the cineplex and hoping like hell the movie wasn't sold out. To my advantage, it wasn't. I had to sit in the second row from the front though because it was almost sold out. that was ok too because I like sititng up fromt and close and most of the time people I go to movies with don't including my wife. With my bag of popcorn and soda I was all set. The movie began and it was interesting how at first there were a few chuckles and laughs like when Heather took the drink of Liquor. Those settled down soon enough. There was a Lady who apparently came with her daughter and they sat next too me. I remember about 1 hour into the movie the lady excused herself and said something like "I can't take anymore ot this." This was quite an experience I don't think I will soon forget and as many who have seen the movie have said I don't think I will be doing any camping or hiking anytime soon. This was a great unique original movie.
Emory Titus
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Last night, my friends and i attended a 11:15 screening of The Blair Witch Project. I had heard a lot of this movie and was very eager to see it, especially since i had been told that you didn't really see anything, but that it was still terrifying. The night before, a friend had seen it and was so terrified that she had to go sleep in her parents' bed. The setting was perfect; 11:15, a packed house and eager movie fans. After the movie was done, everyone left with a blank stare on their face. My friends and i debated, as i am sure most people did, on certain things we saw. This was my conclusion: the thing in the cloth was intestines, because a local had mentionned something about the tearing out of intestines; at the end, the person in the corner was Mike, standing just like the legend said. I do not think that Josh is the killer, even though it did sound like him screaming in the house. The movie was so realistic that my friends, at first, thought that it was real footage they were seeing. The disclaimer in the closing credits denied their beliefs. I loved this movie and hope it will be recognized come Oscar time. -
My first post about BWP was censored and I'm so glad. I was sucked in to believing it was real and wrote a diatribe against snuff films. I did some more research and realized it is a work of fiction and I learn a bit of how it was made. Saw an interview with Micheal on a talk show. Then I was really to go see it. It was a good flick and a nice idea but I left wanting more. Maybe I am just a ghoul, but I little "Night of the Living Dead" with some butcher shop leftovers at the end would have gone a long way. I was missing the Big Payoff. It was obivous to me that Mike was staring in the corner as instructed by the Evil One, perhaps control by the spirit, or maybe is he was just that scarced. I did want to see him pay to throwing away the map. The other thing that bothered me is that these three did not seem to be very friendly to each other. It was like Heather hired them and they had met for the first time. I wanted them to be real friends and try to work together more - sure, there needed to be conflict, but so damn much. Maybe, I find that too real with some of the assholes in my life. And finally, I was very empress with Hi-8 video or maybe it was the transfer process. Video never looked so good. I got to were I hated it to switch to 16mm, and I truly am a film over video bigot. Video has arrived. So, to some it up, good movie, writing could have been better. GREAT HYPE - the advertising campaign coup of the 90's!
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Aug 01, 1999 5:18:06 PM CDT
Scariest piece of cinema since I was 6 years old watching Death
by mobyjello
Take it from someone who loves the genre, The Blair With Project is the scariest film I've ever seen in my life. It's one of the only films I've ever seen that I can honestly describe as being disturbing. The last time I was even close to being this scared must've been when I was 6 years old sitting in front of the tv watching Bob Clark's Death Dream. The first 15 minutes of When A Stranger Calls were scary as hell too. Also, the Blair Witch concept is very similar to some of the stuff in Cannibal Holocaust. The only reason I mention this is because no one else has. They might share concepts but that's where it ends. Mario Bava's the greatest horror director of all time but he never created anything like The Blair Witch (Rabid Dogs is incredible! See it now!). I'm sure Bava would've fallen in love with the beautiful Blair Witch.
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There's a number of things about TBWP I want to comment on. 1) the hype is just way out of line. no way is this the scariest movie ever. 2) despite one of the comments upthread, there's not just a few of us naysayers constantly reposting negative comments. The mood in the full house I saw it in was definitely one "huh? Is that all?!!!" Just because a movie gets a high rating on AICN and Harry raves about it doesn't mean much. Hell, I'm not sure Harry has ever not liked a movie, especially if he gets to see it first. 3) I was dissappointed, but not because I thought it was amateurish. I get the hand held camera stuff and the crabby audio. I just thought there was too much yapping during the day, not enough after dark, not enough plot development, and too much stupid behavior. Isn't that what horror buffs always complain about - that the people in the movies always do exactly what they shouldn't? I thought we were living in a post-Scream world. 4) They may not have stolen their idea from "The Last Broadcast" but they certainly stole their website design, right down to the white lettering on black. Check it out. 5)I don't believe the hype about improvisation. No way were that last scenes not laid out. 6)Finally, I'm not saying this because I think it completely sucked. I had a mild case of the heeby jeebies last night! But for anyone to say that it's not flawed and not a disappointment, there lying to themselves.
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hi. if anyone has a tape of the sci fi special, would love to buy it. i don't have cable (sad i know) so was unable to watch it. thanks
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I was scared by this film. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I find it odd that people are attacking the writer/directors saying that they didn't finish a script, that they were unimaginative and didn't really "direct". I think making any movie is an inherently collaborative process. If only because it has to go through so many people, first the writer, then the director, the actors... its never completely a one-man show and thank God for that. So they chose a directing style that relied more on the intution and improvisational skills of their actors? That's a worthy and noble attempt at getting realistic feeling perfromances. I was fairly unimpressed by some scenes (notably the "I can see why you like this camera so much" scene between Josh and Heather.) but in the end, I think that the actors were up to the challenge. I also think "I'm disappointed" is not really a valid review of a film. That's a response to your own expectations and not really viewing the film on its own merits. I think it's wise to see a film at least twice if your initial response is "I'm disappointed". I think that Blair Witch is a fine horror film and certainly a groundbreaking film in terms of not showing us anything. Too often we're subjected to too much literal reality in movies and not enough subjectivity. The audience can then bring their own baggage to the movie and contribute more than just a mouthful of popcorn (to paraphrase Raymond Chandler).
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When my bestfriend saw BWP, she told me it was so scary she almost left the theater (and my bestfriend isn't scared easliy, she can watch the Exorist by herself at night). I was intrigued, finally a movie that scared even her! So I decided to do some research into BWP. I went to their website, www.blairwitch.com. Then I went to www.haxan.com. There are two links on their page, one goes to the Sci-Fi Channel, very cool site, I highly recommend, if you Flash - Shockwave, picking the one that says FLASH version. The sounds alone scared the S*%t out of me. Now thoughly terrified, I went back to Haxan.com and clicked on the other link to www.burkittsville.org. I found out what really happened was... well of course I'm not going to tell you because you just have to read it for yourself, especially the FAQ section in 'Just the Facts, Ma'am. And I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to be fair, the people of Burkittsville put a lot of time and effort into their website, it deserves a look! Plus I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, we should all be able to draw our own conclusions!
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Well people, I gotta hand it to you... I saw BWP on Friday (30th), and, I could barely walk back to my car, I was that scared (didn't help that my car was parked on a nice backstreet nestled in the dark trees)... But, by the next day, I had gotten over it, and I was fine... even managed to sleep with the light off :-)... but, now, thanks to hearing everyones theories, I am just as freaked out as I was before.
Anyway, here is something I haven't seen yet (although I haven't read the entire forum), and that is an explanation for the piles of rock: the day before they see their 3 piles of rock, they see 7... i.e. the 7 children killed in the 40s... therefore, the 3 piles of rock represent them... thats why that scene creeped me out, and thats why I thought it was more than the directors looking to convince the three that there was someone out there...
This movie scared me more than any other movie I've ever seen... -
Excellent anti-Hollywood film,
everybody in the audience wanted to
know if it was a real snuff documentary. Thanks to the media no one was entirely sure. But the
give away was the planes overheard while they were filming, counted at least 6 of them, 5 props and one jet. The characters never jumped to joy by this nuisance noise. One thing for sure, the press hyped this movie by not identifying its true nature, may be they were just flexing their muscles just to see how much fabrication they can have the public believe, the press is not so free. Big brother woke up for a test marketing drive. -
Many of you have said it sucks, I can see why you can say that. If you look at it as a regular movie, then yeah it sucks. Crappy camera work, lousy special effects, lousy dialogue. But if you think that, you just don't get it. This was somethign new, something different. Why do we need a world with Nightmare on Elm Street part 27? Are you people so afraid of change? SPOILERS I admit if you saw this movie with any knowledge of what it really was, then yes you lose something. I saw it knowing it wqas fiction, and I regret it. I hate the fact that I could not appreciate what the creators wanted me to see. They wanted us to go in with a clean slate, our minds open to possibilities. Under those conditions, the movie takes on an amazingly different role. With that freedom your mind can be open to the possibility that it was real. You can feel the three's terror. You can have the crap scared out of you. I saw it with a mixture of people who knew it was fake, and those who had no clue. Those who did not know were so disturbed by it. Those who knew thought it sucked. I knew the truth and believed it was just brilliant./ I could not be scared by it, but I can imagine what I'd feel if I did not know the truth. I could appreciate what they set out to do. For those of you who pan the writing and acting, remember the three had no script, everything they went through they experienced in some way. They did not know where they were. They were sleep deprived. They were hungry. They were sick of each other. And most off - they were scared. Anyone would be witch or not. Everyone has been scared before somewhere. I've been scared in the woods, hell i've been scared in my own room, fear of the unseen lives in us all. This movie simply tried to convey that. So yeah if you think of this as your run of th emill Matthew Broderick movie with controlled conditions and computer controlled cameras (though if it had Broderick it would probably have worse acting), then yes this was a poor film. If you are capabable of recognizing this film for being something else, then give it the credit it deserves.
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I saw this movie, and even though it was probably the most overhyped I have ever seen, it was still awesome. It wasn't really that scary, but it was fucking cool. It was funny, and afterwards me and my friends were confused what had happened. What was with the body, I guess Mike's. I thought he was taking a piss at first. What I really want to know is how someone could rank it a "1" so if you did email at skibum797@aol.com and tell me why.
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i've been waiting since sundance to see this film. this film has been my star wars. for the past few months, the main subject on my mind has been The Blair Witch Project. so when it finally came to a theatre near my this friday, i stayed up all night to catch the first showing. and it scared the shit out of me. now, for some reason, some people have been going around saying that the movie is not scary, that is crap. chalk it up to what you will, be it the destrusction of people's imagination by constant media bombardment or just plain stupidity, but do please explain to me this: if the film wasn't scary, then why have i been sleeping during the day lately? why did my friend and i stay up all night at the gas station he works at, in the middle of nowhere, freaked out of our minds, hmmm? riddle me that, batman.
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Scared? Yeah, that my popcorn would run out, and I'd have to watch these moronic kids wander around lost some more without the aid of a crunchy snack to cover the sound of their awful acting. Yeah, the verite style is catchy for a bit, and then you gotta like that 16mm sepia tone -- but pretty as it looked, there was always far too much of the same thing. Too much dull forest scenery. Too much boring repetition: hike around, see some stones, come upon a bit of what looked like children's craft projects hanging in the tree, hear some crap in the night -- repeat until dead. If it ever *threatened* to get creepy, it soon became apparent that this cheap-o effort had neither imagination nor money to actually give its supernatural forces a face. And if you're satisfied with that, super for you; but I'd prefer the authors to do a bit of imagining before they try to tell their story. Where I sat in a theater of snickering movie goers, we largely felt ripped off or simply amused. "Is that ALL?" someone could be heard saying immediately as the credits came up, and my own thoughts were: what a flaming turd! Seems fitting that the finale is a classic dunce image -- standing in the corner, watching nothing, the epitome of blah.
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you know, for a first movie, they did a damn good job at playing their cards right while working within the confines of hollywood's unspoken system. hollywood is a shitty place. it spews out crap like the phantom menace and wild wild west every freakin month. to be able to see what is essentially a student film on the bigscreen at a gigaplex is no small feat. they had a great idea, filmed it the best they could, and carried it to completion, marketing and advertising wise. give them some credit, whether you like the movie or not. they didn't fall into trap of of making 1.) a sequel...or 2.) an update of an old tv show or movie or 3.)a passe "witty" and "clever" dialogue driven boring movie. now they are getting paid to do what they like to do because they got *noticed*. just because all the established names in hollywood can go and make a shitty movie and still have a job the next day has jaded everyone to the point that off-the-beaten-path concepts are scrutinized beyond belief. be happy in the fact that it is not impossible for one of us aint-it-cool-news reading movie fans made it big doing what we would all love to do.
oh, and here is how i see the lines drawn on who likes the BWP. people that *read* fiction often. people that don't. -
I'm so glad Dee and I went in the late morning instead of later at night to see this thing. The trip back from Indianapolis to Columbus would have consisted of fifteen minute stops to check the backseat of our car to make sure no one was back there....
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm joining my wife downstairs. The attic I keep my stuff in has grown just a little more terrifying....
Mark C. Dooley
De Boss of the Whoosier Network
Indiana's Doctor Who Connection -
Here are just a few thoughts I have after reading all of alk back thus far. First off we must remember everyone is entitled to their opinion. Second just because something is not scary doesn't mean its bad. I personally believe this was not as much a horror movie, but more of a thought provoking film. After all look at all the posts here. Third - JMS makes me wonder. Who spends 2 weeks berating a film and attacking others. Have some theories. Most likely it is someone with a lot of time on his hands, little social life, and something to prove. i.e. the faceless internet can make one a badass. Perhaps he/she might be a plant from a rival studio, after all Salon magazine has all but said that AICN ain't nuthin but the stagin place for cheap studio marketing..... but back to the movie. Many people have asked why they didn't follow the creek ? I agree that this might've been the smartest thing to do, considering humans traditionaly settle around water... they were tired, hungry, and at odds with each other on the brink of madness.... rational thought wasn't going on at the time. And besides who knows how deep they were in the woods. Someoen said that it would most likely empty into the Chesapeake bay, but who knows through how many sub systems and waterways they would have to follow. Though they should've they didn't and even if they did well there were no guarantees. Its almost like saying "Well they were in Maryland close to the coast- they should have walked East, eventually they would hit the ocean..." if they did not die of exposure .... or witches as the case may be ...
