I was pleasantly surprised at what I was watching when watching this movie. It is a gem to behold. The movie’s animated style is probably the most unique of the movie as it fits well with the fifties pop aesthetic. Many of the characters look very similar to the style of folks like Chuck Jones or Bob McKimson, offering a new innovative style that sets it apart from other animated movies.
Made on a shoestring budget, “The Blair Witch Project” is truly an innovative movie in its own right, and while it didn’t invent the mock documentary format, it sure does a great job telling a spooky story with it. In Eduardo Sanchez’s hit indie horror film, we follow three film students who decide to make a documentary called “The Legend of Blair Witch,” based on a mythical witch who haunted the woods in the early 1900’s. Upon their filming and learning about the local lore, they venture into a deserted forest to seek a mythical graveyard of the Blair Witch victims, and soon find they are lost within the large area of trees and grass.
This was a sleeper hit when it first premiered; not overly advertised but still made an impact at the box-office. The plot is very original and one of a kind considering the tripe that was released at the time this was. Newcomer Haley Joel Osment gives an unbelievable performance as Cole giving all the wide-eyed enthusiasm and innocence of a kid while also being able to display a terrifying presence when he experiences these horrifying scenes in which he learns his gift. He often seems so vulnerable and terrified in this, that you instantly feel for him. I think the movie is symbolic on how a young innocent boy can tend to experience the horrors of the world at an early age, as does Osment’s character as he rapidly loses his innocence in the movie make a character transition towards the end, better understanding what he was meant to be.
It’s really hard to explain this plot because it’s very confusing. Just read the plot summary above. I’ll just tell you the subplot I know. This goes back about 30 years from the original Star Wars, Obi-wan Kenobi known as a Jedi master is just a Jedi apprentice, His teacher is Qui-Gonn Jinn who is a new character, Yoda is younger, The evil Lord Darth Vader is just a small rambunctious scamp who is a slave on his home planet. So Qui-gonn and Kenobi get stranded on the planet where the Evil Darth Maul is hunting them. They discover the boy, Qui-Gonn can sense the force in Anakin, But Kenobi is against it.