The Poor Blair Witch

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 1999)

The early IMDb ratings for Blair Witch and the user comments were all enthusiastic and genuine. Then the media came along. Artisan claimed credit for everything (the website was better when Ed did it. At least the pictures loaded and the hyperlinks worked, which is more than I can say now...) the actors jumped in, and Dan and Ed began to look like mindless opportunists. Comments from viewers now are surprisingly negative..
Well, God never intended everyone to see a movie like Blair Witch, just as not everyone should see Clerks, or Z (lo, these many years ago) or Dark City. We all enjoy different things, and some people really would prefer to see Runaway Bride, or The Thomas Crown Affair, or The Haunting, or Inspector Gadget.
So, if some people are disappointed after seeing Blair, perhaps the hype and buzz did overcome the really brilliant little indie film and in doing so made it seem more universal than it is. That is unfortunate. However, I recently read that Hollywood insiders feel that hype on the Internet made Blair a hit, and that is unjust and false.
Blair Witch is archetypal. It is what frightens you when you are babysitting at a strange house, in the woods. It is why you understand expressions like "things that go bump in the night." The Blair Witch Project is brilliant. Say all you want about Artisan, or the Internet, or buzz and hype. Artisan didn't make Blair. Heather and Mike and Josh didn't either.
Dan and Ed did. Congratulations on a job well done.