The Blair Witch Project Review

by Brian Matherly (bmath2000 AT hotmail DOT com)
August 5th, 1999
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The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Review by Brian Matherly
***** out of *****

Cast: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard Written and Directed by: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez Running Time: 87 minutes
Date Reviewed: July 31, 1999

The trailers and the beginning of the move sum up this plot very easily. Three filmmakers venture into the woods of Maryland to track down the legend of the Blair Witch for a documentary they are making. They disappear and their footage is discovered a year later buried underneath the foundation of a one hundred year old house. From there, things become a little more complicated.

I can say, with absolute assurance, that no film has ever had quite the impact that this little movie has had on me. Although I know it was all a staged "mockumentary", there's no denying the psychological impact this film will leave on you. I didn't feel much upon initially watching it. I just thought it was an interesting film with some pretty creepy parts. I never even dreamed that thirty minutes after the film had ended I would be frightened out of my mind just discussing it with a friend. I've gotten chills every time I've brought it up since then. This is not a movie that hits you right away. Instead this is a movie that sits at the base of your spine, waits until you think everything is okay, then it slowly starts to creep it's way up into your mind. This is truly the most frightening movie I have ever had the pleasure to watch.

The film is comprised of home video and 16mm camera footage that the documentarians supposedly shot for their Blair Witch film, so don't expect any steadi-cam shots or fancy camera work. This is as real as it gets folks. I don't recommend sitting too close to the theater screen though, because I guarantee you will get motion sickness from the constant movement of the camera. The performances of the three lead actors in the film are so real, you may find yourself questioning whether all of this has really happened or not.

This is definitely a movie that warrants home video viewing, especially due to the fact that the bulk of the movie was shot with a standard home video camera. The reality of the images will strike frighteningly close to home when viewed as actual video instead of the tape-to-film transfer done for the big screen. Word has it that a special edition DVD with boatloads of extras (hours of deleted scenes, alternate endings, commentary, the Sci-Fi Channel special, and others) is being planned for release. I urge Artisan Entertainment to forge ahead with this plan and give us what could be the DVD to rival all DVD's. I know I'll be first in line to buy one. [R]

Brian Matherly -- [email protected]
The Jacksonville Film Journal
URL:http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/

© 1999 of The Jacksonville Film Journal. No reviews may be reprinted without permission.

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