Absolutely terrifying

Rating: Null/10 (25 October 1999)

I have intentionally waited to write my review for this movie. I saw it shortly after its release and wanted to wait for the initial hysteria to die down. I have now seen it twice at the theater and bought it on video Thursday. This is truly the most terrifying experience I have ever had.
The plotline (borrowing from the tagline here) is three student filmmakers disappear in the woods in Maryland, and a year later their footage is found. A young film student (Heather Donohue) hires two guys (Mike Williams and Josh Leonard) to accompany her into the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland to shoot a documentary on a local legend: The Blair Witch. The three soon find themselves lost in the woods, with no foreseeable way out, no matter where or how far they go. All the while, an unseen force stalks their every move.
This movie clearly plays on all our most primal fears. Where am I?, How am I gonna get out of here?, and mostly..what the hell was that noise? It teases your emotions and tweaks your nerves to the point that you feel relief when the credits roll.
Heather Donohue is a major star in waiting. Her "portrayal" of a young woman paralyzed by fear (remember folks, they only had a rough outline of the script, everything that happened was as much a surprise to them as it was to us) is chilling
Michael Williams and Josh Leonard are also wonderful in their "roles". Josh, in my opinion, is the most scared of the three. He is the first to fall apart and shows his emotions easily. Michael Williams is the one who tries, despite all odds, to keep the group together in an attempt to escape not only the woods, but whatever is hunting them. These two young men have a wonderful acting career ahead of them, and it will be nice to watch them grow in the future.
One novel thing about this movie is the fact that, in my opinion, it works better on the small screen than the big one. The (mainly) videotape footage frames well on your TV, and somehow adds to the terror. If you buy the tape or DVD, you can skip the "newly discovered footage". It feels very tacked on, and is clearly shot on 35mm film. Probably footage scripted and shot especially for the home release.
Unlike modern horror films (Scream, Urban Legend),"The Blair Witch Project" packs a punch whether its your first viewing or your 10,000th. This movie grabs you by the teeth and pulls you into the depths of its insanity. As an old horror veteran, I have to rank this one among the greats, such as "Psycho", "Night of the Living Dead", "Halloween" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".
4 out of 4