Despite the internet pannings on facebook horror groups I’m in, I have to say The Blair Witch Project isn’t a bad movie. I’m not sure whether I’d really call it a horror movie. Maybe it’s more of a mystery/ thriller or something that does have some dark subject matter. I think there-in lies the problem. People must be hoping for something gorier or faster paced and that’s where I think it may have lost fans.
THE PLOT
I found this one quite interesting as it followed the plight of three young filmmakers, Heather, Mike and Josh. The three of them are investigating mysterious ‘occult’ happenings / killings connected with witches in a rural American town in Maryland. The filmmakers eventually get lost on their investigative trackings and the tension between the three begins to mount. Tempers and tension flares up as the situation keeps getting worse. Eventually they all crack in their own ways. The footage is recovered a year later and basically that’s what we see as the film.
The film takes the concept of found footage (as seen in films like “Cannibal Holocaust“) a step further as the found footage basically becomes the film. For what its worth you can feel the tension grow and the acting seems to hold up quite well given the plot of the film. I found it to be fairly enjoyable (though not a classic).
PRODUCTION
With no known actors or any real special effects The Blair Witch Project would have been produced on a miniscule budget (which I later found out to be around $60k). It ended up grossing an unexpected $240+ million world wide. This is an undoubted and somewhat unlikely success for the film makers and a cash cow for the investors. I can’t think of any film produced on such a small budget that went on to achieve anything like the success this film has achieved. In fact it maybe the biggest return on a budget ever.
As said before this isn’t the fastest paced film and neither is it packed full of gore. But if you’re in the mood for something more in a mystery vein this is a pretty cool film!
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