The Blair Witch Project

Actors: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams

Directors: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez

This film narrates the tale of three film students who travel to Burkittsville, Maryland to investigate the feared Blair Witch. The film is a recording of their hike across the unnerving woods where the Blair Witch supposedly carries out her attacks on little children. Along with the stories of the legend of the Blair Witch and a few other stories of serial killers in Burkittsville, this film encapsulates the experience of a trio in their quest to find the Blair Witch.

With a simple plot, one thought that was etched into my mind throughout the course of the film was the fact that this film is meant to be a reconstruction of a true story that happened to three film makers, who disappeared after getting lost in the woods but their audio and video equipment was untouched. The directors have developed the lost footage into a film and as you watch the film, it feels ever so real. In my case, I was told by a friend that the film was real – in the sense that it was ALL of the footage recorded by the three original film students that was then edited by Myrick and Sánchez to create a film. The way I was under the pre-misapprehension that the film was actually the real footage makes the film a lot more horrifying than it actually is. Throughout the film, I believed that the scary happenings were true and this made me shudder even though I consider myself perfectly immune to horror. There is no comparison between The Blair Witch Project and The Grudge, because both films are at the opposite end of a spectrum but still, The Blair Witch Project is a clearly constructed piece of work guaranteed to give the viewer a hair-raising experience.

The direction of this film left me in awe because the entire film makes no use of background music or special editing and CGI but only uses three actors, a stretch of woods and only two cameras – one that is the classic home camera and the other that is the slightly more sophisticated (and black and white) professional camera. Because Donahue was given the home camera to shoot their hike across the woods, the film is given a very bona fide feel that makes the viewer believe that they are a part of the hike and the horror that Donahue and her friends undergo. Because Donahue was the camera woman for the film and as she was very inexperienced, the entire film is very shaky from start to finish contributing to the trepidation of the Blair Witch (and a sense of nausea in the viewer). With only three actors, the film made the utmost use of natural surroundings like actually going to Burkittsville and the scenes in the woods were all shot in Seneca Creek State Park, Montgomery County. Those (unlike me) who did know that the film was a reconstruction would be even more in awe to find out that apart from just natural settings, the film interviews residents of Burkittsville who know the legend of the Blair Witch. Because the Blair Witch is a true legend and believed by the residents in Burkittsville, the film is made to feel very genuine releasing a slight fear in the viewer. By using the residents who aren’t actors, the film fuses acting and reality to present a chiller.

The acting of the actors is nearly flawless – the fear, antagonism, frustration are very tangible to the viewer and for not very well known actors such as Donahue, Leonard and Williams, they did a praiseworthy job. But, according to me, the pinnacle of flawless acting in this film is probably the scene where Donahue records herself on camera, giving a final “goodbye and I’m sorry” message to her family and Leonard and Williams’ families. The tactile terror piercing her juxtaposed with the stark rush of emotion through her is enough to make the viewer feel helpless about her situation. The poignancy of that scene leaves the viewer to believe that death is inevitable for the friends. Another scene that epitomises unblemished acting is the sheer aggravation caused when the trio think they are travelling south when they find themselves back where they started from. This again triggers the emotion pangs in the viewer as the viewers feel vulnerable for the friends and as Donahue says in the film, “hunted”.  This scene delivers a blow to the already tautened relationship between the three and again plays on the idea that the three can’t avoid death. The acting always drops clues as to what the ending is going to be like and the ending truly is the final instalment of shock delivery. The use of commonly recognised omens of ghostly activity such as voodoo and the mystical appearance of bundles of sticks and stones all goes into triggering the powerlessness and horror of the actors and the viewers alike. Like many other horror films, the Blair Witch is never seen or recorded on camera, leaving much to the imagination. The Blair Witch is only heard hunting down her victims including Leonard and at the end, you only see the camera footage of Donahue and Williams getting killed by the Blair Witch. This mysteriousness and the fact that the thing that causes the rush of emotions is never seen leaves the viewer intrigued by the end.

Even though this film is a reconstruction, the viewer is left thinking of what the real footage would have been like. Even though there probably might not be any footage of how the three real film makers “disappeared”, the viewer continues to be intrigued by the reality of the film. This film is one that must be watched by any horror lover and if you can’t taste the fear in this film, then there truly must be a fault somewhere in it. This films success is very blatant when I say that even thought it was a low budget film with a cost of just $ 20,000, the profit was so colossal that for ever dollar that was spent, the film received $ 11,000 back. This leaves me with true admiration for this horror that after putting the viewer through a roller coaster ride of a fusion of resentment and apprehension, this is indeed a masterpiece of horror. Definitely a one to be watched!