View Full Version : HCR Rates The Movies #19: THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
So, our next film, Classic or Crud, Hit or Miss, what say you ALL?
Our next film open for discussion, and ultimately an Overall RATING by you all:
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
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Let the discussions flow. Likes, dislikes, classic film or overhyped trash, and DONT FORGET to place an Overall Rating when youre done.
Its easy, just give a Rating from 1 (Jaws 4:The Revenge) to 10 (Jaws), and thats it. Course I'd love to have you all give reasons as to why you feel it deserves this Overall Rating, and more than encourage discussions with us all about them.
So, what say you all?
Next Film: ??????
ReZourceman
12/16/2005, 13:34
Ah yes....I saw this movie for my ...14th birthday I think it was...and since then i have seen it a few times....And I have to say I really like this movie.
They hype around it at the time did build my excitement for seeing it, and I think the whole "Its real" thing was actually a pretty cool gimmick.
I my opinion a horror classic, It did kind of se the trend for a few other movies that tried to mooch off of the success. Shame about The Book Of Shadows....I did enjoy it, but it just wasnt a scratch on it.
Also It was planned to be a trilogy...Im still waiting on numero trois.
8.4 Out of ten. :)
EmperorNorton
12/16/2005, 13:35
Even though the attempt to promote it by covering its fictitious character was cheesy I really liked the movie.
Not seeing what is trying to get you can be so much scarier than having all the forces of hell in plain sight.
8 out of 10 from me.
For me, the movie was a bunch of eyestrain and drippy noses. The camera jiggling like that really turned me off (gave me a headache to watch). The end was interesting, but that was about it for me.
6/10 for me (mainly for originality and the great profit:cost ratio they had)
OK, I guess Ill start off on this one. First off, Ive NEVER been to a movie where I felt so involved, so part of it, as TBWP. I truly felt that I was camper #4, and as the movie went on, really became truly scared at what the nighttime (which is when all the spooky stuff happened) would bring. Also, very cool how at the start of the movie they showed much more daylight scenes than night, and each day that passed the nightime (the horror) scenes became more and more dominant, til there was almost no more daytime scenes at all.
I must also say that I didnt know much about this film AT ALL at my first showing, and had actually just finished watching the Sci Fi Channels special on TBWP, which gave more and more insight to the previous incarnations of the witch and all of her gruesome dealings. In addition it treated the movie as if it were 100% real, interviewing cops, friends and relatives of the "missing" kids, as if they were truly gone from this earth.
The primitive camera affects didnt phase me at all (though I know some people just arent into films today if its not THX sound and picture) and that I thought was one of its most innovative features, and again helped the viewer to feel part of the story. The characters were real to me, like them or dont, I really felt their terror and frustration at not being able to leave this haunted forest and eventually their own acceptance that they were going to die there.
Now in my travels thus far in discussing this film, Ive found out most of us believe it to be either utterly terrifying or just plain stupid. (oddly enough, and this is very accurate with me, most every male I speak to about this finds it Scary As Heck, and most every female Ive spoken to find it Near Laughable)
Count me in as the Scary As Heck crowd, as no horror film has affected me as much as when I first saw this in the theatres (The Exorcist and The Grudge were in the same level to me), and as such this has become one of my all time favorite horror films (and I LOVE the genre).
My Score - 9.25 / 10
OK, so I guess I wont "start" this one off. :)
krusticlese
12/16/2005, 13:58
0 out of 10.
This film was nothing more then a direct ripoff of a film that was released nearly a year before called "the Last Broadcast". 2 guys from Doylestown PA filmed the entire movie on $800 using 2 digital cameras and 1 VHS camcorder.
Their movie was about a couple of internet urban-legend hunters who were making a live web cast from the New Jersey Pine barrens looking for the elusive "Jersey Devil". During the broadcast, several members of the crew begin dissapearing and the mystery insues.
The movie was presented in a very "Unsolved Mysteries" format where they switched from footage of the broadcast to interviews with the police about the bodies and suspects.
Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez saw this film and pitched the same exact idea to a friend of theirs who happens to sit on the board for the sundance film festival (Michael Monello, I believe). He financed the entire thing for $30,000 and let them go to town on the project.
At the same time, Michael Monello blocked "The Last Broadcast" from being entered into Sundance, knowing about Dan and Eduardo's project.
The original intent was to rip the same exact format as TLB and do an "Unsolved Mysteries" style movie, but during editing, MIchael believed it was too similar to TLB, so they instead used the raw footage as a majority of the film, and took all of the footage that was shot as the "documentary" of the event and aired it as a Sci-Fi Channel exclusive 3 days before release.
The creators of TLB also had a fake website set up for the missing kids, and handed out missing posters at the first film festival they entered.
Sure enough 1 year later, the Blair Witch folks stole that Idea too and handed out missing posters at Sundance. :rolleyes:
So basically this film's sucess can be placed mostly on the fact that Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez knew the right person to finance their film and block the film they ripped from ever having a shot. I mean if the other folks could make TLB for $800, why did it cost 30,000 to make TBWP (when they essentially used the same equiptment)?
The Last Broadcast is a far superior film as well, and keeps you guessing right up untill the last 2 minutes of film. Unlike Blair Witch, there is a point to it all and the clues are present enough that when the killer is revealed, you slap yourself for not having seen it sooner.
