But aside from a few minor occurrences early on, the horror element goes from zero to one hundred about forty percent of the way through – and due to some time bending on the witch’s part, the movie takes place at night for the rest of its running time. The slow-and-steady pace of the group’s descent into hopelessness creates a suffocating sense of inevitability that remains just as – if not more – effective on repeat viewings.īlair Witch is efficient in its setup, quickly introducing the cast of characters and sending them into the woods soon after. In the first few scenes after the trio finds themselves lost, they’re more annoyed than scared – but that changes with each night they’re forced to spend in the woods. The interviews with the local townsfolk, along with the introductions of our soon-to-be stranded protagonists, establish a subtly foreboding atmosphere.
The first third of The Blair Witch Project isn’t particularly eventful, but it’s never boring. Note: This analysis contains spoilers for both films. I decided to analyze them based on how they each handled specific elements of their respective stories. When compared to one another, the two feel like how-to and how-not-to guides for making a horror movie. The Blair Witch Project is quite the opposite: lacking in jump scares but filled with deeply psychological horror.
Blair Witch feels momentary it’ll make you jump a few times in the theater, but it won’t keep you up at night. But more than anything the sequel reminded me just how amazing the first one was, and it was easy to see why. It was entertaining enough, and had a few genuinely tense moments. My expectations weren’t high when I saw the new Blair Witch movie, so I wasn’t too disappointed.