Blair Witch (if you've seen it)

Factual Questions
41

Personally, I was more creeped by the web page; of course, I looked it up before I spent two nights in a forest of piping at my industrial workplace. The film was good, but it was good like a new local band and I think the hype raised my expectations unfairly.

Thirty minutes into the film, I turned to my wife and said “These people are so stupid they deserve to die!” Sorry, but I just couldn’t feel any sympathy for the characters, considering how unskilled, immature and petty they were portrayed. Did anyone else have this response? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe at 34 I’m just too old.

42

Cornflake: Yes. Review the thread to see who felt the same.

Well, I just looked at the Yahoo Auction site under Blair Witch. People are bidding extrordinary amount of money just for anything that is described as “rare” or “hard to find” even if it isn’t. There’s a poster going for $130 that I bought this weekend for $6. I saw the comic book for $3 at a local store and people are bidding upwards of $30 for it. There are a few unusual things but most of the stuff they’re auctioning off is readily available.

Check it out: http://search.auctions.yahoo.com/search/auc?p=blair+witch

Man, I’m missing my chance to rip people off.

43

{{{Me? Yes, but it’s been a week or so since I’ve been there. Why, is there something there you want me to look at in particular or are you just asking me/everyone?—topolino}}}

It was meant more for those who haven't seen it yet.

Interestingly germane to the remarks of earlier, just handed to me is a front-page article in today's Los Angeles Times--"Internet Powers Success of 'Blair Witch Project.'" There are some interesting numbers here:

Total domestic box office (through Monday): $36.1M(illion)
Per-screen average: $26,500 (exceeds Star Wars Episode 1, @ $22,000 psa)
Original film cost: $50,000 spent by Haxan Films (Artisan spent $341,000 on sound re-mixing and enhancements to the film itself)
Purchase price: $1.1M (Sundance Film Festival--1999)
Projected Gross: $100M plus
Additional costs: $15M on prints and advertising, of which most was delayed until after the movie opened.
Web site activity: 63M hits (since the site came up, in April '99)
Current distribution: 1000 theaters, with plans to double that figure this weekend.
Original distribution: 27 single-screen art houses
Collateral deals: F/X Channel buys the film for $10M and merchandising is generating brisk revenues. There is, supposedly, a soundtrack. Evidently, each of the filmmakers stand to reap on the order of $2M each, via a profit-sharing contract with Artisan. Deals are in the works between Haxan Films (the original creators of Blair Witch) and 20th Century Fox Television, Inc., as well as Regency Television, Inc.

In general the appeal seems to be based on, well, here's the quote from Eduardo Sanchez: "People are being scared by it--and not 'Hollywood' scared. They're having nightmares. There's this side effect to watching the film and people are digging that."

This wasn't a movie made by a major player in the industry. It was literally made by 5 nearly starving guys, who took a gamble that paid off. I *like* that!

I'll go check it out, just to satisfy my curiousity as to technique, etc.
"....Aye Captian, engaging lurking device."

------------------
--**Kalél**
(The Original **EnigmaOne**)
44

Ah, thank you. I just saw the movie today and thought it was terrible!..but now that I see the connection, with the standing in the corner/hermit thing, I have a lot more respect for it. I should have been paying attention to those weird people at the beginning and their stories! Too busy hitting my talkative friend over the head. I know there were teeth, I saw those…but those were shown when she pulled back the cloth a little more…what were the FIRST two/three things she saw, that she looked at forever? They didn’t look like teeth, those were pink…gums?

“Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” --1984

45

Undead Dude, don’t bother trying to go camping in Burkittsville. The town and its surrounding area are reportedly crawling with campers and tourists already.
Some of those people are fans who just want to look for places they recognize from the movie. Others are frickin’ idjits who still think the movie is non-fiction, and are looking for ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump in the night.

My biggest gripe about the movie: people now have a fresh reason to associate the word “witch” with an evil force that stalks around killing people. Witchcraft is a religion, not a psychosis.

