Subject:
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Re: Blair Witch Project - Thoughts?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 27 Jan 2000 23:28:39 GMT
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Viewed:
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461 times
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Adam,
Adam Yulish wrote:
> This movie *really* affected me; such that I would go so far as to say I
> was not stable after seeing it. Had I known what I was in for, I would
> have not chosen to go. Shortsightedness and a complete lack of common
> sense at the time enabled my attendance. Have I made this melodramatic
> enough? :)
Hmm... I know I do that from time to time as well, such as why did I
just spend 300.00 on LEGO? :) I can tell it would affect some people
though.
> [side note] Most of the people I talked to who have seen the movie are
> pretty opinionated about it. They either thought it was the scariest
> thing they had seen (this includes veteran horror moviegoers), or the
> most inane, overhyped movie they had seen in awhile (this includes
> veteran horror moviegoers). I found *very* few people in the middle.
> More on this at the end of this post. [end side note]
Well, I know I am usually on one side or the other (Usually on the right
;) ), and rarely in the middle. I guess with my opinion of the movie...
> There are a few "movie" flaws here that no one can argue, all having to
> do with "why the heck would the camera be rolling?". There were three
> times I could think of that this really stuck out for me, but the
> accuracy of the scenes soon washed over these flaws, and the movie
> continued on. Ever had a dream where you were watching yourself in the
> dream?
I did have a dream about this movie the night I saw it, and I was
frustrated. I was watching a similar thing, but it was with 12 people
getting killed, and it still didn't bother me. I won't get into all the
details, but there were many decapitated heads, etc.
> Same problem. And usually the proceedings of the dream was enough
> for you to lose that question, and watch what was going on. Those who
> were not connecting with the content of the movie undoubtedly had to sit
> through a really rough homemade slopfest.
>
> The Blair Witch Project wasn't a matter of "getting it" or "not getting
> it". Rather, it was a portrayal of how people work (and didn't work),
> and what that could lead to. If you didn't plug into the trio pretty
> soon after the movie started, you didn't have any point of reference to
> see the degeneration that happened. Being objective in this movie will
> kill the movie for you. Being subjective will kill you instead of the
> movie. :)
Hmm... I didn't connect with any of the characters, any of the time.
Maybe that is my problem. I guess I wasn't an artist-type person, and
was rather annoyed at the drinking, the swearing, and the general
college student portrayal in this. The whole thing of going into the
woods to try to find this stuff, inexperienced, and totally unprepared,
made me wonder a little. Anyway...
> After I plugged in (and I say this a couple of months later, looking
> back at the experience), there were three things in increasing order of
> importance that really made this movie a quality work, all concerning
> accuracy.
Hmm...
> First was the accuracy of the portrayal of witchcraft. I'm not
> knowledgeable of the specifics of witchcraft, but I am aware of the
> suppositions involved in how witchcraft works, and this movie does an
> excellent job at underlining these suppositions. While clearly this
> isn't prerequisite knowledge for viewing the movie (as evidenced by all
> those who were scared silly), it added extra punch into freaking me out.
Well, Larry P. says God is a invisible pink elephant, so I guess the
devil could be an invisible blue donkey (Yes, politics again). My faith
as a Christian, and what I have experienced, makes me have no doubt that
Satan is real and he does do things to people. Witchcraft is real,
although the source people can argue about. I assume you are talking
about the south compass deal, and the Josh voice perhaps? The dolls, the
cemetery, and the concept of a cult living out there is not too
unbelievable.
> Second, having a "barebones" approach underlined the here-and-now aspect
> of the movie. All that bouncing around, bad camera angles, lousy audio,
> etc., helped to connect me to the three people who were experiencing
> what was going on. So I was experiencing it with them, as the movie
> intended. This also includes all of the "corny" people they met, and the
> oddball comments, the "petty" fights, and so forth. Maybe I live a
> strange life, but what I saw conformed to the way that most people work
> in real life. People really do tend to be that strange.
