The Blair Witch Project

JamesOK

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Well I watched it about ten years ago in the cinema when it came out. People will probably remember the hype surrounding it "the scariest film ever made" etc etc. All I remember from back then is coming out of the cinema wondering what all the fuss was about. The film was quite entertaining but certainly not the "scariest ever made".

I've had it recorded off Film 4 on my Sky box for some time and thought last night was an appropriate time to revisit this film and see if I could get any more out of it. I have to admit, coming at it with a very distant memory of what happens in the film, and absolutely zero hype I really enjoyed my second viewing.

Its certainly not particularly frightening in a "Saw 6" type blood and guts way, but the film does make you think. Its very raw, and you really get across that feeling that people in those woods are scared out of their wits and have no idea where theyre going. I think the anticipation of whats going to happen is actually the strongest element of the film, certainly if we had seen some see through apparition in the woods it would have spoilt it for me!

Has anyone else revisited this film ?
 

Frank Harvey

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My first viewing of the film was after all the hype (which I missed anyway). I really enjoyed the film, and i think those that didn't enjoy it either got caught up in the hype or just didn't get it. I'm glad I didn't see it until after the hype, as it meant I enjoyed it and think it's a great film - I'm sure if I'd have watched it at the same time as everyone else, I wouldn't think the same of it as I do now. Anyone who thinks Blair Witch is rubbish,watch the sequel........

Whether it's scary or not is down to the individual. Many will find it quite mild, but I know of some people who were scared stupid by it - especially when they walked back in the room after the film to find me standing in the corner!

More recently, Rec and Cloverfield are movies that are shotin the same way, and both were brilliant as far as I'm concerned, creating high tensioned atmosphere. The camcorder style shooting just makes things feel more realistic.
 

idc

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I accept, from comments in other posts that my taste in films is, well poor, I really enjoyed BW2, more so than BW....

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Cloverfield is also brilliant, as is AVP both films and Snakes on a Plane. All are horrors of the highest caliber.....
 

JamesOK

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FrankHarveyHiFi:
More recently, Rec and Cloverfield are movies that are shotin the same way, and both were brilliant as far as I'm concerned, creating high tensioned atmosphere. The camcorder style shooting just makes things feel more realistic.

I was never bothered about seeing Cloverfield, but I may now stick it on my rental list!
 

Craig M.

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from the comments made by other cinema goers, i think when me and my girlfriend watched blairwitch we were the only ones in the cinema who enjoyed it. personally, i thought it was excellent. i loved the bit when they found what looked like the guys teeth in the shirt. some great acting too.
 

JamesOK

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Craig M.:
from the comments made by other cinema goers, i think when me and my girlfriend watched blairwitch we were the only ones in the cinema who enjoyed it. personally, i thought it was excellent. i loved the bit when they found what looked like the guys teeth in the shirt. some great acting too.

Sounds like you didnt get caught up in the hype at the time then Craig!

Yes I wasnt sure what that stuff in the shirt was, I guess it all adds to the effect, I could see there was something with blood but not sure what it was.
 
A

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Me and my mrs watched this at the time all the hype was surrounding it (still have the dvd). I just didnt get it.

I thought it was total rubbish. My mrs who is a big horror film fan was scared out of her wits and still says its the scariest film she has ever seen.
 

John Duncan

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JamesOK:Craig M.:
from the comments made by other cinema goers, i think when me and my girlfriend watched blairwitch we were the only ones in the cinema who enjoyed it. personally, i thought it was excellent. i loved the bit when they found what looked like the guys teeth in the shirt. some great acting too.

Sounds like you didnt get caught up in the hype at the time then Craig!

Yes I wasnt sure what that stuff in the shirt was, I guess it all adds to the effect, I could see there was something with blood but not sure what it was.

Yeah it was teeth, though I only found this out on the internet afterwards. Like why the guy was facing the wall at the end. Didn't really scare me watching it (I just felt a bit queasy), but finding out all that after freaked me out.
 
A

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barnsleydave:
Me and my mrs watched this at the time all the hype was surrounding it (still have the dvd). I just didnt get it.

I thought it was total rubbish. My mrs who is a big horror film fan was scared out of her wits and still says its the scariest film she has ever seen.

couldnt watch it , for the same reasons i couldnt watch cloverfield , watching a movie through the view of a camcorder , does my head in ..
 

roger06

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idc:
Cloverfield is also brilliant, as is AVP both films and Snakes on a Plane. All are horrors of the highest caliber.....

