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Chippy
KJ's Leading Pundit
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:45 pm Posts: 63026 Location: Tonight... YOU!
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Blair Witch
Quote: Blair Witch is a 2016 American found footage psychological horror film directed by Adam Wingard[2] and written by Simon Barrett. It is a direct sequel to The Blair Witch Project and stars James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Corbin Reid, Wes Robinson and Valorie Curry. The film follows a group of college students and their local guides who venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of James Donahue's sister Heather.[3] Initially, the film's connection to the Blair Witch franchise was kept secret with filmmakers shooting the film under a fake title.
It screened at San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2016 and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, before being released in the United States on September 16 by Lionsgate.
_________________trixster wrote: shut the fuck up zwackerm, you're out of your fucking element trixster wrote: chippy is correct
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Tue Sep 13, 2016 11:54 am |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Blair Witch
One of the most divisive, influential, and profitable independent films of the 1990s, The Blair Witch Project not only popularized the found-footage technique, but revolutionized the way a film is advertised online. The picture, which I consider perhaps the scariest ever made, tells the story of a trio of students who vanish in a dense and purportedly haunted Maryland forest while filming a documentary on a local legend. This belated direct sequel, simply titled Blair Witch, adheres to a similar trajectory: the brother of the first film's heroine joins with a few friends and two locals to travel into the same forest to investigate the still-unsolved disappearance. It cannot hold a candle to the original, but Blair Witch, directed by Adam Wingard (You're Next, The Guest), is a decent enough genre exercise with a handful of highly potent jolts. Its most inventive and spine-tingling moments involve the fluidity of geography and time in the witch's woods; at one point, for instance, the characters realize it is 7am, but the sun has not risen. There is also a moment of almost nauseating claustrophobia involving escape via a dilapidated, flooded underground tunnel. Wingard's sequel falls short of its predecessor, however, in regard to character development and pacing: the ensemble of camper-victims is expanded and rather interchangeable, and they register more clearly as actors (photogenic and otherwise of moderate ability), diminishing the verisimilitude. The film also moves too rapidly from the initial hints of menace to full-stop nightmare extravaganza, not exploiting the fear and frustration of becoming lost and doubting oneself and one's companions (a strong suit of The Blair Witch Project, a perfect example of slowly mounting dread and paranoia). And people can and will hotly debate Wingard's decision to plainly show the title character; the design is credible—creepy and evocative of the finale of [REC]—but the Blair Witch, previously an aura of insanity, despair, and blood-curdling fantasy rather than a corporeal antagonist, becomes less otherworldly and sinister when rendered so tangible.
B
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:34 am |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Blair Witch
I thought the film would do more with the drone. Maybe...I don't know, a shot of the trees violently swaying in the distance while the main characters are placid and unaware in another part of the frame. So much attention is put on the drone, but it never does anything but reveal, "Yes, this is a big forest" and predictably crash in a tree. And, yes, set up the one girl's death. But still.
On the subject of technology: the gap of seventeen years unfortunately means the addition of a new and unflattering found-footage trope - constant digital "glitches" to signal a transition or condense a scene.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Fri Sep 16, 2016 12:39 am |
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Dil
Forum General
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:48 pm Posts: 8942 Location: Houston, Texas
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Re: Blair Witch
The sound design in this movie was pretty incredible and I liked the addition of the variety of cameras being used, but unfortunately it's only a slightly above average found footage horror film which is disappointing.
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Wed Sep 21, 2016 9:08 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: Blair Witch
David wrote: And people can and will hotly debate Wingard's decision to plainly show the title character; the design is credible—creepy and evocative of the finale of [REC]—but the Blair Witch, previously an aura of insanity, despair, and blood-curdling fantasy rather than a corporeal antagonist, becomes less otherworldly and sinister when rendered so tangible.
According to Wingard himself, what we see in the film is not the Blair Witch who, according to him, remains unseen throughout.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Fri Sep 30, 2016 9:13 pm |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: Blair Witch
* / ***** (F)
It sucked. I guessed from the start that the girl in the video wasn't his sister but his friend. Too obvious. The self fulfilling prophecy angle could be interesting if done well, but it wasn't done really well here. The whole time stretching thing was cool, but just having them split into two groups and then having them come together to just say - "Oh, time went by different for us." was a total waste of an idea.
The deaths are unimaginative. The house part was OK. I was actually on toes during the part where she's in that hole crawling. I actually wanted her to die or something to grab her and pull her out. I'm a bit claustrophobic and that part was done right. But it was a boring movie. Probably even more unnecessary sequel than Book of Shadows was. Especially considering that The Blair Witch Project isn't even a good movie to start with.
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Thu Jan 12, 2017 3:41 pm |
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Riggs
We had our time together
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:36 am Posts: 13270 Location: Vienna
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Re: Blair Witch
It's, unsurprisingly, pure shit.
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Sat Jan 14, 2017 7:27 am |
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Magic Mike
Wallflower
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am Posts: 34876 Location: Minnesota
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Re: Blair Witch
I saw it opening night and was really disappointed. I had such high hopes for it. It really is just an updated version of the first. Hits way too many of the same beats. It's still "good" and has a couple of intense moments, but I expected more.
B-
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Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:40 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: Blair Witch
It sucks. But I am not surprised, the original sucked too.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Sat Jan 14, 2017 3:02 pm |
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movies35
Forum General
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 1:53 pm Posts: 8626 Location: Syracuse, NY
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Re: Blair Witch
I'm kind of excited to see it again. I wasn't a huge fan of it when I saw it in theaters (and I am a HUGE fan of the original) but I think my expectations were just too high. I bought it digitally (hey, for three dollars, whatever) and hope to watch it again soon.
_________________ Top 10 Films of 2016
1. La La Land 2. Other People 3. Nocturnal Animals 4. Swiss Army Man 5. Manchester by the Sea 6. The Edge of Seventeen 7. Sing Street 8. Indignation 9. The Lobster 10. Hell or High Water
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Sat Jan 14, 2017 7:34 pm |
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Jack Sparrow
KJ's Leading Idiot
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm Posts: 36923
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Re: Blair Witch
This was BAD. Nothing in the movie was scary aside from a single reference that this is 7am. The suggested use of technology was also essentially wasted in the movie. The house bits at the end didn't seem as scary this time around.
3/10
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Sun Jan 15, 2017 11:41 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Blair Witch
It is a very forgettable movie for the most part. Acceptable, but nothing inspired. I hoped for a lot more from the combination of Adam Wingard and one of my favorite horror films of all-time.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:35 pm |
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thompsoncory
Rachel McAdams Fan
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am Posts: 14544 Location: LA / NYC
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Re: Blair Witch
I thought this was a snoozefest. Really poorly directed too, which is surprising because I love Adam Wingard's You're Next and The Guest. The characters were also hugely annoying. C
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Sun Sep 24, 2017 8:53 am |
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