Overrated...?

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2003)

Nah! I finally saw this film in its entirety - and I've got to say to all the haters: for those of you who thought it was boring; for those of you who thought it was jumbled, incoherent, and uneventful...you must realize that IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MADE LIKE THAT!! Any other way of constructing the story and the individual sequences would have, at the very least, watered down the fright factor a bit.
I must say I was surprised by how genuinely creeped out I was at times when viewing this film - mostly due to the glaring lack of clichéd musical cues and ambient noise. I felt that was the absolute strongest aspect of "The Blair Witch Project", a raw, unpleasant journey into the woods captured on film by three young "filmmakers" who somehow "disappeared" as their "documentary" was being shot. Losing the map, fighting amongst companions, the discovery of random odd signs in the woods - most notably the film's trademark stick symbols - and more all serve to heighten the unbelievable realism of this infamous voyeuristic drama. I feel it deserves its cult status as one of the greatest and most original horror films ever made. It's obvious why many people saw such potential for imitation and mockery (mostly just for that signature "I'm so scared" teary-eyed Heather close-up). "The Blair Witch Project", however, cannot be called such a disaster. It's certainly a unique viewing experience, and for that I must commend it for its approach, and its lasting legacy.