Some good old-fashioned suspense (The Blair Witch Project (DVD))

Member Name: jesperado

Product:	The Blair Witch Project (DVD)
Date:	03/02/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great build up, really unnerving

Disadvantages: Not to everyone's taste

The Blair Witch Project is a low budget horror that was first released in 1999. It is filmed in the style of a documentary following 3 student filmmakers investigating the local legend of the Blair Witch. The tale goes that the Blair Witch was a local man who kidnapped 7 children and murdered them in pairs whilst the seventh child stood in the corner facing the wall. The students set up camp in the forest but soon run into trouble as they get lost in the heart of the creepy woods. Strange stick figures appear hanging from trees and the filmmakers soon realise they are in over their heads.

I don't want to give too much away about this film as the suspense is the best thing about it. The handheld camerawork and use of natural light makes the film feel very much like a documentary and the naturalistic acting of the 3 main characters is much more believable than you would generally expect from a teen horror movie. The short range of a lot of the shots gives the filma really claustrophobic feel as it focuses on the reactions of the characters rather than revealing what they are reacting to. This leaves it up to your imagination which is often more frightening than some CGI monster or psycho in a stupid mask. I would recommend this film to anyone that is tired of the slasher genre and enjoys thrillers such as the Hitchcock classics.

Summary: A genuinely frightening film.