And this week's Friday night movie has been....The Blair Witch Project!
Once again I face a movie that has a fearsome reputation attached to it. The most profitable indie movie ever made. A movie that freaked people out into never going camping. A pioneer for viral marketing. A benchmark for the found-footage genre. A shining example of how atmosphere and 'what you don't see' are effective tools for the would-be horror film director. A dull movie about three idiots who get lost in the woods.
Personally I recall back in 1999 how this was a big deal and how people were divided with some saying it was freaky while others saying it was boring. Once again, however, i took my time to come to this movie because I felt it was important to see it through my own eyes and divorce it from the hype machine that made this a big hit. And twenty years would make for a good enough distance.
If anything this movie is a triumph of independent filmmaking: It's embraces it's limitations and relies on clever editing to engage the audience. The 'what you don't see' trick works wonders here and makes for a gradual build up of the horror. Equally effective is the gradual collapse into panic the protagonists go through and harrowing climax in the house.
This movie may be cheap and grimy but personally, I like horror movies that rely on mood and a creeping dread. And to the end The Blair Witch project succeeds admirably.
Twenty years on and it still has power.
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