A few notes on TBWP:
First of all, did anyone catch the reference (the name of the
film company: Haxan) to an old silent fim: "Haxan:
Witchcraft throught he Ages"? Obviously, the name of the
film company was deliberate."Haxan" is a well-made
Scandinavian film (Danish, I think) that discusses the causes of
witchcraft hysteria.
Secondly, there was an article in the Washington Post that
explained how the film was made. The film makers got their
friends (Heather, Josh & Mike) to participate & gave them
the equipment & plot outline. Each morning, the three were
supposed to get that day's supplies at a designated dropoff point
in the woods. For a few days, this worked well, then the film
makers started to give them less food, water, & other
supplies, & finally stopped altogether. The film makers
deliberately deprived them to get their natural, panic reactions.
They then deliberately scared the three. At one point, some one
dressed up all in white like a ghost, jumped out at them, and
chased them around. This was filmed & was supposed to be used
in the movie, but it was decided that the "ghost" didn't
work. So they used the reaction shots instead & the audience
doesn't see what Heather is reacting to. Good stuff like that. I
hope they are all still friends.
I love the elaborate backstory. I saw the "documentary"
and laughed my ass off. I live not far away from the area where
this was filmed. I've even been to Burkittsville (near Frederick,
MD). MAybe George Lucas should hire those guys to give his next
Star Wars movie a PLOT.
In the meantime, Burkittsville is putting up with all of this,
even the idiots who think it's real and want to talk to the
inhabitants of the town about the Blair Witch. But they're
getting annoyed at the people who keep stealing the town's sign.
I hope to see the film this weekend. I understand that Dramimine
is recommended.
Saw "TBWP" yesterday. Remind me never to see a film at
the "Twilight Special" (cheaper rates, but everyone
brings the kids!). The place was filled with teenagers and
younger (it's R-rated, folks). There was a lot of nervous
giggling throughout the movie. But, there were an awful lot of
"fuck this" and "fuck that" for children
under 10 (even if accompanied by an adult).
I thought the film was *clever*. Not as scary as I was led to
believe, but it certainly gets under your skin. The jiggly hand-held
cameras (one color, one black and white) gives the audience a
different perspective than what we usually see and puts us right
in the middle of the action. I found Heather's frequently
disembodied voice (as she was the one with the camera, she was
the least seen)disconcerting, but that's a minor cavil.
As a character study, "TBWP" was one of the best I've
seen in many a year. To see the main characters actually change
during the course of the story is, as far as I'm concerned, a
rare thing these days. Heather starts out being the in-your-face,
alpha female who's obviously running the show. She has the script,
the map, the plan. But once she finds that she can't control the
script, and the map is lost, the plan goes all to hell.
Mike starts out as the whiney one and ends up taking charge. Josh
seems to function as the referee between Heather and Mike. Once
he is gone from the scene, the roles change. I thought that the
constantly shifting relationships among the characters was the
best part of the movie.
I've always felt that what is *imagined* is more horrific than
what is *seen* and obviously the filmmakers felt that way too.
Look at all the interpretations we have come up with. We all saw
the same movie, and we all saw something different (shades of
"Rashomon"). It was creepier because we never saw what
was scaring the trio. If you've ever read any H.P. Lovecraft, you
know how the *anticipation* of something horrible can drive one
to madness, even before (or if) you ever actually the horror.
Of course, the film leaves so many questions unanswered. What
were those twig figures anyway? The stone cairns? Was that the
hermit's house? What was Mike doing in the basement?
Of course, you can go to the website and read all the back story
(which was interesting and pretty elaborate) the filmmakers
developed. And there ARE people out there who think all this is
real. Those guys did a lot of work to set us up.
At the end of the film, there was silence in the theater.I stayed
for the credits as usual. The movie was filmed in two state parks
in Maryland. I don't know if the ruined house was in one of the
parks.
