Blair Witch (2016)

Running Time: 1hr 29min

Release Date: September 16, 2016

Directed by: Adam Wingard

Written by: Simon Barrett

Review by: Ash

Blair Witch is the sequel we didn’t know we wanted but for better or worse it’s the sequel we got.

I remember seeing the original back in 1999 with my sister and I remember when we left we weren’t sure what we saw. It was so different than most horror films of that time, while not the first found footage horror movie ever made it was the one that put the genre on the map. Years later we got a substandard cash in sequel in Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows which was a complete failure and we had all thought the franchise had faded into relative obscurity.

To the surprise of many and, to a lesser extent, of the eagle eyed horror fans out there we finally have another Blair Witch movie after all these years. Was this the sequel we wanted or was it another Book of Shadows?

Blair Witch, directed by Adam Wingard (director of You’re Next and The Guest), revolves around James (James Allen McCune) who, along with his girlfriend and his two friends, go into the woods outside Burkittsville in hopes to find his sister after he finds a video on YouTube supposedly showing her in footage that had been only recently found. Once in the woods things go from bad to worse as a search for his missing sister turns into a nightmarish fight for their lives.

The movie starts off well and good with a wonderful homage to the original with white text on a black screen retelling the events of the first film while the same weird sound from the credits in the original plays. The film hits its stride when doing call backs like that or having the same pace as the original. The night scenes around the tents really capture the horror of the original but it turns the fright factor up to an 11. Between the funny call backs to the original for all the classic fans (like them filming the car as they walk away from it (who does that?) and the well crafted suspense and horror scenes, there's enough that will appease horror fans.

If that was all there was I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone. Sadly this movie has some issues. 

My main issue with Blair Witch: too many characters. The original had a main cast of 3 people (one of them being the main camera person) so there the movie allowed us the time get used to the small cast of characters. Blair Witch on the other hand, because of the four main characters and the two side characters that aren't around very long, doesn't give enough time to really flesh out every character while making me care for their well-being and pushing the plot along at the same time. I think because of that they felt they had to use more obvious gimmicks to get the scares from the viewer.

This is where the jump scares come in; this movie is filled with them. I lost count of them at around 14. I don't necessarily hate jump scares but when they are overused it can start to feel lazy after a while. There are even some scenes where the jump scares happen over and over again in a matter of one minute. Heck, there is even a scene where after rapidfire jump scares a character says something along the lines of “you both need to stop doing that!”

These issues also affect other aspects of the movie. While the The Blair Witch Project really established that cinematic world by having interviews with the townsfolk, Blair Witch bypasses all of that fairly quickly to keep the story going. They literally go from where they live, to a spot in Burkittsville, and then straight to the woods. The move is very streamlined with no frills when it comes to that. Some might not have a problem with that but I prefer a slower paced movie that allows seemingly pointless scenes so long as they either push exposition or add life and color to a movie.

It’s a shame because this isn’t a horrible movie by any means. Hell, it’s better than most of the horror movies that have been coming out as of late, but there are some big mistakes that keep this good movie from being great.

If you are a fan of The Blair Witch Project then I would say go see Blair Witch on the big screen, but be sure to not go in there with your hopes too high. If you aren’t a fan of the first movie then I would suggest waiting until you can rent or stream it.

3/5

Out in theaters now!

Check out the trailer below: