Blair Witch (if you've seen it)

Factual Questions
1

I just saw the movie today, and personally, I don’t think it was as scary as everyone said it was. I mean, there were some very frightening things put here and there (especially the end), but the rest of the stuff seemed like comedy to me… I dunno, maybe I’m too stupid to be scared.

So… does anything know what thing that she found in bundle of twigs was? I thought I saw an eyeball, but what was that pink thing?

I’m ready to meet Him
‘Cause where I’m livin’ ain’t right
Black hate white
White hate black
It’s right back to the same fight…

–DMX

2

You are right, its not very scary. But thats the idea, not show gross stuff and keep the viewer engrossed. This part, I think worked.

I didnt get the last scene though. The Witch kills the second guy and then goes after the girl when there someone at the corner of the stairs. Who the heck is that?
>So… does anything know what thing that she found in bundle of twigs was? I thought I saw an
> eyeball, but what was that pink thing?

I think that was his tongue.

3

I thought it might have been a nose. Some others have thought it to be a tooth.

Like the person shooting it on video, the audience is not supposed to figure it out.

4

I was a little disappointed because the antihype had really gotten my expectations up. My take is that the stuff in the bundle were several of Joshes teeth. The bit at the end confused me at first, it looked like he was taking a leak, but then I thought about the story that the hermit had taken the children into the basement by twos and made one stand in the corner while he killed the other. I’m thinking that Heather died before Mike (I really didn’t like her very much, so that’s ok). Or I could be way offbase,
Larry

5

More than scary, I thought it was creepy…really really freakin’ creepy. In fact, I can’t think of another movie that creeped me out as much as this one did. If I was lost in the woods and stuff like that happened to me, I’d be mortified.

Here’s my take on the questions:
I was also wondering what was in the cloth. I thought I saw a finger and a nose and maybe lips.

I think Mike died first. You hear the clunk after he ran down the stairs and his camera falls. Heather runs down the stairs and Mike is standing in the corner somehow propped up (thru supernatural forces?) which harkens back to the Rustin Parr story. Then, clunk! Down goes Heather with her camera.

I think my enjoyment of the film (well, “enjoy” isn’t exactly the right word) was enhanced by first seeing “The Curse of the Blair Witch” on the SciFi Channel.

Anyway, I think it lived up to the hype.

6

I think Mike died first. You hear the clunk after he ran down the stairs and his camera falls. Heather runs down the stairs and Mike is standing in the corner somehow propped up (thru supernatural forces?) which harkens back to the Rustin Parr story. Then, clunk! Down goes Heather with her camera.
>>>>>>>>>>>>

I thought he was hanging there… One more thing… was Josh the one who kicked the pile of rocks over towards the beginning? 'cause that would explain why he was the first to go and why he got that ‘slime’ on his stuff.

7

I JUST saw it, and I’m a little creeped out, which is why I’m on-line at 12:30 instead of in bed when tomorrow is payroll.

I thought Mike was hanging at first, because I’d seen what looked like a noose hanging from the ceiling when they first go into the house, but then I remembered the hermit story, and figured he was standing in the corner. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be the same house-- the hermit’s house, I mean, because of the handprints.

I couldn’t tell what was in the handkerchief, but the guy I saw it with is sure they were teeth.

This movie was very, very creepy, but then, things like that scare me. Slasher films just bore me, really. I think the scariest thing I ever saw was Twin Peaks. (Of course being stoned probably added the right touch of paranoia.)

The movie reminds me of a quote from the director of Vampyr, another very creepy, non-gory film.

He said something to the effect that if you are sitting in a room, and after a while, someone tells you that in the next room there is a dead body, your whole perception of the room you are in changes. He said this is the kind of feeling he wants in his films.

I think Blair Witch captures this very well.

I remember once I was playing frisbee in an old cemetery, on a bright summer’s day, and my friend Mark and I were looking at the stones, some which had kind of funny epitaphs.

Then after a couple of hours, we came across a grave that looked just used-- as though there had been a recent burial-- fresh earth on top. The thing was, the headstone gave a death date of ten years earlier.

After that, we weren’t having fun anymore and decided to leave.

Anyway, Blair Witch was very creepy.

–Rowan
Shopping is still cheaper than therapy. --my Aunt Franny

8

Rowan says, “…another very creepy, non-gory film.”

One of my favorites of this type was always Jacob’s Ladder. It’s been a long time since I saw it, so there may be more gore than I am remembering now, but I sort of recall that its horror came about in other ways than gore.

I’ve always preferred that to films that achieve their horror through gore, which seems like a cheap crutch.

k0myers

9

Okay, it’s now 4:20 AM New York time. I walked away from the movie saying ‘hey, that was actually kinda funny’. But now, as you can probably tell, I’m bugging out. Every little sound is freaking the heck outta me. Anyway, I’m taking back what I said about it not being all that scary.

