Creative and original idea not to be mimicked

Rating: 7/10 (3 August 1999)

Brilliant idea: a movie so realistic it's *real* until you know for sure that it's not. The makers of this film went to so much trouble, in fact, to make it seem real, that even given that I knew it was just a movie, I had to reconvince myself it wasn't real after viewing the film and checking out the web site. To be sure: it's nice to believe it's real if you want to get really, really scared. As a movie, though? Mediocre. They could have done more with the legend to build up the plot, without taking away from the "real" aspect one bit. The footage they include doesn't include enough interviews or background to be pieced into a true documentary anyway. I wasn't quite as afraid as I wanted to be, in all honesty. If people try to copy this idea, however, they will FAIL. This is the type of thing that can only be done once successfully. I don't want to be going to a bunch of scary home movies and getting headaches all over the place every summer. I recommend seeing this movie solely on its creativity, though.