Home Movies will never be the same!

Rating: 10/10 (15 August 1999)

Well, I might as well add my name to the list of people with scorching opinions one way or the other about THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. Students in my various classes at Dowling College (Long Island) were pretty evenly divided down the middle--they either HATED the film with a passion or they LOVED it. I fall into the "loved it" category for a number of reasons. (Actually, I think it's exciting that people can get so worked up over a movie.)
First, the home video / 8 mm format is truly intriguing, an original variation on the French "cinema verite" style of the early 60's (or what was called "direct cinema" here in America during the same era). The viewer believes what he/she sees. Not once do you think that something is being "staged."
Next, the acting is top notch. The improvised scripting is superb. Having been on expeditions to the woods with young people, I was glad to see that people were talking the way REAL people talk. I've heard complaints about the profanity; well, for better or worse, that's how lots of people talk in situations like this. Indeed, it was that profane language that made me believe in what I was seeing. (After teaching young people for over 25 years, I know that this is, whether some like it or not, "real language.")
Finally, it's the building tension that grabs the viewer. For anyone who's ever been lost in a strange, remote place, this film completely captures t he irrational terror that can overcome the most rational person. If you've never experienced a situation like this, take it from a person who has--the sanest of people will start believing the most insane things, the slightest sound will truly become the unseen monster, and the darkness will become a suffocating terror that will traumatize you for years (JUST years, if you're lucky.)
My one complaint is with the media. In telling readers/viewers too much about the film beforehand, a lot of the punch is taken out of the experience. Whether you do or do not know that the documentary is or is not really a documentary doesn't ruin the film, but it does take the initial jolt out of the experience.
All in all, it was great seeing an original film that is both an homage to "direct cinema" and an exciting step forward. It's one of those rare films whose style is so individual that other films like it will be called copy-cats.