The Blair Witch Project
| release date | July 30 1999 |
| studio | Artisan |
| director | Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez |
| writer | Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez |
| starring | Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael Williams |
| rating | R |
| tagline | Everything you've heard is true. |
| site | blairwitch.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
2 Comments
For me is a groundbreaking movie that every horror fan must see.
This movie is one of the best horror movies I have ever seen. All true horror fans must see this movie. The main reason it is so scary is because you don’t see anyhting, and this aplies to every human’s basic fear: the fear of the unknown and of the unseen. This movie will make you think again before going on your next camping trip.
Horrible! One of the worst movies ever made!!!
I’m surprised by the ratings here, although not an original idea it was the first film to breakthrough to mainstream with the style of filming. The ending sucked for me but there are sceens that stuck with me long after the film was over. Like it or hate it, it was ground breaking when it was released.
this movie sucked period the end
This movie will forever have historical significance. Love it or hate it. Interesting to see the influence of “Cannibal Holocaust” here. Stick figures are far more scary than animal slaughtering any day.
Very creepy and disturbing. I loved it. They said it was based on a true story, which had my hopes up very high. 5hen I found out all that happened was that kids went missing. So that lowered the rating a little. It was still a masterpiece caught on film.
There are a few things that I need to say about this movie. When i first saw it when it came out, I remember thinking that it was alright but too hyped up. I recently watched it again, a few years later, and I completely changed my mind. This movie, although it seems to have gotten a lot of bad reviews, and people seem to love to talk crap about it, is actually pretty damn good.
I don’t care what anyone says, the acting is fantastic…especially if you consider that it wasn’t scripted. All 3 of them do a great job at showing their spiral down into uneasiness, confusion, and ultimate fear as the movie progresses.
Another thing that I noticed the second time I watched the movie is that there is a great buildup of suspense throughout the movie. It starts out with the trio feeling carefree and excited about their project, then strange and ominous things begin occurring, then all hell breaks loose and they are stranded in the woods, terrified. The flow of the movie is perfect.
I’ve heard that many people found the movie rather humerous, but I disagree. Watch it again. Try to analyze the movie by the acting, dialogue, and story progression. It’s actually pretty brilliant.
And on a final note, I must say…that the ending scene, when she goes into the basement and you see him just standing in the corner…it made my neck and arm hairs stand on end…f*cking creepy as hell.
GREAT
j
Are You Kidding this Movie is Great! If You Dont Think So You HAve Never Been Lost in the Woods!
Totally underrated. This movies deserves some credit for scaring the crap out of me. Excellent little horror flick, I’m sorry to disagree with the BD review but someone doesn’t know a gem to our time. This movie is like the best in two decades of crap. Awesome movie, watch alone in the dark.
The official B-D review of this film is absolutely disgusting. Disgusting that someone could professionally review a film like that. Whatever idiot wrote that should be ashamed of themselves. ‘The Blair Witch Project’ is the most powerful and purely horrifying horror film I have ever seen, and I have seen a bloody lot of horror films. It’s an incredibly well-made, filmed and acted reminder that what you can’t see is almost always scarier than what you can see, and you don’t need gore or monsters to scare the audience.
This gets a bad review and Cloverfield gets a good one! W.T.F
I remember when this first came out and it scared the shit outta me. I still look at camping in the woods differently after seeing that.
You know what, I love this movie. Sure, the characters are insufferable, but everything feels true to life. I’m pretty sure that we, as human beings, would not act like cool cats if shit like this was happening to us.
This movie took really minute things and made them quite scary. The stick figures, the noises, the stories about the child killer in the woods and the witch, I loved all of those elements. Try watcing this movie, then go camping. It definately changes the scenery a bit. I would recommend this to anyone.
the review for this film is idiotic and way off.
it was good
I cant believe this started the amateur camera craze because cloverfield, diary of the dead and specially REC are 1000 times better than this i mean it was intense in some scenes but thats it theres wasnt a single scare on the movie it was just a bitch and two jocks screaming and running from what nothing in the woods but all give it 3 skulls just because at least the acting, the story and specially because the guys who maked the movie created the scary and awesome amateur camera movies.
i failed to ever understand a positive review of this film, the best home recorded movie was cloverfield, and rec is a close second, this one has nothing interesting with characters i could care less about, these guys got lucky with this film, they went on to be apart of better films like altered and believers.
I tend to agree with BD. This is by far one of the shitiest horror movies ever made. There was absolutely nothing in the movies except for shaky camera-work which gave me a severe headache at the end. Total and absolute garbage. If you are scared by this shit then perhaps you should stop watching horror movies altogether. It should be renamed Blair Bitch Project.I want to give this movie 0 rating but unfortunately there is no option below 1.
so boring
Something that so much of the horror genre lacks is realism. While “classics” like A Nightmare on Elm Street do nothing but bash you over the head with a block of cheese, they get positive reviews because they follow the same tired, safe formula that make the horror fans go in their pants due to nostalgia. The majority of the horror genre isn’t really scary, and it never was. When The Blair Witch Project first came out it was the only movie to break these rules and delve into true, realistic terror. It didn’t follow a formula. It tried to recreate the terror of someone lost in the woods on film, without the cheese or eye candy. I think that is why it captivated me. I’ve seen thousands of movies in my life, the majority horror movies, and maybe less than 5% really scared me. I’m not sure The Blair Witch Project scared me, but, I can say I felt the terror in the characters and script more than the vast majority of the other horror movies I’ve seen combined.
But there is another factor it seems no one is mentioning in their reviews. If you’ve never been lost in the woods, as I’ve been many times, I’m not really sure you could appreciate or understand the fear that the characters were feeling. If you’re not a camper, I really doubt you’d like this movie whatsoever. A lot of the negative reviews from people calling this “stupid” or “boring”, I can understand if they’ve never been lost in the woods. This is NOT a film everyone will like, or should like, and that is something someone really needs to say.