Jeepers - I'd have to rate Coverfield as one of the worst films EVER. The hand held video work was just so fake (as if you'd video all that stuff while being chased by monsters...) - the plot non existent and the build up and introduction to the 'characters' was so pointless.
 

daveh75

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idc:

Cloverfield is also brilliant, as is AVP both films and Snakes on a Plane. All are horrors of the highest caliber.....
Surely you jest. Snakes on a Plane was beyond awful!!!!
 

idc

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daveh75:idc:

Cloverfield is also brilliant, as is AVP both films and Snakes on a Plane. All are horrors of the highest caliber.....

Surely you jest. Snakes on a Plane was beyond awful!!!!

Told you. I'll just stick to soundtrack appreciation. The original music to 'Zombie-Dawn of the Dead' by the Italian prog rock band Goblin anyone?
 

Tonya

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I remember getting the DVD of Blair Witch sent from America by DHL the day it was released due to my wife nagging my ears off about it, invited a bunch of friends over to watch it and remember being very disappointed after all the hype that surrounded it.

However, I felt so cheated that I made everyone sit through "StarCrash" afterwards, which made the Blair Witch film look like a masterpiece . . . .
emotion-14.gif
 

Frank Harvey

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daveh75:idc: Cloverfield is also brilliant, as is AVP both films and Snakes on a Plane. All are horrors of the highest caliber.....Surely you jest. Snakes on a Plane was beyond awful!!!!Aaah, but at least Snakes On A Plane was meant to be a good old tongue in cheel B Movie, which it succeeded in being. Sammy Jackson admitted it was rubbish, and it was just something he wanted to do - I could quite easily rewatch SoaP far more than many other supposedly 'eriously made'films.
 

Frank Harvey

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Tonya: I remember getting the DVD of Blair Witch sent from America by DHL the day it was released due to my wife nagging my ears off about it, invited a bunch of friends over to watch it and remember being very disappointed after all the hype that surrounded itI think that was the problem - those that got caught up in the hype were disappointed - those that didn't loved it.
 

D.J.KRIME

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idc:

Told you. I'll just stick to soundtrack appreciation. The original music to 'Zombie-Dawn of the Dead' by the Italian prog rock band Goblin anyone?

Ahh the briliant music of Goblin (some time credited as The Goblins), they ended up doing the soundtrack for DOTD due to the involvement of the fabulous Dario Argento (personally prefer his Euro cut of the movie) Goblin also provide the music for the majority of Argento's movies which are well worth checking out if you like a good giallo movie.

As for Blair Witch, I thought it was rubbish and the whole plot of the people who filmed it got killed and someone finds the tape is a blaitant rip-off of Cannibal Holocaust.
 

Tonya

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A rip off?

I think you'll find the correct Hollywood term is "homage".
It's where a one film company copies the idea from a previous production hoping nobody notices.
A bit like "tribute" bands that deliver an homage to their famous heroes.

Nah, you're right, it was a rip off.
 

Frank Harvey

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The problem is, how many new ideas are there for new movies? You could pick almost any movie and say that it was a 'bit like', 'same as', or 'rip off'. It's how it's done that makes it different, giving a fresh perspective on an old idea. Films like Cloverfield and The Host you could say are rip offs of King Kong or Godzilla in some respects, and Cloverfield even has quite a few similarities to The Hulk's story. It's never ending. Those that like the film will call it a homage, those that don't will call it a rip off.......
 

ElectroMan

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There's also The Last Broadcast, which was made some time before Blair Witch. It's totally different in style (a supposed cable TV documentary about the legend of the Jersey Devil), but includes some 'found footage'. Some people think it at least an inspiration for The Blair Witch Project.

I think the best, and original, thing about The Blair Witch Project is how it was made - filmed/video'd by the cast. It was not directed, nor photographed, in the conventional sense at all. And as such is probably a one-off.

The first film to be made by either of the directors since then, Altered, is conventionally made, and also, I thought, pretty tedious. The distributors obviously thought so, as they didn't even attempt to sell it as 'from one of the people who brought you The Blair Witch Project'!
 

idc

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FrankHarveyHiFi:

The problem is, how many new ideas are there for new movies?

I believe that there are only about a dozen basic plot formats that cover all films. It may not even be as many as that.

Film trivia. The most common line in films is 'lets get out of here!' and similar variations. Reputedly the quickest presentation to get a film financed was 'Talladega Nights', which consisted of 'Will Ferrell and NASCAR.' With 'Snakes of a Plane' Samuel L Jackson overtook Harrison Ford to be the biggest grossing actor of all time, based on the money made by films an actor has been in.

Note - I have not researched the above, but I think they are all correct.
 

Andrew Everard

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idc:I believe that there are only about a dozen basic plot formats that cover all films.
Ditto forum threads.

idc:Note - I have not researched the above, but I think they are all correct.

Ditto forum threads...
 

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