Review: BLAIR WITCH

The Blair Witch Project is a very divisive film among horror fans. It seems to be a love it or hate it kind of thing. Ever since I sat down in the theater with my Dad, 17 years ago on opening day  I have been in the love it camp. It is not a film for everyone, it never has been, but if you were able to watch that film under the correct circumstances and put yourself into the shoes of Heather, Josh and Mike, you were rewarded with quite a chilling viewing experience. Now, 17 years later, we return to the Black Hills Forest, courtesy of Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, the duo who brought us the recent horror hits You're Next and The Guest now bring us BLAIR WITCH.

Before I get started, yes, I am well aware of Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows. It was an interesting idea that ended up being a bust by most accounts. Book of Shadows was never the sequel anyone wanted, but the question remains, is Blair Witch the sequel fans have waited years for? For me the answer isn't as clear as I had hoped. Picking up 17 years after the original (and ignoring Book of Shadows) it follows the story of James Donahue (James Allen McCune), brother of Heather from the original. James has received some new footage found in the woods from a Blair Witch fanatic, that he believes may help him learn more about where his sister may be or what may have happened to her. So with his three friends Lisa (Callie Hernandez), Peter (Brandon Scott), and Ashley (Corbin Reid) in tow, along with the aforementioned Blair Witch fanatic Lane (Wes Robinson) and his girlfiend Talia (Valorie Curry)  he ventures into the woods, this time with much more advanced camera tech including things like a drone, and nifty blue tooth ear cameras. The group makes it to the entrance to the woods and before long set up camp and we wait for things to go horribly wrong.

Being a fan of the original Blair Witch Project, I enjoyed returning to this universe and was excited to see what new things we would learn about the already established mythos. The idea to have the film follow Heather's brother into the woods as he searches for answers, had me invested in things from the jump, since I too wanted answers. I know one of the best things about the original is it's somewhat ambiguous ending, we know things didn't end well for anyone, but we don't know exactly what happened to and or became of them. That definitely made the ending more frightening and haunting, however, this being a direct sequel to that film, I was hoping to learn much more about what the Blair Witch is and what she does. That for me aside from the creative team, was the main selling point of this film and for about halfway through, I thought that is what I was getting.

48 hours after seeing Blair Witch, it is still a difficult film for me to review, I feel like half of the movie does not only what it was supposed to do as a sequel, but also what I wanted it to. To a viewer who may not have much invested in the property, Blair Witch should still deliver an effective found footage horror film. Once it revs things up it surely delivers a few well orchestrated chills and thrills. Particularly one claustrophobic scenario comes to mind that freaked me out real good. The final act in particular is akin to experiencing a wild trek through a haunted house. It is fun and sometimes that is all a movie needs to be, except when it is something more than just another found footage horror movie. This isn't The Woods as the film was titled originally to hide the fact it was a sequel to Blair Witch. This IS the Blair Witch, and that is why this movie needed to do just a bit more than it does to really satisfy me.

My problem with it arises when the film fails to capitalize on or expand on the new ideas presented within, as well as not really expanding the story of the Blair Witch herself. I think the best way I can explain what I felt was wrong with it, is by comparing it to Alien and Aliens. The original Alien introduces us to the Xenomorph and it's life cycle. From Egg, to Face Hugger, to Chest burster, to full blown Xeno. Aliens gave us all of that and took things a step further by showing us where the eggs come from, introducing us to the Queen, while also exploring their hive like behavior. Now in comparison if The Blair Witch Project is Alien, then Blair Witch is unfortunately also Alien.

Aside from a few nifty new tricks the Witch has up her sleeve, we don't really learn much more about anything that we didn't already know. I don't want the Witch explained away into being not scary, but I want to know more, I want to know more about these new powers she is putting on display, Powers that were woefully left by the wayside instead of playing a bigger part in the climax that would have been a nice payoff. One in particular involving time and one characters perception to it was a great idea that went nowhere. I want to know more about the people of Burkittsville's reaction to the events of the first film. I also wanted them to utilize the advanced camera tech a bit more and incorporate it more into the story. The group has a drone on hand but it's potential for some creative shots or scares is sadly never realized and it only comes into play in one of the films more irrational scenes. Also remember that great final poster for the film, where we see the iconic "stickman" symbol made out of body parts and people? Nothing at all like that appears in the film, and something like that could have really help give the climax a bit more of a wow factor that was missing. The film's over reliance on jump scares is also to it's detriment. By not exploring all these things the film comes off as a bit of an update of the original, rather than a sequel that progresses the story. It plays things a bit too safe, which is strange coming from filmmakers who usually do the exact opposite.

For a fan that wants a lot more out of a sequel 17 years in the making, from a duo who's last two movies I have absolutely loved, Blair Witch fell short for me, as I was hoping for all the things listed above. It is a shame that the film did not really push some things further and maximiz the fact it is working with a property that has maintained a rather strong following. I still think there is a good horror movie here, I want to make that clear. I also think I might enjoy it more on a second viewing, knowing what to expect from it in a sense, where I can just then focus on it as it is and not what I wanted it to be. There are certainly some cool and clever moments throughout and it is definitely entertaining. This one though like the original will surely end up dividing audiences. Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett have made two of my absolute favorite films in recent years, and while this one didn't thrill me in the way I had hoped, I still have much faith that they will do so again in the near future. Speaking to my buddy Uncle TNUC after he saw it, he summed it up rather nicely. Blair Witch is "Pretty solid but nothing that "new" about it."