Hype-a-rama

Rating: Null/10 (11 November 1999)

Can we say "Hallowe'en cash in" children? Picture this: Film released in which some people go camping in the woods, get shouted at, strange things happen, find a house, film ends. Put it like that and the Blair Witch Project simplicity is revealed. Not that I'm saying this is bad - simple can be good, and to be fair, as most lines were improvised, a simple plot can be turned into a fairly realistic film. Note: fairly realistic. No documentary team, no matter HOW amateur, would take footage as shakey as some of the Blair Witch shots. OK, it's on a camcorder, but even so. The word 'overplayed' springs to mind. The same rings true with the dialogue - the arguments seem drawn out, the emotion just somehow inappropriate, and the locations are simply dull. It has its good points though: the few scary bits ARE scary, and the implied witchcraft is intriguing spooky, but as a whole the movie just seems too bland for my liking. Fair play to the people who created it, on a small budget and amateur teams, but I ain't gonna eat a cake just coz the cook is inexperienced and buys cheap ingredients. For a much classier horror, I recommend The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.