Blair Witch wishes it was horror.
krusticlese
12/16/2005, 14:02
The Last Broadcast (http://imdb.com/title/tt0122143/)
For more info on the "Original" Blair Witch :)
krusticlese
12/16/2005, 14:05
The Last Broadcast Trailer (http://film.virgin.net/player/play.asp?url=/film/fid91/trailers/trid92/wm/high.asx&filmid=91&partner=virgin&sec=trl)
I got excited by the hype around this film and heard many good comments about how freakin' scary it was, but at the end of the film I remember feeling angry and cheated. I don't think the guys who made it knew how to properly finish this film after the buildup. I don't think it would have ruined the film to have a little something, just a little more evidence. Am I just being unimaginative? For me it's like one of those art galleries where you pay $10 to see a blank canvas and told that if you don't get it then you're not looking properly. On the positive side I give huge credit to the simplicity of the idea and how they got so rich from doing so little. I should probably watch it again but I wonder if this film would be any good second time round even for someone who liked it the first time they saw it? Would you be even half as scared? I mark it 5 out of 10 at this stage.
Current HCR Member Rating:
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT - 6.30 / 10
Inbetweener
12/19/2005, 10:25
Firstly, great choice here DTM, especially as far as provoking discussion. Few films are as disagreed about as this.
The Blair Witch Project is not like other films of it's time and it is more of an event than a film in the first place anyway. I don't own it on DVD simply because my memories of this film is not it's content, but it's cultural hype and my reaction to it all. This was what made William Castle a legend and horror needed this kick in the butt as a genre (along with Sixth Sense, which came out the same year)...it really followed in Castle's tradition.
Blair Witch required an imagination and required that you don't consciously believe it's real, but that you tell yourself that you're going in to enjoy it and believe it as much as possible. If you enjoy horror for what it is that's generally your goal anyway. Horror films don't exist as a challenge 'not to be scared'...I've said this many times before, but believing that the horror is real intentionally is equal to putting your arms in the air on a rollercoaster. I know when I conquered Kenga-ka last summer, I did it with my arms in the air and I was terrified...I felt bad for the tough guys who hung on tight and got off to say "that wasn't scary but my back hurts." The Blair Witch Project's hype made me feel like a kid again...I wanted to bring that barff bag in with me (which were handed out because some people got motion sick from the cameras, something I didn't know at the time). I wanted to think that these three people were murdered by ghosts and chased by dead children. And I wanted to go camping right away after seeing it.
The Blair Witch Project is a classic in the genre for giving me the willies and making me fall in love with the genre all over again...it was a refreshing turn from the teenage slasher films and the supernatural twist ending/mystery Sixth Sense duplicates that followed 1999. The hype made me see it the opening weekend and I loved it...however, it's the kind of magic that can't be pulled off twice.
Rating: 9.0
Firstly, great choice here DTM, especially as far as provoking discussion. Few films are as disagreed about as this.
The Blair Witch Project is not like other films of it's time and it is more of an event than a film in the first place anyway. I don't own it on DVD simply because my memories of this film is not it's content, but it's cultural hype and my reaction to it all. This was what made William Castle a legend and horror needed this kick in the butt as a genre (along with Sixth Sense, which came out the same year)...it really followed in Castle's tradition.
Blair Witch required an imagination and required that you don't consciously believe it's real, but that you tell yourself that you're going in to enjoy it and believe it as much as possible. If you enjoy horror for what it is that's generally your goal anyway. Horror films don't exist as a challenge 'not to be scared'...I've said this many times before, but believing that the horror is real intentionally is equal to putting your arms in the air on a rollercoaster. I know when I conquered Kenga-ka last summer, I did it with my arms in the air and I was terrified...I felt bad for the tough guys who hung on tight and got off to say "that wasn't scary but my back hurts." The Blair Witch Project's hype made me feel like a kid again...I wanted to bring that barff bag in with me (which were handed out because some people got motion sick from the cameras, something I didn't know at the time). I wanted to think that these three people were murdered by ghosts and chased by dead children. And I wanted to go camping right away after seeing it.
The Blair Witch Project is a classic in the genre for giving me the willies and making me fall in love with the genre all over again...it was a refreshing turn from the teenage slasher films and the supernatural twist ending/mystery Sixth Sense duplicates that followed 1999. The hype made me see it the opening weekend and I loved it...however, it's the kind of magic that can't be pulled off twice.
Rating: 9.0
FINALLY, someone who loved this movie as much as I did. :)
Inbetweener
12/19/2005, 13:15
FINALLY, someone who loved this movie as much as I did. :)
I feel the same way...I'm not too suprised some don't like it but I'm surprised at some of the reasons. Krusticlese I can sort of understand (but I say Last Broadcast is an inferior film)...I've always seen both films as strongly influenced by Man Bites Dog anyway, the 1992 french film that contained the same premise with a different theme and setting. Method-filmmaking like this started even before that...it's really not original, think Texas Chainsaw Massacre for example...it's the cultural impact and the marketing of Blair Witch that make it so unique and exceptional.
krusticlese
12/19/2005, 13:49
I feel the same way...I'm not too suprised some don't like it but I'm surprised at some of the reasons. Krusticlese I can sort of understand (but I say Last Broadcast is an inferior film)...I've always seen both films as strongly influenced by Man Bites Dog anyway, the 1992 french film that contained the same premise with a different theme and setting. Method-filmmaking like this started even before that...it's really not original, think Texas Chainsaw Massacre for example...it's the cultural impact and the marketing of Blair Witch that make it so unique and exceptional.
