"The Blair Witch Project"
Tagline: "In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary...A year later their footage was found."
"October, 1994, three film students travel to Maryland to make a student film about a local urban legend... The Blair Witch. The three went into the woods on a two day hike to find the Blair Witch, and never came back. One year later, the students film and video was found in the woods. The footage was compiled and made into a movie. The Blair Witch Project." (Written by Kevin Overstreet <GrndZero23@aol.com>)
Long Bio:
Three film students--Heather (the female, the bossy one, the responsible one), Josh (the bearded, long-haired one), and Mike (the one that Heather and Josh pick up before beginning their project)--come together to create a student-film about the Blair Witch of Burkittsville, Maryland. However, upon realizing that they have become lost in the dense woods outside of Burkittsville, the trio begin to experience as well as witness strange phenomenon--such as odd, seemingly voodoo-like, artifacts in the woods and hearing screaming and odd noises at night. The trio soon becomes panicked and pissed off, thus condensing (much to their dismay) the trio down to a duo as Josh mysteriously leaves the group, leaving Heather and Mike to be panicked and pissed off together. The film concludes with the discovery of an abandoned, derelict house where, upon entering, Heather and Mike fall victim to whatever force has been stalking them through the woods.
Quick Stats (a quick glimpse at everything)
Overall Score: 95% (94.5)
Camera Work: A
Acting: A+
Storyline: A-
Scare Factor: A+
Reality Factor: A
Transitions: C-
Sound: A
Availability: A+
Effectiveness: A
Workability: A
The camera work for "The Blair Witch Project" is considerably well done, though there are some flaws. Heather (the main, color camera operator), early on in the film, has a very steady and well defined hand, which really benefits the film. However, her filming as the film progresses becomes sloppier and shakier, which can be attributed to her fear--of course--which, at times, is fine but it crosses the line at times, only serving to hinder the film and story. Also, early on, the black and white filming is done very well however, as the film progresses, the black and white becomes almost bothersome--especially the constant (unneeded) switching between black and white and color while still retaining audio from either of the two thus creating a bit of unnecessary confusion. For example, there is a scene where Heather, Josh, and Mike are crossing a river, and the filming switches from the color camera to the black and white camera, while still holding the color audio. The black and white footage shows Heather crossing the river without her mouth moving, however with the color audio we can hear her speaking. However, despite these few hiccups, the filming is still quite good (especially considering that Heather Donahue had never filmed before, only receiving a two-day crash course). In the category of Camera Work, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A.
Acting:
The acting in "The Blair Witch Project" is essentially what makes the film work, it's what sells the story of three (idiot) kids who get lost and have no clue what's happening. By getting "nobodies" for the roles, the director successfully pushed the point that this was a "real" film, this added together with their superb acting only served to generate such mystery and question around the film's reality. In the category of Acting, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A+.
Storyline:
The storyline of "The Blair Witch Project" is exceptionally good. The idea, or the fear, that you could get lost in the woods and something terrible could happen to you is a legitimate fear--and people love to see bad things happen to OTHER people, not themselves, taking in the lessons or thoughts that could have saved those OTHER people and banking them mentally in case it could ever happen to them. Every kid fears of getting lost, getting separated, in a strange place without a clue of how to get out or get home--and "The Blair Witch Project" plays on that fear. The characters are well defined: Heather who is the bossy, self-assured "director", Josh who is the follower who had only hoped to get in and get out, and Mike who is the innocent one that got caught up in this mess who still tries to maintain some semblance of sanity. One flaw that sticks out is the interviews: in the beginning (during the interview process) it is briefly mentioned that a killer of Burkittsville would get two victims, place on in the corner and kill the other one (because he didn't like too feel the eyes of the victims on him)--which is done in the ending of the film--however, that factoid is briefly mentioned that the ending doesn't make sense at all if you didn't happen to remember it, so that important fact could have been highlighted a bit more. Overall, the storyline was well done and well written. In the category of Storyline, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A-.
Scare Factor:
What's scary about "The Blair Witch Project" is that there is "nothing" there--we can't see it and that's the most frightening part of all: what our mind conjures up, with the lack of an image to fill the void. The idea that there is something there, something we cannot see, but that it can hurt us and scare us is much more frightening than actually seeing something frightening (like a monster or murderer). "The Blair Witch Project" capitalizes on this and makes one hell of a scare that stays with you well after the last credit has rolled by. In the category of Scare Factor, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A+.