It didn't connect to me because they don't act anything like I do. Then
again, I am very strange compared to the rest of the world. The
fighting, real cameras, etc. do make it appear real, so it was a good
element, even though my fiancee got motion sick on it. Mr. Iron Stomach
didn't do anything, really. The "real" people did do a good bit in it
here, however.
> So as the degeneration of the three occurred, the cause-and-effect was
> spot on. I thought the lady was a phenomenal actress, and the escalating
> flaws between the people in the group were handled masterfully. From an
> "objective" standpoint, yes, they were being *really* stupid. What makes
> this movie so scary was that they were capable of being "that stupid".
Hmm... I can't imagine all the bad choices they made here, but it was
annoying me after the first or second night. The map thing was
especially hard for me to swallow. No one is *that* dumb.
> Yes, they were capable of being that stupid. But neither they nor anyone
> else would reach that point, unless something really drastic happened.
> Usually it's of the order of some serious alcohol. Replace alcohol with
> witchcraft, note each and every point that the three of them make
> unusual choices or react in bizarre ways, and you see a subtle web of
> manipulation form of ever increasing horror. It gives me chills just to
> type about this now. This is where the third and most important element
> comes in.
So you are saying that witchcraft was affecting them as well? Hmm... I
thought maybe it was the compass deal, it could be...... still though,
their lack of control, or belief in God is even more depressing. I know
I would have prayed a lot in this situation.
> The third element is the distinction between lesser and greater evil,
> and this movie is the best portrayal I have ever seen to that effect
> (quick note--I'm not experienced in the horror genre, nor do I plan to
> be). To be plugged into what the characters were doing, but only be "the
> observer" and know how it happens but not why it happens, is to witness
> the migration from lesser to greater evil, and be equally powerless to
> stop it.
So you are saying that the lesser evil started maybe when they first
came, and as the days progressed, the greater evil was overpowering them
( The Josh scream making them go into the house? )
> This is getting long
It's off-topic.debate. This is the place for long posts. :)
> so I'll expand on these elements in another post
> if someone wants.
I'm interested.
> Otherwise, here's the Blair Witch Project in a
> nutshell:
>
> Accuracy in witchcraft, in setting, in lesser and greater evil.
> Connection with the three main characters.
>
> Accuracy + Connection = freak-out horror movie.
>
> If you have one or more of the accuracy elements as a point of
> reference, *and* you connected with the characters early on, you got
> scared. The more you had, the worse it was for you. If you were missing
> *either* of the two additives (usually the connection), you had to sit
> through someone's handycam goofball movie.
Hmm.. I guess some of the things you said do put a different light on
it, but in my experience and life, it was hard for me to connect with
any of them, and maybe that is the main reason for my lack of
understanding in this movie.
> Who was better off? I can't say. As much as it hurt, I'm glad I saw the
> movie; it forced me to face some issues I wouldn't have otherwise done
> in terms of recognizing the difference between lesser and greater evil.
> And I wouldn't wish the same process on anyone.
No, I guess it was a painful thing for you. It was for me as well, but
it showed me that the power of evil (Donkey) is ever present, and can do
horrible things.
Your post got into some personal stuff, so if you feel uncomfortable
about posting anything else, you can just e-mail me, since I brought it
up. Thanks for your input.
Scott S.
(Being alone here at work now and freaked out thinking about this >:( )
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Scott E. Sanburn-> ssanburn@cleanweb.net
Systems Administrator-Affiliated Engineers -> http://www.aeieng.com
LEGO Page -> http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3372/legoindex.html
Home Page -> http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3372/index.html
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Blair Witch Project - Thoughts?
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| <snipped intro stuff> (...) I've found that content in dreams doesn't necessarily correlate with feeling. I've seen some "very bad" stuff, and have been unaffected by it, and I also once had a dream about smurfs that scared me senseless; I remember (...) (25 years ago, 29-Jan-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Blair Witch Project - Thoughts?
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| (...) This movie *really* affected me; such that I would go so far as to say I was not stable after seeing it. Had I known what I was in for, I would have not chosen to go. Shortsightedness and a complete lack of common sense at the time enabled my (...) (25 years ago, 27-Jan-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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