Unsettling, but disappointing

Rating: Null/10 (15 November 1999)

Finally got around to watching TBWP (on video, with the lights off), and I'm still sorting out my feelings on it. On a pure gut level, I found the film very effective, in a way I'm sure the filmmakers intended. The improvised, "home movie" nature of the film generates an authentic "feel" to the proceedings, despite lapses in logic (like why Heather would continue shooting when in a life-or-death situation). A couple images stayed with me long after the film ended, like the unbundling of the twigs, and Mike standing in the corner of the house at the end. I also like the fact that the characters, particularly Heather, start out very cocky and self-assured and become emotional and vulnerable by the film's end.
But I was also left wanting so much more. There simply was not enough "background" on the legend before the scary stuff started happening. Adding another ten or fifteen minutes of "setup" in the town would have helped tremendously. Even when they're in the woods, a scene or two of Heather reading from the witch cult book would have helped flesh out the situation. Other viewers have suggested a "framing" device of a mock television special to help establish the situation more, and I think that would have been a good idea. Despite the intensity of some of the later scenes, I was never able to fully appreciate their predicament because I never fully understood the threat.
So in the end the film feels half-baked . . . great technique, but rushed, as if the details hadn't been fully thought out by the time of the shooting. Too bad . . .