Reality Factor:
"The Blair Witch Project" has an amazing reality factor--with the amazing acting, decent camera work, and good script, the film exudes reality. There's nothing too unbelievable and there's nothing so under-believable, "The Blair Witch Project" finds a good little niche between the two to sit comfortably. The only real flaw in reality for the film are some of the decisions Heather, Josh, and Mike make--for example, instead of just wandering around aimlessly, why didn't they follow the river as it would have eventually lead them to some sort of civilization? Other than a few hiccups, the reality of "The Blair Witch Project" is quite good. In the category of Reality Factor, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A.
Transitions:
The transitions of "The Blair Witch Project" leave something to be desired. I understand they're in the woods, there's really no "proper" way to demonstrate change or time span (aside from the change from day to night), but there are ways and "The Blair Witch Project" just didn't utilize them. Whenever it shifted from day to night, it felt more like, "Oh, we're in the tent again"--rather than feeling like there had actually been some legitimate time pass. In the category of Transitions, "The Blair Witch Project" receives a C-.
Sound:
The sound of "The Blair Witch Project" is something to be rivaled. At it's best: the enhanced sound of the characters walking through the woods (the crunch of the leaves) and general nature sounds (the wind, for example), coupled with the sound of Heather (generally Heather, though some other characters can be heard) breathing add great amounts of reality and depth to the film. Furthermore, the fact that the "monster" is only at first heard (later seen by left artifacts) adds to the Scare Factor of the film. However, there are moments when the sound of the film is not executed well: moments where the characters aren't quiet enough to allow the audience to hear the outside action, moments when the sound is not captured well (this also relates to poor camera operation), and moments when the outside action (the noises in the woods of the "monster") are not highlighted enough. Despite these minimal errors, the sound of the film is very good and adds much reality to the film. In the category of Sound, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A.
Availability:
"The Blair Witch Project" is available on Crackle.com, streaming instantly and for free on either the internet or on a Roku (or Roku-like device)! Despite the commercials ever so often, it is worth it to see such a classic film. In the category of Availability, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A+.
Effectiveness:
Through the use of unknown actors, the Found Footage film style, and internet marketing (the main source of audience members) "The Blair Witch Project" is very effective in pushing the message that it is a film compiled of actual found footage. The only downfall comes from the Storyline as there are several instances where it just doesn't seem believable (why didn't they just follow the river?). Furthermore, the director and producer's urgency and adamancy about this being an authentic film eventually became too much and too unbelievable, leading to the truth (that the film is simply that, a fictional film and nothing more). However, despite this, the film is very... Catching. It sticks with you, like a parasite under the skin, and refuses to leave--tainting every thought with fear, perhaps possessing you to never enter the woods again. In the category of Effectiveness, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A.
Workability:
So, does the film work? YES! "The Blair Witch Project", as a Found Footage film, works. The idea behind it works (kids getting lost, whilst filming a documentary) and the effects help it and make it work. The film plays on the fear of getting lost that everyone has, as well as the fear of the unknown, the unseen. As a whole, the film definitely works. In the category of Workability, "The Blair Witch Project" receives an A.
Final Thoughts
"The Blair Witch Project" is one of my favorite Found Footage films. It's exactly what you would think of when you think of a Found Footage film. The acting is amazing. The scare factor (for me, at least) is insane and it definitely scared the fuck out of me the first time I ever saw it (when I was ten years old).
Favorite Scene: During the interviews, the woman with the Ray Ban-like sunglasses, who is holding her kid. As she's telling the story of the "Witch", the child gets frightened and tries to stop her mother from talking and the mother says, "Oh it's not real!", then she turns to the camera and mouths, "It is!".
Important Links
Official Movie Website: http://www.blairwitch.com/
Wikipedia Article (Definitely worth a read): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blair_Witch_Project
"The Blair Witch Project" can be seen (right now!) here: http://www.crackle.com/c/the-blair-witch-project/the-blair-witch-project/2489061
IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185937/
