A film that allows you to scare yourself, provided you have imagination

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2001)

I saw this film a year after it was released. I knew the film was fiction. I didn't buy into the hype. I didn't see the preview short films on cable that were used as a precursor and marketing tool to promote interest and background for this film. I saw clips of this film, as well as an interview with Heather Donahue, and wasn't too impressed by what I saw and heard. However, the film was in the video store for a low price, and the time was right to see the film, as Halloween was approaching. I brought the film home late one evening to my spacious apartment, popped the film into my VCR, turned off the lights, and proceeded to watch the film alone.
The results were a unique and brilliant film. No script, no incidental music, acting is totally improvised based on a vague plot the actors were given, film is shot entirely from the visual perspective of the three students involved in the story, etc. Viewing this film scared me like no other viewing of a film ever has. However, the film ITSELF is not scary. YOU SCARE YOU, provided you have imagination. The film throws you into a situation where your imagination is provoked into running wild; and providing certain memories of your youth are triggered (this is very important to the experience of this film), i.e. getting lost in deep woods, camping in deep woods at night and hearing eerie noises, thoughts and images about witches, you will scare yourself in a way you never thought possible. It was weeks before I could set foot in the woods again without being "creeped out". After viewing this film once, maybe twice, the scare factor is finished. The film doesn't hold up well as entertainment after the first or second viewing. Nevertheless, the intial scare is well worth it.
Two main reasons why people didn't like this film are: 1. They have NO imagination. 2. They believed and bought into the film's hype that this footage was real, sat cynically in the cinema surrounded by other people and distractions, etc. critiquing the film and taking out a white glove in their mind every time something questionable happened in the film in the hope of debunking this film as a hoax. Not a very open-minded way to watch a film.
If you haven't seen this film and you are a fan of old-fashioned horror, as opposed to big budget special effects and blatant gore films with annoying and cliched soundtrack scores, then I highly recommend buying it and watching it at home at night alone and with all the lights off. If you really want to scare yourself, listen to the film's audio on headphones whilst watching the film.