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The Blair Witch Project
A bewitching walk in the woods
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The Blair Witch Project
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Rated R
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Starring Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard
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Written and Directed By Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
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87 Minutes
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Review by Jeff Berkwits
 or more than 200 years, Burkittsville, Md., has been plagued by a series
of mysterious disappearances. The town--formerly known as Blair--was reportedly
cursed by a witch near the end of the 18th century and, since that time,
children have been sporadically vanishing from the area. The most recent incident occurred
during the 1940s, when seven youngsters
were killed by a mentally ill hermit, who claimed he had committed the
crime to appease "an old woman ghost" that lived near his secluded cabin.
Hearing about this supernatural legend, college students Heather Donahue,
Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams believe that a documentary about Blair
would make the perfect class project. After interviewing some townspeople
about the frightening fable, the three hike deep into the heavily wooded
countryside searching for the graves of early victims and such sites as
Coffin Rock, where, in the 1880s, the disemboweled bodies of men looking for a
missing child were found.
Trekking through the Black Hills Forest, the filmmakers stumble upon a
circle of small, mysterious cairns. Shaken by this discovery and eager to
depart, the three students soon deduce that they're hopelessly lost.
Frantically struggling to find their way back to civilization, the group
uncovers additional strange talismans. And, as their fear intensifies and
weird sounds haunt them throughout the night, they realize that the Blair
Witch might actually be more than an old wives' tale.
Method movie making
Though there are dozens of scary flicks released each year, few possess
the effectiveness and elan of The Blair Witch Project. This engrossing
movie, which is presented in a cinema-verite style, is ostensibly
compiled from the footage shot by Heather, Joshua and Michael. A brief text
introduction explains that their film was found a year after their ill-fated 1994
expedition.
The ultimate outcome of the tale is clearly telegraphed, yet through a
combination of creative camera work and reasonably believable
characterizations, the story remains riveting. Part of this success is
undoubtedly due to a technique the directors dubbed "method filmmaking,"
whereby the actors actually wandered in the woods for days, shooting most of
the footage themselves. Their fascination, frustration and outright fear is
therefore palpable and plausible. Additionally, to further blur the
distinction between reality and fantasy, the three stars supposedly use their
real names throughout the picture.
There's a certain Hitchcock-like finesse to the movie, with some of the
most fearful scenes occurring off-screen and much of the tension accentuated
by photography that incorporates both color and black-and-white imagery
(depending on which camera the students are using). There's one important
plot element that, for anyone who has actually gone off-trail hiking, is
highly unrealistic, but otherwise The Blair Witch Project is both a
terrifying and terrific adventure. The forest will never look so peaceful
again.
The creators of this feature have woven together a complex mythos that
extends far beyond their theatrical presentation. In fact, significant amounts
of supplemental information, including video outtakes and snippets created
specifically for the Internet, can be found at
The Blair Witch Project Web site.
-- Jeff
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GvsE
You can battle evil and have fun at the same time...
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GvsE
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Starring Clayton Rohner, Richard Brooks, Deacon Jones
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Created and Written by the Pate Brothers
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USA Network
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Premieres July 18, 8 p.m./7 p.m. CT
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Review by John Platt
 handler Smythe (Rohner) dies an
untimely death...and finds himself not in Heaven or Hell, but in the office
of Decker (Googy Gress) and Ford (Marshall Bell), a couple of hard-boiled
detective types, who want to recruit him for The Corps. The Corps is a sort of afterlife
police force that, on behalf of the Almighty, battles the evil Morlocks on Earth.
Since a stint in The Corps is Chandler's only chance for eternal redemption--and
a possible reunion with his deceased wife in Heaven--he reluctantly
agrees to join the battle.
Upon returning to Earth and taking up residence at a Corps-owned apartment
complex in Hollywood, Calif., Chandler watches a strange videotape featuring former
NFL superstar Deacon Jones (a Corps agent), who explains the rules to Chandler.
First, there is no sex allowed, so Corps members don't accidently end up making it with Morlocks.
Second, there is no contact with former friends and family members, because that could make
them potential Morlock targets. Third, Corps members have no special powers, meaning Chandler
is flesh and blood once more, and if he dies again, that's it.
Chandler is teamed with Henry McNeil (Richard Brooks), an
impatient, wisecracking veteran of The Corps. As Chandler's partner, Henry
mentors him on the ways of the afterlife. As members of The Corps, the pair
are essentially bounty hunters for the Almighty. Their goal is to locate
those humans foolish enough to have made a Faustian bargain with the agents
of evil, the Morlocks. Upon finding these lost souls, Chandler and Henry
must determine whether to rehabilitate them...or, in extreme cases, exterminate
them.
Naturally, the Morlocks don't want either to happen. And these Morlocks are
some serious bad-asses.
Starsky and Hutch meet Mulder and Scully
GvsE is one super-cool new cop show. A cross between Pulp Fiction and the
The X-Files, it plays up 1970s television conventions in a '90s setting with excellent results.
Wearing his black suit and skinny black tie, Chandler looks like Agent
Mulder after joining Men In Black. And Henry's retro leather jacket and
hilarious Afro wig make him the coolest black do-gooder since Shaft.
The funky soundtrack that accompanies the heroes' escapades sounds so close to
the "Theme From Starsky and Hutch" it's eerie. And the production style, the
grainy video shots, the Corps' logo flying at viewers during scene transitions, the
split screen used any time a character makes a phone call...all work to great effect.
The stories themselves, purposefully absurd and convoluted, are of little
importance. GvsE succeeds on style and attitude (of which it has plenty),
its warped but stereotypical characters, and the too-hip-to-be-taken-seriously
Tarantino-esque dialogue. These diverse elements somehow come together to make GvsE one of the most
fun new genre shows to hit the tube in years. It may not be The X-Files, but
it's about as close to it as cable has come
so far.
For a child of '70s television like myself, GvsE really hits home.
Blending the Quinn Martin Production cop-conventions I loved as a kid with
the hard-edged reality bite I like as an adult...this new series should nail
its target audience. And, hopefully, the younger generation will have
learned enough from watching reruns to appreciate the spoof as well.
-- John
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