# Blair Witch Project



## Doctorthingit

I despise The Blair Witch Project. I haven't yet seen Open Water, but I REALLY want to.


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## dougspaulding

SuFiKitten77 said:


> Oddly enough though .. I did enjoy the Blair Witch Project. Might of been how they did it where it really did seem like a documentary. Oh well .. to each there own


Glad to hear it. I loved the BWP and found it original and scary. Interesting that most horror fans either really like it or really hate it (mostly the latter, I think).


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## Doctorthingit

dougspaulding said:


> Interesting that most horror fans either really like it or really hate it (mostly the latter, I think).


Good sign for the future


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## SuFiKitten77

That was why I liked it .. it was original and somewhat scary. Though Heather did get annoying and by the end of the movie, it was nice to have her silenced  I didn't care for the sequels to the BWP .. don't know .. just didn't have the same appeal. But that could be just me


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## Zombie-F

Blair Witch 2: Electric Boogaloo is an hour and a half of my life that's gone and ain't coming back. I didn't have to pay to see it, but I still felt ripped off.

Open Water is a pretty tense movie, but in the end, I wouldn't call it a move you must own or anything. It's good for a viewing or two, but I wouldn't say it's something you'd ever watch more than once or twice.


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## Sinister

God knows I hate *The Blair Witch Project.* This thread is getting entirely off the subject, but who cares? We be havin' fun. The second movie in the series had only one thing going for it and it was the theme song by *Marilyn Manson.* The first was so dumb because the kids were dumb. I mean, if you are lost in the woods and come to a river--FOLLOW THE GODDAMN THING UNTIL YOU COME OUT SOMEWHERE!!! It's a watersource for God's sake; eventually along the way you are going to find a town or at least a named spot in the road, where from that point on, it should be child's play to get to where you need to go.

Dumb kids.


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## Doctorthingit

The Blair Witch Project is one of the 10 worst horror films I have ever seen. And it's one of those movies I'd say that hype is actually part of what makes it so bad. Not because the film was disappointing, which it was, but because it totally misrepresented the movie. It said it was SO SCARY and it promised it would scare the living daylights out of anyone who watched it. I didn't feel letdown, I got exactly what I expected. I didn't expect to be scared, but I also did expect to SEE SOMETHING. This is like being sold a ticket to a freakshow where the show consists of people in business suits talking on cellphones. It might have been that and been scarier. Oh sure it's different for a horror movie, but that's not enough. There has to be something more than what the stupid people in the theaters brought to that movie, or else it's a joke. And a really not funny one. After awhile I expected to laugh but I didn't. I just wished the people onscreen would die and die violently. Because that was the only redeeming value I was going to get out of the whole wasted hour and 20-something minutes. Again, you see nothing. The movie does a lot of worthless hinting and is extremely annoying. Mostly related to characters, but still very very annoying. And if all it ever had going for it were the actors, it never had anything going for it PERIOD. This is such overrated crap it's ridiculous.


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## Zombie-F

Since the Open Water discussion veered way off course into the land of Blair Witch, I've split the thread and gave the Blair Witch discussion its own thread.

Personally, I liked BWP. I find it refreshing to see a movie where you're not shown the monster. It doesn't happen enough nowadays. I'd rather let my imagination run away on me than see a bad CG'd creature on the screen ruin a potentially good movie.

I have a deep-rooted fear of the woods and a pretty good imagination that can get away from me at times, and I think that's why I liked this movie so much.

Thingit, doesn't EVERY horror movie claim to be the scariest one ever? It's a part of marketing a horror movie. They all do it to some extent (i.e. "The scariest horror film since..." "the most horrifying film in the past decade..." "so scary you'll...").

It makes much better business sense to say it's the scariest than to say "Come see the most mediocre horror film of the past decade".


