Brilliantly contrived and utterly spooky

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 1999)

In July of 1999, two aspiring filmmakers released a low-budget documentary-style horror film into theaters across North America. 87 minutes later, millions are afraid of the forest.
"The Blair Witch Project" is supported by an absolutely ingenious concept: three college students set out to shoot a documentary on the Blair Witch, a local legend, and are never seen alive again. Well, not if you count the chilling peek the audience gets into their final days in the form of the footage shot by the filmmakers, as we watch with mounting suspense as they near their fates.
What is so frightening about "The Blair Witch Project" is not what we do see in the end but what we don't. So abstract are the final minutes of film that the imagination of the audience is forced to take over, and that is the stuff that sleepless nights are made of.
I can't guarantee that everyone will be scared or even amused by "Blair," but I can tell you that I am not easily scared by a film, and this movie spooked me more than anything I have ever seen. I highly recommend it to people with an open mind and an appreciation for inventive filmmaking.