Review of The Blair Witch Project (1999) by Brett H — 28 Sep 2016

The Blair Witch Project is an essential film for the horror genre and its impact has stood the test of time as still being one of the scariest films I've ever seen. This film was MASSIVELY successful upon release, bringing the found footage genre to the mainstream, as well as convincing a large portion of the audience that the footage was REAL and that these three filmmakers had actually died.

The film is about a documentary crew who venture into the Black Hills Forest to debunk the myth of the local "Blair Witch", and as we know with any horror film involving teens in the woods; it doesn't go well for them.

This film is special for many reasons, mainly the realistic approach to the camera-work and of course, the three central actors Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams, and Heather Donahue who bring an unparalleled sense of realism to their performances.

The actors were given general outlines of where to go, but almost everything they encountered was random to them, so much of their reactions are real, which is just brilliant filmmaking! Without question, the scariest part of this movie is the ending and still, every time I revisit it, as soon as they enter that house, I'm holding my breath until the iconic final shot.

It's definitely not as flashy as most modern horror films today, but its subtle approach and iconic scares still really work to this day, as long as you have the patience for it. The Blair Witch Project changed movies forever and holds an indelible mark in the annals of horror cinema that will likely never be topped and I can't recommend it enough for true horror fans!