The Blair Witch Project (1999) (Movie Review)

   All throughout October, I’ve been reviewing some of the most iconic and influential horror movies of the 1990’s. Some of the early thrillers like “Misery” and “Silence of the Lambs” took the horror away from all the gimmicks previously established by horror filmmakers throughout the 70’s and 80’s, namely the violent sub-genera's that were kick-started by Wes Craven and John Carpenter. Thus, the horror genera was making mainstream success again. In my last review of the 1996 movie “Scream”, I obviously credited Wes Craven for adding a distinct twist to the slasher genera, but even with that said, it still wasn’t a land mark movie achievement. The first truly innovative horror film of the 90’s, and arguably the most popular event for the genera sense the 1978 classic “Halloween”, was a little mock-doc in 1999 titled “The Blair Witch Project”.

  Set in 1994, the mysterious legend of the Blair Witch attracted three young filmmakers to a small town in Maryland to shoot a documentary. The travelers venture into the woods where the supposed spirits dwell ... and none of them were ever seen again. Years later, the remaining pieces of the documentary project have been put together from the film and videotapes found scattered throughout the forest in which they disappeared. Does the existing film offer any real evidence of a supernatural presence, or does it even explain what happened to the three young filmmakers? That’s the movies gimmick ... whether or not any of this really happened. 

   Admittedly, the concept of found footage horror has been done to death, especially with the mainstream success of “The Paranormal Activity” franchise, but for the time, this was still a very clever concept ... to fool the audience in believing that what their watching is real. To be clear, “The Blair Witch Project” wasn’t the first film to utilize this concept, in fact there was a movie released a year earlier titled “The Last Broadcast”, which utilized the same formula. Even though this movie wasn't the first of the found footage horror movies, “The Blair Witch Project” is the one that became a house hold name for horror fans of the 90’s, and has sense been called a staple of the genera. Of course there was also a sequel in 2000 titled “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2”, but I have no interest in seeing it. Plus, it’s gained a reputation as one of the worst movie sequels of all time ... so why bother. In 2016 there was a reboot of sorts simply titled “Blair Witch”, and it was a half-way decent sequel/reboot, just not as good as the original. 

  Getting back on track with the original, I personally didn’t see the film when it premiered, and had sense become sick to death of the whole found footage genera all together. However, when I finally watched “The Blair Witch Project”, I noticed that it actually has two aces up its sleeve, which still allow the film to hold-up after all these years. One is that, despite the “real or not” gimmick, it still simulates a genuinely creepy experience, where you feel like you’re in the shoes of the missing filmmakers. None of “The Paranormal Activity” movies ever captured that same simulating feel ... at least not for me. The second and the most important thing that “The Blair Witch Project” got right ... at least for me ... is the setting. Even without the supernatural elements, being alone and lost in the woods is already a very terrifying concept, which is captured very well here. The forest itself feels like a labyrinth that is constantly changing, and it puts you in a state of paranoia, where you just want to get out of it. There’s a very effective moment in which we see these young filmmakers walk over 15 hours in a single day, only to find themselves at the exact same place they started that morning.  

  The forest setting also creates a foreboding atmosphere, where anything can happen, and something mysterious might be out there watching you. I also like that this film set-up a small community mythos surrounding the supernatural elements. We see interviews with people early on, who supposedly had supernatural encounters, and it peeks your interest to explore this forest yourself. It’s also a nice touch that the film takes place during October, that way we can see some amusing old-school Halloween decorations on display. While nothing supernatural ever happens, we get little details of strange oddities ... like piles of stones randomly lying around, branches all woven together to form voodoo dolls, and without question the most disturbing visual in the whole film ... the bloody hand-prints of children on a barren wall. These little touches give you the impression of something malevolent in the woods, and it starts to raise questions. Of course it’s the night time tent scenes that capture all the old school camp-fire scares perfectly, including eerie sounds, and the power of one’s imagination filling the dark void for what might be out there. On a side note, I like the crappy quality of the camera, making it feel like real found footage.    

   Now, I’m not going to lie, the first 30 minutes or so of this movie are really hard to sit through.

