Blair Witch Project *analysis*

[Toaster]

Now here was an interesting film.
3 amature film makers attempted to unravel a mystry of the "blair witch" and they disapeared but their film was found and released.
As any film that captures my imagination, I view it 2-3 times to look for inconsistancies or other anomolies.
Granted, the trio was ill prepared for such an excursion but it seems they met with....?
At any rate, they vanished, their film found buried beneath the foundation of a 100 year old house in the woods.
At several points in the film, it was obvious that the "film-makers" were scared ####less.
Cold, alone, scared and dealing with the unknown.....have a nice day.

[figarowa]

Ahh yes the Blair Witch, mega hyped last years summer movie, now considering that it was "based" on a real true story it made the movie a little better, but all in all for a horror flick it wasn't that scary but i suppose if i was in their shoes i would be cleaning out my pants as well..i hear there is a sequal to the story...will hollywood ever stop?

[HAL9000]

Big misconception here. The Blair Witch Project was NOT based on a true story. It is all fiction. That was just the added hype to add to the suspense.

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If it ain't broke, you're not pushing hard enough!

[Toaster]

The film-makers and their intent was real.
The "legend" they sought, unproven.
At any rate, the trio vanished with what seems to be from malicious intent.
The film wasn`t "scary" per say but was very thought provoking.
Fear of the unknown, being "lost" and wost of all being ill prepaired was the eventual fate of the trio.
Looking back, it was clear (to me) that during "heather`s" apology (in the film) she was genuinely scared to near insanity.
When their tent was "buffeted" by unknown assailants, the two remaing of the trio made a fatal error in the attempt to "solve" the mystry that scared them so.
The problem that I saw with the film was the last few minutes where one of the trio was standing in the corner of the basement when "heather" came running into the basement and then was...was....struck from behind? Thus ending the film.
She made a GRAVE error in saying earlier:
"You cant get lost in america anymore"
No one in the trio knew how to use a compass or a map...their trip was a disaster waiting to happen regardless of the "project" intent.
Three people dashing out into the woods with 2 days food, early winter when temps are low, incompetant in map or compass use....disaster......thats all...the "witch" portion simply added spice and the fear that hastened their demise.

[mbossman2]

the "blair witch project" followed the tried and true "ghost story around the camp fire" premise.

a bunch of kids (in this case amateur film makers) go out into the woods after hearing all sorts of stories about these "haunted woods", they get lost, get the crap scared out of them in several situations and then find a delapidated old house and fall prey to one of the "killers" they were warned about in the woods.

what made it chilling was the background story of "based on a true story", the fact that it was shot 1st person style, and it plays on some very basic, primal fears (lost, the dark, the unknown and being hunted)

[bob]

http://urbanlegends.about.com/scienc...htm?once=true&

[Toaster]

To me it was clear that the filmmakers met with un untimely demise. Were any of the trio still alive, it would have made the papers big time and the press would have had a field day. It`s quite possible that "persons unknown" live in that area are quite insane and could have done this without regard to the "Blair Witch" or its "legend".
None the less, "Heather" was genuinely scared to near insanity as was her remaining filmmaker friend.
When the two started running and filming during the last few minuted of the film, she was screaming with fright whilst running and following her filmmaker friend.
During her apology, it was plain to see that she was VERY frightened and was becoming more and more incoherant...sure signs of fright.
Were this simply a hoax, their acting abilities are to be commended because of the "stress" that was oh so very clear and its mounting to a climax in the remaining moments of the film.
So...I believe the film to be factual and the trio either dead of "part of the fold" of that legend.

[anskygamer]

toaster, are you saying that it was a true story and the kids that appeared in the movie are dead?! because i know for a fact that one of them goes to college here in NY at a SUNY, lol.

[bob]

Toaster - read my previous link. Then admit that you were just joking.

Sublink. http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/int/...witch%5Factor/



[This message has been edited by bob (edited 06-04-2000).]

[padawan]

The reason the film looked so real is that the actors didn't get a full script in the begining, and were really camping. The production crew left script information in the woods, sometimes only for one person, the others wouldn't know what was going to happen next. A novel idea, it worked sorta, but the movie didn't do much for me.