I thouroughly enjoyed Man Bites Dog, but that was filmed more in the style of a documentry rather then the "Unsolved Mysteries" Docudrama that TBWP and TLB both used for their films.
The marketing for TBWP was definately something that the general public hadn't seen prior to this film, using such a wide array of media. (TV specials, a very professional website, links to missing reports for the 3 students, etc). But, I will stick to my original point that the creators of The Last Broadcast used all of those tricks to promote their film, nearly a year before and the Blair Witch folks stole the film and it's marketing from the creators of TLB. Unfortunately, they didn't have the "deep pocket" sponsers that TBWP creators had at their disposal.
The last Broadcast also had several vital pieces of storytelling that TBWP lacked, a cohesive story, empathy created for it's characters (so you feel bad when they get killed off)and most importantly, an ending.
Man Bites Dog does this the best out of the 3 films, with some really gruesome scenes that make you feel as though you are spiraling downward with the main character and his film crew (the scene where the resivior is drying up still gives me the willies) . I didn't have the same connection to the characters in Blair Witch, which is why I didn't care for the ending, or the entire film, very much at all. You need to engage your viewers and bring them right into the story from the beginning. Both MBD and TLB do this in a far superior way then TBWP.
Speaking of French horror films, I just saw High Tension last night :rolleyes: . I'll give it a 10 for the Industrial Design team that made the SFX for the various slayings, but the story was a pitiful 4 (the only redeeming part being the first 2/3 of the film, untill the plot begins to severely break down).
Rokk_Krinn
12/19/2005, 23:09
Great and creative hype does not a classic or good movie make. BWP seems to be getting a lot of points based upon the marketing scheme for it, but let's be honest - for those people that are going to be seeing the movie for the first time years after the commercials for the film, this movie is not going to have the "hype" backing its' quality (or, in this case the lack of it).
I'll be truthful in that I was so intrigued by the marketing on the film - not taken in, but impressed by the ad campaign - that I was anxious to see the film. Hearing over and over that it was delightfully scary - and I love a good scary flick - only pushed me to be even more eager for opening day. Come opening weekend, I convinced my then fiancee to come along and her family decided to join us. Come the end of the film, I was embarrassed and apologetic for dragging everyone out to see the movie and wasting a few hours of their lives (in fairness, my then-fiancee was creeped out by the film and attributed it to her being a city gal that likes camping...maybe that's why it didn't phase me? I live out in the wilderness so for me it lacks some of the mystique).
Poor improvisation - much of the acting was done without direction or script and it seems like the "actors" become reliant on just repeating the same lines or resorting to the tried and true "swear words make for realistic angst" fallacy - along with so-so cinematography and a "plot" that rambled in circles as much as the doomed campers, just kills this film for me. The premise is great and the backstory is wonderful - I greatly enjoyed some of the BWP books, games, etc. - and I have to say, I really really like the sequel but this film just failed to live up to its potential.
Rating: 1.0 - and that's purely for the potential that it could have had achieved.
Inbetweener
12/20/2005, 09:49
Come opening weekend, I convinced my then fiancee to come along and her family decided to join us. Come the end of the film, I was embarrassed and apologetic for dragging everyone out to see the movie and wasting a few hours of their lives (in fairness, my then-fiancee was creeped out by the film and attributed it to her being a city gal that likes camping...maybe that's why it didn't phase me? I live out in the wilderness so for me it lacks some of the mystique).
I can see that...I'm a city guy for the record.
However, the popular opinion is that the film was disappointing because for a lot of people it just wasn't like other films of this time. The marketing scheme and mystique about the film is part of the film itself. For me, the film is more compelling and real (and therefore frightening) because of it's improvisation and grainy feel...it was real enough for me, I bought into it and that's what made it great for me. Perhaps you didn't buy into because you live in the wilderness...that makes sense.
To pinpoint what made it special for me is to pinpoint the exact reasons Man Bites Dog was special to me I suppose. The style of method-filmmaking was something I just bought into and allowed myself to take the ride willingly. Some people didn't buy it...that's what makes the Blair Witch audience so divided.
Rokk_Krinn
12/20/2005, 10:52
However, the popular opinion is that the film was disappointing because for a lot of people it just wasn't like other films of this time. The marketing scheme and mystique about the film is part of the film itself.
But it's not part of the film because anyone who goes and picks up the film for the first time these days gets only the content of the film - they don't get the marketing and the mystique. If great hype makes a film better, than shouldn't more people enjoy "Star Wars: Episode I" because _everyone_ was psyched to see a new Star Wars, right? A better example might be a movie like "The Tingler" which used to have the movie theater rigged to give small jolts to the audience - without the gimmick, it's as hokey a film as it sounds. Hitchcock's "Psycho" also had a very special mystique and marketing ploy yet when you most likely saw it, none of that mattered to you - just what you saw on the film and that's what you rate the film on - the quality of the movie, not the gimmick that was done for a few months when it was first released.
