Among my favourite horror flicks but not for all tastes

Rating: 7/10 (14 February 2009)

When "The Blair Witch Project" was released in 1999 it was a big hit and a breath of fresh air. It wasn't the first horror movie based on the supposed footage of ill-fated documentarians but mainstream audiences hadn't seen anything like it. The premise here is amply summed up by the film's tagline: 'In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary... A year later their footage was found.'
The story is a good example of 'less is more' storytelling. True, the plot does involve a fair amount of aimless wandering through the woods but those scenes are crucial in the give and take of suspense where each night could be their last. There were a couple of instances when I thought that the script could have benefited from just a little less information (thus ratcheting up the mystery) but the film still shows plenty of restraint and, consequently, skillfully manipulates our fear of the unknown.
Meanwhile, the cast of unknowns does a pretty good job of seeming like regular people rather than actors. There may be a few occasions whereby the emotions don't quite ring true but for the most part the actors are sufficiently convincing. They also perform double duty as cameramen, helping to enforce the film's sense of realism with mostly lo-fi visuals.
In the end, though, this is one of those films that most people will either love or hate. I think that it's definitely worthwhile but your mileage may vary. By the way, don't bother with the sequel; it's awful.