Can't believe this only has a 6 right now!

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2006)

TBWP is on TV right now as I type this, hence my curiosity to visit the IMDb to see what rating this film had. WOW.. shock, surprise.. it's only got a 6 star rating?! The votes obviously are largely skewed by the stupid sheep who believed the film was 'real' and bought into the marketing hype, then felt ripped off, and angry at the marketing hype around it once they realized that this was a mock-umentary.
Take it for what it is.
At the time (1999), it was somewhat unique in being entirely shot with a hand-held camera. While some people may the camera shaking, going out of focus and such annoying, it all adds to the 'realness' of the concept that you as a viewer are meant to be buying into. It's not fair to take away ratings points based on 'poor production quality', 'not many special effects', 'no big-name actors', or the way in which the film was marketed.
Instead, the story is intriguing, and while it has its moments of 'less interesting' dialog, generally for much of the 84-minute running time, you are kept on the edge of your seat, or perhaps for some, hiding behind it! The premise of the film is simple, and so not much really happens ("it's about these kids who get lost in a scary forest" - true), but that's exactly why TBWP works. The film didn't need to be complicated, and it isn't - all it needed was a few 'setbacks' or 'issues' for the kids come across, and the film delivers.
On the downside, I do recall feeling at the time of my first viewing that the film was possibly too short, if anything. There are instances where you might say to yourself (or to others watching with you) "they can't be that stupid, can they?" -- but hey, the world is full of stupid people - and hey, not everyone goes to scouts and learns what you can do to help you get your bearings if you get lost in the woods..
I gave the film a 7 out of 10, though I wish IMDb allowed 1/2-pts as I feel a 7.5 is where this film is at. TBWP is not the best film ever, but it is one I would certainly recommend seeing.