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## dougspaulding

Excellent points all. "Most mediocre horror film..." - Ha! You're funny for a zombie. You bring up something that I should have - it's usually scarier when you don't see the monster. Any effects team or make-up artist can create a scary looking monster, but it takes a really good director to make a movie intense without ever really showing anything. It means that the horror is all in our minds - which it where it has to live to scare us (get into our heads). It's why "The Haunting" (1963) is so scary - you never see a thing! It's just implied. Is it ever! No, this movie is very, very good and very scary. I know I'm in the minority on this, but my DVD has rewatchability!


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## RAXL

No, it's scary when you don't see the monster until the end of the movie. 
Like JAWS. You go through more than half of the movie, then BAM! Jaws pops up to try and grab the chum bucket right outta Brody's hand. 
But to NEVER see the "monster"? That's just a cop-out.
I gotta say, I hated Blair Witch. Kids in Friday the 13th movies made better choices and were far less annoying than that trio of shlubs. :voorhees:


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## Doctorthingit

Zombie-F said:


> Thingit, doesn't EVERY horror movie claim to be the scariest one ever? It's a part of marketing a horror movie. They all do it to some extent (i.e. "The scariest horror film since..." "the most horrifying film in the past decade..." "so scary you'll..."). It makes much better business sense to say it's the scariest than to say "Come see the most mediocre horror film of the past decade".


This was past that, they made this ****ing thing into an event. More like a circus. And idiots in drones bought into this stupid movie. From all the word of mouth, to the groups of people who went looking for the actual locations the film shot at, to the cults of people who thought the movie was more than just real. This movie did inspire a few very funny TV spots for the MTV 1999 Movie Awards with Chris Rock and Janeanne Garofalo screaming at each other about a candy bar. That's probably the film's greatest contribution, to entertainment. Otherwise, it's a menace.

And Zombie, so the mistakes made by other films makes this film great? Wow, this movie is terrible. One of the 10 worst horror movies perhaps ever made. This is actually more discussion than this piece of garbage deserves. I'm through with it for now, it's starting to turn my stomach.


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## dougspaulding

Doctorthingit said:


> ...they made this ****ing thing into an event. More like a circus. And idiots in drones bought into this stupid movie. From all the word of mouth, to the groups of people who went looking for the actual locations the film shot at, to the cults of people who thought the movie was more than just real.


Sounds like a pretty powerful little piece of work to me. As someone who would love to be an independent filmmaker, this is inspiring.

(Watched BW2 tonight, by the way - a good, but not great, film)


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## Sinister

I am indeed puzzled, Spaulding, that you can find John Carpenter's *The Thing* overlong and on the dull side, and then turn right around and call *Book of Shadows: Blair Witch II* a good movie.


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## Doctorthingit

I also happened to find the sequel an okay film. It was actually more inventive than the original, not to say the original even TRIED to come up with anything. It was quite dark and satisfying on a single-viewing basis. If I saw it again, I'm sure I'd say it's crap.


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## uncle willie

in short
i enjoyed the b.w.p. but it was not that damns scary,different and new ,that was the fun part. 

what is strange is the damn thing came out in 99 and people stil go on about it.


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## Doctorthingit

Maybe they were looking for something different too. But honestly, it was the campaign publicity for the movie. The promises that it was so scary. The thing people should have been warned about was how awful the movie was.


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## dougspaulding

feldjager said:


> what is strange is the damn thing came out in 99 and people stil go on about it.


How telling. "Frankenstein" came out in '31 and people still go on about it. (mind you, "BWP" is no "Frankenstein").


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## Sinister

No, it isn't even in the same class as the Karloff classic. As far as why people go on about it since '99, is because someone brings it up as being one of the scariest movies of all-time, when the only scary thing about it is that Horror patrons actually spent money to watch and in some extreme cases, buy this overly dull piece of celluloid trash. People get riled that someone can actually give credit where credit isn't due. This damn thing isn't scary in the least. Maybe to your average 5 year-old it might be...!


