I'm Still Scared

Rating: 10/10 (1 August 1999)

I'm writing this from alone in the office at 10:00, there is no one else around, and this building is rumored to be haunted. I should not have watched the Blair Witch Project last night. This is the first film that has scared me as an adult.
This is perhaps the most elegant horror movie ever. There is no omniscient camera to interpret events. It does an excellent job of making you feel like your really in the film and not just observing the characters. Sure, lots of movies place the viewer as first person, but usually for only a few shots intended to give us a jolt.
The timing in the use of props is ingenious. The fact that a bundle of sticks tied together with some torn denim fragments can produce more emotional response than a multi-million dollar special effect makes me want to laugh at Lucas and cohorts. Having the audience stare intently at a blank screen is the best special effect ever!
Perhaps my favorite detail is the complete absence of advertisement in this film. Even sci-fi and pseudo-historical movies owe a lot to advertising techniques and imagery to distinguish identities, etc. A person from any culture could understand this movie given a cursory knowledge of our language. Particularly after you explained to them that Americans are inept at geography.