Because I’m reviewing this in 2008, not 1999, I’m going to have to add that this movie is not like Cloverfield whatsoever. Cloverfield was a huge adventure caught on a small camera, while this is a small adventure caught on a small camera. If you liked Cloverfield (or vice versa) and are looking for a similar experience, this isn’t it. They’re both good movies, but for very different reasons.
The main flaw that a lot of people are having a problem with is the pacing, which is reasonably slow. The reason for this is because it is meant to echo real life, not bash you with an explosive beginning like is typical Hollywood. Some will find this boring. Some won’t because they appreciate realism. I fit into the latter.
Overall, a very intense movie . . . if you know how to understand it. I found it very enjoyable and lacking of the typical horror cheese, which is something I can’t say much anymore. Very much worth watching. You are not a real horror fan if you haven’t at least viewed this once, because it’s unlike anything that has ever been made before it.
I actually never looked at the BD official rating for this movie before today. All I can say is I will never, ever trust anything Mr. Wicked reviews again. He definatly missed what makes this film great.
A CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST RIP OFF THAT ACTUALLY WAS SOMEWHAT BEARABLE!!
I remember watching this when I was younger. I had no clue what was going on, either because I was hiding under my blanket or closing my eyes. HAHA! But I knew it was scaring me. To this day, I still have no clue what it’s about. So I’ll have to watch for my film studies project I suppose. But I’m going to go on a wild limb and rate it anyway.
Complete and utter shit. To say that I was disappointed with this movie the first time I saw it would be a massive understatement.
I heard the stories from friends saying how scary it was, so needless to say when I finally rented it I made sure the mood was perfect for a scarefest. Completely home alone, every light in the house was out, no distractions. Popped the movie in, watched it from beginning to end… and then laughed the entire time.
Just a shitty, shitty movie.
It’s always been my experience that the people who hate this movie are the ones who were going in to see it with a negative attitude because of the marketing and wanted to feel superior to the nonhorror fans who just liked the movie because of the trend.
There are two types of scary: simple shock and overall concept. Simple shock is something bloody or loud that makes you jump and turn away. Overall concept is something you have to think about and disturbs you more afterwards. Think of it as blockbuster summer films and Sundance films. The more appreciative you are about movies the more you’ll appreciate a Sundance film. The same is true about the Blair Witch Project. If you watch it in the middle of the night with an open mind by yourself, you won’t like spending the rest of the night in the woods. You may be able to do it, but your mind will be on this movie.
Please people don’t post about any movie you’re expecting to go in hating. Don’t watch a horror movie cynically insisting you are not going to be scared. You don’t start to watch a comedy expecting not to laugh. Actually learn to appreciate a storyteller’s viewpoint and not just be a monkey looking for something to watch but not really pay attention to. If you do, don’t believe your opinion on movies matter.
I have two very distinct memories from this film. The first is from when I saw the movie opening night in the theatre. I didn’t know what to expect from it but was excited, being a horror fan. I went to see it with a group of people, I remember it being sold out also. The movie theatre we went to did a number on us, we didn’t know what we were walking into. IT WAS THE SCARIEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE. My memory has told me this movie was the best scary movie ever (until last week that is). I must explain. The theatre had the ushers walk up and down the aisles and they would just randomly scream they were breaking sticks when it was quiet. They even staged people fainting and being carried out. It was amazing, I felt as if I was in the woods with the actors, I wish theatres would do this more often, it really changed my perception of the movie. You see I remembered this movie as being the greatest scary spooky movie EVER! But last week I watched it on cable thinking it would be that same great scary spooky movie I remember, but it wasn’t. The movie is still a decent movie, although it didn’t scare me or spook me at all. Acting was pretty good considering it was mostly improvised. The story was good, felt like I was watching a ghost hunters episode though. I actually was mad after it ended because I couldn’t believe my memory of this film thoght it was so good. After reading some of these reviews I started thinking about the time difference from then to now. I mean the internet was so young then, I couldn’t go to bloody-disgusting.com to get insight on this movie, I didn’t even have the internet then. Time changes things. Try watching something you really loved when you were about 8 yrs old now. I used to love the old spiderman life action tv movies, I wore my betamax tapes out. I watched it a couple years ago and it was awful. In conclusion, I still believe this movie has the goods, it was ahead of it’s time when it came out. Although sitting on my couch watching it didn’t have the same effect. I don’t think it will ever play in a theater again with people running around breaking sticks and screaming at you. But if does…GO SEE IT. It will make you view the movie in a different light. I still have trouble going camping. Happy Halloween to all and remember The HORROR CHUMP is out there!
When I watched this movie the first time I was glued to the screen. I always kept wondering what was going to happen next. The ending was very creepy with the color and b&w scenes. I will have to give it to Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. With the story line they came up with and a low budget they did a great job.
Blair Witch gets such polarized reviews and opinions because of one reason…the hype. EVERY single time I have heard someone say they hate it, their reasoning was because their friends said it scared the hell out of them, or Travers at Rolling Stone called it “Scary as Hell.” They went into the movie with the highest possible expectations and thus were let down for a myriad of reasons ranging from “You never see the damn witch” to “The camera was too shaky.”
I saw the film when it was in it’s limited release, at a small theater in Royal Oak, MI. Everyone in the theater, myself included, were enthralled with what we were seeing and I didn’t hear one negative comment leaving the theater. The story, combined with the handheld camera filming element kept me glued to the screen. Blair Witch IS a good movie, but the hype surrounding it is detrimental.
Another aspect that increased my enjoyment in seeing the movie was that I had watched the Sci-Fi Channel’s faux-documentary The Curse of the Blair Witch (I think that is what is was called), right before I saw the movie. The program did such an effective job in driving home the idea that what happened was real and it set up a solid backstory.
If you are someone who hasn’t seen this movie (REALLY?!), the only thing I can say is don’t listen to the hype, don’t listen to what your friends say about it, hell…don’t listen to me. Watch it with an open mind in a dark room. That way if you hate it you will hate it for your own reasons instead of regurgitating someone else’s opinion about it. And if you like it…good for you.
What makes this movie enjoyable is the fact that it feels very real, so of course we’re not going to get any CGI effects and gallons of blood with witches flying everywhere and a heavy metal soundtrack in the background.