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## Zombie-F

Sinister said:


> No, it isn't even in the same class as the Karloff classic. As far as why people go on about it since '99, is because someone brings it up as being one of the scariest movies of all-time, when the only scary thing about it is that Horror patrons actually spent money to watch and in some extreme cases, buy this overly dull piece of celluloid trash. People get riled that someone can actually give credit where credit isn't due. This damn thing isn't scary in the least. Maybe to your average 5 year-old it might be...!


What can I say? I am five years old at heart.. and mind.


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## dougspaulding

As for myself, I'll always be twelve.


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## Doctorthingit

I guess I'll be the one to say that I feel like I'm 80 already.



Sinister said:


> As far as why people go on about it since '99, is because someone brings it up as being one of the scariest movies of all-time, when the only scary thing about it is that Horror patrons actually spent money to watch and in some extreme cases, buy this overly dull piece of celluloid trash. This damn thing isn't scary in the least.


You and I have never been more in agreement!


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## uncle willie

some how i dont think b.w.p. rates up there with frankenstein!


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## Zombie-F

Agreed. It definitely isn't a classic movie or anything, it just managed to strike a nerve with people. Either they like it, or they absolutely despised it... no middle ground. Essentially, they did their job in making the movie memorable. Look at us. It's six years later and we're still harping on and on about its merits and deficiencies.


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## Doctorthingit

Well, Zombie, we talk about a lot of movies 6 years later... Not just us, of course. You know what I mean.


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## uncle willie

ddi any of the cast ever do anythign else?


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## Doctorthingit

I don't think they deserved to do anything else. If they didn't know the stinker they were making, let them be blessed with not hurting any more innocent moviegoers.


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## Rocky

I love the Blair Witch Project, it's one of my favorite movie. But after reading some comments here my heart is bleeding... lol 

I understand many people hate it, but it IS a horror classic that people will still talk about in 10, 20, or 50 years. It was one of the most influencial horror flicks of the last century. Um-hum. 

Btw one can't compare Frankenstein and Blair Witch Project cause it's like comparing apples and oranges you know what I'm saying. lol


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## Doctorthingit

Rocky said:


> I understand many people hate it, but it IS a horror classic that people will still talk about in 10, 20, or 50 years. It was one of the most influencial horror flicks of the last century. Um-hum.


Ha! People still talk about Friday the 13th. Did that have great acting? Groundbreaking special effects? Clever writing / plot? Nope. It had acting, special effects, and writing / plot. But while people still talk about it, it is not a good movie. The Blair Witch Project may have people still talking now, but I doubt it's going to be looked at as anything more than the trash it is in the future.


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## Zombie-F

To each his own I guess.


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## Doctorthingit

This movie is the biggest bore ever commited to film. Nothing happens, period! It's just a bunch of stupid assholes whining. How in the hell is that appealing? How is that even called horror? It's bull****. The photography again is worth about a nickel, and that's all this movie has going for it. I don't believe it is a matter of to each their own, because to like this movie means the person has to be forgiving of some pretty serious flaws. I don't even trust the judgement of a person who likes this movie, that's how bad this piece of crap is. Why defend a movie where nothing happens in it? Come on, what's next? A horror movie about people sitting around in a field of grass waiting for it to grow, in anticipation of discovering whether or not the legend is true that it will kill people as soon as it sprouts?! That's an even more interesting plot than the one in this movie.


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## Sinister

Rocky said:


> It was one of the most influencial horror flicks of the last century.


I'm not going to get as nasty as Thingit did, but I have to ask: How was it influential? I can't name any movie where it's influence has been felt. There was a soft-core nudie flick called *The Bare Wench Project* and a scene in *Scary Movie* where _ANY_ type of reference is brought up. Notice something about these two films? They're both parodies. There is a sequel of course, but it really doesn't count, for none of the same principles from the first film applied and it was a total bomb. For years, I've heard about another film in the series, but it has yet to rear its head. Doesn't this tell you something? *Blair Witch Project* was a novelty whose welcome wore-out quickly and whose participants haven't been seen in anything of quality since. No Academy Award caliber movies for these guys, or top notch Horror films either. If this movie was so influential, studios would be knocking down their doors to get them in their next project. I'm still waiting to see their names as first billings, but I doubt it will ever happen.