This film gets off to a boring start, and obviously we need to set things up, but these three teenagers are very annoying, and hard to put up with. Their dialogue, while very natural, is also very repetitive, and it gets grading to hear them make the same statements over and over again. Once the crew gets very lost in the woods, I slowly found myself more and more invested in their situation. Now, while the characters are mostly interchangeable, I do want to give some serious credit to actress Heather Donahue, who’s performance is outstanding. When she got scared I believed it 100%. She felt very genuine, natural and full of nervous energy. Of course, the most famous scene of the film is when Heather Donahue has her big break down and confesses her fear that nobody will survive. It’s downright unbearable to watch, and the longer the camera holds on her face, the more I want to grab a tissue and wipe that runny nose of hers. I really wish this moment would have been the final scene of the film, but it wasn't. As we go into the films climax, the last two members of the group find themselves in an old abandoned house. They run around the different floors, we see those creepy hand prints on the walls, the camera falls over, and then the movie abruptly ends, which has got to be one of the most frustrating finales I’ve ever seen. It’s as if the movie didn’t know how to end, so it just pulled the plug on itself, which is far more annoying then scary. Had the turned over camera segued into Heather's big breakdown from earlier, I think that would have been the perfect, ammonias note to close the film on. 

     

  So, how does this film really hold up after all these years? Well, I usually prefer seeing the danger on screen, but I can’t deny the power of keeping the scary material off-screen. In this film, there are no monsters jumping out of the dark or knife-wielding maniacs with a grudge against teenagers. Instead, there is a relentless, slow build of mystery and paranoia which the viewer must endure alongside the travelers, as we’re forced to see it all unfold through their eyes. Unfortunately, even with that said, I’ve still seen other horror films that I felt were far more effective at scaring me with nothing on screen.

Both the 1942 classic “Cat People”, and the 2002 thriller “The Others” had the same understanding of “less is more”, but I also felt that I got more complete movies from them, with interesting themes and subtext. “The Blair Witch Project”, while an effective simulation, is only good for a one-time viewing, as that kind of mood just can't be replicated on a second watch. Also, even though this movie was a big event for its time, it’s not something that holds up when compared to what's come sense. I’ll give “The Blair Witch Project” this much credit, it had an effectively claustrophobic setting, a chilling lead performance, and of all the found footage movies I’ve seen ... this one is probably my favorite ... but that really isn’t saying too much either.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1999 Horror classic “The Blair Witch Project” ... and be sure to treat yourself to one good scare this October.        

Scream (1996) (Movie Review)

  We are now at the half-way point in my marathon of 90’s Horror reviews throughout October, but just before I dive into today’s movie, let’s do a quick re-cap on the state of Horror films leading to this point. Way back in 1978 with the movie “Halloween”, director John Carpenter practically wrote the rule book for the slasher sub-genera, and thus a new wave of horror films took shape in the early 1980’s. The late Director Wes Craven was one of the biggest architects of this new trend of slasher films, especially when he released “A Nightmare on Elm Street” back in 1984. 

However, as the 80’s died down and the 1990’s took shape, brand new films like “Angel Heart”, “Misery”, and especially “Silence of the Lambs” were making horror less formulaic, more serious, and above all more intelligent. This is when director Wes Craven decided to bring self-awareness to the horror genera, and thus, one of his biggest movies that reshaped and reinvigorated the genera in 1996 came to be known as “Scream”. In this film, Craven dug out the old rule book, dusted it down, added some new notes of self-referential mockery, and threw all his experience into a slightly watered-down slasher movie for a new generation. The result is a cheeky, yet enjoyable film that works as both a sly comedy and a respectable addition to the horror genera.

  Our thriller revolves around a young girl named Sidney, who in the process of morning her late mother, has found herself caught right in the middle of a typical slasher movie plot. A masked serial killer has begun carving his way through her friends in a sleepy American town, so through her knowledge of horror films and their clichés, she has to rely on both wit and caution to stay alive. For a movie that blends dark comedy with a typical horror plot, it has some credible filmmaking merits. I love the subtlety of select moments, like the back story revolving around our heroine’s late mother. The movie never drops strait up exposition of her fate, or how it affected Sidney’s life, instead we are given subtle clues like picture frames, and brief news headlines that allow the audience to fill in all the blanks without character exposition, and I always admire a film for accomplishing that. Of course the film isn’t without its share of less subtle moments, namely the death scenes. Looking back, this is actually very tame by gory horror standards, but they make up for it with just how creative and over the top it gets. One scene that always comes to mind is when one of the best friends is killed by a garage door, it’s arguably one of the more unique, disturbing horror deaths I’ve seen. 

  Of course the most famous scene of all is the films iconic opening, in which the teenager played by Drew Barrymore gets a mysterious house call, and is forced to play a deadly game of scary movie trivia. This is arguably the most classic horror movie opening sequence sense “Jaws”. 

