Blair Witch
The number of negative comments about The Blair Witch Project at IMDB have taken me by surprise. I thought the film was fantastic. I saw it in prerelease in 1999, before the firestorm of Artisan-funded hype had arrived, which was probably advantageous. I was not expecting “the most frightening movie ever” or any other hyperbole lavished upon it. All I knew was that it had received positive reviews at Sundance … and I had seen the online mythology.
This multimedia approach, to build a mythology explicitly for the film, yet outside it, was inspired. I found it exciting, and I perused the site with interest before screening the film. I never thought, even for a moment, that the mythology was real. I have been shocked by the number of people taken in by it. Yes, I fight against religious superstition, hoaxes, and pseudoscience on this site, which means that I am forced to confront the gullibility of people all the time. But the credulity of the public never ceases to amaze me.
I am at a loss as to the points of complaint against the film. Was it overhyped? Yes, but that is hardly the filmmakers’ fault. Were the filming and cinematography amateurish? Yes, but that is the whole point, as is the unrehearsedness of the actors’ dialogue. And the common complaint that there was no musical score, and that we never see the Witch; are people really this ruined by modern films?
Yes, the movie is almost three years old, and I am probably beating a dead horse. But this also means that the third anniversary of its release is coming up. If you have not seen the film before, I suggest you rent it, turn out all the lights, and enjoy.
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