Talked about in 20, or 50 years? Not unless some conversation comes up about obscure films, it won't.


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## Zombie-F

I think there was a couple direct-to-video crapfests that BWP spawned. Its success also allowed the even worse movie, Last Broadcast, to see the light of day.

I don't think it was terribly influential either, and it surely didn't enter my mind as a classic. And this is coming from a person who likes the movie.


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## SuFiKitten77

I would have to agree with Zombie and Sinister on that one .. not very influencial .. except for the spin offs and I feel the only reason it lasted alittle longer then needed be was, there were many people who couldn't grasp that it was just a movie, not a REAL documentary. But that could just be me .. silly people .. hehe


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## Sinister

SuFiKitten77 said:


> I feel the only reason it lasted alittle longer then needed be was, there were many people who couldn't grasp that it was just a movie, not a REAL documentary. But that could just be me .. silly people .. hehe


THAT WAS IT IN A NUTSHELL. I remember hearing folks, go on and on about how the **** was real. "They only found, like, the reels a year later..." Give me a break! I would have found it more justified if people carried on about finding their rotting corpses, lost several miles out in the woods, because they were too damn stupid to follow a water source to civilization and met with well deserved deaths.


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## SuFiKitten77

I kept thinking that when I was watching it .. follow the water .. it will lead you to people. The whole scene with "Heather" crying and dripping snot just made me laugh uncontrolably .. and to think people did think it was real. Humans can be so nieve ..


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## Omega

You know the only scary part of that movie I can think of was the pile of rocks, BOY HOWDY!  :devil:


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## Rocky

Oh my... look at all those BWP haters!  

First of all, The Blair Witch Project was nominated at many events around the world i.e. Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films; Bram Stoker Awards; British Independent Film Awards; Cannes Film Festival; and International Horror Guild, just to name a few events and it did won a few awards at some festivals - not necessarly at the events I mentioned. So that proves, in part, that this movie was not a piece of trash.

And yes, BWP was very influential. Back in 1999, part of the success of this movie was due to the promotion done on the internet. So it forced Hollywood to rethink web. Notice how every horror movie has a kick ass website now. 

Other than marketing, some movies like Open Water were influenced by the Blair Witch Project. There has been other movies that were released after 1999, not necessarly horror, that used the same camera movements as the ones used by the BWP creators. I just can't remember them all now but I'll post more titles later if I can remember them, believe me.


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## Sinister

None of what you've posted proves anything. Just because it was nominated for awards and maybe won some, what of it? Winning awards has nothing to do with the fact whether or not a movie, song, artist, TV series etc. is better than another. I have seen some real schlockfests win a ****ing Oscar. Does that mean they were good? Of course not! It just means that some palms were being greased to shamelessly promote the hell out of what execs thought was the flavor of the week or month. If it had to do with talent, then I'm quite certain the Academy Awards would have ceased to exist a long time ago.

I'm still waiting for you to prove *The Blair Witch Projects* influential status, because that last post of yours didn't make me see the light.


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## Rocky

Well we're talking about decent festivals such as Cannes here, not the Oscars. And it was nominated at many festivals around the world. Plus this movie has got a lot of good reviews from critics such as these (I'll just post three):

"Simple but devastatingly effective."
-- Desson Thomson, WASHINGTON POST

"The film is a redefining moment in the horror genre, the first since The Exorcist that has generated enough courage to challenge what we regard as terrifying."
-- David Keyes, CINEMAPHILE.ORG

"The creepiest and most original horror film since John Carpenter's classic Halloween."
-- Jonathan Foreman, NEW YORK POST 

So do you think these guys have got it all wrong? It's impossible. BWP was anything but the flavor of the month or a piece of trash! 

