YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
"The Blair Witch Project"
Directed by: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard
Rated: R
In a summer dominated by the hype surrounding the fourth episode in the "Star Wars" series, it seems odd that the film generating the second most hoopla is a virtually no-budget horror film shot partially on low-end video equipment.
"The Blair Witch Project" has no major stars, the script was, in great part, made up along the way and the three unknown actors served as cinematographers as well. The resulting film caused a buzz at both Sundance and Cannes, with some people actually falling for its premise.
"The Blair Witch Project" is a mockumentary, a film set up to be a documentary that is, in fact, a theatrical production. This isn't an original idea. Remember Rob Reiner's "This is Spinal Tap?" Even segments of "To Die For" featured interviews with folks who supposedly knew the main characters.
From Woody Allen's "Zelig" to Tim Robbins' "Bob Roberts," the mockumentary is a fairly well established, if somewhat small, genre in modern film.
The formula predates movie making, as well. If you remember, Bram Stoker's horror masterpiece "Dracula" was structured as the diary of its main character.
More than these faux documentaries, "The Blair Witch Project" also resembles a piece of work from real life: The notebook of explorer Robert Scott, with entries jotted down as he froze to death on an expedition to Antarctica.
As "The Blair Witch Project" opens we see a title screen informing us that in 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the Black Hills of Maryland while making a documentary about a legend called the Blair Witch. A year later, we're told, their footage was found. The resulting film is 87 minutes cut together from about 20 hours of both 16 mm black-and-white film and color videotape. This much is true: the directors turned their stars loose in the woods and followed them around, leaving notes with suggestions for scenes. The ensemble improvisations resulted in hours of raw footage.
Heather, the director, documented the making of the supposed documentary on video, while Josh shot footage for the movie interviews with locals as well as Heather explaining parts of the legend at creepy places such as Coffin Rock on film.
The project starts off light-heartedly enough. It's clear that the young filmmakers don't take the Blair Witch very seriously and some of the interviewees seem rather odd. The movie crew heads off, on foot, into the woods toting a tent, food for a couple of days and camera and sound gear.
Things go fairly smoothly the first day, but as they get deeper into the woods the mood begins to darken. On the third day the trio realize they are lost, even though the falsely brave Heather tries to convince them that, "It's very hard to get lost in America, and even harder to stay lost." After losing their only map, even Heather begins to doubt these words.
The days are spent endlessly hiking and the nights are filled with terror. Strange sounds surround them and at daylight they notice weird things around the camp: Piles of rocks mounded up like crude gravestones, bundles of twigs and other odd shapes fashioned from wood.
The mood gets increasingly desperate and the climax of the film occurs in the form of Heather's self-taped last will and testament, including apologies to the parents of all involved. It's a creepy moment in a decidedly unsettling film.
This is a film that is quite possibly garnering more praise than it deserves. It's a new twist on modern horror films to be sure, but I fear that the pundits may be caught up in a (not altogether undeserved) backlash against the big-budget, mega-effects films that are the Hollywood norm. The recent remake of "The Haunting" comes to mind.
"The Blair Witch Project" is a good, imaginative piece of work made all the more admirable by the low-cost, guerrilla style of the production. But when I hear people say it's the scariest movie ever made, I have to take exception.
Film students everywhere will no doubt be rushing out with cheap cameras and no budget to try and create the next "Blair Witch Project," but I don't see a trend catching on. For one thing, the grainy look, shaky camerawork and distorted audio begins to wear on the nerves a bit. This may add to the power of a psychological horror film, but in other settings may prove to be simply annoying.
Judging from the ever-increasing buzz and the fact that "The Blair Witch Project" is selling out regularly (across the country and in Springfield, too) I suspect it will go down in history as one of the highest profit-to-cost films ever produced.
(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)
[[In-content Ad]]
Kansas fast-food franchisee makes layoffs
Developer plans $700M project at site of shuttered mall in KC area
Groundbreaking held for The Table restaurant at historic mill site
MSU board to hold second special meeting in a week
Macadoodles opening first STL-area store
Eric Schmitt withdraws from consideration for Trump attorney general pick