Having a big name actress like Drew Barrymore in the role of the victim was also a smart move, and felt intentionally reminiscent of how “Psycho” killed off its most famous actress early in the film. The natural progression of dread and suspense is pulled off masterfully as this phone call transitions from silly small talk to a matter of life and death. Once again, I love all the details in this scene, like a popcorn bag that’s been on the heater for too long causing the room to smoke. Most effective of all is that her parents arrive home and can hear their daughter slowly being butchered, but are unable to do anything in time. It’s a very tense moment that puts us in the parents shoes, and keeping the actual murder off screen only added to just how stressful and foreboding the situation is. Just like how “Psycho” made people look twice before taking a shower, and “Jaws” got people terrified to go swimming, “Scream” got people scared to answer their own phones without caller ID.   

  While the film as a whole was innovative and unique for its time, I really don’t think it would have been as popular without the iconic Ghost Face costume worn by the mysterious killer. As a kid in the 90’s, the scream costume was one of the most popular Halloween costumes that I distinctly remember many of my elementary school friends wearing for trick or treat. Even before this movie, the costume was very popular, and the Ghost Face creature was one of my favorite Halloween mascots. It was inspired by a famous painting called “The Scream”. 

Even as a kid, I pictured a horror movie revolving around the Scream character, but I wanted it to be a supernatural phantasm of sorts. It had potential to be a modern day classic monster along the lines of Dracula or the Headless Horseman. Obviously nothing supernatural happens in the film, and the villain is just a regular killer in a costume, which actually disappointed me upon seeing this for the first time. Do to the films popularity, I’ll probably never get a film revolving around the scream monster as a supernatural entity. Looking back, it really isn’t an issue as it helps build a mystery revolving around the killers identity, and it helps create an atmosphere where you can’t trust anyone. Plus, it’s still cool to see the ghost face costume as the figure head of a successful horror franchise. 

  

              

   Neve Campbell is good in the leading role of Sidney, and fills the role of genuinely nice all-American girl. The remaining characters are nothing special, all of them stereotypes, all of them obnoxiously over the top, but I do at least like how many of the side characters work as red herrings. In a setting like this, everyone’s a suspect, and this film has the complete gallery of potential killers. You got the annoying news reporter who’s desperate for tragic news to cover, the complex father who’s had a questionable past, the shady boy friend, the nerd who knows all the horror movie clichés, and a strict principle who’s annoyed with kids. The most obvious red herring of them all is this one good natured police officer named Dewy. Any fan of mysteries commonly point to the least obvious suspect, which is why Dewy works so well in this gallery of characters. He seems the least likely to be a killer, and that’s why we all suspect him. I also like the small town look and feel of the setting, where everyone knows each other, and the smallest incident could have a massive impact on the community at large. This movie also succeeded in making the school setting dangerous, which is great because the school is supposed to be our safe haven where nothing could possibly happen. 

   As for the films comedic self referential hummer, personally, I don’t think it’s nearly as clever or as original as the movie thinks it is. I’ve seen clever satire in horror before, and done with real scares too. In fact two years earlier, there was “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”, which is personally one of my all time favorite horror movies. This film was also very self aware but was far more innovative revolving around a film crew making a horror movie, and even illustrates how working on such a film could have mental side effects. That to me was very clever, where as “Scream” deludes itself into thinking its original simply because the characters know all the clichés. 

The downside to this gimmick is that way too often the film devolves into the exact type of film it’s trying to satirize. I’ll say this, if you’re a horror movie buff, or just a movie buff in general, you’ll love all the trivia and homage’s to other scary films. This is one of those movies that loves “film legacy”, and succeeded in bringing attention to older horror films, now celebrated as classics. There’s a very amusing gag in which someone is watching “Halloween” while it runs parallel to the horror events going on around him. As he’s yelling at the people on screen to look behind them, he’s oblivious to the ghost face killer approaching from behind. There’s also a random school custodian wearing a hat and striped sweater which resembles Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, just to remind us that Wes Craven was involved in both films. In fact, that's Wes Craven playing the custodian.  

  With its satirical over tone, the film never really comes off as scary or disturbing, that is until the very end when things get really nasty. Spoiler warning, but now I’m going to be talking about the finale, and the films twist reveal. The climax takes place at a guys house where a party is going on, and teens are slowly getting killed off by Ghost Face. Soon it becomes an exciting game of cat and mouse as characters are running all over the grounds, splitting up into different groups, and doing their best to avoid the knife wilding killer. 

