One of the best horror movies ever; here's why:

Rating: 10/10 (5 April 2001)

SPOILER ALERT. Don't read this unless you have seen the film.
"Blair Witch," very original but shot on a very low budget, with no star names, no standard glitter or spectacle is still an excellent film. In fact that is WHY it is excellent; it is original, it is completely non-Hollywood, the dialogue is so good that I felt drawn into the film as I watched it, something which rarely happens with me. In other words, because the three were saying EXACTLY the sort of things I would say in a similar situation, I "felt" this film potently.
I love the constantly moving camera, said camera being the chief complaint from those who "hated" the film, I think the acting is flawless and the direction and photography make this movie REAL. And what a pleasure to see a horror movie without the cliche-ridden often stupid shock music most horror films have!
I personally relate most to Mike. He is skeptical from the start, and I get the feeling he agreed with Heather and Josh out of boredom more than anything else. "Thank you for the opportunity," Mike says to Heather and I hear a faint blend of reluctance and sarcasm almost at the film's start. Mike is the first to say "we're lost," something I believe Heather and Josh also know, but don't want to admit.
I would not have kicked the map into the creek, (even though the map really was worthless if you think about it,) but otherwise I would have been a near clone of the Mike character. Mike doesn't like the camera on him, and makes no bones about it. "Shoot some ambiance!" he says to Heather after she has yet again stuck her camera in his face. My reply would have been more curt than was Mike's. Mike is the most down-to-earth character in the film and I don't think it coincidence that Josh, not Mike or Heather, disappears first.
But I like the other two as well. Heather is an archetypal film student know-it-all, right down to her arrogance. She is completely self-absorbed, ("I'd like to mark this occasion,") she says acidly when Josh and Mike are complaining about moving on, and she lives to regret her stance. Josh later turns the camera on Heather, who, VERY SIGNIFICANTLY, says "Are you expecting me to say something?" She whines to Josh, even though she has practically rammed the camera into both Josh's and Mike's souls. When Josh really starts yelling at Heather, the bitter sarcasm he uses is most understandable. (I personally love it!)
Josh is the first to entirely break down. This is completely unexpected, I was sure it would have been Mike. Josh puts on a convincing laid back facade but when things get bad, he's the first to crack. This was a brilliant stroke.
"Blair Witch" is a character study, if you'll pardon the expression. I was only scared once. (Those straw and twine symbols of hell in the trees, you know the scene.) Otherwise I was fascinated, and I have seen this rather short film several times. The dialogue, the characters, the moving camera; We KNOW something is going to happen. Indeed something does happen, in fact several things happen, one of them being an extremely well crafted film which contains MUCH more than meets the eye.
I give "Blair Witch" a ten.