Yes, that year is correct–1999. Feel old yet?
I remember seeing The Blair Witch Project for the first time when it came out in theaters. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was captivating and frightening, to be sure, but did I enjoy it? Was the shaky camera and intentionally poor production quality genius or irritating?
I don’t know if it was genius or a case of mistaken awesomeness, but now, all these years later, I can unequivocally confirm that I enjoyed The Blair Witch Project. Not only because of its brilliance (mistaken or otherwise) but because of what it started. The Found Footage film is now a genre in itself, with flicks like Paranormal Activity, Rec, As Above So Below, and Cloverfield. And dozens–maybe hundreds–more. Perhaps even more so that Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blair Witch had an undeniable influence on the horror movie genre and the trajectory of films to come.
If by some chance you haven’t seen the movie, here’s the skinny: A group of three amateur documentarians head into the woods of Maryland, investigating local legends of the mysterious Blair Witch. They get lost. They see strange piles of rocks and sticks tied together to look like people. They get even more lost. One of them disappears. One of them cries very effectively. They find a house and…oh shit!
What I didn’t recall from the first time I saw Blair Witch is how many times they say “fuck” throughout the movie. Its usage is so excessive that it’s comical. If one were to make a drinking game out of “fuck” in The Blair Witch Project, they may need to seek medical attention before the movie’s conclusion.
So, this is the first movie review since the implementation of PC3’s Horror and Exploitation Movie Scale of Awesomeness! Let’s see how Blair Witch stacks up!
Gore – 0
Special Effects – 2
Nudity/Sexuality – 0
Wow Factor – 10
Acting – 8
Fear Factor – 10
Story/Plot/Originality – 8
Cinematography/Atmosphere – 6
Sound/Music – 6
Fun Factor – 5
With a PHEMSA total score of 55, I’d say The Blair Witch Project faired pretty well. The Wow Factor and Fear Factor were off the charts, and the intentionally horrible cinematography and sound quality actually worked in the film’s favor. This is a movie that shouldn’t be missed by anyone interested in classic horror cinema.
It can be found on Netflix and Amazon.