A real Hitchcock feel

Rating: Null/10 (12 February 2000)

"Vertigo" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Remember, it didn't do well at first. It was too dark, too complex. It took decades for the film to get the appreciation it deserved. And so it is with "Blair Witch." Forget the Web hype, this is a tremendous film. Slow-building horror, the subtle deconstruction of the three actors, an absolutely stunning end. Hitchcock would have been proud. You may have heard all the detractors, concentrating on how these kids could get lost in the woods. "I would have done this" or "I would have done that" is a common refrain. But I live in a heavily-wooded, mountainous area and I can remember several occasions of people being lost and dying in the woods no more than a few hundred yards of a house or road. Generally, it is a series of small, seemingly harmless mistakes that lead to tragedy. Keep that in mind when you watch the film.