It’s not that type of movie, and people need to get it through their thick close-minded heads.
I think it’s great how we never SEE what’s messing with them, but we hear and it leaves it up to our imagination, making it scarier. But nowadays everyone wants everything spoon-fed to them and they don’t want to use their imagination, they want everything revealed and laid out to them.
This is a movie for people who are willing to think. Period.
Plain and simply this movie was extremely boring. The plot was interesting but nothing was really done with it. It felt to me like I was just watching three lost people wandering through the woods and randomly fighting with each other. Which is closer to the truth than I care to admit. The ending was cool but everything leading up to it was just tedious.
Total rip-off of “Cannibal Holocaust” all the way down to the marketing campaign. The hype for this film was ridiculous. Dah well, to each his own. This movie is GRABage (yes, GRABage), plain and simple.
I wouldn’t say that Blair Witch is garbage at all. Of course you can find many resemblances to CH, but altogether I consider this a great movie that made (or contributed in) a significant change in the survival-horror genre. To make myself clear…I was not jumping on the band wagon, meaning that I was not part of the hype. I watched this movie years after its release. And I think that it is remarkable, that (even in our computer-based time with lots of special effects and CGI,…)you actually CAN produce fear and thrill with no special effects at all. There are just a few movies that were able to make ya scary without exaggerated high-tech (Signs for e. was one of them, apart from the ending of course). And I think that highly proves the professionality of it. I know a lot of you think only the worst of this movie, but I say: Let us not be blind because of the hype of it and judge it critically…and I say it’s damn worth watching.
What a great movie, while the ending left you without an answer, all the running through the woods the uneasy feeling projected through the camera. The movie really pushed some limits. And you know the advertising for this movie was what made it great. the movie without that is ok. I do recommend this film to someone who wants to see nothing at all turned into something good.
enjoy. the people who seem to hate this movie must love to see the stuff that should put fear in them rather than have an imagination to think about the things in the woods. the imagination is the thing that scares us the most.
The official review is incorrect. This movie is about the most terrifying kind of fear, as the late, great H.P. Lovecraft put it: “fear of the unknown.” The movie also has one of the best endings in film history. Highly recommended.
Blair Witch had a lot of potential, and it did manage to build tension quite well, as any good ‘horror’ flick should do. There were, in the film, three possibilities plot-wise: 1) a serial killer lurking in the woods, 2)or an actual witch/entity, or 3) let us wonder.
I admit it – Blair Witch *was* excellent until the last five minutes – and then the makers of the film copped out and gave us the prosaic, non-scary answer (the serial killer? *yawn*) and completely invalidated all the previous tension. *If* they had left it entirely ambiguous – was there actually a witch? What was stalking them? – all that had been necessary would have been some indistinct glimpse – eyes, a shadow passing the camera on the ground toward a fallen student, anything that kept the mystery of their disappearance alive – what we *got* was the kids standing facing the wall a’la serial killer’s modus operandi, and a chorus of quite audible disgusted WTF’s? from the majority of the people I saw it with – in the cinema.
Blair Witch had the potential to elevate the genre with real tension and they punked out at the end, basically yelling “SUCKERS!” at their audience. Granted, most American-made so-called ‘horror’ movies *are* complete shite, an hour and 20 minutes of pointless gore, witless unsympathetic characters that you end up hoping will be killed in violent ways because you very nearly instantly hate them and then hate yourself for allowing the filmmakers (and I use that term exceedingly loosely) to dredge up your baser instincts to justify the ten bucks you ill-advisedly shelled out for their tripe.
Blair Witch could have changed that. It didn’t, as the subsequent sequel proved. Good movies allow you some leeway to arrive at your own conclusions – not slap you in the face with the obvious answer because they think you’re all stupid. That was Blair Witch’s downfall: “Crap – we’d better explain it to the morons at the end or they’ll bitch we didn’t give them an ending.” I would have rather have been left wondering in this instance – it would have been infinitely preferable, and it *would* have been a classic in the truest sense.
So, is the movie worth watching for those who haven’t seen it? Sure – if you turn it off just while they’re running at the end. *Don’t* let them go into the building. Do that and you can say you saw a classic. For those who have seen it and hate it – well, watch it again and do the same thing and pretend you don’t know how it really ends. It might suck less then.
This movie deserved more than the offical rating. When i first saw it, i tought it was real, so i origanally gave it 8/10. Now that i know its fake..well..i was dissappointed!
I think the actors did a wonderful job and they took something so simple and made it legendary.
My favourite horror film ever.
Boring, the bitch is so annoying you want to punch her in the face, and or watch her get murdered…which the fim failed at as well, a least give us some satisfaction of watching the bitch who annoyed us for over a hr die…terrible
there are plenty of other reviews to read so all i’ll say is it ripped off Cannibal Holocaust cheaply.
One of the most over hyped pieces of rubbish ever to hit the big screen but then i guess , where would movies like Cloverfield be without it ? Not scary at all and where are the writers/directors now ? One hit wonders !! If you want a ‘reality’ shaky cam horror movie experience watch REC instead. Now that’s a great movie.
i crnt believe all the hate for this movie it is amazing shit scary from start to finish r you people commenting on the first of 2nd which was worthy of 1 skull this wasnt the first movie of its kind and unfortunatly it wont be the last. it spawned films like cloverfield and diary of the dead which were both utter tripe. the characters seemed real and the acting was great not like diary of the dead which probably has some of the worst acting i have ever seen this film works and it works so well the first time maybe not so much after 10 times but its great!
Great movie. Anybody that wants to hate this movie needs to hate Cloverfied, REC, and Quarentine as a direct correlation. I loved this movie when it came out, as well as the fantastic maketing campaign of making it seem real.
one of the most overhyped movies ever. Kept waiting for something to happen but nothing ever did. I give the marketing team an a plus for promoting this turkey.
Very good, original, brilliant movie. I love putting myself in the place of characters in movies and if I were in the situation those 3 were in I would have died from fright. I love watching this movie with the lights off late at night. I highly recommend.