I'll prove the BWP influential status later and this might take a few days cause I don't have time for it right now and I wanna come up with some solid arguments.

Oh boy, it sure is great to be back here!


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## Doctorthingit

Critics will like anything, they're idiots. Critics will pan anything, they're idiots. The Blair Witch Project is a movie that fails on every single level of it's alleged greatness or importance. It's a movie most critics liked because they are nostalgic for controversy. Look at how any movie these days (including the late 90s) with the slightest amount of controversy attached to it was automatically a critical darling: The Passion of the Christ, Fahrenheit 9/11, Kinsey, Far From Heaven, Saved!, American History X. Please! Critics take such amazing liberties with their viewpoints, we as a filmgoing audience might as well not even listen to them anymore.


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## dougspaulding

Influential status? Well, here's one: It's influenced us here on this little board to discuss it to infinity and beyond. I can ill-recall a more-discussed film of late on this forum!

This is a rousing good discussion. Let it continue for awhile. That will solidify its influence even more!

I can neither recollect a film of recent times whose lover's and hater's camps were divided so closely - that's pretty influential.

Critics are right half the time and wrong half the time - in short, they're just like us! (only they get paid to write)


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## Doctorthingit

dougspaulding said:


> Critics are right half the time and wrong half the time - in short, they're just like us! (only they get paid to write)


Couldn't agree more. Though some critics can be reference autorities on certain films, like Leonard Maltin has a real passion for The Little Rascals / Our Gang (aired on television now but considered short films) and is considered the world's number one critical expert on the subject. That's just one example, other critics have been so vocal and outspoken about one film that that film and their take on it becomes part of their career.


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## Rocky

So you're saying that when a majority of critics say a movie is good and that this movie gets nominated at many festivals around the globe it doesn't mean it's a good movie and in fact, it can be an awful piece of trash? Is that what you guys are saying?


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## Sinister

Got it in one. I swear that I think sometimes critics go to a film to try to make their opinions seem like they're the most important things since God said "Let there be light," as opposed to being entertained. Some of the things they tout as being great turn out to be three hour or more snoozefests. Don't even really get me started on some of these films. I will be tempted sorely to start a thread that will be entitled "The ****tiest Films Ever Made, or, Why Do Critics And Fans Love This Crap?" Besides, this has all the ingredients for getting totally off the subject when technically, we are talking about one of the worst films ever made. No sense talking about others and straying from the issue at hand. 

To sum it up, not every movie critics say is great is in reality schlock, but the vast majority of it is.


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## Doctorthingit

Rocky said:


> So you're saying that when a majority of critics say a movie is good and that this movie gets nominated at many festivals around the globe it doesn't mean it's a good movie and in fact, it can be an awful piece of trash? Is that what you guys are saying?


I'm saying it was based on what the critics had been waiting for the whole time, they gave the film too much credit just because they liked the idea of it and were tired of star-driven vehicles (just about all of them were better than BWP). They liked the idea of this film because the actors were nobodies and documentaries were just coming back in vogue. They watched it forgiving it of it's obvious flaws because of their own preferences. Most critics are like normal audiences, so it wasn't exactly a stretch or something they hadn't done before. At the time, they wanted more experimental films. This film garnering so much critical success was a fluke, it's all about when it was released and it was all luck. If it had come out 3 years earlier or later than it did, we wouldn't be talking about it at all. Most of it's financial success was due to the rising popularity of the internet, and the entire internet campaign spilling over into TV spots and public ads that perpetuated myths that the film contained real footage of ghost haunting activity and 3 actual deaths captured onscreen.


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## Rocky

This is all speculations, especially when you say 'if it had come out 3 years earlier or later than it did, we wouldn't be talking about it at all'. I really don't think so.

Now as I mentioned last night, I wanted to wait a few days before explaining how BWP influenced people but I think I can prove it now cause somewhat you hit the nail on the head.