Okay next point. Was it scary? Who knows - Who cares! Some people are scared of heights, some are scared of snakes, some were scared of this movie. Let people have their own fears. You are not better than someone else because you were not scared by this movie. That same person could be mocking you because you have a fear of crossing a bridge, or walking into a closet. We all have weaknesses and fears. And sometimes the truth is the scariest of all. Sure they were dealign with something in the dark in the movie, why not light a fire? Sometimes people are more scared by looking at something. The term I believe is "seeing is believing." Why is it a human instinct to close our eyes upon stumbling across something frightening/disturbing?
One thing about the hype. Well what's wrong with hype like this. There is a whole industry based on hype - it's called advertising. At least this was cleverly promoted via the tv - web- book - word of mouth campaign. I don't care if the directors posted fake posts or what not, at least I am not at Pizza Hut drinking soda through a Heather Donahue cup topper. Any of you upset about the hype, I kindly direct you to one George Lucas and thats all I ahve to say about that. Okay guess thats it for now. Was it scary ? Decide for your self... Was it a good movie? Decide for your self/ I was not scared during the movie, but thought it accheived its purpose. I knew it did that when a friend of mine, the least likely to be scared by a mere movie had to leave the theater at one point because he was so distubed (he did not know it was fiction btw). As for me, as I said before I knew it was fiction. I could always say to myself "it's just a movie" I did that several times. Did it creep me out? I suppose. Well its 3:18 am right now. For some reason I am reluctant to sleep. I am visiting my parents and will be sleeping in a room with a big plate glass window that faces straight into the woods which are a mere 30 feet away. Is the movie under my skin? Well I've seen 2 commercials for it out of the corner of my eye while reading these posts and noticed the hair on my arm raise a little, and for some reason the ticking of the clock is quite disturbing tonight. I wasn't afraid but I was affected. That is the mark of a good movie to me, or good anything for that matter. If you can take part of it with you after the house lights come on, then perhaps the movie acceived some purpose, wether it is deemed "good" or "bad" Thats it for real. Sorry about the typos and lack of grammar. Its late and I'm lazy.
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Firstly, and I cannot stress this enough, if it is not too late, save yourself from the Sci-Fi Channel special; having seen the special will ruin the mood the fil attempts to create for you, having seen the story of its three protagonists unfolded so completely before you. If you really want to see this special, please tape it and watch it after viewing the film. It is rather well-done but should NOT be seen before the film.
***Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers abound in the following sentences. Please do not read if you have not seen the film.*** I finally got to see this piece of film today. Though my feelings about it were initially mixed, not having understood the ending until a companion with whom I saw the film reminded me of the description of the killings in the 1940's, I can now definately say that I liked it. A lot. One thing that I noticed at the theatre where I saw the film was that there was a great deal of laughter among the other audience members; I would not be surprised if these folks, who somehow derived humor from the situations presented, would say that they did not like it. If you were to ask me, I would say that those who did not enjoy the film were not watching it in what I call, by my estimation, the proper way to watch it, which is to put yourself into the "shoes" of the three young protagonists; whilst watching, try to imagine what it would be like to be stranded, hungry, and cold with these people; try to imagine what it would really be like to hear and see these things at night; if you can successfully do this, I think that you would find the film to be much scarier, at least, and would not find the expelitive-filled arguments of the aformentioned, doomed protagonists amusing at all. Also, many persons have complained that the film lacks some large, crash-bang big-boo cataclysmic ending; firstly, within the context of the fiction of the film, such an ending would not make sense; the 3 students' film is described as "mysterious"; it is supposed to have provided "no hard evidence" to the police; I daresay that it would be treated as such if, at the end, it contained graphic depictions of gory, terrible murder. Secondly, with a little thought, this ending is far more frightening than such an ending as is described at then end of the previous sentence; you hear Heather Donahue, who you have gotten to know quite well over the past hour-and-a-half, screaming as she is most likely (if you remember the Blair Witch's preferred method of killing) disemboweled, with poor Mike, having been compelled by fear or some other force, standing in the corner, awaiting his turn to recieve a similar treatment. This ending, it seems to me, is more gruesome than a graphic depiction of murder would have been, for it encourages the viewer to picture what the Witch is doing to Heather. (especially since it seems to be taking quite a long time) Thirdly, finally, and lastly, a big, flashy, "scarier" ending would not be proper for this film; the ambiguous ending, along with the other questions the film raises, keeps it in the viewer's mind, where it festers, sending little tendrils of dread throughout the viewer's mind and inspiring late-night fear and paranoia, of the kind many of us experienced as small children, hiding under our bedcovers or pretending to be a corpse, in order to avoid the attention of some unknown beast or specter lurking inside of our closets, or pacing back and forth in the hallways outside our rooms, checking each doorway for vulnerable signs of life. These are my rambling, and badly organized thoughts on this film; blessings should be bestowed upon this forum for providing me a place to express them, and slack should be cut for me, the author, as it is in the whereabouts of 4 A.M. here, and I find myself partially filled with ideas about the film I wish to bring to light before daybreak, and partially wishing to remind myself that I am restlessly attempting to sleep with my room fully illuminated and jumping at every tiny noise in my house because I am simply experiencing the side-effects of a really scary movie, and not because some terrifying appirition lurks somewhere in the vicinity of the kitchen, filled with new ideas on how to do away with me, having lingered in my doorway and read this very posting as I typed it. -
O! My word! I honestly did not realize just how badly organized this above posting of mine really was. I fear that a great deal of the purpose of the posting was lost due to my bleary-eyed late-night confusion. Please, while reading it, try to imagine that the ideas inside of it are linked together properly, and that you clearly understood what I was trying to say.
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O.K. maybe not the worst, but definitely one of the worst. I was really excited about seeing this movie, so I went into this with the intention of really liking this movie. Instead, I was treated to the most boring two hours of cinema I have ever seen, two hours of my life i will never get back. And I know I am not alone. I saw this with a big audience and a number of people walked out of it. Those that stayed pretty much laughed through the whole thing. No screams, no heavy breathing, no nothing. It wasn't even engaging enough to keep the people around me from talking to one another. This idea sounds good in theory, but put into practice... All it amounts to is way too many shots of either the ground, of trees, or of pitch blackness. The main characters are so obnoxious that you are praying that they will die in an appropriately gruesome manner. Well, Mike did kind of grow on me toward the end. All these three do is scream at one another (We're lost! We're not lost! We're lost! O.K. we're lost! It's your fault we're lost!) And, I'm sorry, but I do not find piles of rocks or stick men creepy or scary. Let me end by asking this question. You're out in the woods, you're lost, you have the feeling something is in the woods with you and means to do you harm. Would you STILL CONTINUE TO SHOOT HOME MOVIES WITH THE THREAT OF YOUR OWN DEMISE HANGING OVER YOUR HEAD? And don't give me that, "You have no imagination." argument. My imagination is fine. It's this ridiculous movie that has the problem.
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Before anyone jumps on this, I didn't like this movie, and if this by itself is going to piss you off, you don't have to read on. And before you go insulting intelligence about movies, I believe Godzilla is the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen and I'm still trying to get over The Haunting. Now that that is out of the way, on to the movie. I don't understand how anyone could be genuinely scared about this. While watching this, I saw it as being a bit creepy, and thought that this would be frightening had it happened to me, but this did not happen to me, and it also didn't frighten me. Also, I thought that the emotions that the characters showed throughout the movie were not genuine. After, say, 3, 4, 5 days of this thing coming to you in the night and doing this, I felt 2 feelings would go through at least one of the characters. 1. Forget this 'sleeping' at night, I'm going to walk until a) I find a way out, b) I'm killed by this thing that is attacking us, or c) I simply fall asleep on my feet. With that much happening to you, I can'
t see how one of them would not even argue about putting up camp for the night. The other thing that would happen would be to get just a little confrontational. These characters seemed a little too passive in accepting what was happening to them. Not once did I see any sort of resistance to the witch or whatever it was. (This didn't have to come in a "What are you waiting for" similar to I Know What You Did Last Summer 2, but at least should have manifested itself somehow. Now that I think of it, would any one person, let alone the 2 of them, go into that house without some sort of a weapon? Even a branch in their hand would have made it more believable. Oh, well, I'm through ranting about this right now. -
I didnt get to see the movie till the end of July. But the theaters that was showing it, all the showings were sold out. I knew that it was all fictional before going to see the movie, and I was not disapointed in the least. I did have a friend believe that the whole thing was real (not the witch part cuz he dont believe in ghosts and such, but the part about 3 film students getting killed when they went looking for something in the woods he DID believe) He has only seen bits and pieces of the movie as of yet from a bootleg tape, but was quite upset to findout that it was all bogus. That the students were just actors and they are alive and well liveing out their lives as I type. He feels like he has been cheated in a way. (thats why I didnt want him to findout till AFTER he saw the movie) Oh well. I guess some people would prefer to believe the story to be real and actually had happend, then findout that it wasnt real only after they see the film. I think I would have been disapointed if I believed it to be real the whole time. I enjoyed all the hype the movie got before I got to see it. I only learned about the film about 3 weeks before it showed here in town. Some MTV program was interviewing the film makers about the concept. I barely got the name of the movie before the segment was over. I immediately went to www.blairwitch.com to findout more. I was delighted to learn about the legend of the Witch and all the supposed facts about the story. I cant wait to see the Sci-Fi channel special, with interviews and the such that airs later today. (gonna have a buddy tape it for me while I'm at work, then he is gonna bring it to me here at work) :o) I knew that the 3 would not be makeing it out of the woods, but still in the back of my mind, wondered if maybe there was a slight chance they could. :o/ Though I knew the ending (like I knew of Titanic *The Boat Sinks*) they would die/disappear, I was still on the edge of my seat till the end. Being pregnant I thought I would get sick from the camera movements, but didnt. (though my husband did get a headache from it) I sorta had to explain the ending to him and the others that had gone with me to the movie. Though I believe if a person takes notice to the interviews at the begining they could figure it out on their own. Well I'm sure I'll remember more once I've sent this. Hope everyone who sees this movie keeps in mind that it is ment to be entertainment. :o) Enjoy it for what it is, and please stop bashing it.
Later dayz,
TrueXena: Royal Amazon Trouble Maker! -
Aug 02, 1999 6:19:45 AM CDT
Wholly Black Jesus in the sky. Worst honky amature think Ever pr
by negroman
Saw this thing in a theater full of my fellow negro's, o weeeeee, finna be some rioting going on. These people came expecting to see some white folks killed on screen. They almost killed the manager demanding their money back. Now to all these white folks who say that this Video let their immagination work, look here, you're watching a movie. If you want your imagination to fill in the blanks try listening to some of the classic radio programs of the past , like "Suspense" "The mysterious travler."
This Video had no immagination and was about as original as Puff Daddy at the Grammy's. I don't know who all these white folks are buying tickets enabling this piece of mutafucking shit reap almost 30 mill, something is wrong when 3 white kids can run around in their backyards with a $500 video camera and be called great filmmakers, and it's not a film, the thing is a home Video.
NO script, one week, no editing, not sound effects, addmission price should have been circa 1939 price, like .35 cents.
I've seen better camera work on porno movies.
If my ass was getting chased in the woods, and you ain't gona be finding a brother in the woods anytime soon, First thing i would do is drop the camera and start kicking some muthafucking ass like i was bruce leroy with an overdue car note.
Don't spend your hard earned white money on this shit, go watch "Deep blue sea" or something, at least you'll get to see some white folks get eaten up by sharks, now that's entertainment.
And to all thoes people who call big budget movies low down diggity. Movies are the entertainment of the masses,you want deep character and story development, pick up a Proust novel or "Roots" by Alex Haley.
Movies should take full advantage of the 45 foot screen, THX sound, special effects and all that jazz.
Most fools spend $9 buck to get their chest peeled back in a fantasy world.
A Video with bad camera work and bad audio belongs on TV, where it can be seen for free.
go watch "Eyes Wide shut" if you want to be left in limbo with your imagination to do the work.
And to anyone who thinks this Video should even be nominated for best picture needs to be dropped off in New Orleans buck naked with a sign that says " I hate niggers" tatooed on they back. -
I didn't think that it did. But I understand Mike's state of shock better now. I guess I shared it. I left the theater, disappointed in the film and when on my merry little way thinking I was unaffected. But that night....as I lay in bed trying to go to sleep, in the state inbetween called hynogoic or something, I WAS Mike. I WAS standing in the corner, crying, hearing Heather's screams and felt splats of her blood warm on the back of my neck and head .... omigawd sweetjesusinhell ... I had to get up and down a couple of shot of Cuervo to get to sleep. The file DID get to me ... Are we having fun yet? Is this supposed to be fun? It is too real. I don't know if I like being this creeped out by a film.
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First off, this is my first message to AICN. I have been a diligent visitor to this website for almost a year and enjoy everyones input. I am not a hardcore movie buff... but I have seen a lot of movies in my life. I am usually disapointed. I like movies that make you think. In my opinion, CGI and special effects are just brain candy that should enhance a story and acting, not the other way around. Movies like the HAUNTING (1999) are atrocious and are an insult to the audience.
