Weekly Review -- A ghost of a film

Blair Witch (2016) -- Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez's The Blair Witch Project was a worldwide phenomenon. The simple story about three student filmmakers finding terror in a haunted forest proved to be a juggernaut, both commercially and critically. Its success revolutionized the found footage subgenre and turned the indie industry upside down.

Well, the new iteration does not. At its best, it is a copy of the original and not an effective one at that. At its worst, it is a jumbled narrative that tries to pepper the proceedings with new kinds of developments but, much like its characters, ends up going around in circles. 

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS HUGE SPOILERS**

Twenty years after Heather, Joshua and Michael disappeared, Heather's brother James (James Allen McCune) finds a YouTube video showing someone that he believes is his sister. Along with a few friends and the couple that posted the video, James heads off into the Black Hills Forest to look for possible clues. However, they are not ready for what they find...

"After 16 years, the scariest ghost story ever told finds its conclusion", claims the tagline. Eh... there really is no conclusion here. The incredible thing about this film is that it follows the original to the letter. I am not exaggerating when I say that the same plot points occur in both films at exactly the same moments. Sure, there have to be some millennium updates, such as drones and YouTube, but they do not change a thing in terms of plot. It is surprising, considering that director Adam Wingard brought us The Guest, one of the most unique thrillers in recent years. By the way, are those scenes with the characters watching the drone fly off bizarre and unnecessary, or is it just me?  This device could have been used in a more compelling manner -- for example, Lisa discovering some kind of void or different landscape in lieu of the trees would have been more unexpected and disorienting.

Another update that I find redundant is the video technology itself. Part of what made the original so chilling was the grainy quality of the majority of the 'footage'. Something about those stick figures in rough, worn out black-and-white stays with the viewer and the same can be said of seeing Rustin Parr's cabin and that basement for the first time. These recordings looked real; they had a texture that was essential to the atmosphere. Blair Witch misses that aspect, to the detriment of its potency as a horror piece. Seeing the witch herself is not the point. Seeing her power is and that power creates the best scene, when a tent gets lifted to impossible heights. If Wingard had utilized more of the invisible terror offered, he would have had a new take on the story. The witch has settled in our imagination already, so please leave our imagination to do its sacred work.

The cast does what they can with the cliché script. After her excellent turn in "The Following", I was sad to see Valorie Curry reduced to a few scenes of bland dialogue. Robinson is quite good as the driven-to-madness Lane and McCune elicits empathy with James's quest. Again, though, there is nothing new about the characters. There is nothing here that you have not seen before and the cast is unable to elevate the material.

If you love the horror genre, you will not be satiated if you see Blair Witch. I cannot emphasize enough how derivative this film is. It is not so much a sequel or reboot as it is a virtual remake, not even bothering to search for its own ground to cover. Rewatch the 1999 original or, if you would like to check out some other fantastic ghost stories, please see Peter Medak's The Changeling or the Pang brothers' The Eye. Your sleepless nights will thank you. 

5/10