This was the movie that got me to start loving the horror genre. I watched this at night with all the lights off and was terrified. Every summer, I go camping around where this event “supposedly” happened, and let’s just say I hate going now. hahaha. There were some parts that I laughed at, such as when she was freaking out and screaming you kicked the map into the fucking river. Overall, the concept was great and the idea was original.
Realistic, terrifying, snot rolling down your face shots: 9/10
Eveyrone talks shit about this movie now, but in case you were too young, or just dont recall when this movie was released, it had people scared shitless. I wasn’t that moved by the film myself, but the filmmakers really tried to convince everyone that this was REAL FOOTAGE. Some of you seem to forget that. Looking back and trying to appreciate this movie as people did when it was first released is pointless.
I saw this film 3 times in the theater, first time to watch the movie, and the other 2 times just to see the non horror-addicts scream and be terrified that this could possibly be real.
It may be obvious to us (horror fanatics) in the year 20– that this is fake. But the filmmakers AND Artisan really tried to convince the more gullable people that this shit went down…
So not to sound like a fuckin snob, but its pointless to watch a dvd of this and think you have the whole “Blair Witch Experience”. It was more of an event at the time and a damn creative one at that.
The worst horror movie ever made. Stupid!!! Waste of money. I wouldn’t watch it again if someone paid me!
loved it
loved this movie still my all time favourite movie and the backstory is genius
awesome
Best horror movie ever with an amazing backstory
This sucked! After standing in line for an hour then I had to watch this CRAP…i was robbed
Utterly boring amateurish and exhausting to watch. I actually feel asleep a couple of times. This is IMO the most overrated horror movie ever. Thank the Gods I didn’t pay for this crap.
The final twentys pretty good.Random,joshua leonard missing?.Nope he`s in PROM NIGHT for like 5 minutes/
the blair witch actualy kinda scared me the first time i saw it,if you have an imagination this movie will work for you, if not dont bother…i enjoyed it!
what a crock of poo this was saw it once never again
i was expecting a scarey tail not a fairy tale
watched this movie at 1 in the morning expecting to be freaked out of my fucking mind but in the end all we got were people in the woods yelling about a map and finding a house and a girl falling dead for no reason…
Tis was literally the first movie I had ever looked down at my watch hoping it was almost over. Terrible and absolutely annoying. The end was the only cool part, the sequel was actually WAY better, while still a terrible one.
Classic Horror.
Not to say I hate the movie or anything. It was just agonizingly boring and the constant swearing was a bit obnoxious.
I’m probably one of the few people that actually liked the ending though.
I actually really liked this movie. Good backstory and a really tense ending.
I did not like it at all. It is basicly a bounch of teen kids running scared in the woods.
The ending is the only thing that makes this movie not crappy. Absolutely bone-chilling conclusion.
i saw this when i was 6 and i was terrified
(i should probably watch it again)
This was one of the worst Horror films I think I have ever seen. In fact it is the worst Horror film I’ve seen. It’s really cheesy and anyone can do a film like this. The plot sucked, the actors were horrible..plus annoying, and I don’t think it qualifies as being scary. This should have not even been made. It straight up sucks!
This was a good movie. Sure, I was like 16 years old and totally believed it was real when it came out. It was still enjoyable, though. The sequel however… I was ashamed that I actually watched it.
Horror is an extremely personal thing. When a movie touches on your deepest fears it is unbelievably forceful. I lived in the woods in a tent for almost 2 months. I have camped a great deal. Maybe that is why this movie completely unglued me. I knew it was just a movie, but to me it felt so damned REAL. When I watch a movie I lose all touch with reality and completely immerse myself in it. This movie literally scarred me. The theatre was pin-drop silent the entire time and I found myself wiping away tears of fear during certain scenes. Once it was over I walked alone to the restroom and sobbed for about 10 minutes. I forced myself to watch it again several months later and I still got goosebumps. Fucking brilliant.
I saw this movie in the summer of 1999 in Dallas when it was only playing on a few screens nationwide. A group of us stood in line for over an hour and had to settle for a late show the next day (the next showing that was not sold out yet). I had seen the Sci-Fi Channel special on it and I admit that I bought it. With that in mind, it was creepy and scary stuff.
Brilliant idea and execution.
this movie is, if anything, acted well…i love the fear aspect to this movie…you believe everything is happeneing because of the amazing acting! bravo!
When the hell did they ever reveal that it was all the work of a serial killer?… I thought that the greatest thing about this film is that fact that the ending was left completely open to interpretation.
AWFUL!!!
screw you, and you, Blair Witch is the shit!
you don’t know what to believe, and no not talking about in it’s real
just a slice of cherry pie with whipcream and scares on top,
creative, original, and yes yes scary okay yes it is.
When i went to see this movie i thought god its gonna be great. The story sounded good and the fact that it did happen only made me more excited. I was worng. They called it a horror movie when there was no killing a VERY small amount of blood no tension and just no thrills at all. Its a good movie. But it shouldnt be called a horror movie. But i would rent it for the special fetures. There pretty good.
Brillient, original and scary as hell. I loved this movie the first time i saw it in the theatre and i still love it when i watch it at home. The acting is first rate, the tension high and it builds to an amazing ending. What a film!
easily one of the scariest films i have ever seen.
the scares were genuine.
the ending was by far the creepiest ending i have ever seen.
i had to turn the light on at the ending.
it sent chills down my body.
Creepy…
Very scary movie. Thats it.
one of the creepiest movies you will ever see
one of the worst films possible. so incredibly boring and slow.. by the time the end came I just didnt care anymore. i was glad to see this over.. why someone would think this is scary is way beyond me.. trash
Just a one time movie.In theatres I was very on edge waiting to see how it would end.Yes I was let down but something about it I like and then again its boring after more than one watch.I highly recommend the second one though.
Seen it as a kid when it first came out and disliked everything sbout it. Still to this day i refuse to watch it again.