Then there is THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. This was a masterpiece... For the first time in many, many years, I was inthralled in a movie. I became a castaway that went along for the ride. I too was camping.
The fact that there was no music... telling me when to be scared; The fact that there was no special effects, taking me out of the films reality, causing me to think of post production crews in the valley sitting at their computers; The fact that there was apparent shear terror and fear in the eyes, voices, and reactions of these unknown actors, made me believe in this story.
For the first time I can remember in my many years of going to movies... I became a fan. Enjoy. -
what a pathetic dried up worm eaten piece of hammered dog shit!
the 3rd halloween episode of the simpsons was scarier. the tv show about the making of the "movie" made it look like it was scary as hell, but it all it amounted to was a small child dressed up in a sheet and peeping "boo" in a very small voice. if i were any of the victims that were in this horrid fiasco, i would consider radical plastic surgery and a name change, and move to borneo, wherre i would pray that nobody ever heard of this valueless bit of video masturbation. -
HARRY LONG TIME READER, FIRST TIME POSTER. FIRST, DO NOT WATCH THE SCI-FI SPECIAL BEFORE SEEING THE FILM, IT SPOILS THE FUN. NOW, I DID LIKE THIS FILM. THE FINAL SHOT OF MIKE IN THE CORNER LINGERD WITH ME ALL THROUGH SUNDAY. I THOUGHT IT WAS CREATIVE THE IMAGE IS HELD FOR ABOUT 4 SECONDS, LONG ENOUGH TO PROCESS THE IMAGE, REALIZE THE SIGNIFICANTS, AND LET THE DREAD SPREAD OVER YOU BEFORE HEATHER GETS IT. NOW, PEOPLE HAVE COMPARED THIS TO OTHER FILMS. ON THAT, IT IS A VARIATION ON LOVECRAFT, AND ON THE STEPHEN KING TRIBUTE TO LOVECRAFT STORY IN NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES(VERY SCARY STORY). THESE TYPES OF STORIES ARE THE ONES THAT GET TO ME. ANOTHER MOVIE TO LOOK FOR MADE IN ENGLAND IN THE 1970s THAT HAS AN AMERICAN VISITING A SMALL ABANDOND VILLEGE IN ENGLAND, MEETS A WOMAN, LEARNS THE STORY OF THE VILLEGERS AND THEIR ENCOUNTER WITH A DEMON. HE ALSO DOES NOT GET HOME. NOW ON THE WAY THEY SHOT THIS, IT WAS TO BE A MOCKUMETARY WITHIN A MOCKUMENTARY. BUT I THINK THEY REALIZED THE FILM WORKS BETTER USING JUST THE HI-8 AND B/W FOOTAGE. LIKE I SAID, TOO MUCH INFO SPOILS THE FUN. THE CUT FOOTAGE IS THE SCI-FI SPECIAL. NOT THE SCARIEST I HAVE SEEN, THAT HONOR GOES TO ONE NOBODY HAS METIONED YET--------JOHN CARPENTER'S PRINCE OF DARKNESS. KILLER ENDING AS WELL, AND AN OBVIOUS INFLUENCE ON BWP ON HOW TO TIME AND EDIT THE ENDING. GREAT SITE HARRY KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. ANY INFO ON F 451? AND THANK GOD THE IDIOT BOSSES AT WARNER PICTURES HAVE FINALLY BEEN OFFICIALLY BOOTED. LATER.
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I really don't understand the point of discussing what exactly was in the Josh's shirt/twig bundle, or what the gel-like substance on Josh's stuff was, or why Mike was just standing in the corner like a naughty child when Heather comes pelting down the stairs after him. What matters is that I came out of the theatre with the same feeling I had when I was five and thought I saw something move in my closet. The whole point, and the reason why the movie works as well as it does, is that nothing is explained, nothing is clearly shown, and nothing has to add up to anything. You have no better idea what is happening than the three lost kids do, which puts you out there in the woods with them. You can't distance yourself. It isn't spectacle. This is really happening.
Maybe some of you out there find it impossible to enjoy a movie without the director taking you by the hand and leading you every step of the way. In that case, you will never enjoy or even get the point of this film.
You don't need to know anything more than what the shaky cameras show you. Personally, it is way scarier to me not to know what the fuck happened to them, because as soon as you see the demon, as Stephen King puts it, you relax. "Oh, that's not half as bad as I thought it would be. Whew." This movie never lets you relax.
That last brief image of Mike in the corner, head slightly lowered, silent, waiting, has staying with me for four days now. And four days later, the thought of it still gives me chills.
Now that's scary. -
If it seems that there's more negative posts here than postive (despite BWP's 8.5 fan rating), I'd say it's because in any situation people are more likely to speak up only they feel they have something to complain about.
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I like the subliminal use of the word "Blair" (as in Linda Blair) in the title, first of all.
Although I enjoyed the movie, I enjoyed the internet hype and the build up around the movie even more. The hype enhanced the experience for me.
I felt as if I were part of some exclusive club. (I guess 22 million or so isn't exactly EXCLUSIVE, but...)
However, I didn't think the movie was very scary.
Clever? Yes. Original? Definitely. On the right track? Sure. Spooky? Kind of. Frightening? Nope.
My husband and I discussed the fact that "scary" is a very relative term. For instance, parents would find "Ransom" very frightening. If you have a teenage daughter, "Cape Fear" will really get to you. If you are a woman--especially a woman who is or has been pregnant--"Rosemary's Baby" will hit you right in the gut, no pun intended. "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park" were both scary--especially seeing them for the first time.
Back to "Blair Witch"--if the noises in the woods had been louder, it would've been much scarier. The night scenes could've been longer, as well. The bloody handprints on the wall were too perfect--like a child was fingerpainting. The cabin/house could've had spooky artifacts scattered. No need for gore or to see a "monster"--but perhaps a dark shadow in the woods? And the guy in the corner at the end (Mike)...he was standing in the corner because the hermit didn't like the "eyes watching him while he killed tthe other one." There was no witch. Twist ending--it was the hermit all along. A human being, not a monster. A human being--the most menacing predator on earth.
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When I take a shower, I look at the curtain before closing my eyes...I check for Spielbergian sharks...Now a walk in the woods will always be associated with the Blair Witch. They have created an architype.
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P.S. The movie was actually quite funny.The actors were great, probably because they weren't really acting--mainly improvising.
I think I will find it scarier at home on video on the small "intimate" television screen. -
I am so fed up with big hollywood movies that leave no room for imagination.The plotlines are too easy to figure out,the only thing that is slightly original is the dialog,wich most of the time is pretty shitty anyway.Pulp fiction & Blair witch rock.anyone can write the other slop.there are no taleneted people working on blockbuster films.
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aight,
my name is jose. i'm 16 and i love to go to the movies. i was away on vacation when the movies opened. i hadn hear much of it but i ahd remembered seeing the previews. they were aight. my friends ramiro love the movies as well. he had already see it and he told me to go with him to go and see again. i got there and i have to sneak in to see it cause of the damn rating. as you know it starts off kind of slow. i was really concentrating on the movie, si i guess you could say that i was sukced into it. then all the freaky shit happens. the first time that i the three were in the tent and all that shit happned, i got goose bumps. it was relly when they hear twigs cracklikg and footsteps and they were she was saying that it was all around them, i was waiting for something to just pop out and kill them and just end this suspense. but nothing happened. you dont see anyone or anything. then the next time when there were running in the night away form the tent, damn that gave me a shivver. when you see josh's whatever the hell they were in the little basket thing, i felt like throwing up, now that i think of it, it was real. ill.
and of course the last scene when they're in that house and they're looking for what they think is josh, and they never find him, what they do find is the end. i just cant get that las picture of mike standing in the corner, doing nothing, and then you see that girl screaminf the shit out of hell and then you see the camera fall and everything become quiet and then it ends. wow. i had this feeling all over my body like i was scared, my back was tingling and i just felt scared as shit. even when i went to be i can see that last shot the basement. that was a great movie and i definately want to see it again. that's all
Jose -
The BWP was rad. I don't care if it was real or not, it's original to a typical dude like myself. I never heard of the other movies. Anyways, even if faked, I was wondering what gross and disgusting body part was supposed to be depicted in josh's shirt with that pile of sticks. I know it's disgusting, but I have to know. Thanks
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Aug 03, 1999 12:24:32 AM CDT
Everyone has there own opinion...and, to that NEGRO whatever the
by beautifulchaos
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Aug 03, 1999 12:46:17 AM CDT
Everyone has there own opinion...and, to that NEGRO whatever the
by beautifulchaos
Everyone is allowed to have thier own opinion about whatever they want to have an opinion about. Some people didn't like this movie, most people (like myself) did enjoy it. So, just leave it at that...as for my own theories about Josh...I think Josh killed Heather and Mike at the end. Remember, the guy in the 1940s killed those kids, and he said the Blair Witch made him do it...I think, somehow, that's what happened to Josh...I mean, he WAS losing it towards the end there. He was freaking out because all that slimey stuff was on his bags and clothes. I think he just happened to be the chosen one...but, that's just my theory. Like we all know, we can't really depict what was going on in that last shot. We know that was Josh in the corner. That was the way that guy killed those kids...he put one in a corner and killed the other. That's what I like about this movie...you DO have to use your imagination. You get to draw your own conclusion. Okay, as for that NEGROMAN or whatever he calls himself (Old Dirty Bastard, I guess??) how can you possibly say that this movie wasn't original? Should we make another Menace to Society??? Yeah, THAT would be original..."Hey! Let's make a movie about black guys who live in a ghetto and who are all in gangs and they go around killing each other with AKs and they all drink 40s and smoke blunts!!!" Like we haven't seen that 4 million times before. That's why I liked "Don't Be a Menace to Society while Drinking Your Juice.." etc...because they made fun of that shit. That crypts and bloods shit gets old. I mean, it's like, "Okay, we get it already! A black guy is in a gang, he carries a gun because he thinks he's a badass, he drinks a 40, smokes a blunt, drives a retarded car that bounces up and down and then he shoots other people." End of story. This, on the other hand, IS quite original. Considering the fact that we keep getting all of these shitty so-called "horror films" shoved down our throats (such as, Scream one and two, I Know What My Tits Did Last Summer, the Faculty, etc...)it's very refreshing to have something that really defines the term "horror." Horror is not all about blood and guts. It's about terrifying the mind with something that's there...but, you can't see what's there, so you don't know if there's anything there at all or not...Of course, NEGROMAN, the way you speak (from what I gather from your typing) you seem to be way too uneducated to realize these things. You're the reason people still stereotype...you are every cliche' of a black stereotype. I have a lot of black friends, and they do not speak the way you do, they talk like HUMAN BEINGS, and, they act like human beings. In fact, they make fun of people like you (even white people who act like you). But, at the same time, they are saddened by people like you because, as I said before, you are the reason there are still stereotypes. So, Ghetto Superstar, it's time to straighten up your act...and, please, do not post anything again unless you use English.
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The theatre I work at is a 2 plex art house. We have 2 auditoriums, and, on both screens we are showing this movie...EVERY HOUR FROM ONE IN THE AFTERNOON UNTIL MIDNIGHT!!!!! Needless to say, I'm pissed about that. I mean, I liked the movie, but, I wish the guys who made it would come to our theatre and work for us so they could see how hard we have to bust our asses everyday for 13 hours a day. I mean, they're rolling in all thier dough now...what is it up to now? 35 million? Not bad for a movie that only costs 25,000 to make. Anywho~it's funny because we've had a lot of customers who would get drunk before watching the movie (you wouldn't believe the beer and airplane bottles lined up around our building...not to mention the ones that have been snuck in the theatres...hehehe) and then, they'd puke...hahahahahahaha!!!! We put a sign in our window that says, "Enter at your own risk...no refunds!!!" Because we knew we'd have that problem. When they throw up, I have to laugh because, oh well! Shouldn't get drunk before watching a movie that has no steady cam involved! I mean, clearly everyone has seen the trailers for the movie, so they know the cameras are shaky. There were about 2 people who weren't drunk...they just get motion sickness...but, still, so what...if you get motion sickness then don't watch the movie. Anyway, having this movie has been hell for my staff and myself. We were suppose to lose one print this week and knock the other print down to only 5 shows a day, and we were going to open "Run Lola Run" this weekend. But, now we are keeping both prints and running them AGAIN from 1 p.m. to 12 a.m. I like this movie, but, to the directors, I just want to say, thank you for making my life a living hell.
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Speaking of "Run, Lola, Run": GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!! RUN LOLA RUN IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR!!!! IT IS DEFINATELY A MUST SEE!!!! FRANKA POTENTE FUCKING ROCKS!!!!
