More of a terror experience than a movie.

Rating: 8/10 (4 August 1999)

Instead of giving a "this movie is a must see, go see it now" kind of review, I'm just going to give a brief overview of what seeing this movie was like for me:
The opening scenes and the first few days of their documentary: The filmmakers are typical 20-somethings. "My friends and I act a lot like this", I thought to myself. Right down to how I videotape everything and annoy my friends by doing so. The search for Blair Witch landmarks had an "everyday" feeling to any camping trip.
The filmmakers get lost: I can't say I've ever been lost in the woods, but I could relate to the frustration of walking in circles trying to find a way out of a place. The filmmakers' sarcasm and anger with each other seemed natural for the situation.
The night incidents: Every night was worse than the one before, and the point where the filmmakers ran from the tent with Heather trying to understand what was out there was a tense moment. I felt a very uneasy feeling during the scene because I couldn't see what was out there, but I knew something was.
*SPOILER ALERT FOR THE NEXT PARAGRAPH*
Josh disappears: When Heather and Mike wake up and see that Josh isn't there anymore, I knew that something happened, but what and when and how? I couldn't tell. That was the worst part of the situation. The witch's "gifts" about Josh's fate were unnerving. Mike and Heather were now realizing that they were part of a game now and were being hunted down.

Heather's close-up: I understood with Heather's apology to the parents of three filmmakers that that she, as well as I, knew that their time was short and the game was almost over. This is the shot that represents so much of the "Blair Witch" images that you see, and is one of the most saddening moments because of its finality.
The final scenes: I refuse to give anything away, but during those last few moments, I felt my heart start really pumping in my chest and chills go through my body. I was open-mouthed with nervousness and shock until the credits rolled. A powerful, terrifying ending scene.
At home: After the movie, I went home. I went outside to look for my dog. I have a small patch of wooded area in my backyard. In calling my dog, and going into my backyard, my stomach knotted tightly with apprehension. I almost left "Sparky" outside. It's only a movie, isn't it?
This isn't a standard horror movie by any means. There isn't a hockey-masked, knived hand lunatic waiting in the shadows, accompanied by scary music to build up to the moment. This is the boogeyman. This is the creature under your bed. This is the campfire story. This is the thing that goes bump in the night. The creature is never seen, but imagination makes the creature more terrifying than any special effects person could generate. Forget practically every horror movie you've seen. If you want to be scared on a pure primal level, see this. This movie deserves every bit of recognition and credit it gets, and while I'm not looking forward to the countless string of rip-offs that with try to capitalize on its success (It happened to "Scream"), this is the original, and this is the one to remember. There's no climatic Hollywood showdown. The trio finds themselves in something that is way over their heads, and the supernatural leads them to their fate. Anyone who doesn't see this, is denying themselves an amazing film experience, but the reviews are true. This is truly a frightening film.... but on a different kind of level.