Blair Witch Project, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -3

In this unique documentary/horror film, three students head into the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, in October 1994 to investigate and make a documentary about the local legend of the Blair Witch. Five days later, when their abandoned car is found near the edge of the woods, they are reported missing. A year later, when some film is found in an abandoned house in the woods, the story of their final days is revealed. That film has been supposedly pieced together to form this movie, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. The footage begins on the first day of their journey as they interview some locals who tell stories they have heard about the Blair Witch. Then the students head deep into the woods to sites where the Blair Witch has apparently struck in the past. Little do they know that the Blair Witch will soon be after them. The very unique cinematic project is filmed documentary style on 16MM film, and the filmmakers succeed in scaring the audience without the normal proliferation of violence.

The film promises to scare, and it delivers without one violent scene in the entire movie. In light of the constant blood and gore in so many of the horror films today, this lack of violence is astounding. The filmmakers allow the audience to use their imagination a little, instead of showing every graphic detail. And this makes for an even better film. However, graphic violence is replaced by language, with a whopping 131 f-words and 54 s-words. Of course, the element of witchcraft is also prevalent in the film. And while witchcraft is not supported and always viewed as evil, a couple of the townspeople indicate that they believe in the legend. One women interviewed holds a Bible and wears a large cross around her neck, possibly because she claims to have seen the witch. Several people refer to her as the crazy woman of the town, and she does seem a bit out of the ordinary. The story gets pretty intense as the witch begins to hunt the students, but the excessive foul language contributes mostly to the negative rating.

Preview Reviewer: John Adair
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment, 2700 Colorado Ave., Second Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90404