Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Blair Witch Project’

Written by Scott Edwards

Even though it seems like there is no place that anyone can go missing these days, you still see it happen more often than not. With so many dark locations, even in our neighborhoods, there are plenty of places where people can hide out where they will never be seen again. This also applies to hiking through the woods and going off the trail. As we have so many items that can track people, there are still dead spots that can only be investigated by a person. It is important to know where you are going and how to get back regardless of the technology that you bring along, because there can be places where it will not help you at all.
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Wanting to make a documentary on the Blair Witch, Heather Donahue is waiting with bated breath for her team to arrive. As Josh arrives with his gear, the two head off to pick up Mike and they are on their way to Burkittsville, Maryland, the infamous home of the myth. Arriving in town and talking to the locals about what they know about the legend, the group comes across Mary Brown who seems to be off of her rocker when talking about the witch and they discount almost everything that she says about the hairy old woman she saw in the woods, but the witness may have a couple of good points. Holding up in a hotel for the night, the team works out what they will be doing in the morning and get their sleep in.

Making their way to their location, Heather and her team get their gear in order and start moving into the woods. Stumbling upon a couple fishermen who know the stories about what happened in the woods, the group records their stories and moves on to the treacherous Coffin Rock where legend states that five men were killed and tied together and then removed by someone before the police came to investigate. Getting their shots in for the documentary, the group sets up camp as they have another full day ahead of them as they move towards the cemetery. Waking up in the morning and having Josh say that he heard something moving outside of the tent the night before, they group brushes it off as animals and find the cemetery hidden deep within the woods.

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After many discussions about being lost along the way, the group stumbles upon the cemetery and while it is not what they expected, they shoot the heck out of it for the documentary. While getting some night shots of the piles of stones on the ground, the group is shocked to hear twigs breaking all around them and do not know what to think. Trying to pinpoint what they are hearing; they are not able to come up with anything. Getting a little bit of sleep and packing up and heading back to the car in the morning, Mike notices that nothing on their trek back seems familiar. Telling her fellow film makers that she knows exactly where they are, Heather pulls out the map and shows them, but their faith is running thin.
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As the sun is starting to set again, the group is forced to make up camp before they make it to the car and the sounds of twigs snapping and rocks being thrown is getting closer to them. As the noises die down the group gets their little bit of sleep, but they awaken to find themselves surrounded by piles of rocks similar to what they saw at the cemetery. Knowing now that someone is having fun with them, the group packs up and makes their trek back to the car, only to find that their all-important map has been taken. With compass in hand, Heather guarantees that they will be out of the woods today and that nobody should worry about getting their gear back on time. But as the day moves on, Heather is forced to admit to herself, along with Mike and Josh that they are lost when they find themselves walking around in circles. Setting up camp once again, the group has no idea what awaits them in the darkness, or what they are going to find in the morning as the Blair Witch legend may have a little bit of merit to it.

Sometimes I like to take a look back at the movies that helped create a genre and The Blair Witch Project was legitimately one that brought the Found Footage genre to the big screen. While this movie was judged on the money it brought in, it is also a very good scary movie with a ton of emotion being forced out on the screen. Only wanting to shoot a documentary about the Blair Witch, the group gets much more than they bargained for. I liked watching the relationships deteriorate throughout the movie, especially when everybody starts to go slap happy. I really wish that there was a little bit more story focused on the Rustin Parr house and the children that he murdered, since if you are not paying attention during the beginning, you miss it altogether. With plenty of noises that go bump in the night, a creepy legend, believers and non-believers, a crazy old woman, a haunted forest and plenty of stories to keep you awake at night, this is just a great movie that will keep you guessing what happened to the group as it seems the only thing to keep you alive in this situation, is to face a wall. Stay Scared.

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