Left Breathless

Rating: 10/10 (21 September 1999)

I'll admit that when I first heard about The Blair Witch Project, it had not blown up into the huge thing that it is now. It was still relatively quiet, relying on it's own title and mystery to attract viewers. I went to see this movie the second day it was out.(In it's limited release run)
All I can say is that the reality portrayed in this film is so good that it's frightening. That's why the movie is scary. It's not because of what we see or don't see, but how the actors react to what is happening around them. What's the most important part of acting? Reacting! And these three were perfect. I kept thinking to myself...wow..that's exactly how I would react to that...or "that's what I would have said." I could totally imagine myself with two friends in the same situation reacting the same way.
Sure, the fact that they film to the very end is asking a bit much to believe. But remember, it IS a movie There has to be some suspension of disbelief..there is in EVERY movie. But here's the question that all of you have to ask yourself...let's say you were these film students..you got lost..you lost one of your friends..you were frightened for your life. Most of you would stop filming...I probably would. However, the filming to the end makes sense to me. As they get closer to Josh's voice and the climatic scene in the house....what if they saw something, saved their friend...escaped the witch, or whatever it was..and got out alive? Aside from being grateful that they're alive...they would be forever kicking themselves for not getting the one thing on tape that they set out to get. And so would you. A serious artist is willing to put everything on the line to get that one important shot that would make everything that they went through worthwhile. if they hadn't continued filming, and survived???? It would all have been in vain.
This movie didn't really scare me until about an hour afterwards, when I had all that time to think about it. Imagine yourself in that situation...you WOULD be scared to death. If you deny that, then you are lying to yourself. This was a brilliant film and a much needed film for the genre that has been dominated by Scream spin-offs. I thank the director and the actors for such a wonderful piece of work, and I can't wait to own my own copy.