The first time I saw "The Blair Witch Project" was when I was 13. I had fallen asleep within the first 45 minutes. I had been extremely disappointed. Now, I had heard about how "Paranormal Activity" is one of the creepiest horror movies of the year. I thought that if I'm going to see "Paranormal Activity," then I'd better watch this movie again in order to know what I'm in for. After a second viewing, I admit that "The Blair Witch Project" is absolutely one of the creepiest horror movies I've ever seen.
Shot like real footage, "BWP" follows three student filmmakers shooting a documentary: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. Heather is the head director of a documentary about the infamous Blair Witch of Blair, Maryland. After many strange and eerie stories of the witch, including the tales of over seven children being kidnapped and found dead, the three teens are pretty skeptical that there really is any witch living in the woods of Burkitsville. As they venture into the woods to shoot their film, strange things happen, things that they never thought would happen. Things that are going to tear them apart emotionally. Heather, Josh, and Mike discover that the Blair Witch might be more than just a legend.
"The Blair Witch Project" opens as a seemingly ordinary documentary-style horror movie. But there is plenty to love about it. As the movie progresses, it unfolds with a horrifying tension, with an event just as frightening as the one before it. Also, the Burkitsville woods are a perfect atmosphere for the movie. The camera kept closing in on the cast, and it produced a strong feeling of claustrophobia. Whenever I heard a noise in the background, and one of the filmmakers would scream "What the **** was that?!", I kept turning my head back and forth to see if there was anything there. "The Blair Witch Project" is a very good example of "What you don't see is scarier than what you do see."
The movie gives excellent performances by Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Mike Williams. The most iconic moment of the movie is when Heather turns on the camera and makes a tearjerking apology to her family and the others. It is one of the most heartbreaking moments of the movie.
"The Blair Witch Project" was a movie with a very low budget of 100,000 dollars. And after a lot of hype, audiences ran to the theaters and were scared out of their wits, bringing in over 5, million dollars in a weekend. The movie had beaten out the box-office record that was held by the horror classic "Halloween." This movie takes a rather simple premise and goes a long way with it. It's scary, eerie, claustrophobic, and leaves you on the edge of your seat. "The Blair Witch Project" is perfect psychological horror.
P.S. Don't watch it at night. Plus, the climax is gut-wrenching.
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