Oh the hype...the hype!

Rating: Null/10 (8 July 1999)

I was looking forward to this evening like nothing I can remember. Myself and three friends were about to have the privilege of seeing a private screening of "The Blair Witch Project," supposedly, and based on dozens of reviews, "the scariest movie in a long time, if not the scariest movie ever made period." I had read nearly 100 reviews of this film, from novice critics to established professionals, and all but about 7 declared "Blair Witch" to be a truly unsettling terrifying film experience.
I am 44 years old...have grown up with horror movies...loved horror movies since I was six...been part of horror movies...wrote and directed a documentary about what is probably the BEST horror movie ever...and have been a radio, newspaper and magazine film critic since 1980. Needless to say I know what a good horror movie is..should be...and was nervously looking forward to having the living hell scared out of me.
We waited until complete dark, then ran "Blair Witch Project" at 11:30 PM. 87 MInutes later we all sat around and stared at each other unable to speak. Finally I said it first "uh...is that the same film we've heard so much about?...because if it is...I want to know what was supposed to be so scary...so terrifying...so creepy about it. For the next hour or so we analyzed and scrutinized "Blair Witch," offering what we thought was good and the overpowering majority of what was bad.
We all agreed that it was an interesting idea, although heavily borrowed from "Cannibal Holocaust." We thought the 'you are there' style was good and the performances of the unknown leads was mostly very good.
The basic plot has a group of filmmakers, headed up by a loud-mouth bossy lady 'el direktor,' heading out to do a documentary on the legendary Blair witch that supposedly still haunts a certain area in Maryland. After interviewing some locals, and listening to some fairly creepy stories, the kids head into the very same 'haunted' woods to do some filming, video-taping and audio recording. Daytime is spent yelling, cussing and getting more and more lost. Night time is filled with sudden awakenings to creepy sounds and voices. Of course the camera and mike goes on every time to 'capture' this spooky stuff...and we know that things are only going to get worse for these movie makers. The movie history tells us that the group came up missing and all that was found was footage and audio tapes. The movie is an edited version of what was recovered. I'll stop right here with the description.
We all contended that a few elements were indeed creepy...but what was intended to be oh-so-scary was pretty banal when you got right down to it. You turn a light on and shine it in any part of the woods late at night and you'll get the creeps. If all around you are eerie voices and footsteps, you get the hell out of there, you don't run holding a heavy camera and keep on filming. That's done in "Blair Witch Project" more than once and it's simply silly and downright unbelievable, marring the 'supposed' REAL terror engulfing these people.
Admittedly the final twenty minutes of "Blair Witch Project" gets intense with the promise of something truly nightmarish to come. It never happens. The movie has no end..no explanation of any kind. The final image on the screen is puzzling and frustratingly vague but not provocative.
I fully agree that psychological terror is great and the more that is left to the imagination...the better...but "Blair Witch Project" leaves so much to the imagination, coupled with what is obviously improvisational 'play acting' and numerous contrivances, that it just doesn't work nearly as well as it should have, although the potential was certainly there. At a time when horror films are pretty much overrated teen-oriented soundtrack selling 'crap,' it would have been nice to have something original and frightening. I'm still waiting. "Blair Witch Project" is not that film and it doesn't come close to living up to all the hype.
We agreed that if we hadn't heard anything at all about this film in advance, at best it would be regarded as a direct-to-video film with an interesting concept that produces a few chills and tense moments, but nothing profound or overly effective. Keep in my mind, this is my opinion, and the opinions of my movie-loving buddies. If "Blair Witch Project" scared the hell out of you and you love it...great. You have a right to your opinion as well. Although I'm glad I got to see it, and I will probably see it more than once, it remains an interesting over-hyped colossal disappointment. On a 1-100 scale: 68.