A worldwide phenomenon, a record-breaking box office smash and hands down one of the most ingeniously marketed movies in modern cinema, The Blair Witch Project is without a doubt an iconic 90s movie. For those who actually fell for the hoax, got caught up in the hype or were willing to suspend disbelief, The Blair Witch Project was an ingenious less is more achievement in terror; scaring the pants off its audience (who can forget that jittering mess that was the reporter at Cannes?) with a stripped down fairytale focusing on three babes lost in the woods.
For those who may have been living under a rock on the moon during the end of the 21st century, The Blair Witch Project is a mock documentary that focuses on three student filmmakers who travel deep into the woods near Burkittesville, Maryland, in search of the mythical Blair Witch. While initially sceptical of the local legend, Heather, Josh and Mike gradually begin to notice that something is amiss in them there woods, and as tensions rise, the three filmmakers start to realise that they may not be getting out of this forest alive.
Very much a film of its time (indeed, probably the best way to have watched it would have been on a grubby pirate VHS purchased from a mysterious vendor in a far away land way before the hype and the cinema release), Blair Witch has of course lost much of its power since word first began leaking from the web, and certainly, this hi-def version brings nothing new to the experience. Ultimately, as the visuals and audio are supposed to be rough around the edges and amateurish, whats the point in upgrading from DVD (or even video, right?).
Still, theres something to be said for the film when even after all the hype, all the backlash, that dreadful sequel and 11 years of far more graphic horror, The Blair Witch Project still manages to pack a punch. We know these are actors and we know its not real, but when that tent shakes in the darkness, those fears come right back to haunt you all over again. Genius.
Overall Verdict: An iconic, stripped down masterstroke in terror. But in hi-def? Really?
Special Features:
Director/Producer Commentary
Alternate Endings
Curse of the Blair Witch Featurette
Discovered Footage
The Blair Witch Legacy Featurette
Trailers
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths