{"id":788,"date":"2017-01-07T14:35:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T19:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/?p=788"},"modified":"2017-05-04T09:36:48","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T14:36:48","slug":"blair-witch-2016-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/?p=788","title":{"rendered":"Blair Witch (2016) – Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bw_title\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Before I get into my thoughts on <\/span>Blair Witch<\/span><\/i> (2016), let me start off by saying that I\u2019m a big fan and staunch defender of <\/span>The Blair Witch Project <\/span><\/i>(1999). I remember seeing what looked like handmade missing-persons posters with pictures of the cast displayed at my local arthouse theater before the movie came out. This was also the early days of the Internet (at least for me it was), and I remember going to the Blair Witch website and being fascinated by the images and information I found there. I knew it was just a movie, but the marketing made the story feel immersive even before I ever watched it. Then, when I did get a chance to see the movie in the theater, I loved it. I thought it did a great job of making the audience feel like they were part of the action, and watching the characters go from joking to bickering to screaming felt natural in a way that I hadn\u2019t experienced before. Even all these years later, I still go back and watch it from time to time, and I still love it. It\u2019s just a great movie. Unfortunately, I can\u2019t say the same for the new <\/span>Blair Witch<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blair Witch<\/span><\/i> feels a lot like a remake of the original, but it\u2019s really a sequel. James Donahue, brother of Heather Donahue from the original movie, finds a video online that he thinks shows an image of his sister in a house in the woods near Burkittsville. James has been driven to find out what happened to Heather ever since she disappeared, and the appearance of new footage found in the Black Hills woods prompts him to take a trip there to see if he can find something more. His friend, Lisa, has decided to document James\u2019s search for her documentary class, and the two of them are joined by James\u2019s childhood friend Peter and Peter\u2019s girlfriend Ashley.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"James
James discusses the video he found online.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I really like the setup. Having the driving force be James\u2019s almost obsessive need to find closure for his sister\u2019s disappearance is a good excuse for having the characters choose to stay in the woods even when things start to get strange. It\u2019s also a nice nod to the original while still allowing the movie to feel like a standalone experience. Having Lisa be a film student is a convenient, but reasonable, excuse for having cameras running the whole time, and it\u2019s also an easy way to provide exposition. Lisa narrates pertinent background information and asks leading questions that would feel awkward and contrived if we didn\u2019t know she was making a documentary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before heading into the woods, the group meets with the person who found the video and posted it online. He\u2019s a Burkittsville resident named Lane, and he and his girlfriend Talia are amateur paranormal investigators interested in the Blair Witch. They offer to show James where in the woods they found the video, but only on the condition that he lets Lane and Talia tag along on their trip. Reluctantly, James agrees, and the six of them head out.<\/span><\/p>\n

From there, the story unfolds a lot like the original <\/span>Blair Witch Project<\/span><\/i>. While camping on the first night, the group hears unexplained noises in the distance. This is also where things start to get a little annoying. Rather than allowing the night scene to play out quietly in an attempt to build tension, the scene relies on multiple unneeded jump scares. A couple of times the scares come from a character apparently sneaking up on the person whose camera we\u2019re looking through at the time. What realistic reason could they have to be so quiet, only to make a noise when they step in front of the camera? Also, in at least one of those instances the second character has a camera as well, so the scare is simply a result of whoever edited this \u201creal\u201d footage deciding to add it in. Maybe it\u2019s just me, but stuff like that really pulls me out of the movie when we\u2019re supposed to be watching found footage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lisa
Lisa recovers after an unnecessary jump scare.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The immersion factor is one of my main complaints about <\/span>Blair Witch<\/span><\/i>. Lisa brings a bunch of cameras with her to the Black Hills woods, which makes sense since she\u2019s making a documentary, but all of those cameras allows for multiple cutaway options which makes this found footage movie feel more like a regular movie at times. The main four characters all have cameras clipped to their ears, and they always seem to have everyone perfectly framed. It feels odd and unrealistic, and at times it seems like the camera angles don\u2019t quite match where a character\u2019s head is actually pointing. As people get separated and start to disappear this becomes less of an issue, but it still allows for the option to cut from one person to another, killing any tension that might be building when someone is lost in the woods or running from whatever is following them. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the things that helped <\/span>The Blair Witch Project<\/span><\/i> was that there weren\u2019t many options to cut away. A lot of the time there were only one or two cameras going, so the only choices the editors had were to let a scene play out uninterrupted, or jump-cut to later. We were stuck in the scene along with the character. Framing was often bad, shots were sometimes blurry, and certain events happened off-camera. It made the movie feel real, like we were actually watching footage shot by people who were getting increasingly terrified. The footage in <\/span>Blair Witch<\/span><\/i> feels too slick, and the action often feels staged. We see everything happen fairly clearly, which would be fine in a regular movie, but it makes a found footage movie like this feel artificial. <\/span><\/p>\n

The sound in <\/span>Blair Witch <\/span><\/i>was also distracting. In a few scenes there\u2019s an atmospheric hum added in to build tension. Normally this would be fine, but again, it doesn\u2019t feel real. It doesn\u2019t feel like sounds that were actually caught by the cameras. Even though adding extra sound is a bit of a pet peeve of mine with found footage movies, I can forgive it since, yeah, the footage had to be edited together anyway. <\/span><\/p>\n

