(reviewed at amc painter’s crossing on Friday, july 30th, 1999 with jack)
The sleeper of Summer ’99 has definitely arrived. Forget ‘American Pie’, the film that was advertised as The Sleeper of The Summer before it even opened, and forget every other useless popcorn film out there. This is the summer of ‘The Blair Witch Project’, a small, simple, almost shockingly stripped down to its bare essentials, scary as a mother fucker independent wild ride. After viewing ‘DBS’ which showed everything and more, and then witness something as unique as ‘Blair Witch’, you just have to understand how bad big bad Hollywood really is.
‘The Blair Witch Project’ is simple and even though it’s unoriginal (‘The Last Broadcast’ beat it to the punch, though failed in the long-run) nobody will ever see that other independent flick about being lost in the woods. Thee filmmakers venture into the Maryland woods in 1994 to shoot a documentary on an old small town legend knows as The Blair Witch. There are many stories about the witch, and a few stories kicked around where people have seen her and/or knew someone who had seen her. The filmmakers venture in the woods and soon enough things start to happen. Noises in the night, mysteries piles of rocks placed almost ceremoniously close to their tent, sticks wrapped up, and sticks tied to trees in demonic cult looking symbols.
They capture most of the eerie goings on with their 16 mm camera that they are shooting the actual film on and also a behind the scenes film with their regular everyday camera.
The film itself starts out with a simple disclaimer letting you know what happened, then the rest of the 87 minute film is them and what happened.
Even though the film doesn’t have jump out of your seat type slasher movie aspects, my heart was racing and I didn’t want to leave my chair or look away. It hooked me like no other movie has. I swear to God I never want to go camping again in my life, and if I have that bad opportunity to, I’ll have a very hard time sleeping, sort of like how when ‘Psycho’ came out women across the country were scared of taking showers so they switched to baths. At least then they would have a good view of the killer, right? In case it was really a guy in a wig or something.
Giving away anything about this film to anyone is risking it. The more you know about the film the less you will probably like it. Go in fresh, not knowing what will befall these people, not knowing their trials and tribulations…try to sleep knowing their fate.
If a year ago you would have told me a movie that doesn’t even take up half the movie screen, that is shot in shaky 16 mm and handheld camcorder fashion, starring three unknowns and majorily being a horror movie with no on-camera evil and a budget under a million bucks would be a massive hit not just on a few screens but nation wide in multiplexes right beside ‘Inspector Gadget’, I would have thought you mad; I would have told you to fold you arms, cause here’s the straitjacket!
‘The Blair Witch Project’ deserves it’s sleeper hit status. It’s a breath of fresh air in a stuffy, clogged summer. Sleep tight. ****
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