One of a kind

Rating: 10/10 (9 November 1999)

Reviewed by: Steve Losie
From the opening shot in until the last heart-pounding scene, "The Blair Witch Project" is breathtaking. Its style, is easiness, its truth permeates every shot, every inch of this movie. Simply, it is a masterpiece-perhaps the best horror movie ever made. The plot is fairly simple: Josh, Heather, and Mike are film students making a documentary on the Blair Witch, a local legend in Burkittsville, Maryland. They begin by interviewing several locals, asking them their opinion of the Blair Witch. Before long, they are in the woods where the Blair Witch legend has it that the witch haunts. They shoot a few scenes and then head to a cemetery. Days pass, they don't find the cemetery, and realize that they are lost. Meanwhile, every night they are being scared to death by different odd instances: it starts out with eerie rock poundings and escalates to screaming childrenand then worse. The ending does not provide any twist, but is exhilarating none the less. The writers and directors took an old rehashed idea ("Witches are scary!"), but turned it into an experience. By using handheld cameras, the movie takes you in as a participant. Along with Josh, Heather, and Mike, you too are lost. You become confused, frightened, and weary. One of the most amazing aspects of the movie is its character development. Most of the dialogue was ad-libbed, but the characters transform throughout the movie as the haunting Blair Witch experience eats away at them. From the start, Heather is who we identify most with. She narrates: every thing she sees, we see, and what she hears, we hear. Josh seems to be the laid-back dude who will keep his cool no matter what happens. Mike is the most flappable. He is skeptical and jittery the moment they walk into the forest. As the Blair Witch begins haunting, there are many role reversals. Their very first scare, Mike won't even leave the tent. As time wears on, Josh "loses it." A combination of his weariness, the ceaseless hiking, and the horrible nights finally get to Josh and he nearly gives up midday. Heather insists they keep going, but Mike wants to make sure they keep their sanity. Later, Heather bursts into tears. She is emotionally drained. Flipped-out Josh begins pointing the camera on Heather, and she blurts, "It's all I have left." They aren't making a movie anymore; they need to keep it together. Through all this, Mike seems to unite them. Whenever a fight occurs or a nervous night wears on, Mike takes control to see that they are okay in the morning. By the last scene, Mike has taken command of the group from Heather, as he is the only one left who hasn't "lost it." Some of the highlights of the movie include Mike's admission that he threw the map in the river and the ensuing fight, Heather's tear-filled confessional (which should go down as one of the most personal and truthful monologues in movie history), and the last scene in the spooky old house. A twist here and a twist there keep you on your toes. Still, the way that the movie was made make all the difference. You forget that this is a fake. It feels real. It is real. Where most horror movies work by keeping you on your toes, waiting for what will happen next, this film does the opposite. It utilizes the fear of the unknown. Every night, they know what is coming. They just wait. Day after day, and everything feels so lost and helpless. There is no way out. It is only a matter of time until the inevitable hits. "The Shining," for instance, works by pitting good directly against evil. Nearly every suspenseful moment relies on the fear, "Can he/she get out of there in time?" "The Blair Witch Project" has an element of the fear ("Will they get out of the woods in time?") but that soon fades. Other questions are raised, such as "Will it come back tonight?" , "Will we ever find our way out?", "Who is chasing us?", and "What will happen to us?" The film works on multiple levels, as well as being an artistically beautiful vision carried out. It is, perhaps, the best picture of 1999. Heather Donahue's performance is particularly outstanding, while the creators-Eduardo Sanchez and David Myrick-deserve nominations for both "script" and directing. They took a leap into making a very experimental film, and came out on the other end with one of the most original and exciting movies of all time.