One of the most scary and realistic films of 1999. ***1/2 out of ****

Rating: Null/10 (17 August 1999)

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) ***1/2
Starring: Heather Donehue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard
Directors: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez 80 minutes Rated R (for strong language)
By Blake French:
MICHAEL, JOSH, DO YOU HEAR THAT? ITS PROBABLY A DEAR OR SOMETHING. NO, ITS NOT. THE SOUNDS ARE COMMING FROM ALL AROUND US. WHAT IS THAT. OH MY GOD! ITS GETTING LOUDER! OH MY GOD! ITS COMMING CLOSER! OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT? WHAT IS THAT! OH MY GOD, ITS EVERYWHERE!
That is just a sample of how the new film by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, "The Blair Witch Project," is able to scare the living daylights out of an audience without ever having to include scary music, graphic violence, or a gooey, slimy, bloodthirsty creature. The film is created with no special effects either and much of it takes place during the night, and being shot from a camcorder, there is only a black screen in front of us. We witness no one's death--although there are several murderous events that are implied heavily. "The Blair Witch Project" is one of the years best films.

The movie is more of a documentary than a regular horror thriller. It is based on a 1994 event in Maryland, where three film students, Heather, Josh, and Michael, all follow the idea of Heather to go out into the woods by themselves during the weekend and shot film on the legendary Blair Witch who is supposed to haunt an area nearby. They begin with interviewing people who have seen and or heard about the witch. Then they take one of their cars and drive into the supposedly haunted woods. All of this is being shot on one of two home video cameras held by either Heather or Mike, therefore we see all of the story through the eyes of the characters. What a novelty!
Their first day of shooting however, they begin to finds some very weird things. Like a pile of rocks staked in accordance to one of the interviewed witnesses' descriptions. Then what looks like big voodoo symbols carved in the sand and made out of sticks and twigs that appear everywhere. What could be doing this? One of the students believes someone is playing a joke on them. But Heather knows that nobody has any knowledge of their presence there. Therefore, it must be something else...
Then mysterious things begin to occur. First the crew discovers they seem to be lost in the woods and have somehow gone off the rout--but Heather insists otherwise. Then they notice the map carried by Heather has disappeared. Soon afterward they start to turn on one another going from being best friends to constantly fighting and bickering at each other. After that, they detected that they have been traveling in circles all day long--and have not covered an inch of ground. That night the crew hears strange noises coming from all around them--ones that sound like young children screaming in pain--but no body is out there with them? When Josh disappears the night afterward, and severed fingers are found the next day, things really begin to heat up.
"The Blair Witch Project" is enlightening and intelligent from the very first scene, allowing us to participate in the characters discoveries, arguments and horrors. The opening is wonderfully crafted by detailing the interviews of the witnesses that not only arise our superstition, but also train our fantasy for what is prom to soon happen. The witnesses cleverly describe that the say "something" in the woods, not outright telling us it was a witch, giving us a gold mine for our imagination to feast upon. And by showing us next to nothing throughout the film, this lets us become seriously involved with the characters.
The movie's structure is perfection in itself--and original. The gradual increase in tension--how the crew stars out finding clues, then more and more things begin to happen like the sounds at night, the disappearance of Josh--is what makes this film so frightening. It also develops the character's feelings and emotions using this form of composition. My only complaint is that I think this movie lacks some true suspense, unlike the very well off completion "The Sixth Sense." "The Blair Witch Project" only went for all out terror without ever really getting into a build up. But given the structure use, it is perfectly understandable that this minor flaw is present.
"The Blair Witch Project" is not a data movie in the least. When I attended this film's screening a sat in the back of a young twosome presumable on a date that were squirming in their seats during this movie. The girl was almost asleep and the boy was trying his hardest to please her; going out of the theater to get refills on popcorn, soda etc. I was thinking to myself that they were closed minded here, and were looking for some graphic action movie. As the movie ended in one of the most tense cliffhanger manors that I have ever seen, only to have them mutter "finally, its over," I made a note to warn you in advance: if you are looking for an action packed, muscle mannered, explosive special effects extravaganza, "The Blair Witch Project" is not for you. If you are looking for a very different view at a scary subject dealing out its terror as psychological tension, and are willing to give the screen your imagination and involvement for 80 minutes, then go see this one. It may make you think twice about going out into the woods again.