Everything you've heard is true.
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 found footage supernatural horror film directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, written by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, produced by Haxan Films, and distributed by Artisan Entertainment. It stars Heather Donahue and Michael C. Williams. This is the first film in the Blair Witch franchise. It was followed by Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and Blair Witch.
"I'm scared to close my eyes. I'm scared to open them. We're gonna die out here!" - Heather Donahue
Plot
Three young students filmmakers venture out into the woods to capture a documentary about the legend of the mysterious Blair Witch. When they get lost while hiking, tensions rise in the group as they slowly begin to realize that they are not alone in the woods.
My Favorite Part of The Blair Witch Project
This film has been praised endlessly for its usage of the found-footage technique, which is merited. The horror genre was in need of something new, and this was entirely new. The found footage truly makes this film feel real. When you watch this movie, it truly does not feel like you're watching actors acting. It feels like you are watching three very scared people getting lost in the woods. It immerses you in how insanely real it feels. And I absolutely loved that.
My Least Favorite Part of The Blair Witch Project
This movie is really well done, so I don't have much negative to say about it, but i guess I will say this: it's somewhat boring. The movie is about eighty minutes long...and there's probably about five minutes of actual horror content. The rest of the movie is the characters getting lost and feeling hopeless, which doesn't make for the most exciting film to watch. It's not fast-paced. It takes it's time. If you have the patience to watch this movie, I highly, highly recommend it.
Why The Blair Witch Project is Very Good
Combining shocking realism with some of the most genius horror techniques I've seen in any movie ever makes for something special. What impressed me so much about The Blair Witch Project is its ability to make you so uncomfortable and so scared without having any scary imagery. The final shot of the film is somewhat frightening, but otherwise, there is NOTHING shown on screen in this movie that will scare you. It's all atmosphere and audio...and it's one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Truly.
The Horror Evaluation
The Blair Witch Project is terrifying, but in a different way than most movies. The human imagination can be really, really creative, and this film lets you imagine what the horrifying images would look like. Once again, this film has no scary images actually shown on screen, but it's so, so effective, because it lets you imagine. It lets you imagine what's making that noise. It lets you imagine what put that thing there. And that can be so much worse than just showing us some stupid looking monster.
For that, The Blair Witch Project gets a "This is God" on the Spooky Scale.
THE SPOOKY SCALE
This is God (Top Tier Horror)
Beautiful Bloodbath (Great Horror)
Decently Dreary (Good Horror)
A Stab in the Gut (Bad Horror)
Hellish Experience (Terrible Horror)
Scare Factor: 8/10
Villain: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Kills and Gore: 5/10
Uniqueness: 10/10
Final Thoughts and Score
The Blair Witch Project is a really, really good horror movie that I highly recommend for fans of the genre. If you can be a little patient at times throughout this film, it pays off massively.
I will go Savory here. Age range is 12+.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)
"The Blair Witch Project"
Fun Factor: 7.5/10
Acting: 8.5/10
Story: 8/10
Characters: 7.5/10
Quality: 8/10
Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
Rated R for frightening scenes, language, disturbing themes, thematic elements
Released on July 14, 1999
1 hour and 21 minutes
Heather Donahue as Heather
Michael C. Williams as Mike
Joshua Leonard as Josh