10

I thought they were teeth in the bundle.
And I’m sure the guy was standing in the corner at the end. For me, that was key to making that last scene so creepy, the way it referred back to the story of the killer making one kid stand in the corner while he killed the other. It’s immaterial that he was bonked on the head before Heather; the bonk didn’t have to kill him, and besides a supernatural witch could stand his ass up again if she wants.
I think whether people get that last scene is often the difference between people loving this movie or hating it.
I also thought the movie wasn’t as “scary” as I’d heard, but I loved it. And it’s the first movie in a long time that gave me the creeps just before going to bed that night. That last scene flashed through my mind as I lay down and I thought, “Geez, I wish I hadn’t just thought of that.”
– Greg, Atlanta

11

OK, it’s the next morning, and I still have the creeps big time. Went through the house and locked EVERY window last night.

I also have more questions, for people who live in Esat, or people who studied folklore.

What was up with the effigies? Ben said “If we were from New England, we’d probably know.” I reminded him that I am from New York, which resulted in a brief argument about whether Manhattan is culturally part of New England.

Anyway, what is their significance, other than the fact that they are very creepy, and kinda look like a bunck of hanged people?

I’ve been pondering why Josh was taken first, and I can’t think of a particular reason (other than the rocks), except that since Heather was the one obsessed with filming, if she’d gone first, it would have been the end of the movie.

Also, as to why they all “had” to die-- do you remember the fishermen’s story about the hermit? He said the reason one kid was standing in the corner was that the hermit didn’t like all those eyes on him. Well, the filmmakers had their “eyes on him” in a big way.

–Rowan
Shopping is still cheaper than therapy. --my Aunt Franny

12

rowan and ragin’ azn: thanks for being the test subjects. Based on your progressive creeped out accounts, i’m not planning on see it.

Sound of Music, anyone?

13

OK, so Mike got hit first. That’s all we know. Then he was propped in the corner like in the Rustin Parr (the hermit) folklore. Creepy creepy!

Oh! If you go to http://www.burkittsville.org, you can get a free mail alias of <username>@burkittsville.org.

14

I just thought I would throw this out in answer to what the bloody things are in the bundle. This is from A & E’s Blair Witch site:

http://tbwp.freeservers.com/spoiler.html

"What’s in the bundle of sticks Heather finds outside the tent?

The bundle of sticks contains teeth. It’s also tied with strips of Josh’s shirt. Obviously bad news for everyone, especially Josh…"

I just saw the movie last night and I am still creeped out. I was wide awake and spooked from about 4 to 5 this morning! Ugh!

15

I saw it yesterday and must say that it was one smart, creepy movie. As a marketer, I’ve got to hand it to the way these guys have spun their own buzz through the use of the internet; whether you like it or not, you’ve got to admit it was a stroke of genious.

My theory on what’s in the bundle: probably teeth and hair, but it doesn’t really matter…it’s some part or parts of Josh’s body and that’s bad enough. The whole point of this movie is that you never actually see the menace…that’s what makes it so smart and creepy. Think about it, if you thought that was some part of a friends body, you would’nt want to dwell on it or give it extensive study.

Who’s in the corner?: Mike; doesn’t really matter if he’s dead or alive. It brings the whole thing full circle to the hermit’s story. I give it a hefty 10 on the creep-o-meter.

16

::crying:: Damn my motion sickness! I tried watching this movie last week and had to leave 40 minutes into it because I couldn’t handle the camera work. Now I read posts like these and want to see the movie more than ever but I will NEVER be able to see it!

17

Rowan, re: why Josh was taken first.

First, there’s the rocks that he knocked over, but I also think it was effective to make him the first victim because he had become the de facto leader of the trio.

Heather’s the pushy bitch in charge of the project (great character…everyone’s met someone like her) but Josh is the one who was the balance between her and the just-on-the-edge-of-babbling-incoherently Mike.

Josh was the glue that held them together; take him out and it just increases the terror experienced by the other two.

18

“Creepy” is definitely the adjective that is called for here. I think the makers of this film have gotten more bang for their buck than any other film in history. Not only is this film a masterpiece of motion picture art, but it is also a masterpiece of entrepenuership.

Just one quibble:

Did anyone else feel that the trio’s complete lack of survival skills was a little unbelievable? I consider myself a competent outdoorsman, so I’m not suprised that I kept noting all their mistakes. My wife on the otherhand has no experience at all in these matters, and her common sense alone brought her to all the same conclusions. I mean, how hard is it to follow running water to civilization?

19

Yeah, Papa, following the river to a town seemed logical to me too. The only possible explanation I can think of is that, though they were terrified, they hadn’t gotten into “total survival” mode, where all you think about is staying alive - also evidenced by the fact that they were still carrying around all the equipment and packs.

(Although, if they’d dropped the cameras there wouldn’t have been any more movie…)

20

Not very…except when you’re in the Twilight Zone cue music

Actually, they had a compass and they were walking south the whole time according to Heather who had the compass. Personally, I would have done the same thing if I had a compass…picked a direction and kept going in it. Somehow, even though they kept going south according to the compass, they ended up right back at that log they’d crossed at the beginning of the day. I don’t think they were stupid. I think they had the witch working against them.

Remember when Heather started crying and saying,“We’ve been walking south all fucking day, I swear to god! That’s not the same log. It can’t be,” or some such thing?