Inbetweener
12/20/2005, 12:10
But it's not part of the film because anyone who goes and picks up the film for the first time these days gets only the content of the film - they don't get the marketing and the mystique. If great hype makes a film better, than shouldn't more people enjoy "Star Wars: Episode I" because _everyone_ was psyched to see a new Star Wars, right?
I rate Episode I on it's theatrical experience all the time...I see absolutely no reason not to and in any review of it I will mention my disappointment...what we are arguing is quite different...I enjoyed Blair Witch, you didn't...that's fine, it didn't deliver for you. The hype certainly added to my experience of it and because of that it makes the theatrical experience memorable...the drawback, as I noted earlier, is it can't be duplicated...I don't want to see it again because it's a one-trick pony and is likely quite inferior on a television screen the second time around. That doesn't make my memory of watching Blair Witch any less enjoyable and memorable...I wouldn't rate this films by conventional means.
A better example might be a movie like "The Tingler" which used to have the movie theater rigged to give small jolts to the audience - without the gimmick, it's as hokey a film as it sounds. Hitchcock's "Psycho" also had a very special mystique and marketing ploy yet when you most likely saw it, none of that mattered to you - just what you saw on the film and that's what you rate the film on - the quality of the movie, not the gimmick that was done for a few months when it was first released.
Firstly, the difference between Psycho and Blair Witch is the perfect example of the difference between a 9 and a 10 movie...for me anyways. :) If there is one movie I wish I could go back in time to see in the theatre it would be Psycho...and that would be followed closely by films like House on Haunted Hill and the Tingler, as William Castle (who I mentioned earlier) is a director whose ploys I absolutely adore and respect. Blair Witch is in this tradition. To me it verified that Castle's antics were more than gimmicks but touched on a phenomenon you can't duplicate outside of the cinema. I see myself as a true cinephile so I really respect what Blair Witch meant in this sense...you don't, a lot of people don't and I knew that going into this discussion, so it's cool.
Personally, for me this movies hype had little to nothing to do with me loving this film (I think I even mentioned in my original post that I knew very very little about this movie at all) The only hype relating thing I saw before watching this movie was the hour long Sci Fi special, which I think definately enhanced this film for me, but would hardly call that falling into hype and being carried by it.
As for hype in general, No films hype was ever as Vast as SW Episode 1, and Im proud to say that after my first showing, midnight opening day, hype GALORE, I actually left feeling disappointed. (Im not one to let a movies hype really influence me very much)
This film was incredibly different from anything Id ever seen before, and I thought everything I was watching was very realistic and more and more eerie and terrifying as the film went on. For a guy whos seen more than his share of horror films, this definately rates up there as one of my favorites.
Inbetweener
12/20/2005, 14:32
DTM is talking about "The Curse of the Blair Witch", it was a faux documentary that helped add to it's hype. The illusion that the film is real was enhanced by this special on Sci-Fi tremendously...I also saw it and it certainly helped. I went in not saying "Ooo, it's real, this is scary" but basically allowing myself to believe it really was the lost recordings of three poor saps who got killed by something supernatural and incredibly evil. When I'm saying hype, I'm talking more about this...I understood what they were doing just as people in a theatre to see a William Castle film new what he was doing but I wasn't about to say "frauds! this film is junk!" I wanted to enjoy it for what it is...what makes horror great for me is when it convinces me it's real.
The marketing itself of course includes the internet advertising and what not, I'm referring to the effort to make the film seem real prior to it's release. People called the police thinking this was material was real...the producers put up missing signs of the cast at the Cannes film festival...the documentary mentioned above insisted that these were real interviews of people who know the cast...that stuff is essentially marketing but it's also a method to make the film seem real and that just won't work if you're viewing it for the first time on DVD in your living room.
Wyldstaar
12/21/2005, 23:29
I watched "The Curse of the Blair Witch" on Sci-Fi before seeing the movie as well. The movie was okay, but truth be told I liked "The Curse of the Blair Witch" better than the actual movie! There was a lot of compelling footage that was put into the tv special that wasn't used in the theatrical release.
Current HCR Member Rating:
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT - 5.97 / 10
Prof. Aragorn
12/27/2005, 04:42
I believe this ranked 30 in Bravo's 100 scariest movie moments.
Sure the ending is a little creepy and the plot seems enticing, but it's pretty lame.
3.8 out of 10-it's no Titanic flop, but it's a Bridge too Far from Cowboy Bebop
d_knight7
03/31/2006, 17:50
1/10. I got so sick of hearing how I must not 'get' it if I didn't like it, are people so pretentious that they really think like that?
Inbetweener
04/01/2006, 10:55
1/10. I got so sick of hearing how I must not 'get' it if I didn't like it, are people so pretentious that they really think like that?
Dude, you obviously don't get it.
d_knight7
04/02/2006, 03:24
Dude, you obviously don't get it.
Go directly to facing ### corner, do not pass go, do not collect an academy award.
Inbetweener
04/02/2006, 17:27
Go directly to facing ### corner, do not pass go, do not collect an academy award.
That doesn't even make sense...well, either that or it's boring.
Hey, why is "###" being edited right now? Is it just me?
d_knight7
04/07/2006, 18:33
That doesn't even make sense...well, either that or it's boring.
Hey, why is "###" being edited right now? Is it just me?
It doesn't make sense or it's boring, you're talking about my reply and not the BWP right? ;)
My reply made perfect sense and wasn't boring, don't hate just because I don't buy in to your movie.
