Horror Movie Discussion #25: The Blair Witch Project

[Alien Redrum]

IMDB Synopsis:

Three film students go missing after traveling into the woods of Maryland to make a documentary about the local Blair Witch legend leaving only their footage behind.

[19itmicmac]

Probably my favorite of the "recovered footage" type of movies. They built that movie up really well before its release. If none of you have seen The Curse of the Blair Witch you should, it is a faux documentary that is a great companion to The Blair Witch Project and gives more background to the story.

[Alien Redrum]

Oh, us horror fans are such a finicky bunch. Often we complain about nothing original coming out and there are nothing but remakes and when something fresh does come along, half of us love it and the half shits on it. Such is the case of The Blair Witch Project.

My first experience with this movie was seeing it in a small theater at an advanced screening with the perfect audience. Quiet, respectful, jumped/screamed/laughed at all the right moments. The lady I was with was terrified. At the end of the movie, there was silence. Once the credits started to roll, everyone stood up at once and made a mass (silent) exit to the door. Once outside there was nervous laughter and discussion of the film. It was as if people were afraid to go home just yet. It was quite possibly the best movie experience I've had.

Subsequent viewings have never captured that feeling again (obviously), but I've always thought BWP was a great movie. It did so much on so little, relied on the audience's imagination rather than cheap scares (which is no doubt related to budget, but it worked) and introduced me to how truly awesome a true indie film can be.

I've heard people say the only reason BWP did as well as it did is because of hype. I call bullshit. Look at the latest film The Last Exorcism. That had a lot of hype, then word got out it was a big turd and it quickly disappeared from the theater. Godzilla (which came out the year before) was amazingly hyped and didn't make as much money as BWP domestically, and it played in about 1,000 more theaters. Now, I don't dispute that the hype of the movie placed too high of expectations on the film goer, but it certainly didn't make its bank on hype alone. There are tons of movies that have hype, but they don't turn nearly the profit BWP did.

There's also the argument that BWP is a ripoff of Cannibal Holocaust. People who say that are generally retarded. They might as well call Star Wars a ripoff of Alien since they both take place in space. An even worse comparison is that its a ripoff of Man Bites Dog. Yeah, people who make that one are just brain dead. (Although both films are in black and white, so there's that.)

I struggled between recommended and highly recommended. I still watch the movie on occasion, but even I will admit there's no way it can live up to the hype around it now. At the end of the day, I went with highly recommended because it's one of those homework films horror fans should watch, especially if they like movies like Paranormal Activity and REC. Those two movies have BWP more to thank than any other movie.

[TGM]

I thought the ending was disappointing, and I remember being more creeped out the documentary that came out a few weeks before (perhaps on the Sci Fi channel?) that discussed the history of the Blair Witch, and the "found footage" of the missing hikers. That was really well done. The movie itself, not so much.

[19itmicmac]

I thought the ending was disappointing, and I remember being more creeped out the documentary that came out a few weeks before (perhaps on the Sci Fi channel?) that discussed the history of the Blair Witch, and the "found footage" of the missing hikers. That was really well done. The movie itself, not so much.

That's the faux documentary that I'm talking about, The Curse of the Blair Witch.

[TGM]

LOL, obviously I do not read your posts.

[19itmicmac]

LOL, obviously I do not read your posts.

[Neon Maniac]

The lady I was with was terrified.

Can you blame her? She was hoping to get back to her husband and kids alive.

I had a similar movie theater experience with this. Silent. Shock. Relief at the end when it was over. For everyone who said they hated this movie, they're either lying or didn't see it in the theater.

[DJBenz]

Fuck this movie in its stupid fucking face.

I didn't see it in a theatre. Skip it.

[Alien Redrum]

Well it's no Mr. Bean.

[shiki-jitsu]

The lady I was with was terrified.

Can you blame her? She was hoping to get back to her husband and kids alive.

I had a similar movie theater experience with this. Silent. Shock. Relief at the end when it was over. For everyone who said they hated this movie, they're either lying or didn't see it in the theater.

I had a very different theater experience on opening night, packed midnight showing. About half loved it, the other half were disappointed. I was one of the latter. In fact I don't think there was one person in the group that I saw it with (about 8 of us) who didn't feel let down somewhat.

I would agree alot with TGM on this:

I thought the ending was disappointing, and I remember being more creeped out the documentary that came out a few weeks before (perhaps on the Sci Fi channel?) that discussed the history of the Blair Witch, and the "found footage" of the missing hikers. That was really well done. The movie itself, not so much.

The build up was amazing to this movie, and that is the hype that I think most people are referencing. Not the post-release hype. The story surrounding the movie and the marketing are the far more interesting elements.

Still, it was an important movie for the horror genre. And is clearly extremely influential and will continue to be so. I can appreciate the film for those reasons. I just wish it came together better.

[Alien Redrum]

The build up was amazing to this movie, and that is the hype that I think most people are referencing. Not the post-release hype. The story surrounding the movie and the marketing are the far more interesting elements.

I have to disagree because the film has So Much Hype around it. It was absolutely brilliant marketing. I will always defend it that it made the money it did because it was a good movie. Yes, the hype absolutely helped it, but I get so tired of the argument that the only reason it did as well as it did was because of hype. That's just retarded. But the hype hurt it as much as it helped, as it got to a point where there was no way it could live up to the expectations.

