A major disappointment

Rating: 1/10 (1 August 1999)

[Editor's note: this comment contains minor SPOILERs]
The Blair Witch Project has been heralded as the movie that was supposed to revive the horror genre to a much greater extent than the original 'Scream'. It was supposed to be a genuinely frightening film with little or no comic relief, no trick endings, and no disfigured killers who get knocked off at the end by the one remaining camp counselor who you could guess at the beginning of the movie. I was supposed to be afraid to drive home after seeing it and have nightmares for weeks. The hype on this flick was becoming unbearable the days before its release nationwide. I was so excited to see a scary horror movie that would really scare me. Most horror movies these days either turn into comedies with endless jokes and no serious edge or they turn into gory bloodbaths that nobody cares about. This movie was gonna be different. So as soon as Blair Witch came out nationwide, I ran out to the theater, forked over the money for the ticket, sat back and waited to be scared. And I waited and waited and waited. 87 minutes later, the credits were rolling, the lights came on, and the only thing that scared me was that I paid good money to see that stupid so-called horror movie. Nothing during the movie scared me or my girlfriend (who scares quite easily I might add). The characters spend most of the time cursing at each other during the day and running around in the dark at night. The things that are scaring them are barely audible and since they are shooting the scenes, you can't see much at all. Heather never shuts up, never stops filming, and never knows where she is. The two guys aren't much help. An hour into it, I thought maybe the night scenes would still be terrifying once we get there. Well, they weren't. Other reviews claimed that the tent scene is soon to be famous. Why? It's not scary. Neither is the rest of the film. Okay, now it's close to the end. Something's gotta go down now. Five minutes later, the footage ends in a frantic, climax that MAKES NO SENSE. If someone can explain it to me, please do. I really would like to know what happened to them. I saw nothing in the whole movie that could lead me to believe anything related to witchcraft was going on. There's no witch, no thrills, no chill. The only thing I will remember from this dreadful attempt is the confusing, what-the-heck-was-that ending that I may never understand. If you want to see a scary movie, rent the original 'Candyman' or 'Nightmare on Elm Street', turn off all the lights, turn up the surround sound, and be prepared for the nightmares later. A truly demented and horrifying alternative to this junk would be 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. Not this. I'm sure I'd be scared to be out in the woods at night, lost, and weird stuff happening around me. But it's not scary to watch in the theater. This was perhaps the biggest disappointment I've ever felt after seeing a movie. I gave it a 3 for the fact that I felt bad for the three people in it. One Point per Actor/Actress. Don't waste your time or money on this one. I have to be pretty fired up to submit a long review so you know this one really ticked me off.