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I opened my mailbox today and recieved a message from a certain "Negroman" who's anti-Blair Witch rant was just shot down. and what was the first sentence? "maybe you stayed up all night scarred[sic] because you are white, and you
in[sic] one weak ass little muthafucker." now, explain to me this: why is it that we must resort to namecalling? are we not smart enough to have an intelligent conversation about the subject? maybe, "Negroman," you didnt like the film because you switched off your brain during the film, a common practice with films these days. you didn't bother to use your imagination. if this movie is so incredibly bad, then why has it stirred up so much discussion? never in my life have i seen as many people talking about one movie as i have with Blair Witch. sure, we could go see drek like deep blue sea...but i'd rather spend my money on something that's worthwhile, something that doesnt look like a blatant Jaws/Abyss ripoff. i've plunked down my hard earned cash to see Blair Witch three times in four days (four if it wasn't sold out) because its the most original, gripping, frightening, suspenseful piece of cinema to come out since i've been alive. if you have any imagination whatsoever, if you let it, this movie will get in your head and mess with it at every chance it gets. but i suppose that's beyond some people. some people have been broken down by hollywood so much that need the convienant plot points and explosions and the heroes walking off in the sunset. they can't possibly imagine enjoying a film that breaks all the conventions of the genre in its current state, they can't take an ending that isnt shown to them from every concieveable camera angle. its sad that people can't enjoy a film as brilliant as The Blair Witch Project. their loss. -
Yeppy, its me again. Watched "Curse of the Blair Witch" program off of Sci-Fi channel. Thought it was just as awesome as the movie. Very well put together, with supposed old footage and whatnots. I agree with someone elses comment about seeing the movie before seeing the special. It sorta takes away from the movie if you watch it before going to the theater. But to see it after the movie was great. :o) To the comment about "Who cares what the slime was, or what body parts were left in the bundle?" It is evident it is of some importance to some of the viewers of the movie. I haven't a clue what the slime was, but I belive the body parts in the bundle was a finger, and tounge. (of course I could be wrong, but thats what I believe it was) I think Heather was screaming like a banchiee cuz Josh couldnt be calling out to them, cuz his tounge was in that bundle, and only she would know that. So she knew something was up. I also believe it IS important to know why Mike was standing in the corner when Heather came running down the stairs. If you remember the first part of the interviews, you would remember that the Hermit would make one child stand in the corner while he hacked up the other kid. So basicly thats what was happening, she was getting hacked up and Mike was standing in the corner waiting his turn to get hacked up. :o) Anyways, thats enough from me. Loved the movie, loved the special, and cant wait to get my own personal home video of it. :o)
Later dayz,
TrueXena: Royal Amazon Trouble Maker! -
I've seen the film twice and I can't get that last scene out of my head. I wondered, what on God's green earth could be so frightening that you feet powerless to resist. To not even help you friend as she's being torn apart by persons or spirits unknown must be hellish.
Anyway, I'm torn by the earlier comments I've read. I agree that this is not a true horror movie in the 70/80/90's slasher sense. But, If I wanted that, I would have re-rented a Dawn of the Dead. This movie has a more "Let's scare Jessica to Death" feel. It is a true psychological horror movie. If you open yourself up to it... It will drag you down with each of the protagonists.
Now before you start jumping on me with that "why should I have to open, and use my imagination" shit. I ask you this... when DON'T you use your imagination when viewing a movie? You mean to tell me that you believe every special effect that happens in a movie!?! Arnold flying a jet in True Lies and LL Cool J fighting sharks in DBS. You use it all the time with cinema, and this is no exception.
BTW - NERGOMAN. Please shut up. I've been reading the posts and, over and over, you have proven your stupidity. Thanks, you can go home now.
Finally, to those of you who feel that the situations presented in this movie are contrived, I invite you to come East. I'm Maryland born, and I currently live 30 miles south of Burkettesville (sp?), MD. Coming from experience, it's very easy to get lost and confused in the woods. Trust me... or better yet, why don't y'all come out here for a nice hike...
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I had been looking forward to seeing The Blair Witch Project for several months. Based on the buzz, I recommended it to everyone I knew.
I was convinced that it would be incredible. As I sat in the theater last Friday night, I realized my mistake. I wanted a truly frightening alternative to "Hollywood" horror crapfests.
What I got was an amateurish, boring, repetitive, and dare I say, typical horror movie. The only difference between Blair Witch and Hollywood horror movies is the distracting, vomit-inducing camera work (and these are supposed to be film students?) that this movie utilizes. The "plot" is on the level of entries in the Friday the 13th series- locals tell kids: "Don't go to (insert area here) because it's (haunted/
possessed/cursed)."
The "acting" was unconvincing at best. The characters were as stupid as the characters in most horror movies. The fact that Heather says that her "favorite thing to do" is to go hiking in the woods, and they don't follow the river when they get lost is beyond absurd. After Josh disappeared, I was surprised that Heather and Mike didn't go skinny dipping at night. Listening to people bitch to each other for ninety minutes is not scary.
It's annoying. This movie has an intelligence factor and scare factor of zero. Everyone in the theater was laughing or commenting the entire time. Half of the people left early.
Nobody seemed frightened in the least. Going in, I was prepared to love this movie. Regrettably, it was an utter disappointment. -
You know on second thought, I take back every negative thing I have ever said about BWP. In actuality, the directors of BWP are absolute geniouses. Here we have a movie which appears to be different everytime people talk about it. People start describing what they saw on the screen, what they heard, and what they thought happened at the end. 99% of what people say they saw never actually appeared on the screen. 99% of what people heard was too muffled and faint to even recognize. And 99% of people who thought MIke was floating at the end are completely dellusional. All of you who loved the movie please see it a second time, and promise me that you will actually watch it with your eyes open. Then come back and tell me what Heather saw in the forest, what was in that wrapping, and why on earth you think Mike is floating. I cannot get over the fact that people keep making stuff up about this movie. Why do all BWP fans have to keep bringing up Scream, Urban Legend, etc. as examples of bad horror? Here is a clear case of what a bad horror movie is all about. BWP was cheap, it looks cheap and it sounds cheap! If the hype wasn't so massive right now, BWP would be a B-movie at best. And to you Nordling who criticizes those who found the Exorcist frightening, I remind you that it was based on a true story out of Washington in 1949. Please tell me what the Blair Witch legend is? Oh and by the way, don't refer to any information outside the movie. Ah, I see you can't. The movie is empty and lacking in many respects. I mean what the hell is the legend? Is about the information you can find on the website or is it the serial killer in the 40's. Which is it? If you just watch the movie you'd never know. I have the seen the new face of horror and it's the way people can actually be frightened by this movie. Give yourselves a hand people! You have actually managed to make this sorry excuse for a horror movie a success.
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Stop refering to this as a FILM. Something has to be shot on FILM to be considered a FILM, not just a VIDEO transferred to FILM for theater projection.
No sciprt.
The so called actors were told to improvise, Well these young white kids didnt seem very educated.
Fuck seems to be the only word they use to describe anything.
They lacked what everybody says you need to appreciate this amature VIDEO-
imagination
they were just trying to get paid so that they could pay the rent.
White folks lining up to watch this shit are o so crazy- like JFK jr. in an airplane... -
What's with all the commotion about Hollywood ruining our imaginations? J. Doe's posting is sheer lunacy. The last time I checked, Artisan Entertainment is a big company that dumped $300,000 (literally and figuratively) into this movie so that it would be more presentable for the cinema going public. Also, when was the last time a movie was shown on over 2,000 screens all over the continent and still maintain the distinction of being a small independent film? Not to mention the publicity machine going in full gear. Give me a break. All this talk of letting the movie get into our heads and how it will disturb us every chance it gets is absolutely ridiculous. BWP is a movie not a person. If you want to let BWP into your head and terrorize you that is your choice. In fact, you must really have a fanciful imagination to allow the movie to do that. And you are a moviemaker's dream since he or she doesn't have to show you anything in order to scare you. Read a book! At least you wont sound so ridiculous when you use your imagination. I can't wait for the DVD version so that everyone can check frame by frame that there is nothing to this movie. By the way, I think I have figured out what the Blair Witch is. It's the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, Abominable Snowman, Boogey-Man, the Devil, Wicked Witch of the West, and the ill-described hermit of the 1940's who supposedly killed 7 kids all rolled into one. That is some scary stuff. One last thing. Rent 'The Last Broadcast', check the date and reconsider the originality of BWP.
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Saw BWP and I agree it's more a creepy, rather than terrifying, movie. Other than the slime, I thought all of the foreshadowing was brilliant -- the stones, the stick men, the cries in the darkness. If you have ever gone camping, and heard something out there in the blackness, and realized you CANNOT just turn on a light and check it out . . . . well, that's what BWP taps into. It's similar to Jaws in that both the woods and the sea are dark and unfathomable, and therefore innately frightening. However, I was disappointed with the movie after the hype, since it was not as scary as some make it sound. Frankly, I think it would be more frightening to watch it alone at home (as many post-Sundance hypers did) than to watch it in a theater. People were laughing during the confession scene when I saw it, which took away some of its power. However, the laughing was somewhat understandable. Two final thoughts: (1) I found it believeable that the camera would be running during those night flight scenes, since the cameras provided a lot of light. (2) JMS Power! -- my god, man, how many postings did you make? I agree it could have been done better, but it was done pretty well, and it's much better than what passes for horror these days. For anyone who liked the movie and is frustrated by all the criticism -- the movie has made over $35 mil and is predicted to be the #1 movie this weekend. It can't all be hype.
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The filmmakers and/or Artisan didn't want to leave too much to your imaginations. Why else would they have tacked on that "Killer Hermit making kids stand in the corner" bullshit? Sounds like a very "Hollywood" thing to do, don't you think? (For those who haven't been reading all the other posts: a lot of us saw the early version of this movie--which did not include this scene/dialogue.)
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Aug 03, 1999 11:13:10 PM CDT
Had no prob falling asleep after AND DURING the movie. Bring a p
by person
Yawn. The web site was definitely more intriguing (IT actually had a plot).
Get comfortable as the movie transports you to Sleepy-land. Have someone wake you up for the last 10 minutes (the only interesting part).
The two male actors are the only ones that were believable. The female lead overacts more than a Star Trek fan (no offense). It's alot easier to run if you put down the camera!
At least the concept was fresh. What will "Blair Witch Project II: Electric Boogaloo" bring us? A flip-book of photos? Only time will tell. If you can't wait till it comes out on video, check out the web site first. It won't ruin anything, and it might make the movie somewhat interesting.
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Hey, I just thought I'd let everyone know this...Negroman is actually a girl...LMFAO. You know the sad thing is, she's probably a white, upper middle-class chick who has nothing better to do than pass herself off as a ghettoblaster. Since SHE'S putting her two cents in (CHA-CHING!) I thought I'd put mine in...give it up, girlfriend.
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Aug 04, 1999 2:23:10 AM CDT
"well, pilgrim...only after you...eat the peanuts out of my shit
by j. doe
so, negroman, tell me...if it was all VIDEO, what was that other camera? 16mm video? what a pathetic attempt to insult a film, saying its "video" and not film. who gives a flying crap? its a great fucking film, on film or video.
and, half the fat, yeah, it was my choice to allow it into my head. who the hell are you to criticize me for it? you tell me to "read a book," like i'm some illiterate bastard or something? take a look at yourself, my friend. you're the one who's going out of your way to write long, winded letters to insult people you've never met and have no bearing on your life what so ever, and their taste in films. if you're so fucking great and well read, why are you wasting your time and feeble mind in a bad attempt to insult me? why don't YOU go read a book and stop filling this talk back with your useless tripe.
christ, if you dont have anything original or constructive to say, just shut the fuck up, because its getting really tiresome to listen to every dumb bastard who think's they're better than everyone. to quote Harlan Ellison, "you keep believing the bullshit that you are entitled to your own opinion, when i keep telling you, over and over, that you are only entitled to your informed opinion." 'nuff said. -
First, please, "I saw", not "I seen." Why is that so difficult? I work around people all day who "seen one once" but "ain't got none", but are at least able to boast that their "car don't never break down."
You SAW the Blair Witch Project ... okay? Please?
If you're still reading, you probably won't believe this. I wouldn't, if I hadn't been there. I saw BWP on August 1 at 2:55 pm at the Lakewood Cinemas 15 in Tacoma, WA, and we were all treated to the cries of an infant for the duration of the movie. I swear to God, some stupid bitch brought her baby and sat in the front row ... on the far left, six feet from the speaker, ensuring that this poor infant would be terrorized by Heather's shrieks and by the panic and anger of Josh and Mike. Was this child, perhaps, a toddler, you ask? No, this was a breastfeeding infant! I know it was, because Dumb Bitch was breastfeeding it! And here's what floored me even more: Lakewood Cinamas 15 let her bring the child in! What other explanation is there - she stuffed it in a backpack before she got in line? The theater was sold out, so ... IS ANYONE WHO ALSO ATTENDED THAT SCREENING READING THIS? IF SO, PLEASE VERIFY WHAT I AM WRITING! Probably 100% of that audience noticed the crying infant.
Like I said, I wouldn't believe it, either, if I had not been there. -
... regarding the breastfeeding infant at BWP: my email address is hdproject@yahoo.com, in case you think I'm making this up to be funny or stupid, and want further details ... or if you were there and also want to vent.
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J. Doe take it easy! I mean your scaring me more than the movie itself. Why are you so defensive? How does my telling you to read a book imply that you are an illiterate bastard? Perhaps that is your own description, but it doesn't reflect what I think of you. No, now I just think your a moron...plain and simple.
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You know I wanted to like this movie it seemed original and interesting. too bad it wasn't. This isn't a horror movie, this is what happens when you send grad students out with a camera, recorder and absolutely no knowledge of a compass and map. Make that 3 really stupid college kids. oh and one other, SHUT UP!! QUIT SCREAMING.
This movie sucks. these people behind the movie need to be publicly flogged. My advice?
go play Gabriel Knight game or the first alone in the dark or RE. If you're really into scary things try watching Hope floats and Beloved back-to-back. Now that's frightening stuff. -
Something more horrifying than watching Hope Floats and Beloved back to back is having to sit through Message in a Bottle...MY GOD!!!! Somebody, PLEASE tell Kevin Costner to give it up...NOW!!! Who's concept was that for a movie, anyway? Who's responsible for letting that script become a film? I wanna know, damnit!!! So I can terrify them as much as they terrified me with that hunk of vomit...I swear, that movie is so bad, somebody obviously took it out of the cans before sending it to the theatres, and shit all over it. THAT'S what it looked like. Smiles to all :o)
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I just barely made the drive home from the Blair Witch Project. The movie was rather boring and I felt sleepy after.
