TBWP - review: Absolute Horror or (Absolutely Horrible)

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2016)

"OK, here's your motivation. You're lost, you're angry in the woods, and no one is here to help you. There's a fu*king witch and she keeps leaving sh*t outside your door. There's no one here to help you! She left little trinkets, you fu*king took one of them, she ran after us. There's no one here to help you! We walked for 15 hours today, we ended up in the same place! There's no one here to help you, THAT'S your motivation! THAT'S YOUR MOTIVATION!" - Josh Leonard (The Blair Witch Project)
I absolutely love this movie, I remember when I first saw it, I was 10 years old, I turned the lights off, I was terrified, and I couldn't get the movie out of my head.
This is a found footage movie (fake documentary) and you could say this one sparked the flame for how popular (depending on your perspective) they have become today. Ever since TBWP, I've been a sucker for found footage movies.
When the movie starts, it is a slow burner, and some people may become bored, however, everything you're seeing from the start is absolutely necessary. The movie builds the story slowly from the three main characters perspective, all they're doing is making a college documentary about a folklore in the small town of Burkittsville Maryland, they give the audience information (that is crucial later on) about the murders of 7 children, minimal info on The Blair Witch legend, the ritualistic murders at Coffin Rock, and the belief from the towns people that there's something evil lurking in the woods.
I enjoyed the three main characters performances, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams aren't just playing characters, they're projecting 90% of themselves into the movie. A majority of the actor's performances where real and genuine, they were really out there in the woods (not actually lost), they actually argued with each other, Heather shed real tears, and their fear was pretty legit.
My favorite scenes in the movie are: 1. Heather's Documentary Opening Cemetery Scene 2. The Interviewee's Story about the Rustin Parr murders 3. The description of the Coffin Rock Murders 4. Character's fighting about why the map was kicked into the creek 5. Discovery of Voodoo Stick Figures hanging on the trees 6. Night Time Chase 7. It's not the same log 8. Josh verbally abusing Heather 9. Cries for help heard in the distance during the night 10. Final Scene at Rustin Parr's house
TBWP is frightening, tense, haunting, eerie, and it builds and builds until the very last frame.
By the end, some people may feel disappointed because nothing is exactly clear, it's a bit ambiguous, and it's left up to people's interpretation. Clearly, there is something supernatural happening, but as an audience member, you don't find any real concrete evidence to support the fact that there is a ghostly or supernatural presence lurking in the woods, all of the happening can easily be debunked as, there are people screwing with them, and Josh did it; The Blair Witch is clearly the one responsible for the happenings, but you never see her, and that pisses a lot of people off.
I enjoy this movie because I get to use my imagination, I believe that the forces you can not see are the most threatening and entertaining for a horror movie. I love the abusive verbal behavior between the characters, it adds emotion, and empathy. The characters start off as happy go lucky individuals, they're very excited to go on this camping trip, but as the tension builds, they slowly start to verbally and physically tear each other apart, they break down and share real moments of fear, terror, turmoil, and sadness.
TBWP is not for everyone (clearly), but I enjoy it because it feels real, and the realer it feels, the scarier it becomes.
The movie could've been more of a character study mixed with horror, but I still enjoyed it for what it was, and that's pure unsympathetic non scripted non CGI-ed horror.
Final Grade: A