Blair Witch: Triple Feature Special (spoilers)

Many went into this film thinking it was a true documentary.

*Please note that this review is not spoiler free!!!

The Blair Witch Project, released in the summer of 1999, would make a huge impact on the way movies are filmed and how they are promoted. Since it was released, the found -footage style has become popular in both the horror and sci-fi genres. The deceptive marketing of films being true or based on true events (even if they were not) would also go on to be used by other famous films (ex. Paranormal Activity). While most of us laugh when looking back at how dramatic The Blair Witch Project is, there is absolutely no way you can deny how important it has proven itself to be in the movie industry. 

A sequel would quickly be put together after the unexpected success of BWP. Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows would be released a little over a year later in 2000. Lacking everything that made the original great and being plagued with both horrible acting and a predictable, uninteresting storyline, Book of Shadows is both a total failure and total bore-fest. 

So much cringe.

A decade and a half later, in the midst of a movie industry that seems completely drained of new, original ideas, 2016's Blair Witch would attempt to do what its predecessor could not. It manages to be better than Book of Shadows, but considering how bad Blair Witch 2 is, that really is not much of a compliment. The majority of the film, like the original, is spent trying to build up a mood of desperation and absolute terror. Unfortunately, it fails in its efforts to do this and wastes a little over an hour of your time with boring and stereotypical horror tropes. It picks up a little near the end, but nothing that happens is new and leaves you wondering if Blair Witch was instead trying to be a modern remake instead of a sequel.

The best part of the 2016 version, without a doubt.

A good part of what made The Blair Witch Project good was how realistic it was filmed (shakiness, blurry, etc..) and the effective, and once again realistic, usage of sound effects. The woods sounded like the woods and it looked like it was filmed by an amateur. None of this made it into either one of the sequels and if someone decided to try again, they definitely need to keep in mind these aspects.

Ratings:

The Blair Witch Project - 7.5/10

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 - 2/10

Blair Witch - 5/10

Buy/Stream:

The Blair Witch Project - Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Youtube

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 - Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Youtube

Blair Witch - Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, Vudu, Youtube