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ok i'll be the first to admit it, I'm male i'm 20..and that movie scared me more than i think id even been scared in my life, go ahead call me a wuss..i am, i never thought a movie would scare me like that again...that was "The Exorcist" i was 6 and my mom was not home...imagine the fear. but this movie, good god..if i had eat'n, i would have shit'm...i saw it about 6 hours ago and i am still freaked out..i can't stop thinking about it..and the more i do, the more freaked out i get. the small children laughing/crying whatever, josh yelling in pain from where ever he was...and the whole damn cabin..creaped me out. i had hoped to see who or what was staucking them..but i didn't think i would..witch i didn't..get it witch...oh boy i got to write this stuff down. anyway. i plan to never see this flick again out of fear. i'm all nervous and i don't think i'll get to bed tonight... ok here are my opinios...the cloth had josh's tounge, eye ball, and some teeth still in the gums..in it. i didn't here any baby crying in that one seen.. and that was mike in the corner...if you don't think it is..your blind. by the way..i have come to the conclusion that the sounds they herd were the sounds of rocks being hit aginst other rocks. ok ive got to stop typing about this flick because its bringing up horrid pics of it in my head...
p.s. i sware that "small cabin" had 3 to 4 stories. and that skinny fisher man is the killer, he said its all bullshit..and thats allways the guy. -
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
First of all I'd like to make it clear that I really liked this film. However, I think there are a couple of problems with BWP.
I've seen a number of interviews with the film makers, and have seen The Curse of the Blair Witch documentary on the Sci-Fi Channel, and been to the official web site... and I think the film has one major flaw... Namely blurring the "mythology" of the Blair Witch story to what we actually witness IN the film. Let me explain.
The film makers have indicated in interviews that The Blair Witch killed these kids. In other mock documentary footage in the Sci-Fi Channel documentary the "anthropologist" who discovered the film footage says he found it buried under the foundation of a building, and that it was impossible to have found it where it was... so obviously the Blair Witch is up to something... right???
Well, unfortunately that's not what we get in the final film. I don't give a rat's ass about the Sci-Fi channel special, or what the film makers say they intended.. what's the final product. Well the final product is incredibly vague, and could easily lead one to believe that a psychopathic killer(s) are stalking the kids, and kill them... or maybe a cult. The events that occur are just too pedestrian so I felt no Creep sense in the film whatsoever... (the only images I found remotely disturbing where the children's handprints throughout the building in the finale).
So many people who defend the supernatural aspects of the film typically give out info, from the official web page or the Sci-Fi Channel piece.. many talk about the fact the footage was found under the foundation... and so one... well too bad this information isn't in the film. Would have helped with the Creep factor... so what are we left with.
Noises in the woods... that's a supernatural give away. Try one or two people off in the distance banging sticks and rocks, and making noise (BTW, noise in a forest gives off an incredible echo like noise is coming from all directions)
Getting lost in the woods (many have claimed the Blair Witch is screwing with their compass). Well it would have helped if I felt any confidence whatsoever that Heather actually knew what she was doing. We only see her once use the compass, and she just simply points it and says we walk this way... and gee losing the map was convenient. So let's see we have a girl who really shows no ability whatsoever in using a compass, and they have no map.. result.. pretty easy to get lost in the woods.
Finding piles of rocks and stick figures... ohhhh grrr, must be a witch.
Night time attack at the tent... easily conducted by one or two people jumping on the tent and making all sorts of noise...
Blue goo on Josh's bag... try toilet bowl cleaner, or cut open a bag of Blue Ice.
Josh's disappearance... an already edgy Josh (as evidenced by his behavior that day) exits the tent to get some air, and is nabbed by the killer(s)
Josh's screams for help from the house.. well gee killer(s) could be torturing him (highly likely since heather discovers his teeth in the bundle), and using him as bait to get the other kids in the house.
Which leads to my favorite... when Heather sees Mike in the basement he's turned to the corner and not making any noise or moving... must be under a spell. No, he was likely killed the second he was hit... he appears to be blind sided so killer could easily have stabbed him in the throat crushing his windpipe, almost instantly killing him. Or my favorite killer stabs him in the temple with a knife instantly killing him... and to hold him still... a meat hook held from the ceiling or mounted to the wall.
Pretty pedestrain stuff, and one of the reasons I was disappointed in the supernatural aspects of the film. One of my best buddies was convinced it must be red necks in the woods... I agreed even though I knew beforehand what the film makers meant... unfortunately it wasn't up oin the screen.
And the final reason I felt let down by the film somewhat... While the film started out promising, it quickly degenerated into a cliched stupid-teenagers-doing-stupid-things-while-being-chased-by-a-maniac horror movie...
My laundry list of stupid things they do is quite large so I wont bore you with it, but one bit which was mentioned in an earlier post...
Lost in the woods... getting attacked at night... daytime seems safe.. I'm already lost... So why not march at night, sleep during the day... Gee amazing, at least you'll be alert when your attacker comes calling, and have a fighting chance... No I'm sorry, sitting in my zipped up tent like a sitting duck is a far better idea.
Kind of like the Infamous Bugbeast of Trall, for those familiar with Douglas Adamas and his "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." The Bugbeast is best known for it's defense... when confronted by an attacker it covers it's head with a towel reasoning, that if it can't see you, you surely can't see it.
I'm outta here
yancy -
My mistake.. in my piece above the creature from Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy is the Infamous Bugbladder Beast of Trall... not the Bugbeast of Trall... sorry getting tired
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I saw the Sci Fi channel's expose first of anything and it scared me to pieces. I kept thinking "how could this be true and this is the first I've heard of it?" Driven to internet research, I learned the story. Then within days got blasted with it every time I opened a different newspaper or magazine.
My first reaction after seeing this film was that I wished I had seen it without hearing so much about the movie first. That was a week ago. I have not been able to stop thinking about this movie, I want to talk about it, it's approaching obsession. Now, I realize that during the movie my brain kept saying "it's only a movie, you know how they made it" because I NEEDED that perspective. And even WITH that perspective, on at least one level and maybe more, I believe it ANYWAY. I mean, that end with Mike there, how the hell could it NOT be TRUE??? It just hangs in you mind as truth, so you repeat to yourself that it isn't.
I still kind of wish I had just seen the movie first, but it's probably just as well. I might not have been able to stand it. -
Hollywood Executives are now scurrying to try to find a new formula for movies... the staid, over the top special effect movies are now being viewed as "so yesterday". The new format... copy Blair Witch. Now I am not talking about getting the super-8 out of the closet and take amateur shots of Arnie S, Bruce W., and Tom C. running through the forest yelling "what was that". What I am hearing is simply... Hollywood needs to market itself, it's movies and who they market to differently. The shock to Hollywood that was BWP was not how scary, how brilliant, or how simple the movie was... it was how many tickets sold! This is simply due to the power of word of mouth, add a little sprinkling of the internet, some pretty neat SciFi hype, and you have a $25,000 movie making over $35 million (to date). So... Hollywood Execs are now looking at reinventing the wheel. There philosophy is slow to change. As soon as someone asked "how can we get that kind of reaction to one of our expensive movies?" Within the same breath... "And why isn't Artisan doing a Blair Witch Happy Meal?" They will never learn.
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I saw this movie with 5 women. All of us left the movie feeling that we were not as frightened as we thought we'd be. Yet, all of us would recommend this movie as one of the best this year.
Then, hours later, it happens. It's dark, you hear voices from outside, is that someone walking towards the house? your heart's beating and the last image of the movie is burned in your brain. LIGHTS ON!!!
or you're driving in a remote area, the trees are moving, you hear sounds of nature - or are they?
Seriously, if you have any imagination this movie won't hit you right away, it will stay with you for days! Now that's what I call getting your money's worth. And regarding the 'hype'. Give me a break - great website and the ads even show at the end of some that it is a mockumentary. Pay attention people. -
An article posted on the Mr Showbiz website says that exit polls conducted by Cinemascore have shown that a greater percentage of people are disappointed and dislike Blair Witch than like it. 60% said they were disappointed so it isn't just a few people who don't like the movie. By the way, does anyone think that "Seven" was a more disturbing and scarier movie than "Blair Witch"?
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Horror, as a genre, is infamously ridiculed.
You can visit the horror section of your local Blockbuster to understand my point. If a film is labeled horror, it is understood that it is probably bad. What defines horror? Some would say violence, but that's certainly not the case, because there's plenty of violence in all other genres. The only reasonable definition I can think of is that "Horror"
movies will scare you. Why then, do so many of them fail miserably?
What does all this have to do with "Blair"? Well, some talkbacks have said some things like "true HORROR fans will
hate it" and "anyone that knows HORROR will know it is crap" What do these posts mean? It is, for me, one of the quintessential horror movies of all time. Why? It invokes fear. Fear during the film and plenty of fear later on,
when you can't get the film's images out of your head. HOW does it do it? I'm not really sure. I think the brilliance of the film lies in the filmmakers allowing the audience to scare themselves. NOTHING is shown. NOTHING is known. They gave us just enough information to allow us to go home and freak ourselves out. If you don't do this, you won't be scared. In a way, it's a very interactive film. You get what you give. (This is also why the film is crticized so much. The makers didn't give us much of anything concrete, they just hinted at it. That doesn't take that much skill. But it sure does work.)
Lots of people who watch the film will be scared. I was holding my breath for the last 10 minutes. I have never quite expereienced a feeling like the one I had during the final 30 seconds of "Blair" NEVER. I felt like I was going to get killed. I almost welcomed the characters' deaths as a relief to the terror.
That's what I had always expected from "horror" movies, but had never received until I watched "Blair".
Rent a slasher film. Any one will do. These movies are full of gratuitous (and fake looking) violence. But are they scary? To anyone? Does anyone not laugh at them? There are a only a handful of films that actually terrify. "Blair" is one of them. Maybe you're all right. Maybe they aren't "horror." Maybe they deserve a category of their own. The new "Don't sleep alone after you watch this" section. -
I happen to have liked TBWP, but I would take issue with the people who criticize the movie for the reason that the characters go into the woods unprepared or without modern conveniences and are then unable to find their way home by following a creek downstream. The fact that they were unprepared is a major reason as to WHY things happen the way they do in the film. A friend of mine who is an experienced hiker said this movie should be viewed as a lesson that you don't go hiking into the deep woods without being prepared.
For those who don't believe that people can really get lost this way, they obviously don't live in an area where getting lost happens on a regular basis. I'm in the Seattle/Tacoma area. We are close to some major forests and mountains with streams and rivers that all run toward Puget Sound and civilization. Yet without fail, every year, the papers runs stories of hikers getting lost in the woods -
First off, I am firmly in the camp that found this film truly terrifying. Sure, the concept isn't entirely new, but it is expertly leveraged by the actors and directors.
SPOILER . . . Am I the only one that got a slight chill up my spine when the little 1-2 year old kid kept trying to cover her mother's mouth the second she started talking about the Blair Witch? If it was intentional, I thought it was a nice touch. If it was unrehearsed, then that's just plain creepy. There's no way that kid acting or not could've understood what they were talking about. END SPOILER
Great movie. Period.
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That old lady they interview is the Blair Witch!!! Check out when Heather points the camera at her gate and says "this is where Mary Brown lives, and this is her gate." That's THE main clue from the moviemakers to us.The gate is made completely out of twigs and string, and the camera lingers on it just long enough to hint that it's important. It's the very same handiwork we see later on in the totemic objects left in the woods. And as Mary describes how the witch she once saw was covered with hair, note the strange, oversized coat she's wearing that completely obscures what could very well be her OWN hair-covered body....And what's with the bogus name?? Mary Brown?? C'mon... its such an obviously fabricated name indicating that maybe she didnt use enough imagination when disguising her REAL name...Elly Kedward...not to mention the fact that the damn woman even looks like a witch with that big nose. And if you don't think she looks very evil, picture running into her floating around in the basement of an abandoned cabin in the woods!!!!
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Yeah, I thought the the Blair Witch Project might be a 'pretty good' movie - 'til I realized I'd already SEEN IT, as a film called 'The Last Broadcast'. Just visit their site (keyword search: Last Broadcast), and judge for yourself. This movie was out a year earlier and is the EXACT SAME PREMISE, practically verbatim.
Furthermore, check this out - these are the sites of some articles regarding the amazing 'similarities' between the two films... if a visit to the Last Broadcast site doesn't convince you, then just see what the NY Post, the Philadelphia Daily News and the IGN sites have to say...
The following are some recent articles regarding our film and The Blair Witch project.
http://moviesformen.ign.com/news/2088.html
http://www.phillynews.com/daily_news/99/Jul/16/features/FCOV16.htm
http://208.248.87.252/080399/11943.htm -
Is this thing on?
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**I had fun at/with this movie. My friend told me how the actors were sent out and the crew would come for them in the night. Creepy! Luckily, I didn't SEE too much about the movie before I went to see it.
It wasn't the scariest film I've seen, but it certainly forced me to think about it. It was riveting. I had my barf bag at the ready if the swinging camera shots got too bad, but I was ok. I was burning holes in the screen when it would be absolutely black, just waiting. When was the last time you heard audible gasps in a movie?
**Some theories: 1) The night noises could have been the witch making piles of rocks.
2) Why it was something supernatural and not rednecks... It was vey cold out and it was dark. I did summer theater in a small mountain town in N.H. Without all of the ambient city lights lighting up the night sky and no street lights, you literally couldn't see your hand in front of your face. THAT'S how dark it gets in the woods. I don't think that rednecks would go through all of that trouble just to mess with some kids. Plus, I think that a witch is more scary.
