|
 Sticks and stones
don't scare our bones!Remarkable
box-office receipts gave us the impression that Blair Witch Project might be an
intriguing mystery of nightmare generating proportions. Our theater went as far as posting
caution notes informing people that jerky, hand-held camera shots might cause nausea or
dizziness. Blair Witch Project is supposed to be raw documentary footage
recovered a year after the disappearance of three film students that shot it.
We expected something scary to happen when the
characters entered the woods. They tromp around arguing if they are lost, hear strange
noises during the night, find piles of rocks and strange formations of wood sticks, lose
their map, get really lost, and run screaming in the night. We guess we are supposed to
know that danger looms larger because they say "fuck" more often in louder
voices. At the end, we have no idea how they disappeared, or how they died, if they did.
Along the way, even the documentary filming technique is betrayed when the two
remaining characters are together in a shot when there is nobody else there to hold the
camera.
Everybody is generally inspired when a low budget film
breaks into new territory based on the creative imagination of fresh talent. We are amazed
that Blair Witch found a niche and capitalized on lack of story, dialog, camera
technique, editing, sound, and effects. Many credit this film as a triumph of no frills
horror evoked by suggestion rather than expensive special effects. Unfortunately,
Blair Witch is far from being an antidote to rampant special effects over-dependence.
Anna-Maria, who
generally avoids horror because of her super-suggestibility, was so nonplussed and
disengaged that she actually whispered that she was hungry and inquired
about dinner and shopping plans. We almost walked out. This film is making
Hollywood history as a no-substance, no-frills movie that cost next to
nothing to make and is now earning millions. We cringe at the realization that
we are now going to be inundated with copy cats like "Blair Witch at the
Beach", "Blair
Witch on an Island", on-and-on, ad nauseam.
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