Forget Hollywood formulas, big budgets and effects. Great film.

Rating: Null/10 (26 November 2000)

I remember hearing about the premise of this movie, and I was hooked long before I'd ever seen it. The premise of three college kids making a documentary about a witch, and then being hunted, is refreshingly original. I didn't need special effects. I loved the shaky camera work. It made the premise seem realistic.
This is a love it/hate it type movie. Many people complain of the cheap production values. Well, the movie wouldn't have worked any other way. Another big complaint people have had is that they didn't understand the premise. They didn't know if it was supposed to be fact or fiction. WHAT,ARE YOU STUPID? I knew it was fiction from the get go. Do you think this would have escaped the news? Do you think the families involved would have allowed a mass-marketed movie to be released in the aftermath of their tragedies? Of course the movie was fiction. But, that didn't ruin a thing for me. I know that most every movie I see is fiction. That doesn't ruin my good time. And, with this movie, I was watching really good, really original fiction. I was glad to see a movie that didn't rely on millions of dollars of special effects. I was glad that we didn't see the money shot of the witch.
This movie left me thinking of possibilities of what happened for weeks. It also worked on a level that truly scary movies like "Rosemary's Baby" worked. Both movies were truly scary because they dealt with real fears, with human emotion. Neither movies showed any graphic violence, but both were truly scary. They made me think about scary possibilities that can't simply be discounted. That kind of stuff is a whole lot scarier than a guy in a hockey mask. So, even to those who weren't able to give this movie a chance, go rent it and watch it in the dark on a quiet night. Only a real Scrooge won't be a little scared.