That was meant to be one of the scariest films ever?? I don't think so!

Rating: 4/10 (7 January 2006)

Three teenagers disappear in the woods of Burkittesville, Maryland whilst filming a documentary about the legend of the "Blair Witch". A year later their footage is found.
It's hard to know how to review this film, because the only reason it was thought to be so unbelievably scary is the great advertising idea advertise it as if it was real! If I had watched it believing it was real, I would have been freakin terrified. I would have felt the terror of the actors; I would have felt the frustration and the anger; I would have heard every tiny noise they heard and I'd have probably been hoping that they got out there alive, even though I knew they had been missing for a year, so it wasn't really likely and I would have loved (well, be left wondering by) the ending!
But I didn't. I saw it knowing it was false and I felt.. not much. From the beginning the characters were already annoying me, and they just got worse as the film went so it was hard to feel anything for them; I laughed in disbelief at the ridiculous things they did (One of them purposefully kicked the map into the river when they were already lost (???)); and the repetition of them running around the woods screaming at each other and then sitting in the tents terrified of the noises they could hear outside, yet still trying to capture what it was on film, got a little tiring.
And then there is the famous ending not so great after all! But again, would have been effective if you believed it.
The only thing that still works though is the use of the idea that it's scarier when you can't see what is out there. This was used to good effect... up to a point. There are a lot of shots where it's all just pitch black and all you can hear is their frantic whispering about what the hell it is that is out there, or, in some cases, just silence and you're just waiting to see if something passes by, but this is used to often and it got too routine by the end.
And I have to say I loved the hand held camera style of filming, very effective and I have to give credit to the actors they were great! I would have believed them!
But it doesn't leave any real affect on you, so my advice: don't watch it expecting much.