Don't believe the hype, but see the movie

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 1999)

While this movie didn't live up to the months of hype given to it, it was the best movie I've seen all summer. It wasn't absolutely and obvioulsy frightening, but there's an awful lot to be said about a film that messes with your mind and sticks with you for days, like this one.
The first 1:20 of this movie is actually, contrary to some reviews I've read, a great job of character development, as each actor changes due to their experiences. I haven't seen such dynamic and profound changes in characters since I saw Deliverance for the first time this summer (yes, I know the connection there, and I'm not entirely sure it's just a coincidence), while the final 10 minutes is some of the best horror cineamatography (sp?) I've ever seen. It's more frightening than the entire remake of The Haunting.
Sure, as some have complained the actors aren't the greatest ever, but this is their first movie and, lest we forget, they're not exactly "acting" either. Most of what you see in the movie are their real reactions to what's going on around them, reactions that most people would come close to if put in the same situation.
Another "problem" that people have tried to blow out of proportion is the quality of the filming, again without taking into consideration what was actually going on. The actors only had an 8mm and a 16mm camera to film with, and even if they were film students, they were "students, and not accomplished filmmakers, so the level of lighting, sound and filming wouldn't be the greatest.
All in all, I would say this is one of the best movies I've ever seen, in all facets of filmmaking. While parts of it could conceivably be better, the movie as a whole is as close to perfectly done as you can get.