Bewitching project

"The Blair Witch Project"
Overall Rating: ***


Caution: this review contains information that may spoil the film's overall effect.
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"The Blair Witch Project" is an enigma. The film was made for $40,000 as a college film project. From these humble origins, the movie seems destined to become a cult classic--having fan websites based on the official website before it even opened. Aside from its origins, the film itself bends reality--making the film realistic to the point that many people--including one of my friends who saw it with me--thought it was a real documentary. (The "mockumentary" nature of the film is why I had the warning above.)

Three film students, Heather Donahue, Mike Williams, and Josh Leonard (the characters share the actors' names) set out to make a film called "The Blair Witch Project"--a documentary about a local legend in rural Burkittsville, MD. Their disappearance further fuels the legends of the woods being haunted. A year later, their film footage is found--deepening the mystery.

The writing in "The Blair Witch Project" is phenomenal. The film depends on a single gimmick--trying to make the movie seem like a real documentary--but the gimmick works well. Even knowing it isn't real, it looks very realistic. The film's horror also gradually builds, becoming scarier as it progresses. Even though you know what's eventually going to happen, since the opening text tells you that the protagonists are still missing, you still wonder what has happened to them. But it's not all horror. "The Blair Witch Project" has sharp wit--my favorite line is when, on seeing something early on that may be a hoax, one of the protagonists says "Rednecks aren't that creative."

The characters are also perfectly believable. This is both a credit to the writers and the actors. It's easy to argue that the actors were simply playing themselves--based on the characters' names; even granting that there are similarities to the characters, they are still in a fictional situation. It's also interesting to see Heather's change in attitude as she realizes just what she's gotten her friends into--if only more films' lead characters went through a character transformation that allows them to admit responsibility for their mistakes.

So, with everything going for it, what's wrong? The big problem with the film is the cinematography. The camera shakes violently throughout the film--and after about five minutes, I was nauseated from the effect. Checking with the three people I went with, all of them were also similarly ill. Admittedly, the four of us sat together, and relatively close to the screen--worsening the effect--but I still felt some effect when I moved to one of the back rows. I'll grant that the filmmakers needed at least some shots to be shaky for realism--it doesn't make sense that a kid running through the woods with a camera will have a steady shot. I'll also grant that the budgetary constraints may have been a factor. To be fair, I'm also sensitive on this subject: the video game "Doom" has also hit me the same way, for instance--yet millions of kids play it with no problem; this could be a more subjective reaction than I'm taking it to be. For me, however, this was such a problem that it's why I gave an otherwise four-star film three stars--and almost gave it an outright bad review. If you can't enjoy a film while seasick, and the film itself makes you feel nauseated, then what's the point?

"The Blair Witch Project" is not suitable for children. There is a great deal of strong language and one very gory scene. The worst aspect for children, however, is the situation: though the violence always occurs out of view of the camera, it is absolutely clear that something is happening.

In the end, "The Blair Witch Project" is an admirable effort. Despite all it has going for it, the shaky camera is an extremely serious problem that makes it virtually impossible to watch or enjoy. If you want to see it, my advice is to take a Dramamine and sit towards the back. That said, I'd still say it might be worth it. Either way, I hope to see more from writer/directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez--if they can do "The Blair Witch Project" with $40,000, what can they do with a more typical $40,000,000?


Title: "The Blair Witch Project"
Release date: limited: 7/16/99 / nationwide: 7/30/99
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 81 min.
Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Writer: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Stars: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard

Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/reviewsbyjohn/BlairW.htm
Added to blog site: 7/26/09 (with minor editing)