Why this film is better than most people give it credit.

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2001)

It's unfortunate to see that an imaginative and somewhat innovative film like this gets walked all over by so many people. It's unfortunate that most people seem to have missed the point.
The major criticism most people give regarding BWP is that it's "not scary" or that as a "horror movie" it fails. First off, these people should know the difference between a "horror" movie and a "suspenseful" movie. In a horror movie, we are scared because we don't know what will happen. In a suspense movie, we DO know what will happen, but we DO NOT know how or, more importantly, when the events will occur. This was NOT a scary movie, but it was extremely suspenseful, and that's where, I think, most people miss the point.
!!!POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!
I thought this film did an excellent job of creating a suspenseful atmosphere. Everyone knew from the beginning that these kids would never be found, but we didn't know how this was going to happen. No one with any iota of intelligence should have been expecting monsters popping out of the woods or a psychotic killer wearing a hockey mask to leap from the shadows. We are with them as they set out, get lost, and disappear one by one. We are with them as they become more frantic to escape the forest, and as they become more terrified about whatever it is that is stalking them.

To appreciate this film, you have to accept this film for the way it was intended: A collection of documentary footage which was "found," showing the last traces of a bunch of adventurous filmmakers. In the age of "reality" tv shows, it is astounding that so many people dump on this film. Yes, it's fictional, but its tone is meant to be real. As such, there is no need for the usual film conventions such as character development or a clear-cut plot outline. Since when does "raw documentary footage" ever have any of these things?
I saw this film in the theatres, and while it was hard trying to suspend my disbelief at the outset, I soon found myself very much hanging on everything that was happening. I thought the filmmakers and actors did an excellent job, and it's unfortunate that the sequel that followed basically threw all of that away.