A letdown of major proportions in amateur film-making!

Rating: Null/10 (5 June 2003)

I was so damned excited to see this film when I first heard about its premise - three film-students go out in the middle of nowhere in search of a local myth, and never return, though their film footage resurfaces a year or so later. And while I'll probably be crucified or burned at the stake for saying it, I certainly don't see what all the hubbub is about! I come from a pretty decent film background, and have viewed plenty of student-work that's both similar and superior! So, first, I have to ask -- what's the attraction? Three people get lost in the woods while making a documentary on a local legend and eventually die, making this what some people are calling `the scariest film ever.' I don't think so. `The Blair Witch Project' (great title, by the way) is filmed in the documentary style, yet it divulges the whole scam prior (that the film is staged), making me wonder how viewers can insert themselves into the characters' dilemma or feel any of their pain and anguish. I agree that the fear of the unknown is oftentimes the spookiest, but if you're in on the joke, then it's known (and therefore invalid). I wish that the truth of the filming would have been kept a secret; that the directors and company would have kept their mouths shut and let the media-ball continue to roll - then, and only then, would `The Blair Witch Project' have been scary. Sure, you could fire right back, saying a documentary that encompasses fiction is every bit as justifiable as `Halloween' or `The Shining,' but then again, those two films had genuine stories and backgrounds - nothing ever happens in this film that justifies fear. I understand the directors' intent to reveal real fear, rather than produce digitally-effected monsters that spew blood and goo from their eyes and noses -- and I think it's true that the human imagination conjures up plenty of s**t scarier than any three Stephen King books -- but put a real ski-mask-clad chainsaw-wielding half-breed in the woods with these three characters (in actuality), and watch how quickly their lost-in-the-woods scenario and mysterious pagan stick-figures become secondary. Hey, Marlon Perkins' Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom specials are real and rousing, but they're not really scaring the pants off of anyone, y'know? Secondly, though to a lesser degree, the movie is pretty poorly made (a fact acknowledged by the film-makers), due to a lack of budget. And while I celebrate the crew's resourcefulness, the hokum is nonetheless still present (does the fact that you're shooting in a documentary style vindicate amateur film-making? Only future directing jaunts from Myrick and Sánchez can answer that one). Still, there are a lot of good scenes: Heather's self-filmed confession (completed when she runs out of faith) is unsettling, and some of the locals' stories are just great. Plus, the creepy ending is pure art no matter where or how it was shot. And not to be overlooked, the crude bundles of twigs and unsettling stick figures actually look like they were created by a Wicca-starved witch or hermit. Sure, there was a mini `Blair Witch' craze that swept through the American underground, but I'll still take `The Sentinel,' `The Shining' and `The Exorcist' any day!