The Films

▼

Lists

▼

Thursday, October 21, 2010

#76. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

DVD Synopsis: The Blair Witch Project follows a trio of filmmakers on what should have been a simple walk in the woods...but quickly becomes an excursion into heart-stopping terror.  As the three become inexplicably lost, morale deteriorates.  Hunger sets in.  Accusations fly.  By night, unseen evil stirs beyond their campfire's light.  By day, chilling ritualistic figures are discovered nearby.  As the end of their journey approaches, they realize that what they are filming now is not a legend...but their own descent into unimaginable horror.








The Blair Witch Project works for me because, every time I see it, I’m immediately pulled in by the film’s documentary style, which brings a chilling air of realism to an unbelievable tale.  

A great deal of the credit for this perceived reality must go to Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, who wrote and directed The Blair Witch Project, but, in my opinion, it’s the three lead performers who really sell it.  These three set out at the beginning with an energy level one would expect from young filmmakers, but as events grow more strange, and the hope of escape fades with each passing night, they slowly begin to unravel, lashing out at one another before breaking down completely.  All three are utterly convincing, and it’s because of them that I find the events depicted in The Blair Witch Project so frighteningly unsettling.






 
 
at

5 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 21, 2010 at 11:49 AM

    Yes! Scared the shit out of me!
    And I never understood the later backlash against this movie... I always chalked it up to simple jealousy on the part of other wanna-be 'auteurs' and indy garbage-filmmakers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DVD InfatuationOctober 21, 2010 at 12:19 PM

    Thanks for the comment. Backlash is always kin to popularity...it just usually shows up late to the party. And of course, the more popular something is, the more venomous the backlash against it. I'm sure you're right in that some of the hatred is due to a level of jealousy, as is the case whenever a massively successful work is turned out by an amateur (or group of amateurs), but I can also see where the film wouldn't appeal to everyone (I know people who've gotten extreme motion sickness watching this movie). But what the hell, I like it, and will keep on watching.

    ReplyDelete
  3. fredOctober 21, 2010 at 2:02 PM

    This movie got me because when it was released/went to video I hiked a lot in Virginia which given it's proximity to MD looks eerily similar.

    Not to mention it was down right scary and well portrayed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DVD InfatuationOctober 21, 2010 at 2:54 PM

    Hey, Fred. How are you? Thanks for the comment.

    Ueah, I pretty much steered clear of camp sites for about a year or two after this movie. You just don't know what the hell is lurking out there!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownDecember 28, 2014 at 4:24 PM

    Having recently watched this, it's impressive how well it holds up. The documentary style is still totally believable and it's so well done that it makes me want to lower my scores for the "Paranormal Activity" movies haha. Unbelievably scary at the time it came out.

    ReplyDelete