A masterpiece. The whole movie is as you would've found it if they truly went missing

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2019)

A masterpiece, to put it simply, and one of the most influential and iconic horror movies of all time. It's a disturbing film without any violence or any monsters.
The naturalism of the actors is unrivaled. It's impossible to overstate how compelling each performance is. Our main character is a joy to behold in every scene, with the perfect tone and expression to accompany every word of dialog. Every minute she wasn't in frame speaking into the camera was a minute I wished she were. I could not imagine a better performance.
The recurring sense of "dread" as each night falls, and the slow escalation of the threat, followed by the sudden release of tension at dawn, puts the viewer through an ordeal that you share with the characters. The film perfectly captures the feeling of being lost in the woods. The panic, the anxiety, and how easy it is to get turned around. On one of the final nights as the sun is setting, you can hear the desperation in Heather's voice as they know what's coming and are powerless to stop it.
There couldn't have been a better ending. It's the stuff you don't see that makes this film so scary. Your own imagination is always more terrifying than anything on screen.
The movie had perfect timing and excellent marketing. Came out when the internet was still the Wild Wild West. It was pretty difficult to prove or disprove anything quickly and search engines were still pretty primitive. The studio took advantage of this and as a result the movie had a lot of buildup. I dont' think anyone will ever be able to recreate that type of marketing again. If you tried that today you would have blog posts, articles, videos, tweets, tearing every aspect apart.