3) I think that the rag had Josh's tongue and he was tortured to death when you heard his screams. At the end, I think maybe the witch was using his voice like a hunter uses a animal call to lure the prey. Could have been a possessed Josh, but maybe not. The comic book shows how the witch lured the 1800's girl into the woods. You might find it interesting.
4) I just don't know how the footage could end up buried under the foundation of a 100 year old house. ???
Ca't wait 'til more of my friends see this movie. Hey, Hollywood...Keep your CGI. Good characters and good scripts make good movies. Not special effects alone. The Haunting was all sizzle and no steak.
I had fun at/with this movie. -
To anyone else who has killed a few hours by reading through this entire thread: do you get the feeling that Negroenforcer and Negroman are about as black as Gene Wilder and Nicole Kidman? And I have a sneaking suspicion that they are the same person. The idiotic and stereotypically offensive language are just a little bit more than can be believed. "Sham"-alam a lakem, brothers.
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Okay, I would LOVE to see this movie, "The Last Broadcast." The problem is, apparently, it's not available on video (I can't rent it) AND, I don't have the Independent Film Channel, so I won't be able to watch it when they show it on there (they don't offer that channel where I live). So, how can I see this movie??? I WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE SO BBBBBBBAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL...sorry 'bout that...but, I do want to see it quite badly. Can someone tell me how I can find it?
Smiles and Love to all!!! -
Aug 07, 1999 10:29:54 PM CDT
Blair Witch Sucks-Equivalent to a ghost story you'd tell a 5 yea
by donkeyboy
OK, I'm with the rest of you in that the ads and the hype for Blair Witch sounded cool. The movie was a big hit at Sundance and they'd been playing it up online for a while. It was released in the couple of theatres and built up big time. When it finally came out I was dying to see it. Everyone kept saying "It's going to teach Hollywood how to make scary movies." I certainly hope they don't pay attention. This movie sucked. I'll give it to them that for an independent movie it's not that bad. For something at Sundance it's OK. For something to show friends, it's OK. But to try to release it as a true movie, get real! Sure there were a couple of cool moments, but nothing at all scary. The very ending was somewhat cool, but the rest was about as scary as a guy in a sheet with the eye holes cut out.
That whole scene when they're in the tent and something is banging on the sides? Get real! that was so cheesy! How does it take any intelligence to think that up or do it? That's the kind of thing that a 12 year old does. Some people have been commenting that "you need imagination" to see this movie properly. I think if that's your view you're looking for too much out of this movie and you're putting in what isn't there. It's a movie. it's supposed to be something you just watch. I love seeing movies where you have to think and figure things out, but in this case, get real. I'd have to use every iota of my imagination to find any fear in this. I wasn't looking for a Jason or Freddy type of horror thing. More of a Jaws one. A suspense. A nervousness. Instead I found a movie with a couple of people that get lost in the woods and hear voices and then get their tent banged on. Ooh. Scary. Suuuuure. I'll give it that the end was sort of cool in the house. Thinking about it, the best way I can think of to describe it is as one of those cheesy haunted houses they have around halloween. you walk around and see dorky things that don't scare people at all. maybe a two year old. glowing footprints on the ceiling, a door that creaks, a sheet blowing in the wind. woo. if you're looking at this movie and seeing something that's "revolutionary" or "great filmmaking" or "scary" or really anything other than a home movie, you're looking too deep. watch a real movie that's good for real reasons. watch something that has a decent plot, good acting, and does not reek of the idea of a 6 year old.
i think a lot of the people that "like" this movie like it because they think no one knows about it and that they can be a lone voice or something. truthfully if you were watching tv one night and flipped this on, you'd change the channel in about 4 seconds, if that. if you want something independenty that you can call your own watch something good like trainspotting or el mariachi. not this crap. and have your own opinion. just because someone at Sundance liked a movie doesn't mean it's good. -
A lot of people are saying how the Blair Witch Project is going to revolutionize the world of movies. Get real! BWP was just a movie that happened to be in the right place at the right time. Artisan needed a couple of movies and bought this one. It did well at Sundance and they gave it to their PR people. The reason this movie is a success is simply PR. This proves the theory that the right ad campaign can make the worst movie a ton of money, and the wrong one can do the opposite. The Postman had a bad campaign. BWP had a great one. Yet after seeing both, The Postman blows BWP out of the water(if that gives you any idea of how bad BWP actually is). So for all those morons out there who seem to think that BWP actually did something on it's own that made it a big deal, wake up! A great ad campaign is what did it. The revolutionary part of this whole scenario is taht ad campaigns are going to change. Studios may buy a couple of more cheap crappy movies and try to release them, but once they see them bomb like crazy they'll abandon them. Pi is a great example. A decent movie with a good plot and an interesting story. Someone paid a million dollars for it and it was released in a dozen theatres, made a little money, and went to video. It was way better than BWP. If they had marketed it the same way it too would have made a fortune. Wake up aimless sheep.
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Saw this film tonight after i had heard so much from my friends, critcs(Ebert gave it four stars),and about everywhere else. I was disappointed. Im not going to bash the people who like it or the filmmakers, because some parts of this film hint at how much better it could have been. I found the idea very intriguing, and believe if it were done differently it could have been extremely scary.
First of all, the majority of the film is the three filmmakers bitching at each other and spewing profanity. The film gets into a comfortable formula of some wierd shit happening during the night and them fighting and getting more hopeless during the day. I would have had no complaints if all this led up to a better ending. But it doesnt. And all the events, all the waiting end up seeming pointless and mild. I remember once the image of whoever in the corner went black and the credits came up, myself and many others said, "Thats it?" Its like stopping "Apocalypse Now" when Martin Sheen finally makes it to Kurtz's camp. Ultimatley what I wanted was more. Like when Heather exclaims, "What the fuck is that?" when they are rushing from the tent. Why doesnt she ever talk about what see saw the next day? Im asking myself, "What the fuck was that she saw?" because i didnt see shit during the movie. I know everybody is talking about how your suppose to use your imagination, but i think showing glimpses of what was terroizing them would have been good. Not to much, but froma distance or just a quick glimpse. Remember in "Halloween" when the kid looks out the window and sees Michael Myers in the bushes of the house across the street? That was scary. I realize im just ranting on, because i could go on forever, so i'll end now. My advice, go see the movie and come up with your own opinion, because your entitled to.
And one last thing, to the guy who was putting down Boyz N the Hood and Menace 2 Society, easy pal. Those are great films that are extremely powerful and deserving of the praise they get. Cant wait to see the Hughes Brothers next film, either Phone Booth or From Hell. -
I remember watching that show "Sightings" that used to be on Fox and they show on Sci-Fi now, and they had a piece about a film similar to Blair Witch project. The film was shot on your normal home-video and starts out as your normal little kid birthday party with pin the tail on the donkey and blowing out the candles on the cake. Then the power goes out and a couple of the guys go out to see what happened to the power, being taped of course. They go out in the night and spot a crashed spaceship and small aliens, but from a distance(about a hundred some yards away) so there not real sure what it is, a clever idea come to think of it so the low budget space ship and aliens wouldnt look so cheap. so they throw some profanity and rush back to house to tell everybody, until the camera gets knocked to the floor and you see the last images of the aliens coming the house, or something like that, im not sure because this was soem time ago i saw it. anyhow, the video circulated a little bit and caused some discussion about the truth to it, until the guys who made confessed they did it and showed production sketches and script. doesnt anybody out there have a more solid telling of these than me? please post if you do.
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I finally saw Blair Witch Project last night in a packed cinema, after months of hype. I was concerned that people wouldn't be quiet during the movie, but everyone seemed to really focus on the movie. You could feel the crowd start to grow restless after an hour of shaky camera work (my friend spent most of the movies with her eyes closed), poor acting, and scares that included stones, sticks, and weird noises. I wondered why anyone other than Heather was taking video cameras with them as they ran for their lives. I wondered when Heather would finally die so she would finally shut up. And I wondered why 75 minutes seemed like 3 hours. But then the last ten minutes of the film happened, and all of a sudden, this movie I was hating became extremely interesting and disturbing, and I found myself wanting to get back in line to see the next showing (my friend strongly disagreed). Those last 10 minutes made me rethink the whole thing, and suddenly those piles of rocks seemed pretty damned scary. SPOILER: I too wondered if Josh was the unseen killer. And maybe he wasn't possessed by any Blair Witch, maybe he just went nuts (spending those days and nights with Heather would make any man ready to kill). And I came home and watched the Sci-Fi special I had taped, and it creeped me out even more (especially the guy on death row). I don't know that I've ever experienced a bigger turnaround in my feelings for a film. Though I do think that the first 75 mins has very big problems, and the clever ending does not change the fact that most people (idiots or not - and since when does someone not liking a movie make them a brain dead moron - I love how if you didn't see the 'genius' of this or Eyes Wide Shut, you have to be someone a little less worthy) like to see a movie with steady camerawork, decent acting (not one of these 'actors' has a future in film, and if Heather the actress is as irritating as Heather the character, ugh), and a plausible plot (you don't throw out maps, you don't run for your life lugging around heavy equipment). All that said, I had a hard time falling asleep last night, and I keep thinking "what really happened?".
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My first inclanation after viewing this film was to take a doo doo in my pants and then wipe my shity ass all over the movie screen. This movie sucked so bad that i'd rather nail my balls to a wooden chair than to think of how mutch money those two faggs and a whore will make from it. Because if this movie was real life by the second day of being lost in the woods at least one of the men would have had that bitch playing hide the heat seeking moister missle... unless of course they where faggs.
We can only thank god that the flair nostril bitch is dead so she could not make any more films.
I HOPE THAT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT MADE THIS SHIT CONTRACT THE POLTERGYST SYNDROME.
In parting to anyone who liked this movie...may red ants bight yopu on your swo,llen hemroids. -
Ok, just so everything's clear, Blair Witch was so incredibly scary I almost shit myself, all you fools that think it ain't scary... ??? What are you on? Where you like asleep at the part at the end? I'm sorry, but I will agree that was the only scary scene, but shit, that just screwed with my head so much that I haven't been sleeping lately, the way he was just standing there... waiting... waiting for Heather to be slaughtered so he could be next... doesn't that scare you at all? The people who made that should make a large amount of money, it certainly beats the crap out of that new "The Haunting" piece of garbage.
P.S. About the last scene,I don't care if this has been posted 400 times, remember when that guy told the legend of the killer that set the children to face the corner cause he couldn't stand those little eyes looking upon him as he slaughtered them? That applies... what really freaks me out is that he was WAITING, he knew that she'd go downstairs... I can't write anymore, it's scaring me to even type anymore, keep it real, Asskicker5000 signing out -
After reading the reveiw I could feel the adreneline rush flow through my body! WHERE CAN I SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!?????
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Now, let me first say that I liked the movie, it messed with my head. I'm not about to go mud-slinging like I have been reading on this thread because, hey, we all like different movies. There is no reason to knock anyone for liking or disliking this movie, it is all about personal taste. But, let me tell you why this movie really hit home with me. The first and foremost reason was that I basically lived in the deep forests of lake tahoe every summer, and would spend many a night with my friends going out trying to scare the shit out of eachother in the woods. TBWP kind of reminded me of that. Another was where I really grew up, we used to have these old abandoned TB wards where they used to keep TB patients during the 40's. They were also set in kind of the same vegitation as in TBWP. We would wander around at night, in and around the houses, and talk about the "stories" of murder and witchcraft and stuff like that that supposedly went on up there. When they got to the house in TBWP, that sent me straight back to those old TB wards. I almost wondered if they had filmed it there (but I remembered that they knocked all of those houses down about 4 years ago). The basement scene reminded me of going into the basements of those houses, and struck a chord deep within my psyche. What if there was something like that waiting in those basements for us. *shudder*. I think if people can relate to the story in some way it kind of makes it scarier. When it comes down to it, what really got me about the story was the fact that they were completely lost, and every night was unavoidable. I do believe the film could have been scarier, with more night happenings, and maybe some more indicators of the blair witch being present (I really thought the goo was lame, I agree with a past poster that they should have used something like blood; better effect). Overall, I liked it, and am going to see it again tonight. I plan on doing a little more studying on the key parts this time. Maybe come up with some new theories?
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i just recently saw "The blair witch project", and i've been researching it ever since. this movie scared me to death, because i was thinking that it was true. now everyone is saying something different, that they were actors acting out what really happened, that it was the actual footage, that it never happened at all and everything is just a made up story, who's telling the truth?? is this movie based on the truth or are the filmmakers just trying to make some extra cash?? i guess i will keep looking until i find out the truth, just wanted to coment on this fantastic movie...
~Sparklez6 -
I hate to piss off the "elitist" movie reviewers out there, but this movie was god-awful. I read a couple of reviews where people compared it to Hitchcock's works, and all I have to say is....are you mad? Hitchcock built suspense, and kept it up once it got there. This piece of trash spent 3/4 of the film following the characters (including the most annoying screen presence I've ever had the displeasure of watching - I couldn't wait for her to die!) wandering around the woods. When they finally got to building an iota of suspence....low and behold, we're strolling through the woods again! The hype for this movie was incredible...."scariest movie ever". I think not. Doesn't anyone remember the original "Psycho"? How about "The Exorcist"? Damn, even "The Hills Have Eyes" was scarier! It's almost as if everyone is going along with everyone else for fear of being left out of the next "thing". Ah well, that's probobly how alternative music got it's start......
