For those who have problems with the absence of "the real thing" in The Blair Witch Project, Blair Witch is the answer. A lot is going on here. The number of characters doubled. We know they will die -spoiler ?! Plis. Our frame of mind has long been sharpened by many horror films and we both already know their traditions-and this movie treats them like who's playing and how they'll die. This may seem like a lowering of Blair Witch, but in the context of horror, the movie is quite entertaining and well made.
The Blair Witch Project became a sensation in the world of perhororan in 1999 thanks to a unique narrative approach that has never been done before: found-footage with the first person perspective. What makes the movie scary is that (most) viewers believe it as an actual recording (this is also supported by marketing and rumor building from a studio that is not kidding). With a budget of just $ 60 thousand, the film is a commercial success, earning more than $ 248 million in revenue from around the world.
Blair Witch was made by Adam Wingard along with collaborator of screenwriter Simon Barrett who has done brilliant updates on the horror cliché concept in the thriller-home invasion You're Next and the The-Guest's psycho-thriller. In Blair Witch, they repeat the old song with a different touch. Regardless of their competence, they are stuck by two things: (1) a lightning that does not snatch the same spot twice, and (2) a saturated market. Now in the 21st century, everything is found-footage and we've come to understand that it's just fiction.
If you remember at the end of the first movie why there was a character staring at a wall in a corner with a look of fear, Wingard and Barrett had the answer. They also can not afford to use the old house as a narrative base and this idea is okay. Although the narrative style and plot are not much developed from the original film, but the film has some unexpected turns, including clarifying the mythology of the witch Blair.
Continuing the story of his original film, James (James Allen McCune) who is the sister of Heather (from the first film) intends to find out the whereabouts of her brother after finding a video that indicates her brother may still be alive. With James? Even after 17 years? Eniwei, James then invites Lisa (Callie Hernandez) who is a documentary maker, as well as two sejoli Peter (Brandon Scott) and Ashley (Corbin Reed). In addition, there is, Lane (Wes Robinson) and Talia (Valorie Curry) who are locals of the video discovery.
By staying true to the source material, Wingard modernized several elements. This time, our characters not only have camcorders, but also GoPro, walkie talkie, GPS to drones that not only aim to make it relevant in the present, but also give more perspective to the audience. We see their stupidity and their kenaasan from various angles. Good work from editor Louis Cioffi to make it a coherent spectacle.
After a compulsory exposition such as a dialogue that addresses the issue of witch and serial killer, the film quickly enters the heady area. They are lost in a forest wilderness (they think GPS and drones are able to match witches? Pfft) and dolls from wooden branches suddenly hang around the tent. Initially there are falsified, but they know that this terror is not a human act.
If the first film is more atmospheric, Blair Witch is not so familiar with kesubtilan. More activity with noisy noises, rather than the creepy ambient noise. Wingard also uses a lot of jump scares, such as shouting (or suddenly) characters, fallen trees or the sound of wild animals. There is a moment of angling anglers involving severe injuries in the legs. To be honest, 89 minutes of duration mostly contains running scenes, waving flashlights, crying and shouting.
As with many contemporary horror films, you may not care about the fate of the characters and the movie is also not too trying to make us tied to their personality. We do not feel the mental collapse of terror as Heather did. Wingard is more interested in frightening than building up the horror with the universal horror of mysterious nuances and disorientation like the first film.
Is this movie better than The Blair Witch Project? It depends. For me, Blair Witch is just an update. This movie may be a cheap attempt to commercialize a cult brand, but at least this one is better than Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 that I'm sure we no longer remember. Oops. Sorry. We are no longer talking about that.