A tense and frightening film. Completely original.

Rating: 10/10 (30 July 1999)

I think I am going to be the reviewer in here that is somewhat down the middle with my assessment of the film. I have been reading reviews and comments about the film for about a month now, and most of the comments have been either a) it is the scariest film ever orat least since Halloween or b) it is absolute crap. Well if I had to lean one way it would be towards a). But even though this film is scary, it honestly could have been the scariest film ever made if only for one small thing, and I'll get into that in a moment.
As much as this film is a horror by definition, it is more of a psychological study of the human spirit. This movie asks the question " How much can a human being take before we lose it?" And on that level The Blair Witch Project is perfect. We see three people that start off with good intentions and ambitious spirits and then we watch them unravel as fear sets in. And all throughout this film I kept asking myself how would I react if I was in the same situation? And the answer that I came to was,probably the same way that these three did. When you have human beings in what is seemingly a dire problem and an impossible location, how does that affect you? Do you laugh about it? Do you freak out on each other? Do you look for blame? Are you frightened? The answer to those questions is "Yes". You do all of them. The characters in this film are real people and what we see them go through is real. And that is what makes this film as good as it is. We feel that we are watching this happen to three people that we know because the film actually gives us time to understand these characters. And that is good. But what could have made the film a level above any horror film made before it is that we should of had more time at night when everything is happening and less time during the day when they are starting to lose their minds. As I said, the way it is done is very good in it's execution, because we are watching realistic footage of how someone would be after five days of being lost in the wilderness with very little food, cold nights, and things going bump in the night. But could you just for one second imagine how the film would of been if it concentrated more on things that go bump in the night than the psychological elements that it also gives us? This would have been the personification of fear. Having said that, make no mistake about it, this film is scary. It is much more frightening than any film that has come out this decade. And what makes it scary is the fear of not knowing. No one knows what it is that they are hearing. No one knows what it is that you see in that bundle of wood. It's red and wet and looks like blood and enamel, but what exactly is it? Not knowing what it is that is scaring these three people is terrifying. I have been out of the theater for at least a half an hour now and my heart is still beating a little faster, it still hasn't recovered from all that this film put me through. But as scary as it was, it could have had more night time stuff and less day time lead up to what happens at night. The film established the fact that all the scary stuff happens when the sun sets, so why not give the audience what it came for? And the only reason I am saying this is because it's not like the movie ran out of ideas, it's too smart for that, but it's just that they gave us ( the audience ) a chance to catch our breath. And I like it when I can't breath from fear. I like it when I feel as helpless and as frightened as the people in this movie. And as much as I was, I wanted more. I thirsted for more.
To know all that this movie is, is to appreciate it. The fact that they went out and concentrated on scaring us and not on seeing how many special effects they could fit into one scene is refreshing. And it is wonderful. These guys know what the epitome of fear is. They must be fans of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween. It's just too bad that they couldn't keep us that scared for longer than they did.
Blair Witch is a very scary film. To say that it is a terrible film is to not understand the meaning of horror. To say that you didn't enjoy the film is another story. I admire this film for all that it is and all that it wanted to be and all that it came so close to being. If only it didn't stray off course as little as it did, if only..... Having said that, I really do like this film and it really did scare me. You should see this, no matter what anyone says to you. Give the guys a chance. They had the courage and the talent to go out on a limb and make this happen, it should at least be rewarded for that. And if you do want to see a scary film, you won't find one better in the last ten years. And that is all that really matters. Because even though it could have been scarier, there is no film that I've seen in recent years that can hold a candle to it. 8.5/10