Utterly realistic, heart-stopping, and frightfully compelling...one of the best films of the year! One of the truly best horror films ever made!

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 1999)

It's hard to describe how I felt after exiting the theater doors that housed the utter brilliance that is "The Blair Witch Project." As I moved throughout the large crowd (an unprecedented amount of people for the "art house" theater that I saw it at) to the lobby exit doors, I watched other people in the lobby with a suspicious anxiety and a slight "clamped" feeling within my chest. These emotions were a direct response to my Tuesday night at the movies.
I came out of this film, feeling a deep dread and sorrow for these people, even though this incident didn't even actually occur. That's how compellingly realistic this film is. It's so realistic that you will swear, once you exit the theater, that you could find an article about it in an old newspaper from 5 years or something (**SPOILER: The incident is supposed to take place around October 1994 **).

Here's my overall view on "The Blair Witch Project." ( NOTE: From what I've read [as I am a film major], the writer/director team of Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez wrote a general plot outline for the three main actors they hired and instructed them to improvise dialogue while encountering different locales that had been set up by Myrick and Sanchez. So, in a way, it's not clear who is exactly responsible for certain technical aspects of the film ).
CAST: The list of actors in this film includes extras who play town people being interviewed by the three main actors, played by Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard. This trio of actors are complete unknowns and I've never seen them before, but expect Hollywood to react to them in a big way. They are incredibly talented, especially Donahue, and their improvisational skills are top-notch. I thought I was seeing real students making a real documentary film. Donahue, in particular, is fantastic as she grows more and more frightened and bears the load of being (**SPOLIER**) the "team leader" (so to speak) and being the only woman out in the woods with these two guys.
MUSIC: (**SPOILER**) While there's no music within the film (at least not a score), there is a disturbingly simple and eerie bit of instrumental (I guess it's instrumental...?) that plays over the end credits. Kudos to Tony Cora.
CINEMATOGRAPHY: (**SPOILER**) While most of the film was shot with a 8mm color camcorder and a 16mm black-and-white camera (I assume those are both correct), the effect of switching back and forth from these two devices is haunting. Because of the limited focus and technical abilities of both of these camera types, you begin to feel more and more dread for what's lurking around the next tree, shrub, or bush. In addition, the matte lines (**SPOILER**) used to crop the image into the center of the projection screen create a realistic look for the type of cameras used. They also emulate a kind of restricted space for these characters to be roaming around in, even though they are wandering through a vast expanse of woods. You actually feel like they're trapped...with nowhere to go.
EDITING: This film feels like an actual documentary. You believe this is real and that it did indeed happen 5 years ago. That is due largely in part to the way it's edited. The various jumps from one shot of them shooting their "actual" project footage to shots of them just goofing off or having a conversation is an example.
WRITING: The story and plot is scary and frightening as hell. Even though it harkens back to the stories of witches and the banishment of them, such as was reported in Salem, the most powerful aspect of this film comes from its masterful technique and the way it was approached in its making.
DIRECTING: Again, I can't say who's exactly responsible for the directing, even though Myrick and Sanchez are credited for it. They didn't actually supervise the camera work or remain present at every moment (at least as far as I know). Still, their ultimate approach to filming their story with just an outline and improvisational actors is incredibly brilliant and will most likely spawn a number of copycats in the horror genre(i.e. "Scream," "Halloween").
In closing, this is a film I will never forget. I always be reminded of it when I go hiking or camping anywhere. I always be reminded of it when I look out the window at the woods that permeate the area around my house. And I'll always remember (**SPOILER**) that last intense, frightening image.
Easily the best film of the year (up there with "Eyes Wide Shut") and one of the best horror films ever made.
**** out of **** stars.