“The Blair Witch Project”
"The Blair Witch Project" (R)DT: Just as "The Exorcist" was arguably the scariest film of the seventies, The Blair Witch Project is likely to be considered the creepiest of the nineties. Starring nobody you've ever heard of and costing a whopping $50,000 to produce, this film should prove to be the most successful independent film ever. It has grossed over 80 million after just a few weeks. Hollywood is no doubt envious over this phenomenal return on investment.
The secret to the whole thing is the quality of the idea behind it. It's just a great idea for a film.
The film consists of the pieced together bits of video tape and film that were shot by three young documentary makers who vanished back in 1994 while making a film about the Blair Witch in the woods of Maryland. This is one of the keys to the film's success. Since all of the film is from the characters' view points, you can't help but feel that you are there. You become the fourth member of the group even though you know you are watching footage taken years ago.
The crowd, Dave and I were with was utterly silent during the entire film, focused on the images on the screen. Part of the reason you find yourself sucked into the story is the mystery of it all. Just what happened to those kids?
Your run-of-the-mill mad slasher films have no compelling mystery. Since they follow a formula, you know ahead of time that most of the cast is fodder except for one or two. You also know that next year there's going to be a sequel so you don't really expect the villain to really be defeated in the end. Does it matter, when the purpose of the film is to just shock you with novel and gruesome ways to kill people? This is one of the chief reasons why The Blair Witch Project is so much better than most; it works on your nerves, not your stomach. The R rating comes chiefly from the language.
DM: This is the kind of movie that wanna-be movie producers all over the world would love to make. That to me is the main reason people are flocking to see it. They watch the film and think "I could have done that," which is part of the universal appeal.
As for the scary content, yes, it is frightening because it could very well have happened, and yes, you can expect about a thousand rip-offs in the next year.
From the first scene the film grabs you, thrusts you into the screen with the three hopeful movie-makers and takes you on a chilling thrill ride like you were right there with them.
Score: DM 69, DT 74