If I may make a very personal digression, this movie totally brings me back to 1999. I remember how crazy the buzz was about this film – my friend Tim and I were terribly excited for it to finally open in our town. We rushed over to the one theater in town that it was showing at for the first midnight showing and were absolutely astounded by the massive crush of people trying to get tickets. No luck that night, but we finally got tickets for later in the week and still had to stand in line that night to get in the theater. I've never seen this theater so full, or the audience so excited. And it was well worth it. It was a great film and a great experience and I slept with my light on for three days.
The Blair Witch Project begins with text on the screen saying that three film students disappeared in the woods and were never found and what we are about to see is the footage from their trip. The rest of the film is the film that these students shot; we see the whole film through the cameras of Heather, Mike and Josh. They go into the woods to investigate the "Blair Witch" legend and lose their way and are soon beset upon by mysterious forces. Again, as with all truly great horror films, The Blair Witch Project is not afraid to take time to build up suspense.
The story is very simple: being lost in the woods and how the characters respond to this situation, each other and the increasingly menacing atmosphere in the woods. You really don't see much in this film, and as always, what you don't see and imagine is far scarier than anything the filmmakers would directly show you. Why are there piles of rocks outside their tents? What was in the bundle of sticks? Was that a baby crying and where is Josh?
Excellent film that became a true cultural phenomenon with practically every show and form of media mocking and playing on the images in the film. Plus, the Blair Witch actors were on the cover of Time and Newsweek. Astounding. And the story behind the film is as interesting as the film itself: the actors were sent out into the woods to film without knowing what to expect or what was happening. Even knowing the behind-the scenes details does not dilute any of the scares. It's a great modern, classic horror film.
