Review of Blair Witch (2016) by Vladimir B — 13 Sep 2016

If you heard about 'found-footage' film, you'd think of The Blair Witch Project (1999), where everyone thought it was a genuine real documentary found footage from three college students who lost in the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland. It was presented as if it hasn't been scripted, filmed and brilliantly edited by professionals and the actors were the ones who shot themselves while hiking. I started hearing about it back in High School. I also remembered the book called The Blair Witch Project by Dave Stern one of my classmates use to bring in the class. The book contains fully detailed and illustrated investigative report from the crime scene, including evidences and Heather Donahue's journal. The book itself was really terrifying. I didn't get to finish it 'cause I was supremely terrified. I did my own research about the movie, I've seen some crime scene photos, which was also part of marketing campaigns.

The filmmakers took an extreme risk by showing us evidences (missing flyers) and reports adding to everyone's confusion if the movie was real or not. So it isn't questionable why so many people believed it was real(including myself). That's how effective and frightening the movie was and how real it seemed.

Years Later, Adam Wingard has directed a sequel to The Blair Witch Project 1999, everyone's talking about. Lets talk about the things we DID like and we DIDN'T.

Plot: After James Donahue discovers a video online that he believes explains his sister's disappearance in the Black Hills Forest in Burkittsville, Maryland. James along with his fellow students head to the woods to search for her. The group encounters frightening and nightmarish of a menacing presence that the three young documentary filmmakers once encountered years ago before they went missing.

Lets start off with the things we did like. Adam Wingard was also behind low-budget hits such as You're Next and The Guest, his newest film, Blair Witch (The Woods) isn't a remake but a sequel. One of the good things I like in this film is that, it feels like a Blair Witch movie, the filmmakers did an excellent job by giving us the same claustrophobic feeling like the first one does. It offers you an instantaneous feeling of being trapped out as soon as they entered the woods, you'd feel sucked in. As days and nights pass, they hear unsettling noises, of course, a found footage film doesn't have musical score but the film's brilliant sound design does the scares. And that added a lot of weight to the experience. It shows several twists that I think worked so well. As well as the strong performances from the cast.

I've only got two problems with the film, it doesn't have the simplicity like the first one does, as well as the sense of realism, it does feel modern Blair Witch. It doesn't reach those heights its aiming for. Unlike any other found footage films that has long shots, this film has plenty: shots from different angle as well as the modern cinematography. It doesn't feel a found footage movie at times.

Is Blair Witch scary? It is a terrifying movie experience though. I was the only person at the deluxe section of the cinema so if I cursed and screamed, no one could hear me. And surrounded by sound truly captures the claustrophobic feeling, and that's what Blair Witch is about. Overall, Blair Witch is an utterly effective sequel that gives you extreme chills and claustrophobic feeling. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this movie. Please DO NOT wait to see it on a device you can hold in your hand.

Cast: James Allen McCune as James, Callie Hernandez as Lisa, Corbin Reid as Ashley, Brandon Scott as Peter, Wes Robinson as Lane & Valorie Curry as Talia. Directed by: Adam Wingard. Written by: Simon Barrett. Distributed by: Lionsgate.