The Blair Witch Project, a faux documentary, opens nationwide this week. It chronicles -- all too realistically -- three young filmmakers trying to make a movie about a legendary witch. Unfortunately, they get lost in the woods and their psychological horror commences.
The Blair Witch Project is a horror film devoid of copious amounts of blood and extreme violence; and therein lies the key to its success and critical acclaim: the horror it generates rests solely in the imagination of the movie viewer. This is not a new idea -- just one
that seems to have gotten lost in current cinema.
The premise of being in the woods at night and wondering what is truly "out there" strikes a chord for me.
At a summer get-together, several friends and I went out into a large field -- a hundred yards in length -- to play a game at night. Actually, we traversed a large field -- also a hundred yards in length -- and crossed a set of railroad tracks before getting to this large field.
Some woods were at the end of this large field, with house lights visible through the woods. A full moon was out, enabling us to see shadows.
We broke up into two teams and played a stealthy game of tag, with one team trying to apprehend the other team before getting to a designated area. Flashlights were employed by each team as means of signalling to teammates. My team made its way from the woods and across the field by
sending teammates along one person at a time to a few large bushes in the middle of the field. The first person ran toward the bush and signalled back with the flashlight that the "coast was clear." At one point, I remember looking back at the woods and seeing the other team's flashlight signal.
My adrenalin was pumped: I was more afraid of being captured than being in the middle of nowhere because there were several people with me all through the night.
The game finally ended -- I do not recall if there was a decisive winner. The teams gathered in the middle of the field to discuss our whereabouts and the various strategies we employed during the night. The mood was quite jovial as we shared our stories and joked around with one another.
With a laugh, someone from the other team informed us how silly it was for our team to use bird calls as a signal, since that is something birds do not do at night. We were quick to inform him that we did not use any bird calls for signals. Everyone slowly turned and looked back toward the woods.
We were all accounted for... and yet there was a light in the woods... and it seemed to be moving.
I never ran so fast in my entire life -- I assume the same went for everyone else that night. It was not until the person's house at which we were staying was clearly visible that I turned around to ascertain the status of the others. We were all fine, save our shortness of breath.
For all I know, what we imagined out in that field was nothing more than a figment of our imagination. Nonetheless, I still get chills thinking about it. Hopefully, I can watch The Blair Witch Project without scaring myself silly -- again.
