![]() There’s no question that this is the best looking version of The Blair Witch Project available but, in the case of this film, this means you’re seeing jumpy camera angles, smudged looking footage and all the original blips, cracks and in high definition. Best of all, we learn about the local characters employed in the film, including the odd and peculiar ones who, it turns out, were actual odd and peculiar locals.įinally, there is the issue of the transfer itself. Myrick and Sanchez give a wealth of detail about shooting in the woods and suggest that the unease the film conveys comes from a series of harrowing experiences in rural Maryland. The producer/director commentary is the most worthwhile part of the special features. The one deleted scene that does appear is a lot of talking in the tent that adds exactly nothing to the story and that was rightly cut from the final version. However, one of the most discouraging elements of the special features is that we learn from the producer/director’s commentary about a number of scenes that never made it into the film that seem intriguing and yet they never make it into the deleted scenes, either. The special features contains four alternate endings (and forces you to watch the same minute and a half over and over again to get to them) and only one of them, in which the final shot has the lost member of the party hanging in the cellar, gives a vaguely effective jolt and something of a clear ending. The filmmakers themselves weren’t sure how to conclude this one. I’m not opposed to audiences bringing their own endings to open-ended films but for the horror fan, a bit more payoff was needed for my patience with the slow, subtle creation of tension. Over the years, I have heard perhaps five different explanations for what happened, ranging from the aforementioned group psychosis to demonic possession. I guess the Blair Witch got them? Or something? And I’m still not scared like I want to be. There’s yelling and there’s something creepy in the corner and lots of running around. ![]() Speaking of the famous ending, I just don’t really get it. ![]() Reading the film’s denouement as the complete psychological disintegration of the group gives it something close to a chilling ending. Soon, the realization that they are lost leads to escalating dissension, panic and anger that becomes far more frightening than any of the sticks hanging in trees or shrieking carried on the wind. All of that walking in the woods begins with a lot of uncomfortable and awkward disagreements between people who don’t know each other very well. If it’s not a truly frightening film, it’s at least a deeply unsettling one. Though flawed, there’s certainly some craftsmanship at work here. In fact, in all the hoopla over the viral phenomenon hid the fact that films like The Exorcist had created audiences that screamed, vomited and ran out of theaters. It was not the “scariest movie ever made”, not even close. The highly successful viral campaign certainly left audiences expecting to be scared to death but, if you can recall how it was received in 1999, there was a lot of excitement followed by an immediate letdown and backlash. Lets be frank: this is not a scary movie. One of the top ten most popular Google searches related to The Blair Witch Project is worded “ Blair Witch Project true story.” It was a viral campaign that worked, turning a film about an urban legend into an urban legend. Even after 11 years, The Blair Witch Project is featured on the urban legend debunking site. ![]() The Sci-Fi Channel played a role in building speculation and excitement about the film, airing a faux documentary entitled Curse of the Blair Witch. One of the three goes missing and they find him, sort of, in an abandoned house. A website alleged that the film was “found footage”, recovered from the Maryland woods and recorded the tale of the three 20-somethings becoming progressively more lost and apparently hunted by a malicious supernatural force.They begin seeing strange piles of stone, hear shrieks in the night, and find totemic symbols hanging from trees. In 1999, one of the first successful viral campaigns made the story of three aspiring filmmakers in the Maryland woods into a horror sensation. Why does the The Blair Witch Project need a Blu-Ray transfer? It probably doesn’t, and that’s just one of the problems with this new release.
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