So real it had me fooled

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2005)

I write these comments a few hours after accidentally flicking over to this movie on TV when it was already half-way through, not knowing what it was or anything about its background. I came in at the point where the three characters were groping around in the dark wondering whether the noises they were hearing were deer.
My initial belief was that I had tuned into one of those dreadful survivor-type reality-TV shows. In fact I almost turned it off when an argument scene developed and the language became obscene. However the intensity and realism of the fight, plus the fact that it was acknowledged as being hand-filmed by the actual characters, compelled me to keep watching. What was this I was seeing?
When adverts intervened and showed the title, 'Blair Witch Project', I recognised the name but that was all. So I consulted the TV guide and read the brief synopsis about 3 students going missing etc.
So what kept me totally hooked into seeing this movie through to the end? The fact that I was honestly unsure whether what I was seeing was fact or fiction. And I didn't clarify this till the titles at the end!
Call me a sucker, but the suspense of believing that this might actually be the missing students' footage kept me riveted. With this possibility lodged in my mind, the behaviour and demeanour of the characters in the worsening situation seemed utterly realistic and totally unlike any cheesy 'Reality' show. If this was not the real thing, then I assumed at the very least it must have be a re-enactment of a true story.
Keen to find out more once the movie it had finished I checked out the official web site www.blairwitch.com and still found myself wondering how much of this was true!
So for me, having no prior knowledge of what this movie was all about, gave me a compelling viewing experience and left me very impressed at what the movie makers had achieved.