A gem

Rating: 9/10 (29 October 1999)

The directors of the Blair Witch Project possess a directing tool that most horror directors (and most cinema patrons these days) lack: patience. Most horror movies have a scare at the beginning that unsettle the audience. We see a glimpse of the murderer; we get an unsurprising shock; some famous actor gets killed off. We are then forced to sit through a number of requisite shocks before the unoriginal conclusion.
The Blair Witch Project opens with a smiling cast and a happy village. It delays its scares; instead it builds up the tension. What the directors are aiming to do is build up the tension to an extreme and then scare the pants off the audience by the finale. It works miraculously.
The three actors are enormously effective. Heather Donahue possibly the standout. They are not only acting but they are filming the entire footage and though their camerawork is shaky, the same cannot be said for the actors. We're told that they ad-libbed every line, well if that's the case they are not only wonderful actors, they are quite competent in the writing department. Heather's confession; Josh guilt-tripping Heather and Michael's slow but affecting character build up is tremendously effective.
But this is the director's show. They have said publicly that they were the Blair Witch. Though they never touched the cameras, they focused the storyline onto its gripping end.
I was surprised by the reaction leaving the cinema. Most people didn't like it. If you're expecting a shock a minute you will be disappointed but this is a gem of a film. I loved every second especially the kiss-off. I'm writing this review 4 hours later and my heart is still pounding.