When you think of the great hoaxes in history some just automatically come to mind. Orson Wells broadcast of War of the Worlds, The death of Paul McCartney, and now The Blair Witch Project. From the SciFi Channel’s documentary about the legend of the Blair Witch, and the mystery behind the finding of the tape after the crew disappeared, to the sequestering of the actors until after the movies premiere, added to the mystique of this movie’s release.
The Blair Witch Projectis the mocumentary of three film students, Heather Donahue (Heather Donahue – Morgue), Josh Leonard (Joshua Leonard – Hatchet), and Mike Williams (Michael C. Williams – The Midnight Drive-in Presents: Stay Out of the Woods), who are doing a documentary about their search for the urban legend The Blair Witch. After shooting the footage and completing interviews, the trio heads for home. The problem is they can’t find their way out the woods, almost like they are being held against their will. Trails run in circles, maps disappear, and the infighting begins. There’s only one way for this to end, or is there.
The Blair Witch Projecttakes a unique look at the situation by taking away the omniscient viewer and forcing us to be an active participant. We view the movie from one of the three participants’ views with the use of video cameras. This movie helped set the stage for the likes of Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, and Diary of the Dead. Another marketing plan that helped promote the movie was an entire back story about the Blair Witch and the making of the documentary on the SciFi channel.
Special Features:
- Director and Producer Commentary
- Never Before Seen Alternate Endings
- Discovered Footage (Theories of the Blair Witch)
- Curse of the Blair Witch
- The Blair Witch Legacy
- Theatrical Teasers and Trailer
- 1080PHigh Definition
- Theatrical Full Screen Presentation
- English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio™
- English and Spanish Subtitles
- English SDH
For all the hype and uniqueness of this film, The Blair Witch Project is mediocre. The implied horror doesn’t materialize until the very end, and the lead-up is frustrating. The breakdown of the unit is interesting and I was conflicted at the end. On one hand I enjoyed the single person shooter view using the cameras and it lent a feeling of being there. On the other hand, I find myself yelling at the screen “You’re running for your life, drop the damn camera”. I can’t hate this movie, but I can’t love it either.
ComicsOnline gives The Blair Witch Project 3 urban legends out of 5.
Pick up your copy of The Blair Witch Project on Blu-ray at Amazon.com.
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