Not As Original As It Sounds

Rating: 2/10 (17 July 1999)

Despite all the hype leading up to this film, I can't help but look forward to it. Having been a producer of lots of low-budget television fare, and having worked on a LOT of public access shows, it always tickles me when someone manages to make something special on this kind of budget.
Now, I haven't seen the film yet, but I'm looking forward to it. My biggest gripe about the film so far, hype aside, is all the claims of this film not being like anything ever seen before. This film was actually beaten to the punch by a remarkably similar, though less frightening film called, "The Last Broadcast."
"Broadcast" was originally shown in theaters nationwide in limited release in October, 1998...nearly a full year before "Blair Witch". "Broadcast", too, dealt with amateur filmmakers working on a project in the woods who disappeared under "mysterious" circumstances, and was also shot on video as opposed to film.
Where "Blair Witch" is a terrifying, horror mock-documentary, "Broadcast's" mock-documentary did not focus on mysterious sounds or shadows in the woods - it was more of an intriguing "whodunnit". The fact that they are extremely similar may be due to simple fate and circumstance, but the fact remains that these two very similar films are separated by nearly a year, with "Broadcast" getting first blood.
Which film is better? I've seen "Broadcast", but the jury will still be out on "Blair Witch" until it comes out in wide release. See both films for yourself, and you decide. Until then, I'll keep waiting...and watching the shadows in the woods.