It all leads to the shocking reveal of who the Ghost Face killer really is, and while I found this to be very predictable, it was still genuinely unsettling. Turns out that two of the horror obsessed teens have been taking turns in the role of the Ghost Face killer, and their doing this solely for their love and enjoyment of horror films. It’s a little exaggerated, but it’s still a genuinely disturbing concept that exposure to sick horror films turned two teens into psychopathic killers. The scene itself is very distasteful as the two deliberately inflict pain on one another in front of our last survivor just for amusement. I will say that this finale builds to an awesome villain death, where Sidney gets the better of her captures by dropping a TV (with a horror movie playing on the screen) on one of their heads, leading to an electrifying death. It’s very satisfying, and so appropriate that he died by way of scary movie on TV.   

   

In 1997 there was “Scream 2”, a rare horror sequel that was actually good, and some would argue even better than the original. Several more sequels followed, although I personally haven't seen any past the second film. The success of “Scream” lead to other similar teen horror films, including a little movie that came out the following year called “I Know What You Did Last Summer”. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but if I'm be honest with myself ... I genuinely preferred “I Know What You Did Last Summer” over the more famous "Scream", as I just found the characters more interesting, and the mystery more exciting ... but that can be saved for another review. Of course “Scream” also launched the “Scary Movie” franchise, except that series was far more direct with the comedy. The first “Scary Movie” was almost like a soft remake of “Scream”, recreating the exact same plot, characters, and scenes. Unfortunately for me, I actually watched “Scary Movie” first, which I felt spoiled the experience of “Scream”, as both were so similar, that on a subconscious level I couldn't even separate the two films in my memory.

  I’d definitely recommend “Scream” as the superior movie, but what does that mean for the film overall? It’s no surprise that “Scream” became one of the most marketable and iconic horror films of the decade, but I’ve personally never been that big a fan. It has its merits to be sure, and even some worthwhile excitement, but the film still comes off as average to me. If you’re a fan of dark comedy laced with self-referential satire, you’ll probably enjoy this movie fine, but I’d strongly recommend other horror comedies like “Zombieland” or “Shaun of the Dead” first. There are several terrific details in the movie, some decent satire, and it’s still credible for ushering a new era of horror. However, the experience for me is just “okay”, and nothing specific about the film makes it rank among my favorites that I like to re-watch. It's by no means a bad movie, but I’d say it’s still nothing extraordinary to scream about.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1996 horror classic “Scream” ... and treat yourself to one good scare this October.  

Ringu (1998) (Movie Review)

    As I’ve said before, the 1990’s was an age of change for the horror genera, but not every hit scary movie came from America, in fact some of the best horror films were coming from the East. Case in point, the 1998 picture “Ringu”, translated in America as “Ring”, is one of the decades greatest horror movies, and remains one of my favorites years latter. This is the original international box office sensation that started it all. What do I mean by “started it all” ... well, “Ringu” was one of those underground hits that popped overseas, and created a new Western obsession. One can’t undermine what a big game changer this was for the horror genera, and how “J-Horror” really took shape after this film. "J-Horror" refers to American horror films with a high level of Japanese influence. After “Ringu” left it's mark, a decades worth of American horror movies would try to emulate it's effect. Such films included “The Grudge”, “Shutter”, “Pulse”, “Dark Water” and obviously the American remake of “The Ring”. I’ll make comparisons to the films American remake later in this review, but for the most part, I’m just going to be looking at the original film on its own merits. Most big horror movies of the 90’s, even the best ones still feel like products of their time, but “Ringu” is an exception, as it genuinely feels like something that could have come from any decade ... that is with the slight exception of VHS tapes, those really aren’t around anymore. 

    The story revolves around the urban legend of a cursed video tape, one that will kill anyone within a week of watching it. Further speculations say that death will take the form of a decayed girl when their time runs out. Some say its crazy superstition, while others are scared to death of it. Before too long, several deaths occur, all of which are connected to the mysterious video tape. This gets the attention of a female news reporter, who digs just a little too deep into the story, to the point where she actually watches the video herself. To make matters worse, both her Ex-husband and son view the tape, which means each has a week left to live. Now it’s a race against the ticking clock to solve the mystery of the cursed video, track down clues, and find a way to lift the curse before the “dead line”.

