The Blair Witch Project - Will's Review

I've only seen this movie once before; I saw it at the cinema right in the middle of all the hype.

In case you don't remember, back in 1999 Blair Witch was reviewed as "the scariest film ever", in its initial US run some clever marketing had people questioning if it was real, and even after the gig was up on the reality front, people were still running from cinemas to throw up, or being dragged out having fainted. There was outcry in the national press when the BBFC gave this supposedly terrifying special a 15 rating. Thanks mostly to its incredibly low budget it quickly became (proportionately) the most profitable film of all time, and blew the "found footage" genre wide open, launching a wave of movies that continues to this day. It's fair to say that without Blair Witch there would be no [rec.], no Paranormal Activity parts one through 27, no V/H/S, and no Cloverfield.

Blair Witch Project - Lisa's Review

This is a movie I actually managed to get my hands on before it hit the cinemas in the UK.  It was a Japanese import.  I think because I saw the movie before the hype (an American friend who had seen it and liked it sent me a copy) and knew pretty much nothing about it, it enabled me to enjoy it more than folks who went in with expectations of being scared shitless.

I'm going to assume that anyone reading a movie blog will be aware of this movie and will know the rough detail.  In short, Blair Witch is a 'found footage' movie.  One of the best known earlier ones before the craze took off.  Of course there were others, but this movie really rocketed the genre through the roof.  It is shot in black and white in a documentary format on a shaky camera.  We follow Heather (of the famous snotty nosed movie poster), Joshua and Michael who travel to Burkittsville to film the urban legend that is the Blair Witch.