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GRADE A God help me. This movie has slowly creeped like a parasitic demon into the bottom of my brain and won't go away. I thought 8 years of long distance backpacking would have me laughing this movie off. Nope. I climbed Nittany Mountain today with the sole purpose of confronting the anxieties produced by this movie. I wanted to go back the old days when nature was a place of joy and peace. Some joker put a Blair Witch stick man on a major trail junction. Spooky, spooky; the woods never looked like this before. All the close calls I've had percolate through my mind combined with the screams of Heather, Josh and Mike.
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I am sorry for all those people of whom I have read their opinions and some people REALLY hate this movie!
It is such a great movie, that is WHY people hate it. Because it was different than what they expected, it was something new and fresh and a
GOD DAMN GOOD IDEA!!!!!!!!!
Thank you movie makers! I was dying to see this movie so bad, I went right after I viewed the trailers. But I already knew the truth, which I haven't seen written here YET! Even though I know the truth, this new idea for movie making is THE BEST! If I hadn't of known the truth of it all, I would have been so scared shitless, I wouldn't have been going camping this weekend in my tent, THAT'S FOR SURE!!!!
******spoiler***********
So what it is, for all of you who don't know the TRUTH...
The actual movie makers came up with this idea. So they hired the 3 film makers to go into the forest and collect all the info and data they possible could on this legend/myth so that they could make a movie out of it, and maybe the 3 of them would become known for this work. So, always wanting exactly this, the 3 set out on their job to do the best they can.
What they DON'T know, is that the real movie makers are going to SET them up in the forest. Freak 'em out real bad so that the fear they get on camera is REAL. At the end of the movie, where they come to the "house"...is where it ends and that is when they find out that they were tricked in order to make a great movie out of it.
**********end spoiler***********
They never say ANYTIME that it is a TRUE STORY. They never say ANYTIME that these 3 young people DIED!! It just shows you the footage and leaves you hanging at the end.
That is what makes this a great movie!! It leaves you to all your childhood fears and lets you make whatever you want out of it.
IN MY OPINION, they probably shouldn't have had any public info on this movie until AFTER it had been put out in all the big theatres. Because I seen the spoiler on a talk show and it completely ruined it for me.
But that doesn't make it a bad movie. It's probably the BEST movie I have ever seen, aside from the fact that I was so MOTION SICK, I had to look down for most of the movie and just listen. But that was scary too, because half the time you couldn't see what was going on anyhow!!
Too all of you BOGIES who HATE the movie, I say:
You are idiots. This is a new idea and you are just mad that it didn't go the way YOU wanted it to!!
Way to go film makers and to Heather, Mike and Josh. My hats off to you all for not punching the shit out of the producers for freaking the hell out of you for 3 nights!! I would have cried when I found out.
I LOVED THIS MOVIE. IT WAS ALL MY CHILDHOOD FEARS COME TO LIFE.
Email me if you'd like to agree or disagree - I'm ready for ya.
Vancouver Island, CANADA -
I had read a lot of reviews on this site. A lot of people said this movie was one of the scariest they had ever seen, others said it wasn't worth all of the hype. I personally couldn't wait until it opened in my hometown so I could see for myself. Before the film started, I told my girlfriend I hoped the jerky camera movements wouldn't make me sick to my tummy.
That didn't turn out to be a issue. What was an issue, however, was how involved I was with the characters and the story right away. I have read reviews from people saying the performances were bogus and one-note. I did not feel this was the case. I felt like I was watching real people go through a wide range of emotions, quite believably. I found myself relating to different characters at different points in the movie. I related to Heather in her attempts to keep the group from falling apart when things got bad. I related to Mike and his increasing panic and fear. I related to Josh and his skeptisism of how really in control Heather was. The only acting that I could tell was acting was of Mary Brown and another interviewe with glasses at the beginning. I loved how the story progressed, with things slowly unravelling around our three heros. Man, this movie scared me. I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who hasn't seen it, but that was the scariest trip through an "abandoned"? house I have seen in my life. The last image of the movie will probably stick with me for the rest of my life. All I could say to my girlfriend when it was over was, "Did you see that, he was in the corner"!!!!! All in all, this movie scared me with what I didn't see than what I really saw. I love the fact there are so many loose ends. Nothing is resolved. What happened to them? What was in that house? That is for the viewer to decide. I love this movie and I will see it again. -
i just saw TBWP and i must say that it was very scary and different...i have noticed that this film has recieved a lot of negative remarks just by reading the other responses.. whether this movie was true or not it still made me feel uncomfortable and there hasn't been a film like that since texas chainsaw...i think everyone that is in dis-belief is just in a major state of denial because who actually wants to believe that this could really happen. everyone, eventually, will be camping one night and i know they don't want to have to deal with the fact that they could be involved in simular situations ie. freaked out sounds and weird voodoo shit..no one really knows what goes on up there in those woods and i bet you wouldn't want to find out personally...
its way too easy to criticize from a computer screen......
anyway we should all hope its not true, otherwise those sounds that go bump in the night just might not be your imagination
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First of all, let me preface this by making a distinction.. in my mind there are two issues concerning The Blair Witch Project:The promotion and vision, and the actual movie itself. I think that in every generation, there is a awesome coming together of all elements to sell something (a perfect example is War of the Worlds). In my opinion, Blair Witch is it for ours. This wasn't just a movie. With the websites and sci-fi special, plus the urban legend growth by word of mouth, this movie was a treasure hunt...it can't be handed to you by sitting in a theatre for 84 minutes. On the other hand, I am a little disheartened that this promotional goldmine was wasted on Blair Witch. Don't get me wrong, I understand the concept and can use my imagination, but there were so many elements within the movie (some downright nauseating) that should not have been left untouched. An excellent concept, truly inovative and highly organized: Terrible delivery.
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Ok Ok I know and have read all of the reviews and comments about this film ...even before I saw it this weekend.. and I still have to say that this movie was great! I have to let you know that I had to read the emails and reviews (spoilers in all) and connect to the websites just to get some info so I could see this movie..(yes I know I am a wimp!)So there I go to the movie Educated and Informed...so I thought! When the movie started the theater fell silent... and my heart began to Pound! I felt like I was on the steep uphill climb on a rollercoaster...Knowing I would be getting a rush...but not knowing when or how or what kind...it was great! Like I said I thought I was prepared! Hee Hee.. SPOILERS
I liked the fact that most of the people who dont like this movie obviously missed all of the 'strings' that tie the movie together..(sticks in all tee hee) Like I knew when they knocked over some of the piles of rocks at the burial site...that there was going to be trouble..Low and behold..what appeared at the foot of their tent...3 piles of rocks...er should I say GRAVESTONEs?? And Josh's bag being torn apart and gooo-ed on ...I knew that the 'witch' had chosen him...for death or as a slave...like that hermit in the 40's...hmmm. But what sticks in my mind... what haunts me when I close my eyes...still to this day... is the Last shot you see of Mike standing in the corner...He looks like a small child with his head and shoulders slumped forward waiting for his punishment... knowing that bad things are going to happen... knowing he is going to get his and there is no way out...and who put him there...was it the witch or josh under the spell of the witch (like the hermit 50 years earlier) or could it be Mary Brown...she was creeeeeepy! It shocked the hell out of me...it still makes my hair stand on end!
It was awsome when the credits started to roll... not a word was spoken...it was DEAD Silence!
The one thing that did freak me out was later on that night...around 11:30 pm I remembered that I had left the back door to my garage unlocked... I went thru the garage and about halfway... I creeped myself out ..I had a flash of the last sceen (MIKE) and got the strangest sensation...then BOOMB! the light bulb in the garage went out! Well, as soon as I came to I picked my ass off of the floor and ran out of there ...like a bat outahell!! COINCIDENCE OR BLAIR WITCH?? Needless to say I had to change my pants, sleep with the lights on and buy longer life lightbulbs...
This movie I think is one of the greats...it makes YOU scare yourself... It reminds me of what Stephen King once said..'How many of you turn off the light then run and jump in bed...just incase there is a hand attached to an arm under your bed ...just waiting for the lights to go out and GRAB YOU...and drag you under kicking and screammmmmming? I know I still do!' -
I think I caught a mistake...
In the sceen when Heather and the gang are interviewing the 'Fisherman' at the river...did you catch the size of those LEWERS?? What were they trying to catch ..Sharks?? Man....those were huge...the trout must be pretty big in that neck of the woods!! -
What is up with this movie. It was terrible. It did nothing for the genre. At the end of the screening I saw, people were booing and asking for their money back. One person remarked that it should be called the Blair Whine project.
I understand how a festival audience would be excited over as compared to the majority of crap that is shown but come on......
the story had huge holes in it and the majority of the acting sucked. The only decent bits of acting were the interviews of the towns people.
This movie deserves to be forgotten. It has little redeeming value. I cringe to think it may be used in film classes years from now as an example of independent film.
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Well, I'm glad to see somebody finally verbalized what I've been feeling for amonth now. This movie disturbed me in the sense, that my imagination went into overdrive directly after walking out of the theater. You see, that's effective horror.
When you were a kid and you heard noises in the dark, or worse saw a shadow whip across your wall that didn't match your parent's figure. The covers were over your head and you tried desperately to slow your breathing so if that monster
walked by the bed it wouldn't recognize you under the covers. The harder you tried not to think about it- the work the fear kicked in- it was like melting into the dark.
Well, that's this movie. A modern way of telling a campfire ghost story through those damn video cameras that everybody runs around with now. I'm glad that the
directors never showed a hairy witch, or a possessed Josh, because it allowed mymind to melt into the fear that festered at my brain (actually I'm pissed at the
directors because now I will never go camping again- and will certainly neverquestion the power of myth!). This movie made me wish I had someone to talk toabout. It wasn't until days later that a few buddies finally got to see it (after all the sellout performances) and I was finally able to have some support from other people to talk about it- call it cathartic for me. But I experienced the oddest feelings while I nervously talked about it- excitement to see others scared and
that I was not alone and then more horrified when we began to analyze similarparalleled instances we each experienced.
It disappoints me to see some of the bashers of the film who obviously didn't immerse themselves in the myth or the characters- "NO SCARES!" some of theheadlines read. It is a pity. I guess some people just need to see Friday the 13th-
Part 20 or Halloween 9 movies.
Thanks again for the great article and sorry to ramble, but it's dark here and I just heard a noise in the kitchen that I refuse to check out... BC -
Ok 1st off the piles of rocks:
7 kids were killed in that forest, hence the 7 piles of rocks... here's the creepy part... the next day they found 3 pile of rocks... 3 piles of rocks symbolizing the 3 deaths, Josh, Heather, and Mike.... Oooooooh.
Next, (I know I explained dis but...so wat?) -
I was one of those people whose expectations for TBWP was way too high - so of course I was disappointed. I was in the vice-like grip of all the hype (though not because of Harry, who seems to love every film ever made). I wasn't scared at any point in this movie and glanced at my Indiglo watch several times during the film. BUT - I'm glad this movie was made! I've read every comment you guys made at this site and, except for the hateful name-calling and petty bullshit, I am heartened that a horror film could generate so much debate. People are talking and thinking and wanting better horror films. That's great! 'Blair' has made some noise. I'm hoping that this elusive witch will kill-off the 'Scream/I Know What You Did' franchise once and for all. Any industry that makes millionaires out of Neve Campell and Jennifer Love-Hewitt needs to be shaken-up...severely! I'm looking forward to Blair copycats who push the envelope even further...I hope there's some visionary renegade horror writers and directors out there who finally make a jungle-strength, kick-butt terrifying movie. I think it'll happen soon- and we will have the Blair people to thank.
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I've read many of the talkbacks on this movie and it is quite obvious that this movie ISN'T for everyone. To the producers however, they've succeeded in what it was that they were trying to do. From the box office take, they've definitely reaped some hefty profits, and we know what that means, there will most likely be a sequel somewhere down the road.
From what I saw and more importantly heard, and what I haven't seen anyone comment on is (although I do admit I didn't read EVERYONE's post, I did read alot though) in the last scene when Mike's running down the stairs to Josh's calls, he did get terminated the same way Heather did. Many people are debating as to why Mike is willingly standing in the corner awaiting his death while Heather is screaming to him, but he's already dead because I heard the same THUD and the camera dropped the same way that Heather experienced at the very end. So his body is quite likely propped up, he's NOT standing on his own free will.
Last comment, if this movie was supposed to be a true account of events and not a Hollywood stunt, then how come after Mike is 'terminated' and his camera has the microphone, we didn't hear ANY sound whatsoever, like a killer walking around in the basement? -
Well, I expect a few attacks because I have aligned myself with the minority of people who have seen this movie and were utterly and totally disappointed.
First off I'd like to say that I saw this movie 2 weeks ago, I am a big horror/sci-fan movie fan, I was really hoping that this movie would live up to the overly hyped up "HYPE" that had been inundating the TV and movie preview screens for so long. I went with several friends from work who were also anticipating this original, low budget so-called horror/psychological thriller flick.
As we waited for the lights to dim along with 300 to 400 other people you could hear and feel the anticipation and excitement of the crowd, everyone was ready for a good scare.
Then as the lights dimmed, the crowd became quiet and there was an eerie stillness in the theatre...it was just like when you were a little kid and your parents shut off the light...and you knew that if you made a sound the big nasty monster was going to get you.
As I watched the first sequence (interviews with townspeople), I could feel my excitement building as the townspeople described this urban legend that had supposedly terrorized their town way back when. I then said to myself..."Self I can't wait until we get into the meat of this story, I can't wait until I get the s#!t scared out me...!"