   You really have to be in the right state of mind to appreciate this movie, because in truth, not much happens on screen, and the majority of the film is spent watching our two leads dig up clues. It’s more like a supernatural mystery thriller, and the film moves at an admittedly slow, yet engaging pace. While this can be boring for some viewers, I like it a lot, because I feel more drawn into the experience, and it allows the scares to sneak up on me. I especially love how quiet the film is, as there are no obnoxious loud jump scare sounds, and a constant feel of dread that’s slowly building. I think “Ringu” has some of the best eerie atmosphere of any other horror film from this decade, but you really have to be open to it. 

This also makes select terrifying moments stand out more when they come in small doses. One of my favorite shock scenes comes in the form of a quick flash back involving a mother discovering her dead doubter. The girls stiff and disfigured face is as disturbing as any image from the horror cinema portfolio. The opening sequence is also like a small masterpiece in of itself, with great build up, and establishes all the important elements ranging from the mysterious phone calls, to the “seven days” message that follows after watching the video. The video tape itself is like something from an experimental art class, with cryptic imagery, and hidden messages. Another great visual is that whenever someone watches the video, their faces get distorted in pictures, as if to say their marked for death.   

    The cast is very good and I really like our two main characters. Nanako Matsushima plays our female lead, and she delivers a solid performance all around. Her Ex-Husband is also a very likable character, and it’s cool to see them come together to solve this mystery. It’s established that the ex-husband of our leading news reporter was born with capabilities of ESP. This seemed kind of random and out of place at first, but it actually fits into the story, especially as we see the mystery unfold. It’s revealed that the curse of this tape all began with a little girl who also had ESP. However, she was far more dangerous, uncontrollable, and even killed someone just by thinking it. This is where the popular image of a scary, watered down girl in a dirty dress with lots of dark hair covering the face first took shape. Countless other horror movies would try to recreate this design, but they’d usually go too far by revealing what the apparition looked like under all that hair. This is where “Ringu” really shines, as we never see the girls face, with the exception of one menacing eye, but the less shown the better.  

    Just a fair warning, this is where I’ll be talking about some big details in the films brilliant twist ending, so spoiler alert. What started as a supernatural mystery becomes a story of “revenge beyond the grave”, as our hero’s discover that the girl was in fact murdered by her own father. Her body was dumped down a well, which gives our hero’s a plan to lift the curse. Maybe if they find her corps and bury it properly, this reign of terror can finally end. This leads into a deeply chilling scene with the two in a claustrophobic and dirty well looking for her remains. When all the exploring is said and done, it seems that the two have lifted the curse, because our lead heroine is still alive after her cutoff date. Everyone is happy, the two think they’ll finally get back together, their son seems safe ... but wait a minute, the movie is still going. Why aren’t the credits rolling, we just had a thrilling and emotional resolution. That’s when it happens, the movie’s most iconic and disturbing scene hits us in the face with full force, as the little girl crawls out of the TV, and kills the ex-husband. Turns out they didn’t lift the curse at all, the reporter simply found a way to avoid dying at the hands of the demonic child. The solution is to make copies of the video, and show it to someone close to you. It’s like a chain letter, because you have to keep making copies, and showing it to people in order to stay alive. This was a brilliant twist ending that I didn’t see coming.   

    I personally feel very lucky to have seen the Japanese original before the American remake, which would have spoiled the experience, but unfortunately, I don’t think too many others can say the same. The 2002 remake of “The Ring” was an equally big hit, and often regarded as one of the scariest movies of its decade. Most American remakes are shunned for being unoriginal, but to be fair, the American remake of “The Ring” really wasn’t that bad, and is often regarded as a small classic in its own right. The remake definitely had more excitement, terrific visuals and more memorable scary moments, but I still prefer the original for its simplicity and eerie atmosphere. As for the sequel “The Ring 2”, it has that reputation for being inferior to its predecessor, so I never bothered. The irony is that the American sequel was actually directed by Hideo Nakata, who directed the original “Ringu” ... isn’t that interesting.     

   If you haven’t seen these films, and had to pick either “Ringu” or its American remake, I’d highly recommend seeing its original Japanese version first. Granted, the American remake may entertain you more, but the original just feels scarier to experience, and you just can’t deny the originality of the film. It’s method of combining supernatural elements with the anxieties of modern technology is still very innovative, and honestly quiet frightening to experience as long as you’re in the right mind set. Without a doubt, this is one of the better classic horror films of the 90’s, and one that still holds up today. It was ambitious, highly original, unnerving, and just a great entry into the history books of scary movies.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1998 horror classic “Ringu” ... and be sure to treat yourself to one good scare this October!