That said, while I disagree with you saying that that hype most people reference, I do agree with your point. The build up was So Good, but while I truly loved the ending, there are times I wish I had gotten at least a glimpse of the witch. Don't get me wrong, I'm satisfied with it as is, but I won't lie and say I would not have wanted to see what she actually looked like. And, as above, there's no way it could finish off after that build up. (Insert orgasm joke here.)

Still, it was an important movie for the horror genre. And is clearly extremely influential and will continue to be so. I can appreciate the film for those reasons. I just wish it came together better.

Kind of like my feelings on Texas Chain Saw Massacre (a thread in which you should re-read. ).

[DJBenz]

Well it's no Mr. Bean.

Johnny English!

Clown shoes motherfucker.

[DJBenz]

OK, now I'm at a computer and not on my phone, I'll give my thoughts on BWP. I hated it, naturally, and the first time I saw it was on TV. Some might say that I've lost out because I didn't have the cinema experience, but I don't believe that. A great film should transcend its media, making it irrelevant. Like the B&W film you forget is monochrome, or the foreign film you forget is subtitled because the film is so encompassing. It didn't happen here, basically because BWP doesn't tap into any primal fears I have. Really, piles of rocks and stick men aren't scary. I read Stick Man to my kids each night if that point needs to be proven.

For all its silliness, I found Insidious far creepier, especially the scene where the guy comes downstairs to find the front door open. There's a primal fear explored; the last barrier between the safety of your home and the nasties that might lurk outside thrown open with the uncertainty whether anything got in.

I did actually find the ending a little creepy. It was about the only part of the film where I was elevated from piss-boiling rage to something approaching appreciation for anything that appeared on screen,

I don't think anyone accuses BWP of ripping off Cannibal Holocaust, people who think that accusation is leveled are retarded. There is (was?) a huge amount of fanboy masturbation over how 'original' the concept was, when Holocaust had done it years previously. If you want to accuse BWP of ripping off CH then I guess it ripped off the concept and, unfortunately, steered the genre to churn out endless found footage horrors. Man Bites Dog? Nope, not seeing that, unless it's the 'documentary' POV.

Finally, the characters killed it for me. I fucking longed whinging, shrieking cunt of a lead actress to just die and get the fuck off my screen. If I'd had the camera I'd have dropped it, picked up a rock from one of the non-scary piles and stoved her fucking head in with it.

1/10 - Shit Sandwich

[Alien Redrum]

OK, now I'm at a computer and not on my phone, I'll give my thoughts on BWP. I hated it, naturally, and the first time I saw it was on TV. Some might say that I've lost out because I didn't have the cinema experience, but I don't believe that. A great film should transcend its media, making it irrelevant. Like the B&W film you forget is monochrome, or the foreign film you forget is subtitled because the film is so encompassing. It didn't happen here, basically because BWP doesn't tap into any primal fears I have. Really, piles of rocks and stick men aren't scary. I read Stick Man to my kids each night if that point needs to be proven.

For all its silliness, I found Insidious far creepier, especially the scene where the guy comes downstairs to find the front door open. There's a primal fear explored; the last barrier between the safety of your home and the nasties that might lurk outside thrown open with the uncertainty whether anything got in.

I did actually find the ending a little creepy. It was about the only part of the film where I was elevated from piss-boiling rage to something approaching appreciation for anything that appeared on screen,

That probably has a lot to do with your hatred of the film, the fact that you can't relate to it. Like I find Rosemary's Baby to be extremely overrated, and not because a baby fucker directed it. Ohhhhhhhh hooded people. So scarrrrrrrryyyyyyyy. Woooooooohhhhhhhhhh.

It's like those devil worshiping movies Britain was so fond of in the 60s/70s. So fucking lame. I can't possibly see how they were even scary back then because I can, in no way, relate to being scared by someone wearing a hoodie (unless it's Trevor Martin...too soon?).

I don't think anyone accuses BWP of ripping off Cannibal Holocaust, people who think that accusation is leveled are retarded. There is (was?) a huge amount of fanboy masturbation over how 'original' the concept was, when Holocaust had done it years previously. If you want to accuse BWP of ripping off CH then I guess it ripped off the concept and, unfortunately, steered the genre to churn out endless found footage horrors. Man Bites Dog? Nope, not seeing that, unless it's the 'documentary' POV.

You'd be surprised. I've had arguments about it on this very board. It's stupid.

Hell, here's a guy who wrote a big diatribe about it --> http://www.leftfieldcinema.com/comparat ... ch-project" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't read it. It's too wordy.

Finally, the characters killed it for me. I fucking longed whinging, shrieking cunt of a lead actress to just die and get the fuck off my screen. If I'd had the camera I'd have dropped it, picked up a rock from one of the non-scary piles and stoved her fucking head in with it.

The girl gets annoying, yeah, but I can't knock them for it. on a $35,000 budget, you aren't getting any sort of profile actors. You probably aren't even getting SAG.

I've seen much, much worse. But at the end of the day, it could have done without the never ending FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKs (although that would be me). I do think, though, she projected fear quite nicely, as some of it was geniune.

You are a shit sandwich.