The Blair Bitch Project!

Rating: 10/10 (30 May 2001)

Boy... I don't know if I've ever seen so many mixed feelings towards a movie. Some people were so offended that they felt the need to post multiple comments here! If you have that many issues that you have to keep coming back and re-insulting this movie, then maybe it touched a nerve and you just don't want to admit it.
The Blair Witch Project is an experiment in fear. It gives the impression that three student filmmakers are going into the Maryland woods to film a documentary about a supposed witch that lived in the area many years ago. It is also insinuated that the witch influenced a serial killed in the '30s. Unfortunately for our clueless heroes, they get REALLY lost in the woods and spend a couple of days just wandering around. They have a compass, so it seems that the Witch is somehow causing them to walk in circles. As the intrepid trio travel through the woods, they find little "gifts" left behind by the Witch... piles of stones, little men made of sticks, and a rather nasty bundle with a soft, chewy center. A particularly scary part features an attack on the group's tent. Later, one of them vanishes in the night. The remaining two students finally end up at the house of the 30's serial killer...
No spoilers. You'll have to see what happens for yourself.
I'm not pretending that this is a major Hollywood release... less than $50,000 was spent on equipment and production. But this isn't meant to be high-budget. The movie looks exactly like it's supposed to... a student film that was edited together by people who found the "lost" footage after the students "disappeared". (I did think it was funny that some people thought this was real... the hype on the Sci Fi channel was great - it took quite a bit of convincing, plus video footage of the three actors alive and well on MTV, to show that they were still alive!)
I think some people are angry at this film because they were expecting the next Exorcist or Poltergeist. Unless you're blind, it's blatantly obvious from the previews that the movie is shot with shaky cameras in a very "real" environment. If you came to this movie expecting something else, then you deserve to lose your $7.50.
Also, I think people were really p***ed that they didn't get to see the Witch. In this age of CGI monstrosities and special effect-packed blockbusters, many movie-goers expect to see the monster all the time. If that's what you want, go rent The Haunting remake or Godzilla. I'd wager these same people would get upset at the original Haunting for not showing the ghosts.
Maybe some of the people who hate this movie really WERE scared and it bothered them so much that they decided to pan the flick. Either way, I think it's worth giving this movie a chance... don't take it too seriously, though... it's a much better ride if you sit back and try to watch it with an open mind. Be prepared, because the "action" doesn't really kick in until halfway into the movie, and there isn't a whole lot of it. This is more of a suspense movie, not a slasher flick or an action horror movie.
I've seen BWP twice in the theatre and once on video... and the last 5 minutes STILL gives me goosebumps.