In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary.
A year later their footage was found.
These words either scared the heck out of you when you watched 1999’s The Blair Witch or you were very disappointed after seeing the film. 17 years later, these words would appear back on the big screen for the highly anticipated Blair Witch, a sequel/reimagined/remake of the original. And, like the 1999 film, you either will love it or hate it. Being a fan of the first, I was very excited to learn more of the folklore of the Blair Witch (and forget about that miserable “sequel”Book of Shadows).
The 2016 movie begins the same way the 1999 film opened up: Some silly students go to Burkittsville, Maryland to, not only look for the Blair Witch, but to also find James’ sister Heather who went missing in the first Blair Witch. James (James Allen McCune) has been searching the internet and all the found footage for any hint of his sister’s existence and finally has found an image of a woman shrouded in dirt and blood. With this information, he packs up his not-a-girlfriend-but a girlfriend Lisa (Callie Hernandez La La Land), who also happens to be a film student who wants to document everything (surprise! not a surprise). Along for the trek is his best friend Peter (Brandon Scott), who had been a part of the search team that desperately tried to find Heather way back when, and his girlfriend Ashley (Corbin Reid). They decide to meet up with a local and his girlfriend who claim to be experts of the woods where the Blair Witch resides and want to come along for the ride.
Once this plot has been setup and, if you have seen the first, you can already guess what happens next: loud noises that are reminiscent of the usual horror scare nowadays, jump scares, shaky camera work (anyone who sits in the first 3 rows of the theater: be warned), and so many scenes that remind you of the first film.
This is why the Blair Witch is disappointing. There are so many scenes that remind the viewer: Hey. Different names, Better technology. Crystal clear camera work. Same film. Being a horror fan, I long to see something completely original or even re-imagined. This really does not evoke any new scares or thrills. Yes, it seems the woods are now growing out of one of the hiker’s legs because they cut themselves while crossing a stream. Yes, there is a lot more gore than the original (which isn’t difficult since I can only remember one scene in the original that was gross).
That being said, there are redeeming qualities to this flick that were not in the first film. Who knew the Witch or the Woods could bend time, space, the sun rising or setting(the first showed them running in circles but not like this). Who knew it/they could infect someone who simply cuts themselves on a rock in the woods? The last 15-20 minutes were the highlight of the film. It’s almost like the filmmakers/writers looked at each other and said: let’s give them the Blair Witch’s house and show them how trapped they really are. Shame they decided to show that at the end since it is a concept that most definitely could have been explored (and with viewers wanting to see more of the inside of the house: why not?).
It can be said that the director Adam Wingard (You’re Next) tried to correct the main complaint from movie goers with the first one: Stop the shaky cam and show more action. The problem is: that is what made The Blair Witch so wonderful. Yeah, it made us a bit ill. It wasn’t a perfect story or film. The acting was subpar, the film was longer than it should have been, and there was barely any gore in the flick. That made it great. That made it the godfather and creator of the found footage genre. While watching this film, all I could think was: wow, pretty sure I saw that in the first. Wow, even though we are looking over found footage, their camera work is crystal clear and positioned perfectly.
This doesn’t make the film a bad horror film. As a stand alone story, it is quite good. It just happens that if you have seen the original, don’t expect anything really original from this one.
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