A severe disappointment

Rating: Null/10 (4 August 1999)

I, too, saw "The Blair Witch Project", after much anticipation- having read the many "rave" reviews about the "best horror film in the last twenty years". I cannot express the incredulity and anger I felt after the lights came up. Not only I, but the entire audience groaned, and demanded their money back. Now, after being a film lover for over twenty years, and taking over three buses to see a Sergei Eisentein film festival, this should tell you that I am not a casual film goer. I did not expect, nor want to see such drivel as "Friday the 13th", or "I Know What You Did Last Summer". What I did expect to see was an intelligent, psychological horror film. Sure, I knew that this film had an ultra-low budget, and I've seen less expertly filmed movies than this before. However, the interminable pacing- where was this tiny shred of a story going? Add to the mix that I abhor the "great oudoors", anyway, and still I wan't moved to the slightest bit of fright. Getting lost in the woods, or otherwise, is hardly a cinematic original. I knew well enough not to expect bang-up "special effects"- and I've never been a fan of them anyway. But, the story, such as it was, went nowhere, and there was no payoff. I didn't expect blood, guts, or gore- a superior film doesn't need them. What I did expect, was the build-up of suspense, of dread, and the claustrophobic feeling that you can't wake up from a bad dream. The only thing that I can say in the film's defense, was that the writers had a nice ear for dialogue- not stunningly good, mind you- just nice. But that was it- and it wasn't worth the price of a movie ticket. I felt gypped, partially because of the "brilliant" advertising on the Internet prior to the release of the film. What makes me angriest was that I fell for "the next big thing", something that I always avoid. I don't like to be told, "see this" or 'do that"- I like to make up my own mind. This time, I didn't , and you know, I felt just like a lemming. Bravo to the filmmakers, who have surely finagled big, fat contracts. The "brilliance" was in the publicity, not the film. As a great lover of film, I was really disappointed. I'd been rooked. Welcome to Hollywood.