The Blair Witch Project | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

I was looking forward to this one. I must have watched it years ago but I had no memory of it before this re-watch so it was like watching it for the first time, which was fun.

I liked this film.

The first thing I have to say about it is that it popularised found footage movies, and that alone makes it iconic. Even though it wasn't the first, it paved the way for so many amazing modern movies, some of which are favourites of mine, such as most of the Paranormal Activity franchise.

One of the best things about the film is the commitment to realism.

The actors were playing versions of themselves and their dialogue was improvised, which makes everything about the film feel really real. You believe everything that's happening because so much effort was put into making it authentic.

The dialogue is one of the best things about the film. The actors do a really great job with their characters - not only do we get to know them despite only seeing them in this context, but we feel like we're investigating alongside them. They were all perfect for their roles.

It was really interesting to be told about the legend through the people in the town. Again this added to the realism of the story but also made it more engaging than if it had instead been exposition thrown in by the main characters for the sole purpose of giving context to the audience.

It's definitely on the smaller side compared to more modern horror movies. We have one central location and three characters. It's a simple situation, there are no gimmicks, and it's accessible to both horror lovers and people who aren't completely into the genre.

There also aren't a lot of scares. The horror element of the film comes from the situation itself, rather than jumps or hooks or twists, and while I wouldn't love if every horror movie was like this, these movies definitely have their place and this is a great example of how to do horror without out-and-out scares.

The more hopeless the characters get, the scarier the film is and the deeper the audience sinks in. It's a great depiction of losing control.

So this is definitely one to watch whether you're deep into the horror genre or not - I'm really glad it was on the bucket list!