The Blair Witch Project

You've seen the symbol - the five-pointed figure that has absolutely no meaning to you. You've probably seen the cover of the movie too, with a girl's teary-eyed face peering out at you helplessly with a flashlight illuminating her face.

But what exactly is The Blair Witch Project? And is it really just a movie?

The film opens up with a chilling warning in white print set up against the contrasting black screen, stating that in 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared into the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland. Their footage was found one year later, and this is what the audience is watching. The entire movie is actually the film recorded by the three missing students, and some parts of the movie were so unsteady that audience members had to leave to prevent from vomiting.

The first couple of scenes are light and carefree. Heather Donahue, Joshua "Josh" Leonard, and Michael "Mike" Williams are venturing into the woods near their home to shoot a documentary about the legendary Blair Witch. They learn from the town residents that there was a woman who lived in the town of Blair by the name of Elly Kedward. Children began to appear in town and blame Kedward of luring them into her house to draw their blood. Found guilty of witchcraft, Kedward was banished from the town and presumed dead during a harsh winter season.

As the winter went on, those who accused Kedward and their children began to disappear from the town of Blair. Eventually the town is abandoned, and years later, Burkittsville is built over the old site.

The three filmmakers want to document their expedition into the woods as they research the mystery of the Blair Witch, especially since there have been child abductions even since Burkittsville was built. Later on, an old hermit named Rustin Parr is found guilty of kidnapping and murdering seven children, the bodies of which were found in his cellar. He is convicted and hanged, but not before he stated that he committed these murders for "an old woman ghost" that lived in the woods near his house.

As the three students hike through the woods surrounding Burkittsville, things begin to go wrong. They hear cackling at night, as well as footsteps and even, during one intense scene, a baby screaming. When they wake up one morning, they even find that three piles of rocks have been placed strategically around their tent, as if someone had been performing a ritual the night before.

Thoroughly freaked out by now, the audience watched as the human psyche of each student begins to deteriorate. Food supplies are running low because of the fact that they are lost. They cannot find the road, or where they parked the car. Soon, the map goes missing. Fights and arguments heat up, and the audience begins to wonder that if the Blair Witch does not finish the students off, then they will.

I will, obviously, not give away the ending. The film is wonderfully frightening and provides not only a good horror story, but a look at what happens when things go wrong and there's nobody to help you. People begin to break down and turn on each other, and it is really the deterioration of the human conscience that makes this movie so terrifying, not the Blair Witch. But don't be fooled - she is definitely providing much horror throughout the film.

Once the movie was over and I shut off my TV, there were two thoughts running through my mind.

The first was: I wonder if this really happened and if there really is a Blair Witch?

The second was: Either way, I am never hiking alone again.