Yeah, It's a Trick, but SO WHAT?

Rating: Null/10 (24 July 2002)

I am convinced that there is a direct correlation between a person's intelligence (or sophistication) and how much they liked this movie. If you thought it was crap, you are dumb; if you thought it was fun and scary, you are smart. This will sound egotistical, but, of course, I really enjoyed it. The biggest complaint coming from the haters of the movie is that it looked cheap and was shot through a video cam. HELLO! Where does it say that every movie ever released needs to be on film, with gorgeous, razor-sharp photography, a rich, professional-sounding musical track, acted by big-name movie stars, in other words, like most of the movies you pay to see at a theatre. I love the fact that so many viewers were waiting for the big wide screen image to come up, AND IT NEVER DID! The creators of the movie had a fabulous idea and they pulled it off completely. Yes, the movie is a kind of trick, or stunt. But aren't all movies, to some degree? Don't we all have to suspend our sense of credibility a bit when we see, for example, Star Wars, or Halloween, or The Green Mile, or ET? These movies do have the look of big-time Hollywood, with the photography and the special effects and the costumes and actors and music. The creators of Blair Witch DELIBERATELY AVOIDED all of that, because it would have been a distraction, and would have gone against everything they were trying to do. If anyone WAS NOT frightened by the last few minutes of Blair Witch, it was because they were having a childish tantrum, thinking (correctly) that this movie wasn't like other movies, and that fact made them uncomfortable and therefore, frustrated. As if to say, "this movie is bad"....."I could make a better movie blindfolded"......."I'm p***ed that I spent my money and time on this crap", etc.. I have watched movies for 50+ years, and the last five minutes of this movie were right up there with any of the scariest things I've ever seen. I take my hat off to the makers of this film. I loved it for what it was: a very different and fun concept, which was cheap to make but made millions. Definitely not intended to be a "cinema classic".