The Scariest Movie in over a Decade

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 1999)

Some movies stick with you, difficult to shake for days, weeks, months afterwards. "BW" is one of those films. Directed by Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick (a swell couple'a guys, from the mere moments I had to chat with them prior to screening the film) in a pseudo-documentary style that's unlike anything you've ever seen, this is the easily the scariest film I've ever seen in a movie theater. "Aliens" and "Jaws" remain my two fave fright films (as well as Craven's original "Nightmare"), but having not screened any of those in their original theater releases, I felt something after seeing "BW" akin to what audiences must've felt upon exiting the theater back in the 70's following Friedkin's "Exorcist." The acting is top notch, save one argument scene by a river, and kudos in particular for Heather Donahue. This film is most effective if you grew up in the midwest/east coast and remember those "tell me a scary story" campfire tales. The film evokes an uncannily primal sense of fear through sparse visual trickery (none, really, which amounts to more style than any horror movie of the past decade, oddly enough). Despite some spots that might be considered draggy or slow to some, this was a pleasant surprise, given the overhyped nature of other indie genre fare ("PI," "Cube") and anyone with a degree of patience will be immediately sucked in the moment the 3 characters enter the dense Maryland woods to unlock the secrets of the fabled Blair Witch. Myrick and Sanchez are so good at scaring their audience with the most basic and rudimentary of aural/visual devices it's shocking nobody's thought of this sooner. When the final credits rolled after the numbing final scene, the hair on the back of my neck literally stood up and I felt a twinge at the base of my spine that still hasn't worked itself out. If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is. This film will get under your skin and stay there. Go. And bring someone you love, 'cause I guarantee you'll need to be grabbin' onto someone.