Peace.
torontcollectr
04/07/2006, 20:38
Sorry amateurish flick introduced not only a sequel, but spawned other poorly done films- becoming a genre of its own.
For the horror to filmgoers who have had to endure its brethren and sequel-
a big fat 0
deadshot042
04/08/2006, 00:42
This movie had a lot of potential and showcased that indy films can be successful. Unfortunately that potential was wasted and it was a huge dissapointment.
I have wanted to remake this idea with some friends, but I just don't have the time. I was bored throughout most of the film and only one or two of the 'scares' actually made me jump and that was because my girlfriend screamed. A big dissapointment.
3/10
Wow, Im really surprised at how many of us seemingly hated this film. Ive been a horror/thriller fan all of my life, and I when I saw this film in the threatres it truly sent cills down my spine, as only a handful of others have ever done. Personally I thought it was great, a very original idea (the way it was done mostly, not the idea of a haunted forest), and it held my interest all the way thru. Eh, guess Im in the minority on this one, go figure. :)
Inbetweener
04/08/2006, 21:55
It doesn't make sense or it's boring, you're talking about my reply and not the BWP right? ;)
My reply made perfect sense and wasn't boring, don't hate just because I don't buy in to your movie.
Peace.
I'm not knocking you because you don't buy into the movie...I actually said I understand why some people don't like this movie, you get it and you hate it...that's cool with me, you're not alone...I'm actually made that remark because you seem to have insinuated that people who do like this movie, like it because they are "pretentious".
That and your reviews and general comments are bit boring and spammy.
d_knight7
04/14/2006, 03:31
I'm not knocking you because you don't buy into the movie...I actually said I understand why some people don't like this movie, you get it and you hate it...that's cool with me, you're not alone...I'm actually made that remark because you seem to have insinuated that people who do like this movie, like it because they are "pretentious".
That and your reviews and general comments are bit boring and spammy.
No I said that people who tell you you must not 'get it' if you don't like it are pretentious. I'd never call someone pretentious just for liking something, that would be silly.
Yeah thanks for the slur there, your class just continues to shine through there. I think you mis-read the contract, these threads are for being a movie critic not a person critic.
d_knight7
04/14/2006, 03:45
Let me try and make an exciting non-spammy post so I don't get the snob-police on my trail.
I saw the Blair Witch on the halloween it came out in a HUGE packed cinema hall with thousands of people around me, so it's always harder to get scared when you're amongst a small army. They did turn the AC up though for the chill factor which is always a nice touch.
The scene where they find the teeth wrapped in twigs didn't scare me because all I saw was something bloody wrapped in twigs, I actually thought it was a little dead animal or something, when someone said later 'it was his teeth man!' I was surprised.
When it finished and we all went for the train there was a real mix of reactions discussed. Some of us thought it was a boring movie where nothing much happened, at all. Some found parts scary but felt it was too loose and lacking in strong plot points. One guy thought it was of some sort of importance to the human race as a species, like he'd just seen the face of God or something. He would be the 'you just don't GET it!' guy.
So the crowded cinema and confused shock moment obviously didn't help it impress me, but I can honestly say if it had been a great horror movie like the Changeling or something it wouldn't have mattered, where as the Blair Witch I feel I could have been alone in a dark room and still be going 'for crying out loud just follow the river out!'
Blair Witch 2 was fffaarrrr from a great movie but it was genuinely surreal and had a 'oh ####!' twist atleast, so I'd have to actually rate it over the original, as rare as that might be.
Disagree, scream heresy if you will, just please don't insult my posts because I didn't like your fave movie.
Peace to you all.
Inbetweener
04/15/2006, 01:30
No I said that people who tell you you must not 'get it' if you don't like it are pretentious. I'd never call someone pretentious just for liking something, that would be silly.
Yeah thanks for the slur there, your class just continues to shine through there. I think you mis-read the contract, these threads are for being a movie critic not a person critic.
You know, I kind of liked your latest post that bashed the film but your insulting me in this post is just pointless...and you're no movie critic on this thread, at least up until your last comment...this post quoted above is bordering on cowardly trolling. There are plenty of other reasons to take a crack at me other than my percieved class. You don't know me beyond the few words you've followed here, so don't pretend to over your keyboard.
By the way, the Changling is a better horror film in my opinion. I don't know man, maybe it's because I went camping the weekend after, but this film worked for me. The sequel is terrible.
d_knight7
04/15/2006, 02:56
Here is a 'true' review, I hope it is satisfactory.
To me the Blair Witch Project is a lot of smoke and noise with little real content. It's an attempt at a real movie that trys to use an amateur film as its style but actually remains as just an amateur film that wants to be a movie. I found the characters grating on my nerves rather than feeling sorry for them and I kept thinking how unlucky it was that three people got in to this situation and not one of them happened to have any leadership skills or organizational ability.
Usually in a movie of this kind the victims will fall in to societal roles as they try and survive the situation. There will be an aggressive male and a female survivor type who usually tries to latch on him. There's the person who tries to keep the level head and think their way out, and then there is the person who loses it completely and gets everyone killed. In the Blair Witch all three of the characters are the latter.
