Unlike modern "horror" films such as "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" that present cheap and unimaginative chills and thrills - and in the case of the latter, a particularly less than frightening boogeyman - this one works more like a scary novel. Far more important and impressive, however, is that by limiting what we see - and actually not see since very little is actually ever revealed - the film uses the most powerful cinematic tool ever available to filmmakers - the moviegoer's imagination. By keeping them off balance, the filmmakers brilliantly extracted some believable performances from the cast.īy forcing the audience to experience the horrors right alongside the actors, the suspense and fright factors are incredibly heightened. Utilizing a "boot camp" approach, they subjected their performers to living in the woods for the duration of the shoot, with little food, sleep or information of how the story was to unfold. What makes the film seem so realistic is the way in which co-writers/directors Eduardo Sanchez & Dan Myrick shot the film. Much like the feeling one must get if ever confronted with a "snuff" film (where people are supposedly killed for real with the act captured on film/video), the proceedings here are delivered in such a realistic fashion that one begins to wonder if perhaps this really happened to the "actors." After all, they are playing themselves, at least in name. For one, the moviegoer is consequently no longer a passive viewer, but instead now an active participant in the proceedings. Shown entirely and only from the point of view of two cameras, the film creates an entirely realistic, "you are there" sensation that generates two important side effects. While that may sound like a potential episode of TV's "The X-Files," it's actually the starting point of the creepy "The Blair Witch Project." The darling of this year's Cannes Film Festival, this low- budget work from a pair of soon to be known writer/directors is generating lots of buzz and for good reason.Ī highly imaginative mix of any Stephen King novel set in the woods and the MTV "reality" show, "The Real World," this film is quite remarkable, especially for such novice filmmakers. It seems three student filmmakers set out to document a supernatural legend, but then mysteriously disappeared with the only clues to what may have occurred to them being found on their later discovered film footage. OUR TAKE: 7 out of 10 It's a case that FBI agents Mulder and Scully would likely be assigned to investigate. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into horror films, yes, but this is much different from the typical slasher film or its recent witty send-ups, the "Scream" films.ĬAST AS ROLE MODELS: The three characters play filmmakers who, under the stress of the situation, cuss a great deal, become irritated, irrational and paranoid and smoke and drink some. As the days pass and they encounter more nighttime occurrences, the three lost, hungry and increasingly paranoid filmmakers must deal with their behavior toward each other as well as the seemingly supernatural events that are quickly driving them crazy. Filled with stories of hairy beings, mass murders and strange and apparently supernatural phenomena, the three set off into the woods for several days of exploring, shooting and camping.įinding various oddities in the middle of nowhere and encountering creepy events in the darkness of night, the filmmakers begin to get a bit spooked, especially when they lose their map and realize they're lost. Shown entirely from the viewpoint of their black and white 16mm camera along with Heather's handheld camcorder, the film shows the three planning for their trip and then interviewing locals about the legend.
PLOT: In this fictitious account of a real-life story, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams hike into Maryland's Black Hills Forest in the fall of 1994 to shoot a documentary about a local legend, "The Blair Witch." From the onset we know that the three mysteriously disappeared, with only their film footage left as clues regarding what may have happened to them.
QUICK TAKE: Horror: Planning to make a documentary about a rural legend, three young filmmakers set out into the Maryland woods and encounter far more than they expected. (1999) (Heather Donahue, Michael Williams) (R)
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