I really enjoyed this movie!

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 1999)

In any given horror movie, there's the hero, there's the heroine, and then there's The Expendibles. You know the ones I mean: the goofy sidekick, the Bad Girl, the bully who gets knocked off by the REAL threat in the last act... you know who they are, and the order in which they will be slaughtered. And you probably don't care. Occasionally one of the Good Guys gets knocked off, and that's supposed to be shocking, or innovative.
Horsepucky.
One of the strongest reactions I had during The Blair Witch Project was a growing sense of disgust for almost every other recent horror film I've seen. Hey -- I went to school with plenty of people like Heather, obnoxious artiste types who blather about the Lacanian interpretation of the Flintstones over decaf espresso. Yes, she's annoying. But she's more recognizably human than the stock characters that usually pop up in horror films. I recognize her, and I wish she would shut up, but I care what happens to her. And I'm grateful to the filmmakers for giving us slightly annoying, unpredictable characters, who frequently don't do what you'd expect them to, or what they _ought_ to do to advance the plot.
I think one of the major reasons for the commercial and critical success of this movie is its complete rejection of formula. Marketing alone is not enough to ensure success! Think about it: who ever would have thought a virtually scriptless movie, shot by neophytes with hand-held cameras, could earn the acclaim (and revenues) it has? Yet here it is: with over a thousand comments, and some truly emotional responses pro and con.
At a time when Hollywood seems committed to remaking every film, TV show or SNL sketch, or adapting every novel ever written for the screen, here's little gem of a movie that doesn't do ANYTHING it's supposed to do. It doesn't play by the rules. Without professional cinematography, it still comes closer to a purely cinematic experience than anything you'll see this year... And there's something lurking, unseen but clearly felt, in the shadows around the edges of the film: brilliance. ...but if they make a stupid sequel, I'll sic a real witch on 'em...