As far as scares go it just didn't do much for me. I'm actually not much of a fan of the visceral hack and slash horror, suspense and good score are infinately more terrifying. Using the Changeling again as an example the scene where they are talking in the hall and they look up the dark staircase and there is the old victorian wheelchair is truly one of the scariest scenes I've ever experienced in a movie. It's just a wheelchair rolling down some stairs to jagged music but it makes me leap higher than a dozen rustles outside a tent or stick men dangling on trees.
I'm also one of those viewers who wants the pay-off at the end of a horror movie. I always disliked the nightmare movies because they'd have the big death scene then Freddy would always be back before the movie even ended. It was like cinematic climax then turning the light on and she has a mustache. However, in comparison to TBWP and it's non-ending they're cigarette moments.
I give TBWP 1 out of 10, the same as your Jaws the Revenge example. Jaws the revenge atleast has guilty pleasures like Michael Caine slumming and Mario Van Peebles standing wwaayyy out to the prow of the ship on a piece of timber and having the audacity to look surprised when he gets eaten. In fact couple that with the nice switch in tempo (shark attacking right away, throwing off the usual Jaws delayed kill) and I'd give Jaws the revenge a healthy cheesy 6 out of 10 if I was asked.
But anyway, 1/10 for the Blair Witch, I was not bewitched.
coyotejack
04/17/2006, 16:03
AH, Blair Witch. The movie on it's own actually sucks, IMO. Watching it on a TV set makes it suck worse. Thankfully I was able to see it in the theatre durign all the hype.
THAT is the key here. The movie is awful, but...the "blurring" of what was true and what was fiction before the movie came out was a brilliant move. I swear it was like a psychology experiment when my wife and I went to see it. There was an adult man sobbing a few seats away from me. Sobbing. It freaked him out THAT badly and, as I found out later, it was mainly due to the before-movie hype. People screamed, were disoriented, were scared before even watching it and that made it successful.
So again, horrible movie but brilliant tactics in psychological warfare so I have to rate it: 7/10
CarlosMucha
04/17/2006, 16:23
AH, Blair Witch. The movie on it's own actually sucks, IMO. Watching it on a TV set makes it suck worse. Thankfully I was able to see it in the theatre durign all the hype.
THAT is the key here. The movie is awful, but...the "blurring" of what was true and what was fiction before the movie came out was a brilliant move. I swear it was like a psychology experiment when my wife and I went to see it. There was an adult man sobbing a few seats away from me. Sobbing. It freaked him out THAT badly and, as I found out later, it was mainly due to the before-movie hype. People screamed, were disoriented, were scared before even watching it and that made it successful.
So again, horrible movie but brilliant tactics in psychological warfare so I have to rate it: 7/10
Yep, nobody can deny the movie sucks.
But how you say the idea is brillant. I remember I know the true, and i scary my friends a possible victim girlfriends about all the true of the movie before star waching in the video tape. All get very scary. I really enjoy and knowing the true, I remember I was scary in some point, specially because was in the night what we saw the movie and in a place with wood outside.
8 of 10
Aeturnus
04/17/2006, 19:12
I clapped when it ended. Actually, the whole audience gave it a standing ovation.
We were all glad it ended.
0/10. I'd give it a negative number, but I found out months ago the system just doesn't work that way. ...but it should probably get one since it's all plagarism. I'd describe The Last Broadcast, but someone already enlightened y'all.
Yep, nobody can deny the movie sucks.
Uh, again, I can, as I actually enjoyed this film. Found it to be very original from anything I had been exposed to before, and the amateurish feel only made me feel even more than I was Member #4, dreading the sunset on each and every day because of what might be lurking that night. True I saw the Sci Fi channels Curse Of The Blair Witch just before this, but I wouldnt consider that being caught in any hype. I can truly say that this was one of the top most eerie and nerve wracking horror movies I have ever seen in the threatres, and Ive been a fan of the genre all of my life.
Eh, I loved it, most of us hated, ce' la vie.
I can't believe all the negativity towards this movie. :confused:
Before I saw this movie in the theatre the only thing I knew going in was that it was allegedly based on a true story.
I even found the dedicated Blair Witch website and perused it thoroughly. I became even more and more convinced that this was a true story. I have a friend in the Maryland State Police and I was going to have him look up the actual police reports for me to see if it was true or not. But, I decided against it because I didn't want to know before I saw the movie.
The day I went to the movie I talked to one of my fellow co-workers who saw it the night before. He wouldn't tell me and I didn't ask if it was true. But, he did tell me to stick around for the end credits and everything would be revealed.
That night I saw the movie and was amazed. I liked it. Maybe it's because, as a kid, I used to go hiking in the woods a lot and even used to try and get myself lost on purpose to amplify the adrenaline that comes with fear.
Anyway, I stuck around for the end credits and all was revealed with these words:
"All characters, events, etc... are fictional..."
There was my answer. But, no biggie. It still didn't change my love for this movie.
In 2002 I went to the Star Wars Celebration II Convention. The writer and producer of The Blair Witch Project were there and they even put on a nearly 2 hour Forum discussing the movie and the sequels.
There is so much that nobody knows about that these two did throughout production that makes me like this movie even more.
They even returned all the camera equipment back to Circuit City [or Best Buy, I can't remember] after they were down with it. When asked by someone if they had marked the cameras in any way so that if someone rebought the camera(s) from the store they would know they had a camera(s) that was used to film Blair Witch they responded:
"Nope. We didn't even think of that. But, if someone gets a muddy and dirty camera then that is ours. we never cleaned them off when we returned them."
