# Blair Witch Project, The (1999)

### reviewed by
R.L. Strong

ARTISEN ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS A HAXAN FILM PRODUCTION A FILM BY DANIEL MYRICK & EDUARDO SÁNCHEX "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT" HEATHER DONAHUE MICHAEL C. WILLIAMS JOSHUA LEONARD ORIGINAL MUSIC BY TONY CORA EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: KEVIN J. FOXE, BOB EICK CINEMATOGRAPHY BY NEAL FREDERICKS PRODUCED BY ROBIN COWIE & GREGG HALE EDITED, WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY DANIEL MYRICK AND EDUARDO SÁNCHEZ

Never underestimate the gullibility of the American Psyche. We want our ghosts. We need our government cover-ups and conspiracies. We lust for an Extraterrestrial implant. And a lot of us really expect to win the lottery. From this collective wanting of something unique and otherworldly, comes the current flavor of the month "The Blair Witch Project", a marvelously adept film representation of the old shell game. Much hype and effort has gone into creating the "legend" surrounding this film. There are individuals who earnestly believe in the story of three film students who have mysteriously disappeared. But for all the attentive hyperbole and inventiveness, what does the movie have to offer. That is an interesting question, because without the hype or the backstory (or the ingenious marketing strategy), 'The Blair Witch Project' would not be as successful at raising the hackles of most of it's viewers.

The film opens on a black screen. Fading up is the (now) famous tagline for the film:

In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittesville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary.

One year later, their footage was found.

With what has been seen before in the news reports about the film and the mock documentary, this opening credit manages to create an air of foreboding.

The film is basically a reconstruction from the discovered Video, Film and Audio recordings of Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard who have left home for Burkittesville, Maryland to shoot a short documentary on the legend of the Blair Witch. We see some interesting interviews with some of the locals of Burkittesville, talking about the legend and the history of the curse.

As the three filmmakers march into the woods, tensions begin to mount. Being ill prepared for any real camping experience, the three young people are soon lost and bickering amongst themselves. This slowly escalates into terror, as during the nights they are wakened by strange noises, that seems to emanate from all around them.

As their terror and anxiety grows, Heather Donahue tries valiantly to remain in control of the small group. Unfortunately, her growing self-doubt and insecurity is fuels by the constant bickering from both Joshua Leonard and (especially) Michael Williams. When they loss (?!) their map, all reason is lost. The students wander aimlessly in circles, returning to the same campsite that they had left earlier that morning.

That night after much noise and chasing of unseen visitors, Joshua disappears. Now Heather is seized with fear. Michael now has to serve as the leader, something he seems suddenly capable of doing. Again, more noises during the night, followed by the discovery of a strange totem left outside of their tent, which is tied together with remnants of Joshua's clothing. Concealed inside are the visual remains of something possibly human, possibly animal. Now all hope expires as Heather has a breakdown, confessing to her video camera that she is responsible for what has happened. The film climaxes with the discovery of an abandoned house, it's interior walls covered with the dirty (bloody?) handprints of children.

What "The Blair Witch Project" has managed to do, with no lack of inventiveness, is to re-invent the marketing champagne for movies. Since the development of the Internet, motion picture companies had used the World Wide Web as another marketing tool. You can download trailers and bios of your favorite stars and view behind the scene video clips from any number of movies. What has happened with the "Blair Witch" is the creation of an advertisement that seems not to be an advertisement. The film in and of itself is remarkably well done, in an amateurish cinema verité method. Unfortunately, the constant videotape use calls into question the rational of the participants. Why would you continue filming yourself washing your hand in a stream to remove the blood from it, as it revolts you. Most people would at least put the camera down (or drop it). But not Heather, she is the consummate filmmaker. Willing to die (literally) for her art. The use of the actors themselves as the camera men is not so revolutionary, having been used to frightening effect in the little seen film "THE LAST BROADCAST" (1998). The mock documentary style has been a staple of Italian gore/cannibal films since the early 70's. But what makes the 'Blair Witch' so involuntary is that there seems to be no real direction of the actors. One does buy into the mythology after a while, and being so immersed in this universe, can help but be dragged along.

As a horror film, "The Blair Witch Project" is unique in that at a time when prosthetic effects and cosmetics have become so realistic, this film eschews them in favor of the old Val Lewton approach. What you don't see is psychologically more terrifying than anything visual. Your imagination can fill in the blanks much more clearly than any effects master could. The Mise-En-Scéne of the woods decorated with the totems hanging from every branch is remarkably foreboding, giving the viewer a level of unease that cannot be easily shaken off. Also the music by Tony Cora is along the lines of the subtle tones and noises used in Tobe Hooper's 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre', (another film that plumped the psychological well for it's effectiveness)

Now, let's get one thing straight. No one really died here. In fact Michael Williams is currently working on another film (a big budget item). Heather has also been cast in another project. These young people are professional actors. The mythology of the 'Blair Witch' is a complete fabrication. This is the stuff of urban legends. We've all heard stories of headless ghosts wandering through wooden glades, or businesses built on possible Indian (or Spanish) burial ground. All nice little stories to help the kids get a poor night's sleep. What Directors Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez have done here is create a marvelously deft psychological test for the masses. Without the attentive mythology and aggressive hype, their film would not be anywhere near as accessible or successful.

On it's own; the film is painfully slow. There is far too much 'shaky cam' work being done, giving many viewers a disorienting experience. For the most part this works in raising expectations from the viewers that something is about to happen. The film is riff with false starts. While the editing is remarkable efficient, it sometimes works against itself, as whenever we jump from video to 16 millimeter film and back within a short scene. But again, this has the desired neurological effect of persuading the viewer. The film almost becomes an inkblot or Thematic Apperception Test with it's continual viewing of the woods, especially at night when the lack of light and preponderance of shadow creates it's own images. Most interesting of all is that the film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, basically the same ratio as your television set. This gives the film another level of psychological immediacy, making the film seem real. We're used to seeing films projected on a big, wide screen. This film instead creates a field of view that is limited from the start, as the peripheral area of the screen is blank. Whether this film will work as well on home video is a question that waits to be answered.

This is a hard film to review. One cannot separate the promotion of the film from the film itself. They are so intertwined with one another as to be symbiotic, feeding off of each other. It will be interesting to see the promotion that is used to market the film's video release.

So on a scale of one to five stars, "The Blair Witch Project" gets two ratings. The film itself gets only 2½. But the promotion, mythology and film together get a 4. "The Blair Witch Project" is not so much a film, as it is what the title really implies. It is a PROJECT!

Copyright © 1999 R. L. Strong Nothing in this article may be quoted or re-printed without the expressed written permission of the author.

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