A new twist on a classic.
In 1999 the found footage style of the horror genre was born with the Lionsgate release of “The Blair Witch Project”. At the time many speculated the film to be real and its’ popularity spread like wild fire. Obviously it was later determined that the film was planned but it was already a massive success. Whether you love or hate the original Blair Witch, it is engrained in horror culture for eternity. Due to the success of the first film the studio fast tracked a sequel released in the following year titled “Book Of Shadows – Blair Witch 2”. The sequel flopped and is widely considered one of the worst horror movies of all time.
It was unveiled at this years’ comic con that the new horror film “The Woods” was actually a Blair Witch sequel. The original trailer for “the Woods”was vague yet intriguing, once it was announced as “Blair Witch” it sent horror fans into a frenzy and ripe with anticipation. With a modern twist the filmmakers set out to do the impossible and bring life into a franchise that was as dead as the Blair Witch herself…
Mission Accomplished, kind of.
“Blair Witch” picks up about 20 years after the events of the first film, we meet James who is watching a clip uploaded to the internet which is believed to be from his sister Heather Donahue (The main character from the original). He and his friends set out to the Black Hills woods in Burkittsville, MD to see if they can uncover the fate of James’ sister. Armed with modern technology including GPS, drone cameras, and personal recording devices they document as they are terrorized by the Blair Witch.
While sure not to please everyone, fans of the genre and the first installment will ultimately enjoy the latest take. The 89 minute runtime goes extremely fast, a far different pace then the slower suspenseful exploits of Heather, Josh, and Mike. The visual effects obviously got a modern day overhaul which is refreshing, clearer camera shots and multiple angles lure the audience into the story and keep them intrigued throughout. The mythology of the Blair Witch is examined and key parts that fans have asked about for 17 years are answered and make sense. They do this in an obvious way but it doesn’t detract from the story.
Casting was a downfall, none of the actors were that great and they showed little chemistry for portraying “lifetime” friends. The audience is disconnected from them from the get go, making their impending demise somewhat enjoyable. The woods look different from the original, choosing to shoot in the pacific northwest probably was not correct for continuity from “The Blair Witch Project”. Giving the film more of a green look rather than orange/brown, the daytime scenes are a little annoying but obviously with night shots it doesn’t matter. The filmmakers took a lot of risks with a few of the new elements that they added, for that they should be applauded. Audiences will likely be torn on if they like the new direction. This film has a long list of negatives that movie goers will surely notice, even with horrible acting, new direction, and unfortunate location they still make this an enjoyable hour and a half and leave the audiences asking more questions.
“Blair Witch” is nowhere close to being the scariest movie of all time, it can be classified as average at best. As most fans know though, with the slew of horrible and lazy horror flicks out there, average can be memorable.
ROASTED RIPPER SCORE = C
2.9/5 Creepy Stick Figures