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Starring | Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard |
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| Directed by: | Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez | |
| Created by: | Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez |
OK, so you all know the drill "Three young filmmakers went into the woods & disappeared. A year later their footage was found." Or something like that. You'll probably know that it's one of the most profitable films of all time, was made on a budget of approximately $20,000 and that a lot of gullible americans believed it was true. But, if you're reading this, you'll want to know if it's any good. Read on...
The Blair Witch Project had one of the most ingenious advertising campaigns of all time, several years before it was released, a fake documentary was shown in America, telling of the three student's disappearances. They were named, pictured and their histories told on national television. The audience were told they had simply disappeared on a camping trip, whilst searching for the Blair Witch. It was "rumoured" that the discovered footage would be shown publicly at a later date, it may even have a theatrical release... The creators weren't expecting such a reaction, after all, who would believe this was real? Did they not remember Orson Welles' famous broadcast? I think it was called War Of The Worlds and had the American public fleeing their homes in terror. Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
Filmed mostly on camcorder, I know at least two people who had to leave the cinema whilst watching this film due to the shake-o-vision. On the small screen it doesn't really pose too much of a problem, unless you're the kind of person who gets seasick whilst washing your hands, so try to see it on video rather than at a repeat cinema viewing (just in case).
This film holds a lot of potential, although beaten to it by The Last Broadcast, The Blair Witch Project makes you believe in the film. Surprisingly good improvisation is seen from the leads as they discover ever weirder happenings and artefacts in the woods, and the strange person that's terrorising them. The cast didn't know about a large amount of what was going to happen. They knew where they had to go, where they had to end up and that's just about it. Anything else is seen for the first time, they're reacting pretty genuinely (especially with that bundle - according to rumour, Heather Donahue was too freaked out to open it at the time, so they had to go back again when they were finished to get a shot of it. Hollywood rumours: brought to you by the same guys who came up with Richard Gere and the gerbil).
Again, I'm afraid my hands are tied about what I can give away, you'll have to see the film for yourself. But I can tell you that this film is truly original and compelling. It's not the future of film-making, but it's an interesting diversion. One warning though: don't shout "Follow the f**king river, you dumb American *******s!" too loud and often, you'll worry the neighbours.
Summary: An interesting enough film, which doesn't quite live up to the hype. I just hope they don't milk it too much. Oops, too late.
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