[Toaster]

Obviously this is a new way to make a film.
Whilst not giving clear dialog and action direction. No, I dont believe in the "project" but in the film-making idea.
The acting on heathers part was almost supurb with one fatal flaw....she filmed everything when she should have run for the hills in sheer fright. When you are scared to near insanity, one doesn`t pick up a camera and do a documentary. I do believe that heather at several times was afraid of "the unknown" and the sudder disappearance of one of the trio made this effect more intense.
It was an interesting technique that was ulitized rather well. One also has to assume that if a "known" actor were used, the effect would have been nulled. For this technique to work, there must be certain "gimmies"..these are...unknown actors in uncertain circumstances with a dash of folklore. To this end, the film succeded but the trio was to eager to "film" things that have no purpose regardless of intent.
Am I joking? Yes and no....the "project" is folklore and the filmmakers were "deprived of a little sanity".

[Paul Victorey]

I really loved Blair Witch, honestly I found it more frightening than any film I'd seen since I was 9 and watching gruesome horror movies with my cousins.

I think the reason it was scary was that it felt very real, and the first person perspective draws one into the movie. It's almost happening to YOU, not just being observed by you. That, and the fact it draws on the imagination (I've always been highly imaginitive, and it hasn't decreased at all with age as it does in most) made it quite frightening to me. I can imagine myself as one of those people (as a college student and in fact an ameteur filmmaker too, at times) and I can imagine how scary the whole situation would be if I were there.

Toaster, you ever seen "Picnic at Hanging Rock"? It's an independant, by Peter Wier (who also did The Truman Show) about a few girls (3 or 4) and a teacher from a boarding school who disappear while on a picnic at a local rock formation called Hanging Rock.

The best part of the mystery is that it is just that: a mystery. As in they never ever tell you what happened. They give you a few clues (many that are conflicting or downright wierd) but nothing that forms any kind of cohesive story. It's surreal and quite good. It's not very fast-paced, and it's definately not your typical movie, but it's a very refreshing change of pace from too many of the movies that either insult your intelligence, sacrifice any semblence of plot to throw more special effects in, or create elaborate mysteries that are too easily and rapidly solved by the main characters in the last half hour of the movie.

Hollywood makes cookie cutter action movies nowadays, with no plot and packed chock full of special effects. While there's nothing wrong with this, they can be entertaining, they are too interested in making the cash and not interested in pushing the envelope of film or of telling a great or moving story.

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Paul M. Victorey
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I am not responsible for any problems that may arise as a result of following my advice. This includes, but is not limited to, computer failure, loss of data, nuclear war, famine, boils, no clean laundry, your daughter running off with a biker gang, or armageddon. Take my advice at your own risk.

[Tiretool]

I was pretty amused that at the end, the guy was standing in the corner, just as the kids were made to do by the so called "Blair Witch". Was he supposed to be under some type of spell or posessed?
I wouldn't rank it with movies like The Exorcist or The Amityville Horror but it definitely had me peeking over my shoulder every so often (the room was dark... ok?!) LOL

Has anyone ever read The Amityville Horror book? WAY scarier than the movie...

I'm also into Dean Koontz novels... he's got some original ideas on how to frighten people. "Sphere" was a much better read than it was a movie.

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tiretool@pcmech.com

[Toaster]

Hey Paul, no Iv`e not heard of that film but i`ll look for it.

The "project" film preyed on the audience NOT knowing of the actors involved and folklore.
The film "idea" although not really new, but for this instance it worked.
I placed myself within the trio and could undersatand their fright of the unknown.
This tecnique kept "script" data secret between actors and audience. While thier safety was assured, their sanity was not.
To me, Heather looked genuinely scared sheetless because she didn`t know how the plot was unfolding and was caught off guard when one of the trio vanished.
I did see one MAJOR glitch in the film:
This was the morning after one of the trio vanished and the remaining two were sitting down together. As the film ran, one could see that the film a glitch and a change of shadows of the sun on the ground and shrubs.
All the time, the two remaining prople were in the film.....who was running the camera?

[troysvihl]

>>The problem that I saw with the film was the last few minutes where one of the trio was standing in the corner of the basement when "heather" came running into the basement and then was...was....struck from behind? Thus ending the film.<<

The standing-in-the-corner thing was from that story told by a local at the very beginning. About how that crazy guy came out of the woods and told someone that he was finally finished, and he was referring to killing a bunch of little kids. The woman telling the story said the old man would take two kids into his basement and force one to stand in the corner while he killed the other one. The old man did that b/c he couldn't stand to see the eyes of his intended victim.

[Toaster]

Just think, your scared stupid, one of your "crew" disappears and some demented group of people are screaming and hollering in the dead of night. What do we do?...simple!..we grab our 16mm camera (not a small or light item) and film the whole sh`bang! We go filming, screaming, screaming and filming....humph...sure...makes since to me!