Someone did their Hitchcock homework....

Rating: Null/10 (20 January 2003)

Why do people find this movie scary and others do not? Having spent many of my years watching all sorts of horror movies, I can say that this movie is very eerie and scary, even more so than most of the movies from the last two decades.
First off, the propaganda around the movie sets up that these events really happened, so people see the movie the way many would have watched the OJ trial or the JFK assassination...they weren't there for a movie, they went to see a documentary, so they were a bit freaked to begin with. It also helped the realism along that it was filmed by the actors on video cameras.
Plus, they never show you the Blair Witch, and folks, that's spook genius right there. Rent any number of Alfred Hitchcock's films, and you may see a parallel. What you don't see will scare you more than what you do see. When we watch a Jason or Freddy movie, we are relieved when they come on screen, because we can stay in that "it's a movie mindset." But by not seeing the witch, you mind can't find that mindset as easily, leaving it to your imagination, which can raise your pulse just a little more than normal.
And yes, the movie is slow, but that's part of the whole point. It builds to the climax we see at the end, taking us on a ramp of anxiety, rather than the up and down formula of a slasher movie. Boring? At first, yes. Dull? Only if you aren't paying attention...
Take it for what you will, I see a great addition to the horror genre. And whether you love this movie or hate it, you must admit that there are certainly fewer people going camping nowadays.