‘Blair Witch’ Is ‘Effectively Scary,’ But Should’ve Been ‘Left Lost in the Woods,’ Critics Say
Critics are torn about the new “Blair Witch” film, describing it as “effectively scary” but “one found footage movie that should have been left lost in the woods.”
The sequel to 1999’s cult horror “The Blair Witch Project” currently holds a score of 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with 21 “fresh” reviews and 19 “splat” ones.
[...] he wrote that it “does manage to generate occasional moments of tension, particularly when it strays from the first film’s narrative and peeks into some new dark corners.”
“Blair Witch,” produced for a very modest budget of roughly $5 million, is expected to top the box office with trackers placing its debut at a whopping $23 million (though Lionsgate is hedging bets, saying mid-to-high teens).
The movie is about a group of friends who return to a forest in Black Hills, Maryland, to find a young man’s sister, who many believe is connected to the Blair Witch legend after her disappearance 22 years before.
[...] scary and occasionally inventive, ‘Blair Witch’ is a solid genre film both helped and hindered by its franchise’s place in cinematic history.
When it’s all over and the lights come up, ‘Blair Witch’ leaves one feeling swatted, thrashed, and thrown around, not to mention nearly deafened by the film’s screeching sound design.
If franchise entries are now like a game of Exquisite Corpse, Wingard and Barrett are like the people who leave a horrible mess, then pass it off to the next person to clean up.
Blair Witch 2’ — the first follow-up which was rushed to market for financial reasons — this new iteration still comes across as downright inspiring.
Simply put, it is a tremendously satisfying climax, and not even the contrivance that they would still be wearing their over-the-ear video cams and lugging around a camcorder can dampen the breathless fun.
‘Blair Witch’ brings a jolt of energy to a legendary horror franchise, making for a respectful and uniquely haunting chapter.