try to ignore the hype and just keep an open mind.

Rating: Null/10 (2 August 1999)

First, I feel like I have to address the buzz surrounding the movie. I am at the same time disgusted and sort of impressed with the hype. It is pretty clever when you think about it. No trailers (well, they are showing one now, but still, it took them long enough) no cast members doing the rounds on talk shows, no big budget, etc. Just the website, the documentary on the SciFi channel, and bigtime word of mouth. It sure worked. I feel for those actors, since they got paid about what I make in 2 weeks for 3 weeks of hell. I hope to God the filmmakers were generous and gave them points in the film. I am also hearing that at most theaters, they pay the manager, etc to get up before the showing and get the crowd all hyped up, which is kind of lame. When we saw it Saturday, the owner (before she threatened people who had laser pointers) got up and yelled, "Hey, welcome to Crossroads theater, and ARE YA READY FOR THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT?? Whooooo-hoooo! Everyone READY TO BE SCARED?" I was like, oh please. I also heard these girls in front of me asking someone next to them if **this was a real documentary**. We got up and moved because I did not want to spend the movie sitting behind someone so incredibly stupid and naive. But I guess that's what a good job they did marketing it, because I heard there are plenty of stupid people out there who think the thing is real. I also grudgingly admire whoever decided to market it initially as a 'hard ticket', meaning they wanted to have it only at one theater or so per city for a few weeks. I'm sure that helped the buzz. Hyping it as the scariest movie of all time (though maybe this is more word of mouth than the filmmakers doing it) is kind of dumb, though, because people are just going to be disapointed, unless all they've seen are "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer". I heard kids talking after the movie who were let down because they was very little gore, no monster, and no real pay-off. I had a good time because I told myself not to expect anything. I guess if you go, just keep an open mind, and don't think, "This better be the scariest movie of all time after all the hype, or I'll be p**sed". I do think it's kind of funny how the big studios spend millions of dollars marketing their lame summer 'event' pics, but this is the one most people are talking about wanting to see.

So, that's my 2 cents as far as the hype goes. Went and saw BWP for myself this weekend. Inside the theater manager had to come make an announcement about laser pointers, she said if anyone used them during the movie she'd take them away and kick them out. She was this huge, burly, tough woman who looked like a prison warden so people calmed down after that and shut up. Anyway, I loved it. Not the scariest movie I've ever seen, but if you asked me what the scariest movie I've ever seen was, I wouldn't be able to name it. I would saw BWP, the Exorcist, Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, Last House on the Left (and a couple more I can't think of right now) are like the top scariest. I was really impressed though. Very realistic, the way it was shot and put together, and the character's reactions to stuff. My spouse said it really scared him, which he hardly ever says, because he's been camping and that's like your worst nightmare. The whole movie was very creepy and spooky but the last 5 minutes REALLY scared the crap out of me.
It's funny, the audience started out very rowdy, and I thought I'd have to "shhh" people the whole movie. But after the first 5 minutes, people were engrossed. As the film got more and more tense and scary, there were no screams. Instead, the whole audience just sat there cowering quietly in fear. Not a lot of talking back to the screen, etc like there is in most horror movies, and the audience was full of teenagers. That speaks for itself, I think.
I read a review in which they said that the movie was all about panic, and I agree. One of the most upsetting things is the way the charcters go from calm, controlled, and joking, to nervously joking and then arguing, to trying desperately to hold it together, to understandable total freaked out panic by the last reel. As the film draws to a close they just give up all pretenses of composure and control and just panic and run around like maniacs screaming incoherently at the top of their lungs. Usually when characters in a movie do that you feel like slapping them, but the film draws you in so much that you do not blame them, one bit. You know you would probably act the same way if you were in their shoes, and the way the movie is filmed, you are pretty much in their shoes.
Bottom line regarding how scary it is: If I'd been watching it by myself at home at night I probably would have started crying.