The audience laughed hard on this one.
The making of the movie was even funnier. They never told the actors what was going on. The actors were given a map and GPS tracker and told to be at certain areas of the woods at certain days and times.
The scene with all the wooden stick figures was an on-the-fly decision. They originally only had planned to put a couple or so there. Then they decided to go all out and put nearly a hundred+.
They told us that after seeing how the actors reacted and freaked out they almost called off everything. They spied on the actors from afar and noticed they were really freaking out and thought the woods were really haunted at this point.
During the nights they would make the children's voices and would even sneak up on the actor's tent and pound on it to scare them and keep them awake.
It gets better--
The writer and producer had someone sneak into the actors's camp one night and actually steal the map. The part in the movie where the actors start arguing over the map being lost is real. Even the part where Josh (?) said he threw it away. It was told to us that he made that up because he was really starting to hate the others and said that to piss them off even more.
In relation to Blair Witch 2--
These two had nearly no input. They signed their rights away to Hollywood and were told they would have full input. As the movie was being shot they kept trying to make changes because the director was botching everything up and ruining the story they wrote.
"Hollywood" told them they could just leave and they said they did. Their parting words were: "You are ruining this movie and when it flops we will be the first to tell you that is what's going to happen."
They told us at the end of the panel that eventually they will make Blair Witch 3. It will reveal the whole legend and origin of the Blair Witch. They also stated that it will be done on their own with no "Hollywood" interference.
As an aside, I talked with these two guys for nearly 45 minutes after the panel and they were the coolest guys I had met in awhile.
Anyway, due to my biased opinion, I give this movie--
9.5/10
'Nuff Said.
Excelsior!
petenbailey9
04/05/2007, 14:32
I'd give it a 7 only cause I like to go the movies and it would take alot for a movie to to be carp. The sequel was hard to sit through.
charlesx
04/05/2007, 15:00
Old thread, but interesting reading nonetheless. I liked the concept of the movie and thought it was very innovative for its time. I went to the theatre after having watched the Sci Fi channel special and even knowing that the movie wasn't a "real" event, I greatly enjoyed the suspension of disbelief. The end was somewhat perplexing, but very disturbing all the same. The sequel was so bad that I couldn't sit through the whole DVD. It was awful. In case voting is still allowed for this film, I give it an 8 out of 10. I haven't watched it in years, so maybe I will do so again soon. (BTW, I didn't know about the Last Broadcast - guess I'll have to put that one in my Netflix queue as well.)
Voting is still allowed on ALL of the RtM threads bud, so if you see any others you have yet to comment on, feel free (the more recent threads have links at the bottom to all of the older ones)
winteragent
04/06/2007, 02:21
I can't help to rate this movie. I hated this movie. I can't believe I went to the theaters and saw this.
My ole pappy used to have a saying and it went a little something like this: You can't polish a turd.
If Orson Welles had narrated this flick, you'd still have a steaming pile of ####.
0/10
Sorry WA, but its a minimum of 1 on these threads (giving The Blair Witch Project, a movie I personally loved, a total of six 1 ratings out of 19 overall votes)
winteragent
04/06/2007, 23:11
Sorry WA, but its a minimum of 1 on these threads (giving The Blair Witch Project, a movie I personally loved, a total of six 1 ratings out of 19 overall votes)
Can I change to a one overall then or has my vote already been counted?
Oh no, I already changed your 0 to a 1, and it will be counted no problem when we update our previous films scores on the next RtM thread.
spacedye
04/07/2007, 13:33
The movie was awful I thought. It was boring and invoked no fear at all in me. I grew up around the woods and spent a ton of time in them, and this movie did nothing for me. It's not an original idea either, but simply a rip on Cannibal Holocaust, which came out 11 years before it and is far better.
3/10
Amora's_best_friend
04/07/2007, 13:39
A really Bad horror for me.
I hated it cos the people in the film were so stupid. Like realistically why would you throw the map away?
There was one scarey bit which wasnt even scarey.
3.75/10
Rokk_Krinn
04/07/2007, 13:50
There was one scarey bit which wasnt even scarey.
3.75/10
You talking about the guy urinating on the wall at the end? :grin:
He wasnt urinating against the wall, he was standing in the corner while the supernatural witch (or ghost of the killer of children) took care of the girl (who was tackled as soon as she came down and saw him). It was mentioned earlier that in life, the child killer did them two at a time, but he didnt like having the one he wasnt working on looking at him, so he forced them to stand and stare at the corner, while he killed the one and then went after the other afterwards.
Again, to me, a fantastic horror film unlike any I have ever seen, and it gave me chills for most of the entire movie (which was helped by seeing the Sci Fi Channels 1 hour backstory, which was done in the same Realistic vein, of the legend of the Blair Witch)
spacedye
04/07/2007, 16:39
You ever see Cannibal Holocaust DTM?
theanalogkid
04/07/2007, 16:44
Did not do a thing for me. 3 out of 10.
Rokk_Krinn
04/07/2007, 17:29
He wasnt urinating against the wall, he was standing in the corner while the supernatural witch (or ghost of the killer of children) took care of the girl (who was tackled as soon as she came down and saw him). It was mentioned earlier that in life, the child killer did them two at a time, but he didnt like having the one he wasnt working on looking at him, so he forced them to stand and stare at the corner, while he killed the one and then went after the other afterwards.
