Not a very good movie

Rating: 2/10 (19 September 1999)

[Editor's note: this comment contains a minor SPOILER]
Why this movie ever has gotten anyone's attention or admiration is a mystery to me.
Before watching I had read about it on the net, in newspaper's and so on. Therefore I was expecting something new, something out of the ordinary, something memorable, but this was just a waste of time. Mostly it reminded me of movies that one of my friends used to produce in his backyard when we were at school and the dialogue in his films was better. That this movie has gotten the attention it has could only happen in the States, I think, where the craving for something new is more pertinent than the craving for something good.
First of all there is nothing remotely scary about it, just three kids in long johns running around in the middle of the night frightening each other. Secondly the 'realism' is plain phony and the story is badly told, nothing hangs together. The quest these kids are undertaking is badly researched, badly prepared and badly executed. The witch never becomes real in any true sense, so the story of her fails to add to the scare. All the things the kids encounter in the woods has the feel of silly pranks and Josh' disappearance makes no sense. Nobody in their right mind would toss the map and nobody in their right mind would follow the female lead anywhere, since she's constantly screaming and commanding the guys around. I surprised they didn't make her disappear instead.
This could perhaps have been a good movie and even a scary one, but it would need some script work, a knowledge of plot structure and better actors, not just a snappy web site or two.