Well, the movie played on and I waited and waited and waited and waited....well you get the picture. All of a sudden the movie credite rolled and I thought I missed something....I was completely stunned.
Hell, the whole audience was stunned. People began booing and yelling out loud...Hell that was the loudest screaming I heard throughout the whole movie....as a matter of fact I heard nothing but laughter throughout the whole movie...(Josh and Mike were terribly funny!) with the exception of the last 5 minutes...then they (the film-makers)just leave you. People were even asking for their money back....including myself! Sorry guys (Daniel and Eduardo)!
Granted, I may be a product of the modern day, big budget, flashy SFX and poor acting (the acting in BWP wasn't much better) but hell, don't hype a movie to a level you say it is, wether big budget or low budget...when in actuality it's not. "As scary as the Exorcist?" YEAH RIGHT.... I slept like a baby after this wanna-be psycho-thriller let down. I couldn't sleep for weeks after I saw the Exorcist. BWP is not even close to being in the same league as the Exorcist...how dare they compare the two.
I, however, give props to the 2 young film-makers for their original concept and ingenuity regarding their film making techniques. Yes, Hollywood should take notice but this movie in no way story-wise, acting-wise, genre-wise lived up to it's hype!
But just like everyone this is only my and a few others on this message board disgruntled opinion.
Remember the ol' addage stated by the the rap group Public Enemy...I know I will.
"DON"T BELIEVE THE HYPE!"
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Just saw the Blair Witch Project soundtrack at Virgin Records Megastore. What would that soundtrack be based on? I don't recall any music do you? Oh, and I also just saw the Blair Witch Project Dossier at my local big-store-swallowing-the-little-book-shop book store. How about the front page of Time Magazine and a whole range of other magazines. Wow it really is in full gear. Looks like Hollywood's commercialism has reared its ugly head. All of you small independent film elitists must be cringing to see that your blessed filmmakers have sold out. All this has suggested that the Blair Witch Project is not about a movie but rather an experiment. I can just see the Hollywood studio execs pondering how to pull a scam on the one group of filmgoers that they have never been able to pull in: the independent and artsy filmgoer. So, they come up with this idea of making a very cheap film and marketing as such. But all the while they have this massive hype campaign ready to go. So, they go off to the Sundance film festival and bribe some people to get the prestigious midnight showing. The hype begins to generate and the film goes into wide release all the while proclaiming the smallness of the budget and the originality of the filmmaking. The CD deals are brokered, the book rights are sold, and then voila, we have the Blair Witch Project phenomena. The wool has been pulled over many fans eyes (particularly because it appears to be very easy to do) as Hollywood pulls the egocentric and intellectual-wannabe strings of many people. They know as well as you do, that if you want a movie to be so different and un-Hollywood, that you will see things on the screen and make up story and interpretations that have no basis in reality. Oh, by the way, I am going to copyright the above mentioned idea, and reserve the film rights before our ever original, and non-copying of 'The Last Broadcast' directors get to it first. For those of you who haven't seen the film don't fret, when it's released at your local Blockbuster you wont be able to miss it. You'll be able to find a copy in the 'guaranteed rental' shelf along with 40 other copies of the movie. And don't worry, it wont make its way to the independent film shelf and get lost with all the other brilliant independent movies.
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First off I didn't pay to see the BWP it was playing in another theater next to The Six Sense. After paying to see Six Sense for the second time in a couple of days to catch what I had missed the first time. I left the Six S. and walking into the BWP while the trailers were playing and said well let me check this out, I've heard good things and a lot of bad thing about this film. After the final scene and everyone was leaving all I could think of was how much this movie sucked. Don't get me wrong I love inde films. I would much rather watch a inde film than a mainstream (not sold out to the film industry). But after seeing the BWP I felt cheated somehow. Even though I didn't pay I felt cheated. I would not recomend to any of my friend to see this film, and I use the word film loosly. Its repetative most parts in the film. Its disjointed and boring. Only the last 2 1/2 minutes had any bit of interest. The whole film was "Did you hear that, did you fucking hear that", "Were lost, oh no". By the way I want to get some of those Batterys they were using for my video camera, 5 days or so on one charge, WOW. I really got what I paid for, nothing. If you want to go see a real GREAT movie go see The Six Sense. Read the talk back section for that movie here at AICN. about 50 or so posts and maybe 1 pereson out of them didn't like the film. This movie will win no awards if I were voting. Its a overhyped piece of **Shit** of a film.
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hey harry,
My names scott and I uhhh, read your eview on the blair witch project,both of em. While I agreed with all of the things you said about, i think there was something you missed. Maybe you know this and it was just part of your eview but that figure at the end is mike standing in the corner. it is not a floating image, or a man on a hook, it goes along with the legend of the old man who brought the kids down in the basement one by one and put one in the corner and killed the other. i didnt know if you had missed it, or it was part of your "scaring the shit out of people" post film games. either way, i just thought id clear that up with you. by the way, id love to write movie revieews for your page.
-scottie marx -
Some people have posted theories that maybe Mike was already dead when he was in the corner. But earlier in the film didn't one of the "townsfolk"(lol) say that the Witch would make one child stand in the corner, kill the other, then kill the child who waited in the corner? But of course it's not that simple. Because I'm still left with the question "how do you make a healthy, grown, and very much terrified man stand (FACING!) in a corner while you kill his friend?!" I understand that he was attacked when he went running downstairs but does that mean he was killed just then? Because if he was already dead, why put him in the corner? Heather would've been pretty much a sit'n duck at that point anyway. To me the thought of him standing in that corner very much alive makes it that much more bizarre(or stupid depending on your imagination-starved thoughts on the movie,lol). A movie can only be over-hyped if you're only going because everybody(including the media)said it was a good movie. If you didn't like it that's cool but don't gimme that over-hyped crap. If that were the case I would've gone to see movies like Eyes Wide Shut or American Pie. Who cares what everyone else thought, I wasn't gonna see them just because of that.
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WE'VE ALL SEEN THOSE 'MORDERN ART' ROCK STATUES -THEY LOOK LIKE ROCKS TO US, BUT 'CRITICS' GO GA GA OVER THEM- SO WE END UP SAYING 'HOW COOL' JUST TO AVOID BEING CALLED A MORON.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE BLAIR WITCH IS ABOUT, IT IS WORTH PROFILING THEIR MARKETING STRATEGY WHICH HAD EVEN ME FOOLED INTO WATCHING, ALL I REMEMBER DOING IS GLANCING AT MY WATCH TO SEE HOW MUCH LONGER, AND PERIODICALLY WAKING UP MY SLEEPING FRIENDS, NOT TO MENTION ACHING EYES FROM REAL SHODDY, WOBBLY CAMERA WORK.
THE MOVIE IS ABOUT AS BORING AS IT CAN GET, AND THE 'MORON' PHENOMENON HAS THE AUDIENCE GOING 'OOH' AND 'AAH' IN PLACES.
STAY AWAY IF YOU CAN, BUT REMEMBER, THEY HAVE MADE IT 'CRITIC PROOF'... ALAS!!
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have you guys seen this?
http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1099/blairwitch.html -
I have'nt seen the film yet, (being in Scotland, we get movies two months after you lot.), but from what I've read and heard, the film sounds a hell of a lot like something that happened in my home-town of Kirkintilloch about fifteen years ago, albeit without any amatuer film-makers involved: I can remember it vividly as my grandpa was in the police back then. Maybe the folk who made the film heard about this story and "adapted" it...?
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Nov 09, 1999 2:55:33 AM CST
Blair witch project ( can u stop thinking about it i know i cant
by 461846
That movie really got to me...
i know everyone else says it got to them too but i seriously cant stop thinking about it. it bothers me that some people laugh about it and make jokes when those people are out there dead or who knows you know. ever since i saw that movie ive done as much research as i could but i am just not satisfid with what i found i want to know more i know there is some where someone knows something. some one had to of seen something anything. My mom told me that maybe it was just a hoax that these 3 people decided that it would be fun to scare everybody and make them think that there is really a blair witch that got them and hey maybe it would work and they would make alot of money off of it and look they did you know. But that doesnt cut it for me i dont beleive that cause some of the evidence the cops detectives etc. found couldnt of possibly have been where it was no person could have put it there. that is what the private detective said but you know who knows. for me though i beleive something happened to those kids and i for one have to know what happened. I dont think that it was a witch but i do think that it was some sick person who knew what they where doing they had to of lived there a long time to know the woods real well. How could someone do that to another human i just dont get it. I dont know why they cant find their bodies if they are dead whats weird is that they couldnt find the bodies of the 5 men who were lookin for a little lost girl this happened a long time ago though. some other people found them on a rock all 5 of them where tied together hand to foot. when the men marked the spot and left to get help they came back to nothin except vultures and blooded spots around the rock nobody ever saw anything again. i dotn know spooky huh. i would like ot learn more about it but i doubt we will ever find out what happened out there in the woods. maybe it was something really beyond who knows !!!!!!! -
We believe that the occult was mixed up in the disappearance of these teenagers. We believe that people of the town kept their occult activities silent amongst themselves and we believe
that these teenagers actually talked with (on their interviews with townspeople) with a number of these occult members. -
This film has the same basis as the joke about the 2 elephants in the bath.
the first one says pass the soap. the 2nd replies no soap.radio.
The joke is not actually funny but by not laughing along you indicate your lack of intelligence by 'not getting it'.
BWP is awful, mtv kids bickering for an hour or so with a unrewarding ending. The basic premise of lost footage was pinched from the italian shlock horror film canibal holocaust.
A far superior psychological horror film is texas chainsaw massacre.
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First - I've been traumatized by every horror movie in the book. From Friday the 13th to Psycho, I've seen 'em all. That's why I was suckered into seeing this stinking pile of refuse laughingly called a movie. I was intrigued by the press the movie was getting, and it sounded like an interesting premise.
An hour and a half later, I was disgusted that I had paid 7 bucks for this train wreck. No - even worse, I had paid the highest price of them all: two hours of my life savagely ripped away from me that I will never get back.
Somewhere along the line, film goes have mistaken two hours of people on screen swearing at each other at the top of their lungs as character development, and running around in the woods non-stop as a plot. Half an hour of set up - and then an hour and a half of nothing - and then, the shock ending - where nothing happens. Have people's sensibilities been degraded by modern culture that they find this enjoyable?
No monster/witch at the end. No pay-off whatsoever, at all - zip, nada, zilch! Now, I by no means have to have a full blown million dollar CGI special effect to scare the ever-lovin crap out of me. In fact, less is more - the most scary movies I can think of are where they never show, they simply suggest. However, the viewer needs **SOMETHING** to hang their hats on - a fleeting shadow of a great white shark under the water, a dripping claw on the Nostromo, a long shot of a man in a black jumpsuit in Haddonfield - something. What does the Blair Witch do? Make scary noises in the woods at night. Ooooh - hold me! Oh - and don't forget about those scary sticks and piles of rocks? I find scarier things in my breakfast cereal.
Horror movies are frequently known for their plots - or lack of. Most of the time, this is true - a generic slasher flick often is a string of events loosely held together by a vague narrative. In the right mood, this can be even kind of fun, in a cheesy sort of way. However, the most cookie cutter Friday the 13th movie has more going for it in the coherent narrative department than this amateur attempt does. I was hoping for something more than "Kids go into the woods to make a movie, kids get lost, kids run around for several days, kids die." What the hell is that?!?
After seeing the film, the next day at work I was going off about it - and was instructed to go to blairwitch.com for the full back story. Surprise, surprise - guess what! There was indeed a full history on the legend, write ups on the characters, and more background information that I could hope for. If the creative (sic) team did all this work, then WHY THE HELL WAS NONE OF IT IN THE MOVIE?!?!? A viewer should not have to go do homework to get the complete story.
Illogical plot devices abound. They get lost in the wood because "I threw the f'ing map away, you stupid &!^@#^" - a plot crowbar if I've ever seen one. Or how about ignoring common sense - even I, a city boy to the core, would know that if you follow a river downstream, you will eventually wind up SOMEWHERE! Anywhere - a road, a farm, the freakin' ocean, for god sake! Yet this simple concept eludes the characters (and I use the term 'characters' very loosely.). Or - the best one yet: if I woke up in the middle of the night, with the forces of evil shaking my tent like Lucifer himself was outside, I sure as hell would **NOT** grab my camera and keep filming as I ran. I would haul ass as fast as my legs would go - buck naked if need be. Yet they have the presence of mind to keep the film rolling? And what about that survival book that the filmmakers take great pains to point out in the beginning of the movie - and yet never shows up again?
(Note to the creative (sic) team - next time, don't just make the movie up as you go. Take some time and formulate a dialogue and a story - maybe even write a script. I know it's a bold concept in this modern day and age, but your viewers will thank you for it.)
For those of you who seem to have forgotten what a *truly* frightening and/or movie is, let me bring you up to speed on required viewing: Exorcist (the creepiest movie ever), Jaws (a film that traumatizes an ENTIRE generation of people, keeping them off the beach for years, has something going for it), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Shining, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, Ring (a classic Japanese horror film proving that terror is not exclusive to North America), Alien, and of course the granddaddy of them all - Psycho. Of course, all the sad people who have bought into the hype of the movie will call me closed minded and an idiot for not falling to my knees and worshipping this movie. Fine - whatever. I'll just be over here watching
Bottom line - do not be suckered in by this festering and distended rectum of a movie. Go rent a good horror flick instead - you'll thank me for it.
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Wow, I saw this movie and I was reduced to a crying bluberring baby. I didn't sleep forever and I live in the boonies so I'm scared shitless to go outside. Well, I was scared to go outside to begin with but now I can't even look out my window. Fuck!
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