I know what it was -supposed- to be but the film's "directing" still ended up making it look like a drunk leaving the bar at 2 a.m. :)
Eh, respectifully said, to you maybe, to me and those I went with, it was clear as day what he was doing and why he was standing in the corner like that.
(now go rate The Grudge, ya jerk, which is a movie I know you liked ALOT more than this) :)
spacedye
04/07/2007, 19:55
Nope, never.
Same style as BWP, except from 77 or 78 I think. Also a lot gorier.
Same premise though. Footage lost in a jungle, now it's found, etc.
Thanks for that, Ill have to see about checking it out (though even if Blair Witch is loosely based on that film, it wouldnt make me like it any less, or any think any less about it) Many of my favorite films (Star Wars included) are based on other stories, movies, what not, that doesnt mean Ill be taking points away from it for doing so.
Rokk_Krinn
04/07/2007, 20:18
That's fair. I mean, I didn't take points away from BWP just because it was also based on early episodes of "America's Funniest Home Videos" combined with the grainy-footage of COPS. :laugh:
To each their own, my friend, to each their own.
Pashmina
07/12/2007, 15:44
7/10
I liked it. It was creepy. And I HATE the countryside, so that probably contributed to it's like..ambience or whatever.
The ending was genuinely scary, but I laughed when they were asleep and crazy ghosts started banging on the tent.
Rokk_Krinn
07/12/2007, 16:02
7/10
I liked it. It was creepy. And I HATE the countryside, so that probably contributed to it's like..ambience or whatever.
The ending was genuinely scary, but I laughed when they were asleep and crazy ghosts started banging on the tent.
See - and I may have stated this earlier in the thread but it's been awhile :) - but I've often wondered if the more a person loved the film had any correlation to their "wilderness experience". While in many ways I'm a "city boy' - the place in the world that I feel most at home is Rome - I've lived much of my life "in the countryside" and so, perhaps, this film had less impact on me than if my "residential"-experiences had been reversed.
My then-(now ex)-fiancee was spooked like mad by this film and while she was "outdoorsey" it was all recreational - rafting, climbing, etc. - and she had been a city girl her whole life and she admitted that the idea of her going on a camping trip and running into something like that really got to her...because it would be a "terrifying event in a foreign environment".
Inbetweener
07/12/2007, 20:01
Wow, its like the same conversation from a year ago is still happening. :p
Yeah, DTM, Cannibal Holocaust is an influence on Blair Witch Project. It is a staple in the shock-splatter-mockumentary-cannibal subgenre. :grin: Then again, Texas Chainsaw Massacre influenced Cannibal Holocaust and Last House on the Left influenced...well, you get the idea.
I recommend it but when I created a list of 40 scariest horror movies a few years back, I included both movies....I can't remember but I think I put Blair Witch higher. Worked for me...definitely didn't work many others.
charlesx
07/12/2007, 21:31
the place in the world that I feel most at home is Rome
Be it ever so humble, there's just no place like Rome? :p
(I have a good fwend in Wome, you know...)
spacedye
07/12/2007, 21:35
Thanks for that, Ill have to see about checking it out (though even if Blair Witch is loosely based on that film, it wouldnt make me like it any less, or any think any less about it) Many of my favorite films (Star Wars included) are based on other stories, movies, what not, that doesnt mean Ill be taking points away from it for doing so.
I'm not saying that you should. Movies influence other movies all the time. I just figure that if you like the style and such of BWP, you might like Cannibal Holocaust.
monkeyshines
07/13/2007, 16:14
This movie is a 2 all the way.
charlesx
10/09/2007, 11:21
The Last Broadcast is a far superior film as well, and keeps you guessing right up untill the last 2 minutes of film. Unlike Blair Witch, there is a point to it all and the clues are present enough that when the killer is revealed, you slap yourself for not having seen it sooner.
Based on your review, I rented and watched The Last Broadcast. I liked it very much for its innovation. However, I can't say that I liked it better than the Blair Witch Project. They each have their own merits even if, as you state, BWP was a rip-off of TLB.
Frontman
10/21/2007, 00:21
I very rarely turn films off, I turned this off. It was horrid. Honestly, it was a case as the three went into ANOTHER whine/b/moan fest, that I said to my wife, "Can the witch show up and kill them already? I'm tired of listening to them complain."
She finished watching it, and yeah, she wishes she could get back the time she continued from after I turned it off.
ZERO out of 10.
hulkamania85
10/21/2007, 14:16
8/10
Maybe a bit overrated when it first came out, but it doesn't deserve the backlash from that initial overrated-ness. It at least tried something different, which doesn't happen too often in horror.
The sequel though? One of the worst movies ever.
Truffle Shuffle
12/17/2007, 13:46
(oddly enough, and this is very accurate with me, most every male I speak to about this finds it Scary As Heck, and most every female Ive spoken to find it Near Laughable)
I'm female. 4/10
I couldn't stand this film. I was annoyed by all of the characters. I can't stand that shaky camera work either, also why I hate Cloverfield and any other film that uses it. The only good thing about this film was the end scene when you see the guy standing in the corner just like the legend says.
3.5/10
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