Aside from the shaky camera and the flaring nostril-shot, this one is haunting in a way that it shouldn’t be. Think sensory overload, except just the opposite.
The best part about this movie is that it is like nothing that has ever been done before. Although I wasn’t terrified throughout the movie like some people, it kept me on the edge of my seat and seemed much more real than most horrors. On top of this, it was able to do something that most horror movies cannot – it ended perfectly.
The blair witch project is easily one of the worst horror films I have ever seen. Terrifying it was not. Boring it was. You tell me what is so terrifying about a few twigs being tied together? Their was nothing horror about it! It was like watching someones home video on a camping trip. I can sum up the plot in a few words. They get lost. Nothing scary about it at all. They go to sleep and wake up to find a few twigs outside their tent SPOOOKY! And anpther time they wake up to find some stones near their tent SPOOOKIER!!! And the ending was just a joke, it made no sense, I was just gob smacked at the end (not in a good way). Seriously this is just a joke! Please watch a proper scary film!
Crap
worse horror movie i ever seen actually donest even devense to be in horror genre it sucks that bad
10 years and we’re still praising this piece of garbage?
This movie is so original and has a great plot. When the night scenes come around, what could be scarier? This is so well-made. Kudos to everyone involved and a great advertising strategy to promote the movie. Creepy, and a great movie.
this isn’t a horror film, it’s more of a suspense film. and why they said it was a true story i don’t know, but it definetely isn’t, because Heather Donahue came back to appear in TV commercials, Joshua Leonard reappeared in ‘Hatchet’ and ‘The Shaggy Dog’ and Michael Williams appeared in ‘Law & Order’ after the ‘Blair Witch’.
it was kinda scary, i’ll admit, but could’ve been better.
Scary, if you put yourself in that situation where you are lost in the woods, it’s dark and someone or something is stalking you. The shaky cam is actually effective here is at makes the horror more realistic and frantic. I also love the fact you never see the villain, making you use your imagination.
See, you don’t need big budgets, gore or explosions to make a good horror movie, just a good script and decent actors.
Scariest film of all time!
Its obviously not the scariest movie of all time, but it made me wonder what the hell they were running from. It made it a little more scary that they never showed what was stalking them the whole time. Of course its not gonna be everybody’s cup-a-tea, but this film paved the way for films like “Cloverfield” and “Quarantine(Rec)”.Not the best but at the same time not that bad either. Watch it once then move on.
Why people put such a high regard for this film is beyond me. It is one of the most boring and superfical horror movies I’ve ever seen. It is nothing but 90 minutes of 3 idiots running around a forest cursing and yelling at each other. It’s probably the biggest con-job in the history of film. The people who like it and the people who made this pile of horseshit can go FUCK YOURSELVES!
Myself…unlike the HIGHLY INTELLIGENT reviewer found next door, found this movie to be very creepy. It’s true it was a bit of a let down in the over all picture, since nothing is ever seen, but the sense of paranoia and panic is conveyed perfectly as the three individuals try to make it out of the woods after getting lost, and being haunted by mysterious sounds. It may not have scared everybody, but if you’re someone who has been camping deep in the woods (which I have), and know the feeling of isolation, the type of paranoia portrayed felt realistic. All it takes is one good ghost story and every one of the hundreds of sounds out there is amplified and questioned…
When I thought this was real footage found I was so scared of this movie, but now it has lost some of the fear it had. It is still creepy and was a milestone for movies like parnormal activity
I dig it. I just wish i was the one who created it as all i would of needed was a camera and 3 frineds and make millions, oh well.
I guess this was just one of those films that you had to see when it happened. Looking back on it after a decade I can see how so many people watching it for the first time probably think it’s overrated junk, but at the time this movie scared the shit out of just about everyone I knew, all hardcore horror geeks too. Perhaps it’s a New England thing with the tales of witchcraft, but for those of us that have lived on or around the woods for so long, this film was terrifying.
It’s still a great little film regardless of what some people on here might tell you about it being “boring”. I can’t believe after all these years BD STILL doesn’t have an official review for this film yet. Damn shame, because it was a crucial moment in horror history when this film came out.
Something must have happened in those woods because the film is based upon the footage police found buried in the woods. It’s the start of first person camera shaking indie film making so it can take credit on that part. To this day the events that occured that year & what happened to the students remains a mystery & that is good for everyone who’s seen the film because it keeps us guessing. Not my favourite horror movie of all time but it’s one to watch for the weirdness.
It manages to scare you without ever actually showing you anything.
This movie scores points for making me feel uneasy when I watched it, genuinely scared, but overall its a let down.
Worth watching once.
One of the most unjustly bashed films in horror history. Unlike imitators (*cough* Paranormal Activity *cough*) The Blair Witch Project is a genuinely frightening and HARROWING descent into human despair and what it means to be scared of death. Heather, Josh and Mike are waiting to die, and are forced to spend their days lost in a bizarre vortex of black magic infected wilderness. By night, they are haunted by ghostly noises, the disembodied voices of murdered children and eventually each other, but above all else the film is about death, knowing that it’s coming and desperately trying to escape it. This film works. Despite the cynical groans of kids expecting a CGI witch to fly out on a broomstick, it works and holds up as an effective documentation of human hysteria and hopelessness.
Very, very, very grim. Forget the imitators. THIS is the film to see.
This movie is very low budget yet so amazing. Anyone who did not think that it was scary wasn’t paying attention or doesn’t have any imagination. It wasn’t about guts or gore. This was a REAL horror movie. In the day they are lost in the woods and everything is fine. In the night some crazy s**t starts to happen. This movie is purely fantastic. Don’t rent it. BUY it.
It was pretty freaky when I first saw it and
remembering how they couldn’t find their car,than
the bloody teeth and that’s about all I really
remember, but it was definitely scary at certain
points but not all points in the movie. However
not worth renting more than once and for sure not
worth buying unless its $5.00 or less.
Okay, but doesn’t compare to Cannibal Holocaust- minus the animal killings (the only mistake in the film).
This has to be the most over hyped film of all time! this film bored me so much that I was about to turn it off but then they started arguing about the map and that to me was funny that I finished the film. To me this film turns out to be a mystery science theater classic!!!!
