Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1133. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

    1133. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on October 27, 2015 1999, 6 - 7.9, 80-89 mins, Horror, Movies Of 2015, Oct 15, Review, Thriller, United States
    6.9 Original but frustrating
    • Acting 6.8
    • Directing 7.5
    • Story 6.3
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard

    Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez

    Running Time: 81 mins


    The Blair Witch Project is an American film about three students who disappear after travelling into the woods to film a documentary about an urban legend of ‘The Blair Witch’, with the only record of their time a clips of found footage.

    This may be a hugely significant and brilliantly original symbol of the modern horror genre, but it’s hard to avoid the fact that this just isn’t a captivating film. Sure, it’s got a then unique style to it, as well as pretty well-established characters (as far as horror movies go), and a couple of impressive sequences, but, when watching this film, you’re more likely to feel frustrated than genuinely terrified.

    The main problem with this is how the story is laid out. It knowingly takes on the clichéd tale of a supernatural urban myth, and that’s not at all the problem. In fact, the portrayal of the scary forces at play is arguably the most convincing and interesting thing about the movie.

    No, it’s the fact that, even at only 81 minutes long, this film goes on too much, and features one of the most painful stop-start structures I’ve ever sat through, making for a hugely awkward and uncomfortable viewing experience. And I’m not talking at all about the horror or scares yet, it’s just that, as a normal film, this doesn’t hold up because it is simply too poorly paced and structured.

    Firstly, the film takes around half an hour to establish the myth and the students’ characters, which is simply far too long for what is needed. The first few minutes create tension and unpredictability, but when that same pattern is repeated for so long, it easily wears off and has a huge impact on making the latter stages much less scary.

    Also, Between the few night sequences which do provide some good scares, you have these long-winded day sequences where the characters are getting more and more scared in the situation. They would work had there maybe been some better dialogue, but it’s mainly the fact that you get these glimpses of how thrilling the film can be, and then are put back into these quite shrill daytime scenes that are just disappointing in comparison.

    It’s not all bad, though. This film deserves huge praise for its stylistic originality, using the found-footage technique quite effectively as a storytelling device and not just for budgetary reasons, and, as we’ve seen over the last 15 years, that’s been hugely influential in the horror genre, so credit cannot be taken away from this in that regard.

    The characterisation is also pretty effective. Although it ultimately falls a bit flat, the progression and development of the characters throughout is completely convincing, and often pretty interesting, and that’s something that you really don’t see in many horror movies, giving you enough connection to care about the characters in their moments of peril.

    Overall, I’ll give The Blair Witch Project a 6.9, because despite being a frustrating watch, there are moments of brilliance in this massively original horror film.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    8.6
    Review
    May 8, 20210

    3340. Touching The Void (2003)

    8.1
    Review
    February 11, 20160

    1250. Pride And Prejudice And Zombies (2016)

    8.8
    Review
    March 26, 20190

    2500. American History X (1998)

    8.9
    Review
    November 5, 20140

    741. V For Vendetta (2005)

    8.9
    Review
    April 18, 20130

    126. Up In The Air (2009)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.