Don't let the hype ruin it for you!

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 1999)

I saw this movie the night it opened nationwide, after weeks of the biggest hype since the second Austin Powers movie. When the lights went up, I saw people all around me scoff at the so-called "scariest movie ever made" and even my companion said it was a "let down." Which is unfortunate, because "the hype" is forcing comparisons that shouldn't be made and turning attention away from the true brilliance of this film.
I am annoyed with reviewers who compare this movie to The Exorcist or The Shining. You simply cannot compare movies with huge Hollywood budgets with a movie made with two cameras and next to zero budget. Don't fall into that trap. This is not like any movie you have ever seen and that's what impressed those who saw it before the hype and drove them to create the hype.
This movie separates those with imagination from those who do not. If you are someone who scares yourself by thinking about horror films after you have walked out of the theater, than this movie will creep you out for days to come. The filmmakers didn't have the money for special effects and they resist the urge to give in to standard horror movie cliches. This movie presents a terrifying scenario and asks its audience to take the terror to the next level. How far are you willing to let your imagination take you? If you are not sure, you will know after you see this movie by your reaction to it. If you need special effects, blood and gore or things popping up on the screen to make you jump in order to enjoy a scary movie, this film is not for you. But if you can put yourself out in the woods, lost, with people you don't know very well, hungry, scared and tormented by something you can't see (but can hear), then you will find this movie full of creepy thoughts and images that give your mind just enough to torment you with a sleepless night or two.
Also, I highly recommend the website (blairwitch.com). It provides cool background info and interviews not seen in the movie. And, if you are like me, you'll probably start freaking yourself out before you even see the movie.
When you think about what the filmmakers had to work with and what they created, you will be astounded and impressed by this film. Since it is impossible to avoid the hype, try not to let it manipulate you into expecting something this film was never meant to be.
Bottom line: creepy, suspenseful and full of ammunition for a fertile imagination! Great movie!