Sarah_Louise is back!! This time I'm back to stay! I've been absent from Ciao for over a year now ...
Sarah_Louise is back!! This time I'm back to stay! I've been absent from Ciao for over a year now (time flies!) but I blame the birth of my first baby last July having a lot to do with it! :o)
Member since:26.07.2001
Reviews:188
Members who trust:130
Well, I’ve finally got to see ‘Blair Witch Project’. It was initially released in 1999 but that meant me actually spending money to go and see it in the cinema, it’s been released on video/DVD since Oct 26, 1999 too but there again, that meant me actually buying or renting it, it was then shown on Sky Box Office for a while but there again, I’d have to pay for that. So, needless to say, when I saw it in the ‘Weekend TV Guide’ I decided I’d record it and watch it ASAP in order to review it for ciao (all in the name of ciao research you understand!).
I’ll just cover the basics; I won’t give away too much about the plot or the ending for those who haven’t seen the film yet.
--------------------------------------------------- WHAT IS THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT ABOUT? ---------------------------------------------------
“In October 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary.
A year later their footage was found….”
That’s about it really. Their footage is what the actual film is about. There aren’t any special effects as such, nor has there been any form of computer aided graphics. Sounds a bit rubbish now I’ve said that doesn’t it? I thought it would be too but you’ll just have to trust me on this, it isn’t rubbish, it really does get the desired effect.
--------------- WHO’S IN IT? ---------------
The film has three stars:
Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leaonard
Strangely, the stars use their real names in the film, just to add to the ‘realness’ effect (ok, so I couldn’t think of a technical term for realness!)
The film was written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. The film is made by Haxan Films.
---------------------------------- WHAT RATING
DOES IT HAVE? ----------------------------------
It has a 15 rating. This is because there is a lot of strong language (understandably in their situation!). There is also a tiny bit of gore but this really isn’t much, you can’t make much out (or I couldn’t anyway!). In fact, could someone please tell me exactly what that was wrapped up in the old shirt tied around them branches?
--------------------------------------- WHAT DID SARAH_LOUISE THINK? ---------------------------------------
Well I must say this film was a LOT better than I was expecting. Having heard it’s a load of rubbish from my sister I really was expecting it to be just that. The film starts by getting you to believe it is all real and not just a film, like I said earlier, it immediately tells you that they were filming a documentary and their footage was found a year later. This then immediately flicks to their actual footage. You forget that it is their footage and you start to believe you’re actually there with them (well, sort of!)
It’s a documentary within a documentary. Heather Donahue, who’s a film student at Montgomery College, has decided to do this documentary to trace the legend of the supposed “Blair Witch”. They don’t particularly believe in the mythical figure but then they do wish to find evidence, for or against.
They take with them just one black and white video camera, one colour video camera, oh, and a compass, map and tent!
What makes the film seem even more realistic is the fact that the students interview a few residents of Burkittsville about the Blair Witch before they set off on their journey. Some don’t believe in the legend while others do, plus there’s one who claims to have seen it. To add to the realness (lol, there I go again!) the person who claims to have experienced the Blair Witch is dubbed to be a ‘weirdo’. Just like what you’d expect in real life.
They then leave the relative safety of the town and head up into the woods….
You then follow the students’ journey up into the deepest parts of the woods. You see it all from what they’d be seeing (because they’re filming it from their own cameras after all!) As you might expect if you were in some woods a night with only two normal video cameras, you really can’t see much apart from the narrow beam which you pick up with your torch. That’s where this film might get a bit boring for those of you who want high tech computer aided graphics full of gore. You won’t get any in this film. You don’t see anything at all, that’s what makes this film so good in my opinion. It would ruin it if, out of the darkness, appeared this scary looking being of the night, because, with just a torch, you wouldn’t actually see them in all their glory would you? Despite this fact that the film is eerie and chilling. 1 hr 27 minutes later the film finishes abruptly leaving you wanting more…. (more about this later).
