This "Project" gets a passable grade

Rating: Null/10 (27 April 2000)

It certainly became one of the most hyped and discussed movies of 99, and, along with The Sixth Sense, proved that horror movies could find a modern audience outside the Scream genre. But, unlike The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project doesn't hit the artistic mark.
To the films credit, it does create an occasionally unnerving atmosphere that most horror films fail at. The low budget adds a lot to the proceedings. Plus the ending is effective, and gives you something to talk about with your friends afterwards.
But the movie was more self-promotion than content. Blair Witch, and it's success, was more a product of the Internet than of artistic quality. This is not an insult to the co-directors, who do show a lot of talent and promise. But this film was already established to be a hit before it was even released.
Some critics and hangers-on were claiming The Blair Witch Project was the most frightening film since the brilliant The Exorcist. No matter what merits the film has, Blair Witch is no classic. The lack of character development and logic (those three students seem pretty stupid...) keep this one from being as good as the hype websites would suggest...