Thirith on 13/10/2009 at 10:27
Quote Posted by fett
I just didn't get the Blair Witch thing...
I think that
Blair Witch is one of the few films that either work for you or they don't, and if it's the latter then you won't get *anything* out of the film. There's lots of films out there that I don't particularly like, but I still find them interesting. They tickle my brain, even if they don't affect me.
Blair Witch, on the other hand... If it doesn't succeed at pushing the right buttons with you, chances are you'll see it as a tedious, wannabe clever film that doesn't really work.
I was 'lucky' to see it with a group of friends, one of whom was an Irish guy who from the first minute went "Ohshitohshitohfuckthey'resofuckedohshitohshitohshit..." The film still worked pretty okay for me - for some reason the stupid stick figures freaked the hell out of me.
fett on 13/10/2009 at 16:46
I think part of the problem with me is that I figure there are enough freaky things in the world without making them up and trying to scare people. So much unexplained things in history are bizarre and "scary" - films like these are intended to feel "real" but to me they just feel artificial - even more artificial than run of the mill horror films - because they're trying to act real (I hope that makes sense...)
Thirith on 13/10/2009 at 16:50
I don't think I get what you mean. Is it supernatural horror that pretends to be real that feel fake to you, because you believe that the supernatural cannot and does not exist (which may very well be true)? Or is it something else?
fett on 13/10/2009 at 18:16
Just that there's plenty of unexplained phenomenon that's creepy without having to make stuff up and film it documentary style like it's real. Maybe it's the twice-removed fakeness of it, as opposed to straightforward suspense/horror fiction that doesn't pretend to be more than what it is. Stuff like Blair Witch and this one add another layer of unreality with all the viral marketing and "OMG THIS REALLY HAPPEN??!!!" stuff that it just comes off as disingenuous hype with no real substance. I think the only films that resemble that style that even remotely worked for me was the original Excorcist and Emily Rose - "based on a true story" type stuff, but obviously intended to entertain, as opposed to some supposed "documentary" of supernatural phenomenon with faux-intellectual insistence that the audience "make up their own mind."
SubJeff on 13/10/2009 at 19:16
Yeah, I think that kind of did Blair Witch in for me. There was an American girl on our course at the time (she was very nice btw) and she added to the hype in a "OMG guuys, are you going to see the Blair Witch Praaject?! Its totally aawesome! And its REAL! OMG OMG!" way.
Too much gushing and as fett says trying to make it "real" actually further separates it for me because its an extra layer or fakery.
And then there just wasn't anything in it I found scary. What was supposed to frighten me? Films I found scary were The Thing and the Sutherland version of Body Snatchers. I know they are films and they don't pretend to be anything else yet the idea(s) creeped me out. Ringu was pretty decent too. People bumming around and getting lost in the woods like twits and imagining there is some freaky thing out there just didn't work on me. This film looks like similar. However, at least (from the trailers) there seems to be some supernatural stuff on screen (unlike in BWP) so perhaps...
A definite home watch though.
Tonamel on 13/10/2009 at 19:32
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
People bumming around and getting lost in the woods like twits and imagining there is some freaky thing out there just didn't work on me.
I think this was mentioned before, but this is BWP's major failing. If you don't buy into the fiction quickly, it does nothing to bring you into it later. If you believe they're
imagining a freaky thing, then there's nothing scary at all. If you believe there
is a freaky thing, then it's terrifying.
A lot of it hinges on things happening to the lost trio that were mentioned in the scattered interviews at the beginning of the movie, but a lot of those things were throwaway details that the audience has probably forgotten by the time they start happening.
the_grip on 13/10/2009 at 19:41
BWP trailers were more creepy than the movie. I remember the day it was released and a coworker and I were watching the trailer on our PCs over and over. It was MUCH scarier than the flick... not to mention that everyone knew the story of the original screening when people thought it was documentary (although how, I'm not sure).
Tocky on 18/10/2009 at 06:00
This was one hell of a lot better than Blair Witch. The whiney little bitch factor was gone. This was closer to what I believe would actually happen were such events to unfold. Disbelief and humor are natural here and the stages of acceptance more seamless. This movie was much less staccato and more believable except possibly the ending. The whole point of horror is suspension of belief, the progression from normal to so far from it is best taken in small steps. PA does so. If anything I wish it had been more gradual.
Micah has courage. He is protective and loyal. He does not turn inward nor turn away. He does not hide. He seeks. This makes for much more relatable horror than stumbling about blindly and griping at every turn. Rather he investigates, he strives to understand and deal with what he cannot grasp but is all the more fascinated with for the inability to do so. To a point. Complete loss of control is as inevitable for his character as it is that he denies so hard that it has happened.
I think it helps to have experienced similar things. Say a fan you have set on medium because you like white noise suddenly kicks into a full blast roar loud enough to wake you from sound sleep around 2:30. Say you are alone in the house. A power surge? Someone broke in just to have a bit of fun? Nobody behind the fan now roaring like the devil. Maybe just the switch set nearly to full and it slipped due to vibration. Sure. Simple. You go back to sleep. Too far across the room to get up. In the morning you find it on medium not high. Pah you dismiss it and go about your day. This movie tweaks that little area of your mind that refuses to forget what could not have happened but did.
Renzatic on 18/10/2009 at 06:38
I just learned earlier today that the movie is playing at one of the local ultraplexes. To celebrate, I think I'm gonna forgo my usual movie-going spiel and catch a late showing by myself. It's nearing Halloween after all, and seeing this surrounded by nothing more than a handful of strangers might make for a scarier holiday experience.
I'm stoked. :D
Fragony on 18/10/2009 at 07:22
Looks like fun, loved the Blair Witch Project scared the beejezus out of me.