After watching this movie again years later, it really is a masterpiece.
The 1st time I watched it with a group of friends drinking n being generally loud and not paying attention. I thought the movie was very stupid and over-hyped.
I saw it at a local store on sale for $2.00 and figured what the hell, why not?
So I watched it at like 10pm alone in an unlit room with 5.1 surround sound and it was fantastic.
This time I was able to pay attention to the dialogue and sound from start to finish without interruption. The characters are so believable I felt like I was watching actual footage that was recovered.
The sound effects surrounding the tent of the witch cackling and walkign around are creepy as shit.
This really is an amazing piece of film.
If you didnt get it or think it was interesting / scary, I suggest watching it again, alone, in the dark, with the volume up.
This movie freaked me out the first time I saw it. Being right there alongside the characters as they go through this situation where neither you or them know what’s going on is pretty terrifying. Plus the conclusion is pretty harrowing and leaves you somewhat traumatized. Good stuff.
This is unreal. I went to the movie complex to view BWP, and was captivated. I’ve never viewed a movie so much where I felt the characters bewilderment, and anguish. This movie was pure
terror. It will always be tied to the “true story” side show unfortunatly. My freinds I went with hated it. So, what else is new- I didn’t give a crap becuase I was entertained to the full extent.
The Movie had great acting for the three unknown leads, while it did have some spooky stuff (like the children sounds & branch noisy) & the ending was soo dark & creepy, while making it look believable, but they were the only best bits of the Movie.
The Film was a Utley disappointing, it was shit & crappie film (I also cant believe when I was eight I was shit scared of this film) now 18 years-old & only scared me with the noisy (Soo eerie) & the ending of the film (thank god it wasn’t a long Movie).
The film was a bad idea well feeling sorry for the actors in the movie as they were very believable & when I was eight I totally believable it happened & my parent made it was (telling me ghost story about the story of the film what asshole, making me believe), there is a mixed responded from Horror fans for this film you either love it or hate it which for I really now hate, but when i was eight I kind of loved it how it scared me half to death (but I was eight & sadly hate Horror movie as ever horror movie sacred me until I was 12 and really starting to love them.), but any who the movie was lame for my taste in horror film Cloverfiled is a much better Video-record Movie then this rubbish.
This realistic horror film is pretty good. Sure the charicters are nothing special but the atmosphere is very creepy. This is probably one of the most influential horror films. It is good,creepy,and worth watching.
Not a bad film worth a watch if you want something realistic.
In my opinion, this may be the worst horror movie of all time. Yes there are horror movies with worse scripts and worse acting but I don’t remember another where the hype of the movie seemed scarier than the actual film. I remember the whispers and rumors that this was actual footage of a documentary gone horribly wrong. That concept of realism IS fairly frightening but the execution of this film was simply pathetic. While the first fifteen minutes of the movie start off promising with the cast interviewing locals about the legend of the Blair Witch, the rest of the film failed to move me in the slightest. The characters aren’t likable, the plot developments aren’t scary, and the nature of the cinematography makes the movie almost unwatchable. I know that they were shooting for realism but I can only look at blurry leaves and twigs so long without some kind of payoff. There were points when I thought that the movie would finally give me something visually that would make it worth sitting through the rest of the boring dribble but they squandered each opportunity. Don’t even get me started on the ending, it makes no sense and doesn’t even resolve anything. No questions that the film asks are ever answered. The concept for this movie was great and it should have been an extremely scary and enjoyable film, but the filmmakers missed the boat and instead gave us two hours of three a-holes running through the woods and crying into a hand-held camera. It’s sad to think about what this movie could have been. At least J.J. Abrams knew what to do with this kind of concept and gave us the masterpiece that is Cloverfield. There is nothing that would make me ever want to watch The Blair Witch Project again.
This movie is good if you get it, but its hard giving an unbiased account seeing as how tons of movies post-blair witch, have stolen from this movie relentlessly: mainly, the first person camera. It has been re-done, and in some cases made better, but the blair witch captured something that was just fucking awesome, you cant beat that, and for a low budget film, this baby goes the distance. Its a horror movie gem, even if you dont like it, you should own a copy of it becuase it is the fucking blair witch project.
Highly overrated, but still quite unique and original horror mockumentary, very atmospheric and eerie, with believable actors and some really scary scenes. Unfortunately it’s often way too lengthy and boring and most of the dialogue is utter annoying.
One of the scaryist movies ever lol,just the suspense of it sacred me, good acting , good story which might be true idk i think it is, ohh and the ending is really creepy and i cant not believe that the chick died she should have ran away and survived on her own until help came ohh she mad me so mad!!
A film that shows that sometimes the most scariest thing is the thing we can’t see. You can not see this alone. This is a must see for horror fans or people who love filmmaking. This was the first movie to give me nightmares. I could not sleep for days. One of the scariest movies ever made!
I loveeee this movie
I saw this film in the theatre on opening night, and am still scared shitless by it. Perhaps it is because I live in a rural area; perhaps it is because I have a vivid imagination. Personally, this is one of the scariest films I have ever seen…and I don’t typically scare easily. And as far as people “not getting” the ending…in the beginning of the movie, they talk about how Rustin Parr killed the children in twos – one facing a corner while he killed the other. Hope that clears it up for you.
I saw this in the theatre when it came out. I took my fuckin’ parents cause I thought it was gonna be mind blowing horror.
Any qualities this film has or had goes down the toilet because of the annoying female lead. She can’t fucking act and she sure as shit can’t improvise dialogue. I cuss like a sailor, but this woman says “fuck” every other word. EVERY…OTHER…WORD! She has the most annoying voice I have ever heard; like fingernails on a chalkboard. If this were in fact a real document of a film project, she’d be working on it by herself cause no one would want to be her friend! I was hoping one of the two dudes making he film would flip out and kill her about twenty minutes into the movie.
Love it. Scarier every time I watch it.
I didn’t really find this scary… at all.
The ending made the movie worse.
