Mr. Movie review: ‘Blair Witch’ is awful on an epic scale
Like The Blair Witch Project, Blair Witch is made by nobody you’ve ever heard of and stars people you’ll probably never see again.
The original was the first of its kind. It was original only because the entire movie was shot from the perspective of a hand-held camera, and we hadn’t seen much of that before. Blair Witch builds on that — dare I call it? — style of filmmaking. Only instead of one camera to bore us to tears, writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard give each character a camera. They then add an airborne drone and additional cameras in trees and on the ground.
It’s camera overkill.
Blair Witch isn’t so bad that you’ll find yourself inwardly screaming for someone to please kill the woman, like most of us did with Heather Donahue’s character in the original. That said, none of these characters are likable, either. The story is dreadfully repetitive. It has a nonsensical climax with ear-splitting sound effects and edits that confuse rather than clarify.
In other words, Blair Witch is awful on an epic scale.
Blair Witch
Director: Blair Witch
Stars: James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Corbin Reid
Mr. Movie rating: 1 star
Rated R for mature themes and violence. It’s playing at Regal’s Columbia Center 8, the Fairchild Cinemas 12 and Queensgate 12, and at Walla Walla Grand Cinemas.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen.
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it’s your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on DVD.
2 stars to 1 star: Don’t bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie review: ‘Blair Witch’ is awful on an epic scale."