Of all the horror franchises Blair Witch appears to bring out the more empassioned responses. The original film was a Marmite flick, as in people either loved it or hated it. I was in two minds about it, feeling sorely disappointed upon seeing it theatrically but warming to it more on its later DVD format where it’s hand-held camera low-budget vibe seemed more at home. However given that the footage had been ‘found’ I couldn’t help but wonder how exactly. That would mean someone else toddled into the forbidding witch’s lair to do so, and if they did just that then how is it that they survived in order to edit the footage for our viewing pleasure? Perhaps that matter would be resolved in this latest Blair Witch flick.
Most people tend to ignore the first sequel seeing it as nothing more than a quick cash-in, however I did like that it didn’t just regurgitate the same story-telling format, something writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard are unfortunately more than willing to do with their belated third movie in the franchise.
In terms of the story things aren’t really that much different to how they were in the first movie – youngsters, with cameras, venture out into the Black Hills Forest, Maryland – with the cause for the excursion being some found footage that would indicate that Heather, from the first film, may actually still be alive, or so believes James Donahue, Heather’s brother, who would have two-years-old when his older sibling disappeared. For those that haven’t seen the first film – unlikely given the hype that pushed the first film to record box office back in 1999 – Heather was one of three who ventured into the same forest to investigate the legend of the Blair Witch.Technology has moved on in the seventeen years since the original film, meaning that now cameras are not only hand-held but also ear-mounted, a high-flying drone is put to limited use too. Heather’s brother James (James Allen McCune), led by Lisa (Callie Hernandez), an aspiring documentarian and film student, ventures out with her small crew that includes two others. The foursome soon bump into a young couple, not just any young couple but the young couple who posted the footage of Heather online. The couple claim that they can show Lisa and her crew where they found the footage of but neglect to tell them where exactly, nor does anyone really keep pushing to find out where either. Needless to say it’s not before everyone is losing their shit and start squabbling as both time and space appear to shift around them in the Black Hills Forest.
To start with any connection to the original movie were kept secret, screenings of the film at festivals were under the fake title of The Woods. Right up until the film’s première at the 2016 Comic-Con, it was kept secret that The Woods, it’s shooting title, was in fact a Blair Witch sequel. This was done to prevent any possible backlash from the internet community who have a habit of reacting negatively to reboots. Once the film had screened the film’s actual title was released. Early reviews raved that this film was a return to the form of the original. That’s all well and good however I am rather tired of the dreary found-footage format so I didn’t exactly warm to the idea of yet another. However these promising early reports were misleading, as upon its theatrical release Blair Witch went on to receive generally negative feedback from both critics and the public alike.
Despite the initial promise that things could be different this time around, with the updates to the technology the protagonists are using Blair Witch becomes nothing more than a tired retread of the first film – twig men hanging from trees, piles of rocks outside tents – something detractors cannot level at the much maligned first sequel, which actually DID try to do something new in its telling. So OK we do learn that the Blair Witch can fuck about with time and also ensure that our vapid youngsters are literally keep in the dark. That’s all very well but why didn’t she do any of this last time around, and why on earth doesn’t she collect the cameras from her latest bunch of victims lest someone else find it, edit it and release it as a movie?
There’s a lot of screaming on-screen and needlessly loud moments attempting to generate a scare or two, but what IS lacking is any real tension or surprises and THAT’S where the real scares come from. Also once you start questioning the behaviour of those you are meant to be rooting for, any sympathy you might have is quickly replaced with irritation and by the end of Blair Witch that’s exactly how I was left feeling.