Made from basically a shoestring budget, two student filmmakers created a horror mockumentary that rocked the movie world from the ground up. Loved by many, hated by others and creating a cult following, "The Blair Witch Project" is truly an innovational movie within it's own. In the movie, we follow three film students who decide to make a documentary called "The Legend of Blair Witch". Upon their filming, they venture into a deserted forest to seek a mythical graveyard of the Blair Witch victims and soon find themselves lost within the large woods and begin to discover that they themselves are being hunted by a mysterious supernatural force.

I had heard about this when it first came out and became very curious as to what I might see. Not surprisingly, this became a huge hit and soon was released nationally in theatres. What I saw was a true ingenious horror movie. First off, the entire movie is composed of footage as seen from the eyes of the character's camcorder's as they meet, greet, and venture on their own. There's good editing and very good chemistry between the characters. Inevitably, the mood changes and shifts completely into this isolated wooded area where the characters get lost; soon walking in circles, turning on each other, and descending into utter madness and desperation.

The good thing about this is that, we feel threatened throughout the movie, and so do the characters who are being hunted by an unseen force, but we never do see it. The filmmakers leave it up to us to decide what it is, and it works very well. The performances from each of the characters is great, especially from newcomer Heather Donahue whom perfectly hones in on her character's varying emotional states and shifts with such tenacity. The dialogue is realistic and there are no long drawn out monologues between them. When they begin to realize they're never getting home alive, they soon begin fantasizing about their last meals, which seemed very realistic. The atmosphere is excellent with the woods where the majority of the movie takes place. Everything seems so closed in and isolating that after a while, you begin to get desperate. The characters are likeable so when something happens to them, you feel remorseful.

The movie tends to drag in certain parts which is surprising deeming this is only an hour and a half movie to begin with. Sometimes the camera is too shaky and certain scenes are so dark, it's tough to distinguish certain shapes and colors. Though, a lot of the situations are realistic, they are also a bit mundane and dull, making it a little tough to pay attention.

Certain people might hate it, certain people might love it. I love it for it's ingenuity, cutting edge style and very tense situations. It's a gem.