Blair Witch
Blair Witch (2016)is whatThe Blair Witch Projectwould be if the original had been made today - which is both a compliment and a concession.
Twenty years after Heather Donahue went missing in the woods of Burkittsville , Maryland , video recording of anewBlair Witch encounter appears online , incite James Donahue ( James Allen McCune ) to return to the site of his sister ’s disappearance in the Bob Hope that she might still be alive . James is joined in his lookup by his close friends Peter ( Brandon Scott ) and Ashley ( Corbin Reid ) as well as Lisa ( Callie Hernandez ) - a comparatively Modern familiarity who wants to document the trip for her postgraduate thesis .
After the original Blair Witch tape come up , investigators scour the woods count for Heather but never located the dilapidated cabin featured in the picture ; so , in rescript to narrow his search , James turns to the Burkittsville couple , Lane ( Wes Robinson ) and Talia ( Valorie Curry ) , who found the late Blair Witch TV , requesting the pair lead him to whereexactlythey find the footage . To ensure the friends do n’t suffer the same fate as Heather and her pic crew , and to get the best video recording possible for the dissertation project , James and Lisa equip their group with high - tech gear : ear - top photographic camera , GPS radios , night vision train , and an aery dawdler . However , no amount of formulation or modern gadgets couldactuallyprepare the group for evenfall in the Blair woods .
One of the first films to popularize the found footage genre , Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’sThe Blair Witch Projectearned critical praise and a massive box place back in 1999 . Unfortunately , the series was quickly cloud by a rush continuation ( Book of Shadows ) that bear small resemblance to its predecessor . Now , sixteen years later on , director Adam Wingard ( You ’re NextandThe Guest ) has secrete a conform to - up , titledBlair Witch , that should appease longtime fans looking for a more unquestionable continuation of theBlair Witchstory but , conversely , does petty to reinvent the wane found footage genre that exploded out of the 1999 motion picture ’s winner . In poor , Blair Witchis a bigger ( not inevitably shuddery ) sequel to theProjectthat stays rightful to Myrick and Sánchez ’s panache and approaching ; though , Wingard sideline play and tenacious plotting in service of definingBlair Witchmythology ( and repose a foundation for future sequels ) .
For month , Blair Witchwas commercialise under its work title , The Woods , in rules of order to maintain the experience for moviegoers , with no hint of its connection to theBlair Witchseries , but the film itself is importantly less elusive about tethering the two together ( though it ignoresBook of Shadowsentirely ) . Wingard and his frequent collaborator , writer Simon Barrett , were confront with a tough challenge : give up aBlair Witchsequel seventeen year after the first motion picture that would entertain modern audience without infract what made the firstBlair Witch Projectso terrifying , specifically : fear of the unknown and the unseen . In their crusade , the duad come after in some aspects well than others .
WhereThe Blair Witch Projectfeatured a convincing and gut - wrenching portrayal of actual human beingness decay in the face of physical and emotional exhaustion , regardless of the arch over supernatural storyline , Wingard ’s film is populated with mass and situations that exist to define the Blair Witch fable more than the form and events at hired man . Viewers realize a clearer understanding of the Blair Witch herself , and the reach of her powers , but this comes at the disbursement of lay down game lines and relationships that go next - to - nowhere .
Unlike the archetype , which focalize altogether on three protagonists who audiences could endow in , Blair Witchintroduces viewers to six main graphic symbol that aremostlyhorror - movie bromide and never flesh out beyond their single-valued function within the plot . Wingard positions James and Lisa as the driving personnel behind the narrative , and alludes to add layers within the group , but ontogenesis of the lineament and their inter - personal conflicts are abandoned once they ’ve spend one dark in the woods . EachBlair Witchcast extremity turns in a serviceable performance but viewers are n’t challenge to actually feel for any one of them . The the main player are petty to film ’s priority : once the tarradiddle is rolling and the characters are in station , Wingard is driving toward a finale that is bigger in scale but falls short in aroused punch .
Blair Witchis one of the better found footage movie released in the last tenner , thanks to Wingard ’s back - to - basics method acting , but audiences will also spot a lot of conversant found footage staples within the film ’s fright , organic structure revulsion , and overarching domain - construction . A higher budget and New effect enable Wingard to inject large scares and haunt reveals that Myrick and Sánchez could not have have in 1999 ; still , onceBlair Witch ’s theatrical role are established and the group enters the woods , the movie maker does n’t leaveanyroom for humor or here and now of relievo . The non - stop tenseness will keep viewers on edge , thanks to claustrophobic night sequences and increasingly violent supernatural events , but the haunting suspense often mutes the movie ’s big jerking - since Wingard is fundamentally playing the same unwavering preeminence throughout ( even though he occasionally hammersslightlyharder on that samara ) .
Blair Witchmay alienate casual filmgoers looking for escapist amusement that offer up a traditional blend of revulsion and humor ; though , fan of the original who want a deeper prima donna into Blair Witch traditional knowledge , and shuddery movie buffs that appreciate a less - is - more approach to scare , should be satisfied by Wingard ’s take . Blair Witch ( 2016)is whatThe Blair Witch Projectwould be if the master had been made today - which is both a compliment and a yielding . Wingard has produced an godly follow - up that pays court toBlair Witch ’s imaginative indie ascendant , wipes out theBook of Shadowsstain , while ( forcefully ) injecting enough lore and mythology to ensure audience will not be wait another sixteen long time for aBlair Witchsequel .
TRAILER
Blair Witchruns 89 second and is Rated R for language , panic and some distressful images . Now playing in theaters .
Let us know what you thought of the film in the scuttlebutt section below . If you ’ve seen the movie and require to discuss detail about the moving picture without worrying about spoiling it for those who have n’t pick up it , please head up over to ourBlair WitchSpoilers Discussion .
For an in - depth discourse of the cinema by the Screen Rant editors check up on back before long for ourBlair Witchepisode of theTotal Geekallpodcast .
Callie Hernandez as Lisa in Blair Witch (2016)
Blair Witch is the third film in the low - budget horror dealership that commence in 1999 with The Blair Witch Project . The film centers on James , who travels into a secluded timber after he views a video that be conceive his omit sister Heather is on . But things do n’t go as design when they run into the Blair Witch .
