Cinema Uprising by Steve Evans
The Blair Witch Project Dirs: Edward Sanchez and Daniel Myrick. Starring Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard.
The pitch: Three student filmmakers disappear in the forests of rural Maryland while shooting a documentary about the legendary Blair Witch. A year later, their footage is found.
This no-budget faux documentary was hyped last summer as the scariest movie ever made. Don't believe it. Creepy, yes. Scary? See Hitchcock's Psycho. Blair Witch is mainly nauseating, since the shaky, hand-held camerawork will make some viewers wish they'd brought a bottle of Dramamine to go with the popcorn.
The brilliant gimmick behind Blair Witch can be found in the synergy between the movie and a detailed web site developed by co-director Sanchez. More than a year ago he posted an elaborate back story about the legend of the witch, dating to the 18th century. Thanks to market saturation, now almost everyone knows that this is a work of fiction, an exploitation film, really, that may eventually become the most profitable movie ever made. The directors let their actors film the picture during an eight-day shoot in the forests of a Maryland state park. The result is amateurish at times -- itchy and scratchy to be sure -- but that's precisely the point. Realism is the movie's strong suit.
Heather, Josh and Mike think they're terribly cool. And Heather, for one, is wrapped a little too tight for her own good. She's pushy as hell and that's what gets the trio in trouble. Making constant quips and mocking the locals they've come to interview, the students are quite impressed with themselves and Heather's project – to shoot a documentary tracing the lore of a murderous spirit. The Blair Witch has supposedly been haunting the woods of Burkittesville, Md., for two centuries. Heather, the director, keeps a chronicle of the behind-the-scenes story, shooting everything they say and do with her Hi8 videocamera. Josh handles the 16mm camera, shooting black and white film. Mike wields the digital audio tape recorder. Their skills with film equipment contrast sharply with their incompetence in the woods.
After interviewing the local yahoos about the witch, they venture into the forest and are lost within a day. About the same time they discover their predicament, someone or something begins stalking them. Strange totems appear outside their tent in the morning. Soon they are rabid with fear, living like hunted animals.
To tell more would be unfair. The buildup to the shocks is slow and sometimes tedious, as the directors seem to be padding out their footage to get the picture up to feature length (it runs a scant 82 minutes). But when the ride starts, grab something and hang on. Ultimately, Blair Witch succeeds on the basis of what it doesn't show us. The terror builds in our imaginations as we wonder what is out there, just beyond the range of Heather's camcorder light. Obviously something terrible will happen – we know that much from the opening titles. The suspense comes from wondering what will happen.
The final image, though ambiguous, becomes meaningful if careful attention is paid during the first half-hour. Subtle clues are peppered throughout the picture, although there is no definitive explanation before the credits roll. Stick around after the film. On video, the directors have added about five minutes of `newly discovered' footage, which consists of the actors yakking in their tent at night. The conversation is clearly intended to offer more clues about what happened to Heather, Josh and Mike, though it's still far from concrete.
Some viewers will not be satisfied by the vague ending. We think there's a different problem altogether (hey, if this movie can play games with reality, then so can we): Filmmakers who go into the woods on a witch hunt ought to have enough sense to pack heat and extra ammo. At Cinema Uprising, our motto is `be prepared.' If the Blair Witch came a-creeping in the night, and tried to unzip our tent, well, by gawd we'd be ready. `Say hello to Mr. 9mm,' we'd tell the old hag, or whatever the hell is slinking through the forest, disturbing our sleep. And pop, pop, pop: No mo' witch. We might not have enough footage for a feature-length film, but we'd come back with a cool short subject. And a trophy for the den. Problem is, most campers just aren't ready for an extended stay in the wilderness. So we wind up with these herky-jerky horror films instead.
As such, Blair Witch delivers several good jolts for viewers who can stick with it through the slow beginning. Its real triumph, though, is an exploration of group dynamics – how three friends slowly unravel in the woods and turn on each other, clamoring to get away.
Rated R for language. No gore, no onscreen violence, minimal blood.
Cinema Uprising copyright C 1999 by Stephen B. Evans. All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior, written permission of the author.
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