Other sounds are less forgivable. For example, at one point in the movie Ashley cuts her foot on something. The wound gets worse as time passes, and there are moments when the pain flares up. In these moments, regardless of where she is in relation to the camera, and regardless of whether she has her shoes on or not, there is a very loud noise that sounds like something getting cut or stabbed. The first time it happened I thought she had sliced off part of her foot, but no, it was just a mysteriously loud sound effect unmuffled by distance or footwear.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"03\"
Peter checks on Ashley’s noisy foot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It might sound like I\u2019m nitpicking, but these aesthetic issues are important for found footage movies. There needs to be a good reason to shoot a film in that style. I think emulating the feel of the original movie is a good enough reason, but if that style is used, then it must be adhered to in order to make the movie work. If it feels too much like it was planned and rehearsed, then it completely kills the mood. <\/span>Blair Witch<\/span><\/i> feels too planned and rehearsed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the look and feel, <\/span>Blair Witch <\/span><\/i>did try to add some new elements to the mystery of the curse. I like the effort and the originality, but the additions to the Blair Witch mythos didn\u2019t really work for me. There was an element of time distortion going on in the woods which was interesting. It could have been effective if it had been used subtly, but it became very obvious and blatant later in the movie, and it didn\u2019t really add much. There was also a kind of voodoo doll effect added to the stick figures, but it just felt like an excuse to add a cool special effect to the movie. Of course, these are opinions of preference, and other viewers might like the new elements. I just don\u2019t think they added anything substantial to the movie.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"04\"
Talia isn’t happy about the stick figures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I feel like there were also some missed opportunities for good character moments. For instance, there was some obvious tension between Peter and Lane. They argued a bit at one point, but I felt like they could have gone a lot further with the anger between the two of them as things got worse and people started blaming each other. There was also the opportunity for more to happen between Peter and Lisa. It\u2019s established early that Peter feels like Lisa is exploiting James for her documentary, but that tension never builds to anything. Overall, the characters didn\u2019t feel as developed as in the original. That said, I did like James and Lisa enough to care about what happened to them at the end of the movie. Also, I realize the original had half as many characters so there was more time to spend on each one, but still, there was definitely wasted potential in <\/span>Blair Witch<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

I think that sums up <\/span>Blair Witch<\/span><\/i> pretty well: wasted potential. The pieces were there for a good follow-up, but they just didn\u2019t come together. I\u2019m sure if this wasn\u2019t a sequel to <\/span>The Blair Witch Project<\/span><\/i> then I might have enjoyed it slightly more since I wouldn\u2019t feel the need to make so many comparisons, but even then I think it would just be an average found footage movie. The problems would still be there, but they might not feel as egregious without the original movie showing exactly why <\/span>The Blair Witch Project <\/span><\/i>is so good and why <\/span>Blair Witch <\/span><\/i>isn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rating<\/span><\/h3>\n

5 – Average<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n

Blair Witch <\/span><\/i>isn\u2019t terrible, but I have a hard time recommending it. I think fans of the original will be disappointed because it\u2019s not as good as <\/span>The Blair Witch Project<\/span><\/i>. Fans of found footage might like it, but it\u2019s hardly a standout entry in the genre. It feels like we\u2019ve seen this before, only better. That\u2019s because we have. A few times.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER WATCHING<\/u><\/b><\/h3>\n

Willow Creek<\/em><\/strong> (2013)
\n\"WillowWillow Creek<\/em> is written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and it feels a lot like a remake of\u00a0The Blair Witch Project.<\/em>\u00a0When\u00a0I first watched and reviewed<\/a> it, I think the similarities bothered me a little. Upon reflection, I like what\u00a0Willow Creek\u00a0<\/em>has to offer, and I think it’s one of the more memorable found footage movies. There are some very effective scenes, and I like the characters. If you’re looking to recapture the feeling of\u00a0The Blair Witch Project<\/em>, I think\u00a0Willow Creek<\/em> actually comes closer than\u00a0Blair Witch<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DETAILS<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Title: Blair Witch<\/em>
\nYear:\u00a02016
\nDirector:\u00a0Adam Wingard
\nWriter:\u00a0Simon Barrett
\nFeatured Cast:\u00a0James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Corbin Reid, Wes Robinson, Valorie Curry
\nRun Time: 89\u00a0minutes<\/p>\n

Availability: DVD, Blu-ray, VOD<\/p>\n

Watch the trailer for\u00a0Blair Witch<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

REFERENCES<\/span>
\nhttp:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1540011\/<\/a> (IMDB page)<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blair Witch is part remake and part sequel to The Blair Witch Project, but can it live up to the standard set by one of the most influential found footage movies ever made?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442,5],"tags":[367,365,371,370,372,66,369,368,366,374,373],"class_list":["post-788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-review","category-review","tag-adam-wingard","tag-blair-witch","tag-brandon-scott","tag-callie-hernandez","tag-corbin-reid","tag-found-footage","tag-james-allen-mccune","tag-simon-barrett","tag-the-blair-witch-project","tag-valorie-curry","tag-wes-robinson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=788"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":804,"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions\/804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lasttheater.cnjradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}