Would have been good if we actually saw the “blair witch” or whatever was terrorizing them.
I never thought that i could find a movie worse than Rob Zombie’s Halloween but The Blair Witch Project is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen
the people who are responsible for that movie(director,actors,producers)owe us an apology,at least
without plot,without scary scenes,without suspense,without something to make that movie worth to see they shouldn’t expect success
I know some people dont really enjoy this movie or dont find it the least bit creepy but this movie is the ONLY movie that to this day scares the hell of out me!!!!!!!!!!! I was petrified the first time i finished watching it. No other movie has ever had me that scared, i watch a lot of horror films people, A LOT! This had me scared shitless. I love this movie.
The biggest scam in History after rob zombie’s remake of Halloween. See Paranormal Activity if you want to be scared.
One of the greatest horro/terror films in the decade.
It scared the crap out of me, it
I’m pretty surprised that people don’t like this movie. It’s scary..and feels real…Horror flicks don’t need gore to be scary my friends…
A lot of people loved this film when it first came out and later despised it for being too cheesy. I however didn’t. In fact, I went out and purchased the Blu-Ray and gave it another viewing a couple months back. I still like it and and I still think it’s a very creepy little film. And it just goes to show that you don’t need a multi-million-dollar budget to scare the hell out of an audience. And that still holds true today, as it still had the ability to freak me out.
It really is this type of film just shows you that you don’t need a big budget to scare the audience. i really liked the pacing the story the acting. especialy the writting and directing as well. this movie freaked me out when i went to see it becasue the way it was filmed you really could beleive that this could happen. i remember all the smart poblicity the studio did for this movie it was really smart. and i remember walking out of the theater thinking this was awsome oh and see the second one as well you won’t be dissopointed at least i wasn’t but that’s just my opinion.
This movie is very well done but the camera sometimes bugs me.
One of the more real and scary movies ever made. Nothing bloody, it’s all psychological, but this very well done, a terror that slowly builds until scale to an absolute level of terror. Excellent.
Absolutely pathetic. There is NO entertainment value in this movie at all. The only people that would find this movie even remotely scary are 13 year olds that are new to the horror genre. I understand it was low budget and they were focusing on realism, but this was shit. Even Family Guy made fun of it. I dont understand why you children on this site enjoy this movie, but you should go look up some REAL horror films. This is pre-teen garbage. I struggled to watch the whole thing. I understand if it was given high scores on it’s release date, but this is 2011 people, grow up! Hell, even Paranormal Activity was better than this, and I though that movie was a borefest. If I could give this movie zero skulls I would. It’s a worthless mess that I actually got free at a garage sale. Yeah, that says something when someone throws it away rather than trying to get money out of it.
People have no attention span these days they need childish crud on theyre screen to get anything out of a movie. EXPAND YOUR MINDS PEOPLE, there is a such thing as terror without a director supplying you with some gorey vision. This movie does what all masterpieces do, and that is leave a little to the imagination. Im sure that flew over most of these naysayers minds but whatever! Im sure the people who enjoyed this film know what im talking about. 5 Skulls baby! instant classic
this movie was unique… and boring… and yes somewhat thought provoking….made me think what kind of people would give it 5 skulls…. the same kind of people that lined up to see Paranormal activity 1 & 2, and maybe Jersey Shore.
I kinda liked The Blair Witch Project but it takes more than a cool title and a bunch of woods to be really scary but to me it did have a few creepy parts that gave me a few thrills but I just can’t imagine being lost in all those woods and not try to get some good hot ass from Heather before the witch killed me off, now that boggles my mind.
Okay, I’m sorry, but I do not need blood, gore, vicious kills, or SAW like torture to be entertained. I love movies that send chills down my spine and genuinely freak me out without really showing me anything. That scares me far more than watching people die violent deaths or half naked bitches getting chased through the woods, or ghost girls with long black hair, just saying. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Not to mention that, for the time, it was genuinely very unique! There hadn’t been a whole lot of Found Footage type movies that the public had seen yet, at least not ones that became extremely popular. Now a days, every other movie that comes out is a Found Footage movie. I mean, I genuinely LOVE found footage movies, so I don’t have a problem with this as long as they’re done right. ANYWAYS, I DIGRESS! I really loved this movie. Bottom Line.
a brilliantly clever film! i can see why some people didnt take to the documentry stle of it but this film created a genre!!
Some people seem to find this movie scary, but I have absolutely no idea why. There are WAY better films that are terrifying without being gory and WAY better films that use the same style (several such as CH and REC are listed in below reviews). Search for those instead and avoid this overhyped piece of 90s nostalgia.
I really liked it. I can see what the hype was 12 years ago. I didn’t see it until last year, and now I understand all the talk. It’s fairly effective, and intense.
“The Blair Witch Project” is among the simplest, most frightening, and most visionary horror films I’ve ever seen. It’s the kind of feature that some will, no doubt, find to be somewhat silly; but it’s also one of those movies where I lose all ability to care about what others think. In the end, my opinion matters to me; and my opinion is that this film is genius in how it presents itself and toys with various and common fears. It’s scary in a sense that was groundbreaking for its time; taking a “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”-esque approach to its subjects and diving head-first into all-out, but surprisingly human and relatable terror. It’s an exercise in pure horror; with a keen eye for intense drama and even some mildly likable characters and engaging sub-plots. It’s nothing more than a horror film, and I openly accept that. But when it comes down to horror and whether a genre film can horrify in ways that don’t involve graphic rape or decapitation, this one’s kind of brilliant.
No doubt, I’ll surely remember it; and for all the right reasons. If it gives me nightmares – and it’s very doubtful that it will, since no horror film has so far – then so be it. This is the reason I like this genre; to be scared, to be terrified, to relate to the horror that’s all around us. Much of “The Blair Witch Project” is filmed in a place where we’ve all been countless times, and will be many times to come. When we return, we’ll never forget the film and its ever-lasting impact. Whether you enjoyed it or not, that will certainly be your first reaction; to remember what you experienced when you watched it. Perhaps this will help you to appreciate it; horror is at its finest when it comes through sheer realization. In a world where most horror is either dumbed-down or far too sadistic to be truly engaging in terms of scare-factor, this is a great genre picture that defied clichés and created a style that, by now, is to be considered a tad over-used.
The Blair Witch is a story lost in time; a piece of adult fairy-tale-esque lore that exists only if you want it to. The legend is seldom explored or chased, but trios of film students is curious and decides to dig as deep as they possibly can into the mystery surrounding the story. The threesome consists of Heather, Mike, and Josh. They start what is presumed to be a “student film” by interviewing local residents of Burkittsville, Maryland; where the legend originated. They get some different reactions; one man seems to think that the story itself is nothing more than a legend, while another man tries to convince the students to turn back. They don’t.
This begins the fascinating descent into hunting down the infamous tale of the Blair Witch; a murderous figure who would kill off young children while the presumably “next victim” would stand in a corner, looking away, and awaiting their turn. The students camp out in the woods in which these events took place, and things seem to be going well at first. There’s little tension between the three, their map tells them where they’re heading and where to get back, and they don’t suspect that this legend is anything to worry about. However, it starts with noises in the night; twigs snapping, the wind. The students perceive these noises to be footsteps; and they run, run, run. Things just get weirder from here on out, so if you aren’t a fan of frights in the way of noises, screaming, and cliff-hanger endings; then this film may not be for you.
Oh, darn me; I mentioned the “cliff-hanger ending”. I shouldn’t have done that. Well anyways, I did, so, I’m guessing you want an explanation. This is as much as I can provide you with; the ending is as universally discussed and appreciated as it is despised. It’s an ambitious, ambiguous climax that completes the cycle of fear by giving no clear answers; no easy getaways. We must think for ourselves (oh, how frightening!), and since there are only a number of theories that we can truly pick from, we must succumb to the fear and praise “The Blair Witch Project” for all it is worth. You may call it derivative, which it isn’t; I call it one of the scariest movies I’ve seen, and will ever see, if only for the ending alone; one which I will surely never shake from my memory. Oh, joy.
I hope the filmmakers responsible for this remarkably atmospheric film eventually make something else with their time. They can make more quality products; because with this here film, they really succeeded in creeping us out with sound and thought rather than sight. You don’t “see” the horror. There may not even be any horror whatsoever. Maybe the characters are merely going crazy. We will never know, and that, in itself, is quite frightening indeed. In short, this is simply low-budget horror filmmaking done right; an experience worth experiencing, a film worth watching, and it’s outstanding for what it wants and tries to be – and ultimately is. If you can’t seem to fathom the material and think intellectually about the skill and craft that went into making it as scary as it is, then go stand in the corner.
*Oh, and despite any claims that say otherwise, this film is not an unedited collection of the horrors that befell those three students; the horrors never befell them in the first place. The film and its material are entirely fictitious, but as for the legend, it’s all in the dark.
single worst movie I have seen in my life. If you believed this was real when it first came out, you should lose the right to breed. To say any more about this movie is a waste of my time. Awful bore-fest.
To be honest, I didn’t like this movie when I first saw it back when it first came out, actually, I hated it. However, after seeing it again recently out of pure boredom and nothing else to watch… I thoroughly enjoyed it the second time around. If you’re one of those people who need constant Michael Bay generic action bullshit, you won’t like this film, because it is anything but action packed. If you can enjoy a slow moving, character driven movie with some genuinely off-putting moments and one hell of a creepy finale, you should check this out.
Who’s afraid of the big Blair Witch?
I know I am.
This proves that things you don’t see are always more frightening. Psychological horror in it’s true prime.
I remember seeing this when it first came out on vhs. It scared the hell out of me then, and it scared the hell out of me now. But. Instead of focusing on the creepiness, it focused too much on the people themselves–which is important, but man, I don’t want to spend an hour and a half watching three kids crying and bitching at each other. This movie makes little sense, but that’s kind of the point, because the legend itself isn’t cohesive. The end, of course, scarred me for life. Well done, but too many tears.
I recommend if you watched this back when it came out, to give it another try now years later. I think Iâe(TM)ve seen it maybe 5 times total, all spread apart in years and it was better this time around, definitely more creepy if you are able to crank the crap out of it and actually hear whats going on in the background. Check out a more in depth review at my Horror Movie/Book review site @ ShiversOfHorror.com
This movie was amazing! I think it’s one of the best horror movies I’ve seen.
This film is just brilliant. It had almost no budget, no script and it turned out to be one of the scarier films of the 90s.
You guys who are telling that people should go watch Cloverfield or Rec instead of this one should think that maybe none of them would exist if it wasn’t for The Blair Witch Project. But people who think Paranormal Activity is scarier than TBWP should burn!
I’ve never seen so many people talking about a film since this one. It was the only thing we would talk about at school. Everybody discussing if the story was true or not! Remember that google was only a kid by that time and that we didn’t used internet as much as nowadays. Information was much more difficult to find…
Heather Donahue decides to do a documentary about the urban legend of The Blair Witch. She takes along two other film students, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, who are just as eager to do the project as she is. Their trip was planned to go to Maryland, interview some townsfolk, film some of the historic sites in the woods and return home. A year later their camera footage was found.
Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez decided to break away from the traditional cinematography and go with a first person view of the events that take place. We actually watch the majority of the movie through Heather Donahue’s eyes. It was pretty creative and went well with the story and the actors.
The Blair Witch is really a feeling movie. You have to pay a lot of attention to the film and really get into the mood the scenery and actors are trying to set. There isn’t any monsters, no ghosts and no gore to be seen. You have to use your imagination and focus on the feelings of the actors.
Heather Donahue and the rest of the crew do some great acting to suck you in and make you really feel like you are there scared for your life right along with them. The story kinda stalls towards the end as it seemed like they added some scenes in to make the movie longer but not noticeable on your first watch through.
The Blair Witch has set a precedence for this type of genre that was fun and enjoyable to watch. I recommend The Blair Witch to any fan and look forward to more movies of this genre.