Bradi Murphy | Arts & Life Editor
There is a massive forest deep in the backwoods of Maryland that is known to be the home of a witch — one who has the ability to alter time and distort travelers’ minds.
“Blair Witch” was released Sept. 16 and received mostly mediocre reviews in the first week. It was rated a 5.7 out of 10 on IMDb. For skeptics, “Blair Witch” seems nothing more than a flash from the past that will come and go in a quick blur, much like the witch in the movie. A sequel to “The Blair Witch Project,” made in 1999, the 2016 release made $9,576,057 in the opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.
Initially, I was drawn to “Blair Witch” because I am a horror movie fanatic, so I do my best to see every new thriller that comes out. I was intrigued by the trailer because it made the beginning of “Blair Witch” seem like a clip straight out of “Friday the 13th”: The main characters go into creepy woods with a spine-tingling legend, then they find themselves running for their lives.
For the most part, I enjoyed the “Blair Witch” and thought the plot had a wonderfully shocking ending. Unfortunately, I have not seen the original, so I cannot compare the two, but for a modern thriller, “Blair Witch” was distinct in its suspense buildup by not overusing CGI effects. “Blair Witch” followed six characters who went into the infamous Black Hills Forest to look for the missing sister of the main character, James. Directed by Adam Wingard, “Blair Witch” is shot as a video recording from a main character and shows a spiral of events that intensifies the longer the main characters are in the cryptic woods.
I thought this movie was a fun watch, but if you need all of your questions answered at the end of a movie, this is not the flick for you. It was obvious from the beginning of the movie that the ending would leave you hanging onto the edge of your seat. Immediately after seeing the movie, this bothered me, but now, a week later, I find myself still trying to answer misleading questions, and I am anxious to re-watch “Blair Witch” for more answers.
I would recommend that anyone going to see this movie not take it too seriously. The ending gets a little cheesy, and the director, Adam Wingard definitely could have taken the concept of the witch a step further, but overall, the revelation in the end was good. This movie wasn’t the most scary that I’ve seen but it was a unique film that I will be watching again.