Doctor, you said 'They liked the idea of this film because the actors were nobodies and documentaries were just coming back in vogue.' Yes, many critics AND directors really liked this *reality side* concept and were influenced by it. What happened after BWP was released? We've had PLENTY of reality shows, horror or not, (and some movies as I said last night) that were clearly influenced by the Blair Witch. The current explosion of popularity dates from around 2000, right after the BWP was released. We've been seeing tons of *nobodies* on reality shows as well as this whole *handheld camera, video-shot look*. The Blair Witch Project started a new trend and made reality shows, documentaries, and independant movies hot - another one I've heard of is My Little Eye released in 2002.

Now there ain't much I can say to prove my points, but please, don't tell me BWP was one of the worst horror movies ever made when this movie clearly is:

1. good (many critics, festival people, and everyday people like you and me agreed)
2. influential (I proved it with this post) 
3. cult (many, many horror fans love this flick).

Tsk, tsk.


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## Zombie-F

Well, really it is all a matter of taste. If he thinks its one of the 10 worst, he's entitled to think so. But at the same time he needs to step back and realize he's not the only one with an opinion on the matter, and that people will disagree with his opinion. Belittling people who disagree with you is not a good thing.

If we all thought the same way, this whole thread wouldn't exist, or if it did, it'd be about four posts long, with each post being identical to the previous.

What floats your boat may be what sinks mine.

This movie did influence things in a few ways. It allowed it's strikingly similar predecessor, _Last Broadcast_ to see the light of day (even though it was horrendous). It also made Hollywood take more notice of the people making small-budget movies. Look at how little BWP cost to make and how much money it made.

And it influenced us to rant on and on about its qualities and deficiencies in a long-winded, five-paged thread on the subject.


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## The Collector

Hmmm...Blair Witch Project? Ok good reason to hate it...I live in the woods...do you have any idea how frustrating it is to watch a bunch of stupid kids go running through the woods and they keep crossing a river??? Well out here on the East Coast, most TOWNS are built on RIVERS...My mind says "follow the *bleeping* river!" 

But Open Water? I was so anxious to see it and then was really let down when I did...Not to give anything away to those of you who haven't seen it...let's just say I was really pissed that i paid money to see the inevitable happen...Again, a very frustrating movie


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## SuFiKitten77

The Collector said:


> But Open Water? I was so anxious to see it and then was really let down when I did...Not to give anything away to those of you who haven't seen it...let's just say I was really pissed that i paid money to see the inevitable happen...Again, a very frustrating movie


I would have to agree with you, but luckily for me I only lost $3 for renting it from Blockbuster, and the time it took for me to watch and want to gouge my eyes out with spoons. Next time I will sit in my bathroom and watch my son's toys float around for a couple hours then let my dog in there and let him eat them .. might be more entertaing .. nah, just cheaper


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## uncle willie

just for ****s and giggles http://www.blairwitch.com/


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## colinsuds

hey i just watched the blair witch project for the first time a few days ago and i was just wondering what the hell was in that bloddy package the found outside their tent?


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## SuFiKitten77

I think it was the one who had went missing's teeth .. I might be thinking of a different part of the movie ..


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## colinsuds

no i think your right thats what i thought it was.


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## SuFiKitten77

What I wish they would've shown .. was the three being killed, and how those teeth came to be outside of their tent. I think it might of added some excitment to the movie .. especially Heather, I would love to of seen her dimise  Right after her snivling, snot filled speech.


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## Sinister

Maybe I'm just in a macabre, sick mode this morning. Yes, I think Heather Donahue would have been best served in this movie with a machete to the face a la' *Friday the 13th Part II* style. :voorhees:


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## SuFiKitten77

Hell Yeah!! They should make another one, about how they found another "lost tape" That shows the brutal murder of each one .. especially Heather


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## Witterally

I never liked The Blair Witch Project. There was nothing good about it at all. But I really think the hype is finally completely dead now. At least, I hope.

And now I think this will be looked at as a novelty of its' time (like a whoopy-cushion). Not a classic.


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