Serious Mind Screw

Rating: Null/10 (20 October 1999)

The Blair Witch Project scared me as only one movie before, that being The Exorcist. TBWP is not a gruesome, horrid, gore-fest as there is maybe one scene is featuring blood. All the terrors and monsters in TBWP are those that lie within ones own mind. As Heather, Mike and Josh become more and more desperately lost in the Maryland woods, you begin to feel them closing in around the heroes and yourself. The film is so immersive that you too feel like a part of the film crew that has become lost. You feel anger towards Josh, worried about Mike, and sorry for Heather. When you hear Heather's final confession, it's as though one of your own children or friends are saying goodbye from beyond the grave. The scariest thing is that these three actors never had a script, just a vague outline of the film and the producers following them and tormenting them throughout the process of filming. That means that all reactions onscreen are real and not portrayals. TBWP is not a horror film, but a serious mind screw as it dives not only into the what is out there formula horror but, the what the hell is going on in your mind formula of psychological thrillers.