BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, THE (director: Daniel Myrick; screenwriters: Daniel Myrick/Eduardo Sanchez; cinematographer: Neal Fredericks; cast: Heather Donahue (Heather the director ), Michael Williams (Mike the sound guy), Joshua Leonard (Josh the cameraman), 1999)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
There is something to be said about simplicity: it is unencumbering. To shoot a film about a weekend excursion, shot in 16mm and on a high-8 video hand-held camcorder and have it shown in theaters, as the picture jumps back and forth during the entire film, making it really annoying to view, and have the audience be understanding about this, means that this film, shot as if it were a true documentary, has captured something genuine on screen that an audience is craving for. It also should move it into cult film status for these 5 Central Florida University film school students (3 actors,writer and director), who should be proud of their achievement, accomplished by having a sound idea and made without hardly any money for its production; the only other thing needed by them was the conviction to do their own thing and in their own way.
Heather Donahue (Heather the director ), Michael Williams (Mike the sound guy), Joshua Leonard (Josh the cameraman), play the three young people on camera who hike through Maryland's dark woods in search of finding out more about the legend of the Blair Witch (Elly Kedward, found guilty of sorcery in 1785 and lashed to a tree during a harsh winter). The film begins by announcing the disappearance in the woods of "Burkittsville Maryland" of these three documentary filmmakers in 1994, and the film presents itself as what the camera shows was left behind after their disappearance. As we watch the footage from the evidence recovered, we know as much about the legend as the youngsters knew when they went out on their trek. The horrors come about when we see how their expressions change from one of horseplay and showing off their purchases of junk food and the good feelings they have to one another, to one of real fear and anger with each other. It is the horror on their faces and the way their expressions show real apprehension that give this film a different twist to it than the usual horror story, which, too often, relies on special effects. It matters not what is seen along the way or how well they are acting, professional actors could not have done a better job. What is really scary to see, is how panic stricken they are when they realize they are really lost in the woods, that they have little chance of getting out on their own and are in need of a rescue party to find them. This makes the last minute of the film the most haunting part of it. It sticks with you well after viewing it, as you wonder what could have happened to them. It reminded me somewhat of "Picnic at Hanging Rock", that film also effectively left the disappearance up to the imagination and did not dwell on the details of the children's demise. This method of filming mysterious disappearances, proves to be an interesting way of handling it, especially when you don't have much in your budget and your story is razor thin.
The flaws in this project are that it was like going on the trek yourself, walking over bumpy logs, getting wet, and feeling cold and uncomfortable, and listening to all those snidish remarks and whining that came out of the three. I would not like to see other films made this way, or see a follow-up to this film, a film that lucked out and became an enormous commercial success, which should make "big time" movie producers drool with envy. This film, just happened to capture the spirit of the project and was done in a satisfying way so as to reassure us that we were seeing something that appeared to be genuinely creepy. Follow-up films rarely capture the same spirit, and by correcting the jumpy camera would not, necessarily, enhance the film. This film did what it had to do and should be savored as the popular cult film it is or will certainly become. It made a virtue out of shooting a low-budget and unsophisticated story in the raw.
The other thing the film didn't do, was give us enough information about the legend. I would have felt more toward the effort, if I had more of a story and some more pertinent dialogue to go along with the scariness of the film. It was also hard on the ears to hear their conversations, both because of the poor sound quality and their endless ramblings, punctuated only by profanity. But this is overwritten by their excellent use of the forest itself, its twigs (designed to give the film its terrifying logo) and rocks and darkness, as in one sense the area was found to be beautiful, but when things went wrong, an ugliness of mood and environment set in, giving the film all the props they would need to make this horror film scary. I would give it an A if it was shown to a film school class and held up as an example of how to make an innovative film on practically nothing. But as a professional offering, I would be more critical, and my overall discomfort in watching the film would have me lower the grade significantly. Though I do heartily recommend this film for the more adventurous sorts, and feel it is difficult to evaluate because of the thinness of the story and such, yet it has an appeal to it that goes beyond what we ordinarily look for in a film. That something special is what draws us to this film, but not to a point where we remain uncritical of it.
The film leaves the elements of mystery about it, as its ending is very much connected to its beginning interview scenes of the locals, which should provide many provocative responses from the enthusiasts of this film, who will add mystery onto the mystery for this most dizzying and engaging film... Incidentally, I did feel like I was motion-sick when I left the theater. I wonder how many others felt that way!
REVIEWED ON 8/7/99 GRADE: B-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
ozus@sover.net
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