46

>>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.<<

I apologize if this is a bit outdated, but I just saw the movie today and absolutely agree with this point. Most of the people in the theater were disappointed at the conclusion and seemed to expect more. We have all heard about the ending and watch the film anticipating what will occur. Maybe someone can build up expectations too high and miss the whole point. One guy blurted out, about halfway through, “This is boring.” Well, perhaps if he would listen to the stories at the beginning of the picture instead of yawning, he’d be able to make a connection.

I haven’t seen any mention here about the incident during one night when the camera follows a strange figure running away. It’s dressed in white, with a kind of hood on its head (like a Klansman). And what was that strange bellowing just before they opened the tent and chased into the night? It sounded like a female voice. Was that Heather and if so why would she make those sounds?

47

I think that Mike was hit on the head, but not killed right away…I think the killer hit him then moved him to stand in the corner somehow and then kill Heather when she came down…and killed Mike afterwards. Like the HErmit…and yeah I think there is a very good chance that house was the Hermit’s.

now, I am not really sure what was in the cloth, it looked to me like a tongue that was first shown, but I know there were other things in there…My fiance says he thought there was an eye in there and something else.

now on the following the running water…Heather did say that someone was okay with following the river, but the other one didn’t want to follow the river(I can’t remember which one said they didn’t want to follow the river). But who knows what would have happened if they followed the river anyway…I still don’t think they would have made it out of there alive.

that was a very creepy movie…and I do think you feel nausious(sp??) because of the camera…even though I do not get motion sick from anything else…I was very freaked when I got home…and I just sat listening to music for a long time after getting home from the movie…and kept on feeling like someone was watching me…I think I would like to see the movie again…thought this time I will take some kinda motion sickness pill before I go…so I can actually enjoy the movie instead of hateing my headache.

–LiZa JaNe :wink:

48

I had some more thoughts come to me over the past few hours. First, like the original poster here, initially I did not, and still now, do not feel afraid. But as the sun lowers in the sky and night creeps on, maybe I will also begin to feel a little more anxious. This just remains to be seen.

But the genius of this movie is in the psychology of it. Blood and gore horror has its place but after a while people tend to become desensitized. So the creators have to come out with new ways to corner us. That ending is a masterpiece. There is no definite answer as to what exactly happened and that mystery increases the power of it. Why the hell would a grown man submit and stand in the corner like a child? What made him do it? Was he dead, hypnotized, overwhelmed by some unseen witch…?

In my opinion, the house definetly was the one where the hermit’s killings took place. And the movie’s ending replays those tragedies. But after checking the website and reading the story of this particular legend, I learned something else(unless I missed this in the movie). In the theather I seemed to understand that the killer killed a certain number of children, putting one in the corner while killing another and then turning to him or her. But on the website, there is only one boy who is put in the corner while the madman kills the rest. This boy is eventually released. He survives but eventually becomes insane. What significance could this have?

A little tidbit I picked up which may not even be worthy of mention but I’ll throw it out anyway: Before the three go into the forest, Heather struggles with her gear. Mike films her and says, “I’d like to help you be but I want to keep recording.” Ironically (I guess) he is the one who becomes annoyed that Heather continues filming, when everything is turning black.

Also, maybe I’m the only one who feels this way (from what I’ve read here so far) but I definetly felt sorry for the group. I didn’t think Heather was snobby or bitchy. After the pressure starts mounting, and they hear “things” in the night and they are going in circles and on and on, I don’t know too many people who would not be at each other’s throats. Finally, I couldn’t help but think of the families that saw the upper two-thirds of a weeping Heather, apologizing and accepting fault, and essentially conceding the fact that they were near their end.

What about her comment that she is too afraid to close her eyes and too afraid to open them? In other words, there is no escape.

49

I saw the movie last night and thought it was good but not great.

I think there are two things that hurt the movie:

  1. Even if you remain spoiler free before seeing the movie the open text reveals that the three are going to die. This makes it more difficult to get worked up as they are being chased because we already know the end. However, if they had of simply stated “In October of 1994, three students from whatever college went into the woods near Burkitsville, MD to make a documentary about the Blair Witch. This is their footage.” Now, we do not know whether they will live of not … it makes things much more suspenseful (sp).

