Review of Blair Witch (2016) by Unmetacrittor — 20 Sep 2016

Hi, saw this yesterday on big screen. Let's just say..at the end of the.

Movie, on a half-full theater, all I could sense on people's face was a.

Certain indifference, a certain disdain, a certain 'what the f...did I.

Just watch ???', a certain 'this is an utter piece of sh...', and a.

Certain 'nice. enough...but not so nice - too much.....Nexxxt.' It was.

Truly a mixed-bag, but more worse than bad. I even heard, when the.

End-credits started rolling, a man from a few seats behind say word for.

Word ''This is sh*t''. Myself, I was neutral, I liked it, enough, but.

Had a 'missing something' inside feeling, I fell more into the 'hype'

Of it and was a bit left 'wanting' more. And for the scary scenes, one.

Woman was laughing wild (that was quite strange! loll...like some.

Person laughing at a funeral - awkward), I mean, no one was laughing.

(but her)..it was serious matter and scary (people dying in the.

Movie...and there this woman is laughing at the ridiculness of it all,.

I was thinking 'huh...wtf??loll...this isn't funny... but then I.

Thought to myself...Oh...I understand, she's laughing all the way.

Because the movie s*cks so bad (for her I mean), she just can't connect.

- at all.. I may reveal some spoilers (warning to not read further if.

You do not wish I spoil your viewing already). I feel this movie is a.

Bit of an underdog, again. They shouldn't, but they do, because people.

Have seen so many (horror or other genre) movies. Blair witch (the.

Original was incredible (original scary 'woods' story) if a little.

Exaggerated but that turns out to be scary by 'make belief'of a story.

Of 'scary witch'that existed in these woods and old lore. The.

Difference between the original and this one, is mostly budget (while.

More budget works in favor some times (more money into story/script),.

Here it doesn't), the crudy 'NTSC cheap camcorder homevideo' look of.

The first one/great story telling/tight acting with a small budget.

(60,000$) vs 5 million dollars for this new one. Here, Blair Witch, waits extremely long before the scares come in, way too long; I was getting impatient. last 20 minutes of the movie were the best but SO late in the movie that everyone in the room was 'disconnected' of the.

Characters' plight. We could not 'engage' and care about any character.

Because it was too late that they face the 'ordeal' (the witch). The.

First part is long and draw out; and does work to bring the 'dread'

Factor. There is mystery and the film does a fair job of building.

Mystery around the lore. The acting is good and 'real'. The witch.

Itself is never shown and for that it is terryfying (less is more,.

Showing less monster increases audience imagination and 'wanting to see.

It anticipation', hiding the monster is always scarier than showing.

It), we hear noises creaks trees and branches cracking to.

'reveal/suggest' its presence, it's scary - but it's so late in movie.

(about an hour into it) - we can't connect with characters' emotions to.

Those scary stimulis. Thus, we don't feel tense or sadness when one.

Character dies by the witch or some deadly hidden force in the dark.

Woods. The sound design - sadly was non-existent, no musical.

Atmospheric building, only diegetic forest sounds. Good but made it.

Lackluster, it would have helped, like this it is sonically flat -.

Outside of the witch encounters themselves. But the witch's sound were.

Utterly terrifying (described as like the earth quaking and the trees.

Trembling like a tree fallingon the ground with a screams of death,.

Hard to explain, you know this Evil is UTTERLY Evil, it's the demon.

Pure), far scarier than in The Blair Witch first movie, which the truly.

Scary moments where when the actors were scared themselves (very well).

And when the tent was moving. I have to hand it to the post-production,.

Editing, compositing and CG witch compositing team - d*mn, what a job.

This was...compositing on this is a compositor's worse nightmare come.

True - the camera was shaking so much. The final drag of the last.

Surviving woman is quite tense and you do feel for her, and her.

Boyfriend, who tries his best in this. The most other nuisance and it's.

A killing point that drags the movie down immensely, is the 'home video.

Look' it is taken way too far...assaid the camera does - not - stop -.

Shaking violently (so much it's a total blur, we can't see/make.

Anything but a saccade of blurred pixel colors!). At a certain point I.

Almost had a headache, this is too much shaking, running, video home.

Movie amateur 'shaky cam' 'low reality TV' feel, it ruined the.

Potential (while in first film they dosed it, it was a novelty. One.

More thing, the last scary scenes show a lot of 1st POV of the camera.

Of the survivor, people generally don't like (I noticed) 1st person.

Point of view of the character, because they can't relate to the.

Character (by not 'reading' the facial emotions in those crucial scenes.

In terms of emotion), thus they feel these shots seem like a video game.

1st-person FPS shooter..