------------- IS IT REAL? -------------
Well here’s the interesting bit. You’d be forgiven in believing that the film was based on a true story. In fact, there is actually a website set up which presents a time line of events as if it were all true. There are bios of the characters, the general history behind the Blair Witch and news clips/interviews with relatives of the students who disappeared.
http://www.blairwitch.com/
I’m actually quite surprised that its not actually based around a true story because, not only to I firmly believe in the goings-on in this film, I also saw a factual programme (a proper documentary in other words!) on Sky which involved a similar thing. It was on Living TV, the programme is called ‘Scream Team’, this one particular week the crew were out and about in some woods somewhere in the UK (I can’t remember the name of them though!) reported to have many strange goings-on (e.g. a Vicar from a local church was found dead there under strange circumstances, many dogs have gone missing when let off their leads and people feel uncomfortable around the area). Also, there were many, many twigs, rocks, leaves, etc. manipulated into eerie shapes (just like on the film). There are occultists at work there though so there isn’t any witch (of the mythical variety) lurking around. There are however murders (namely through ritual sacrifice) going on though so I wouldn’t be happy sleeping in a tent on my own there!
---------------------------------------------- WOULD SARAH_LOUISE RECOMMEND IT? ----------------------------------------------
Well, if you’ve not already guessed by now, yes I would recommend it, I’d highly recommend it in fact. (I’m recommending the film here by the way, NOT sleeping in a tent on your own in a woods which has occultists at work!).
Don’t just take my word for it though, The Blair Witch Project actually brought in the second highest box office dollars for horror movies, bringing in a whopping $140,539,099, which has been beaten only by The Sixth Sense, which brought in $293,506,292. Still, quite an accomplishment when you consider it was made on a budget of $31,000, which, you’ve got to admit, is a minute amount in comparison to all other Hollywood productions!
There is actually a sequel out now too, called “Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows”. I’ll wait for that to be shown on TV though before I review that!
· Great acting · Great effects which genuinely do make you feel apart of the action · Eerie/spooky · Keeps you hooked (well it did me!)
~ Bad points ~
I wouldn’t actually call these bad points as such but there were a few niggling things.
· Even though the film was set in 1994 you’d still have thought at least one of the students would have had a mobile phone with them. It would have been more realistic if they’d had one but just couldn’t get any reception (far more likely to be real then!) · They filmed it ALL, right up until the last second, if I were about to be killed in some gruesome manner (or otherwise!) I’d have legged it in the opposite direction to the screams and not bothered with the video camera! · You may feel a bit sick, the camera movements are jerky, as you’d expect. I personally didn’t feel sick in the slightest but I have heard other people feeling sick after watching it.
So, my tip of the week has to be….
If you are going on a Brownie/Scout trip (or shall we make that guides instead because Brownies shouldn’t be watching it seen as it’s got a 15 rating!) or if you’re just going out camping with some mates in a wood within the next year or so, don’t watch this film! If, like me, you either have: (a) a vivid imagination Or (b) you believe in the paranormal/occult
Then you probably won’t be getting much sleep for the duration of your trip!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
Production Year: 1998 - Horror - Director: Stephen Norrington - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'Bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Keir, Traci Lords, Udo Kier
Excelleent op! I felt that the film had been over-hyped, and that took peoples attention away from the fact that it is a good movie. In particular, I liked the interviews with the locals before they headed off into the woods. They were very 'real' and that help to set up the illusion that the footage was real.
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stay away fromThe Blair Witch Project--this film will creep under your skin and stay there for days. Credit for the effectiveness of this mock documentary goes t...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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Maryland's Black Hills Forest to shoot a documentary film on a local legend 'The Blair Witch'. They were never heard from again. One year later, their footage was foun...
Advantages: Quite chilling if you have a good imagination, great idea for a story Disadvantages: Home movie style, very short film, too much shrieking!
Advantages: Scary edge of your seat type movie. Disadvantages: I think they could have given more info about the Balir Witch and what might have to these kids.
Advantages: Comedy, bad horror if you like that type of thing, good excuse for Christmas wrapping. Disadvantages: Boring, Unrealistic, Poor acting, B Type Movie
Mickie26 22.12.2007 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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Oct 21st, 2002
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