  2. The ending requires you to remember a single (non-repeated) piece of dialogue at the start of the movie. When the movie was done, I heard quite a few people asking each other why Mike was standing in the corner? I would have mad sure that the fact that the killer made one child stand in the corner while the other was killed repeated a few times to make sure everybody got it.

Other that that the movie was quite good, especially if you throw of your disbelief and put yourself in their shoes.

I would give it an 7.5 to 8/10.

50

Excellent point, bernard. I feel that the filmmakers should have added a scene 'bout halfway through the movie where the director steps out from behind a tree and says “Now, for all you folks who weren’t paying attention to the preceding material, we’re going to do a short recap of the dialogue pertinent to an understanding of the climax of our story. All viewers who were actually listening to the filmn up to this point, or are not blithering idiots, may repair to the lobby for the next five minutes to enjoy a smoke or a bag of fresh, hot, buttered popcorn.”

Uke

51

Looks like there are lots of questions. I think the best site for answers is http://tbwp.freeservers.com Go to the FAQ, it has all the answers I was looking for, and they seem pretty accurate.

52

Based on what I’ve been reading through this whole thread, I’m not planning on seeing it either, but it has nothing to do with how frightening it’s supposed to be…it’s simply that jittery camera work is something I cannot and will not abide.

“High on a hill stood a lonely goatherd…”

53

Those of you who are planning on not seeing it because of the camera work should reconsider. If you’re a horror fanatic, which I’m not, or a film fanatic, which I am, this is definitely a milestone in both respects, and shoudn’t be overlooked because of the camera work (which is a bit shakey, but doesn’t take away from the film).

Dr. P. “You can’t fake the funk.”

54

quote

I haven’t seen any mention here about the incident during one night when the camera follows a strange figure running away. It’s dressed in white, with a kind of hood on its head (like a Klansman).

Uhh, that was Josh in a light colored sweat jacket (I believe the right-pondians call them ‘jumpers’). Heather couldn’t quite keep up with him because her boots were untied and threatening to flop off of her feet.

Stephen
http://stephen.fathom.org
Satellite Hunting 1.1.0 visible satellite pass prediction shareware available for download at
http://stephen.fathom.org/sathunt.html

55

I think that the Blair Witch was some kind of possessing spirit, not an actual physical form. Thus, Josh wasn’t abducted, he was possessed. This would explain how he could disappear without waking the others. The witch would then use Josh to carry out the physical results of the rest of the movie (self mutalation, his voice in the distance, the two murders at the end,etc). Also with reguards to the trio getting lost, this spirit, while much weaker during the day, could still influence the trio enough to keep them lost(or to throw away the map for no reason).

56

Interesting take, 9Amber! I just saw it last night so I hadn’t read this thread at all until today. Until your post, nothing was mentioned about whose voice they were responding to at the end (hard to believe it could’ve been Josh given the contents of the flannel outside the tent). To me it looked like a tongue, a finger, and two eyeballs, but I’ll take A&E’s word for it. When I saw the movie, even though one of the interviewees mentions one victim standing in the corner while the other is killed, I thought Mike presented the posture of being hung there with his feet barely touching the ground. I also thought their survival skills failed to employ logic and common sense, but I also run a hiking club so maybe I’m not one to ask. Matt should’ve been thrown in the creek himself after confessing what he did with the map.

After watching the movie, I got some great ideas for some practical jokes to play on our next backpacking trip. I’ll just have to remember to bring some twine, torn flannel, and some chicken parts. The stones and sticks are already out in the woods! MuahahahHAHAHAHA!!!

57

For those of you who had a problem with motion sickness and were unable to watch the movie in the theater (Michelle? Where are you?), it is being released to home video on VHS and DVD on Oct. 22. Even if you have a bad motion sickness problem, your TV occupies a much, much smaller proportion of your field of view, so there shouldn’t be a problem.