The Blair Witch Project

UK Release Date: 22 October 1999

Certification: 15
Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Cast: Rei Hance, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams

Rating: 30%

Review:

A horror phenomenon released in 1999 and changed the genre forever. With a measly budget of $60,000, found footage horror, The Blair Witch Project took the world by storm grossing $248 million. The film is highly influential with one of the most viral marketing campaigns for a film. Marketed as a real documentary - the actors were said to be missing and presumed dead - The Blair Witch Project is often touted as the scariest film of all time. 

Most of the film is shot on a Hi8 camcorder on 16mm film giving it a grainy essence. Found footage became the most popular horror sub-genre for the next ten years spawning the Paranormal Activity franchise. For the first half hour of the film it works but by the end of the runtime it's simply a gimmick used to cut down costs and separate The Blair Witch Project from other films. 

The Blair Witch Project suffers heavily from simply not being that scary. There a few tense and atmospheric scenes but apart from that it's quite tame. I think once the fact that this is a fictional story sets in it loses its appeal entirely. 

I do appreciate the fact that these actors completely ad-libbed everything. Before a day of shooting they were given a list of basic instructions that they had to carry out but they had absolutely no communication with the directors. So every scene is improvised leading to a realism that played into the film's mythology. 

However, these characters are insufferable. Heather, Mike and Josh continuously argue with each other - always at one another's throats. On top of that, these are some of the most stupid characters I've ever seen in a horror film. Why would anyone choose to continue filming after shooting their documentary whilst they are being chased by an alleged witch? What an idiot. Heather spends more time crying and complaining than actually trying to get out of the woods. Incredibly infuriating. 

Additionally, the film is only eighty minutes long and yet, it drags. The Blair Witch Project feels like a chore to get through with the runtime appearing a lot longer in length. In reality the facts surrounding marketing and production as well as the theories devised are much more interesting than The Blair Witch Project.