"Blair Witch" is the Sequel That Nobody Asked For

Blair Witch (2016)

I've never been a particularly big fan of the original Blair Witch Project and have always held the belief that the only reason the film is so notorious and well-known is because it was the first of the now-overdone found-footage horror subgenre. The original film was sluggishly paced, visually dizzying to watch, and plenty of footage of nothing in particular ever really happening. However, I'm still willing to give credit where credit is due and applaud The Blair Witch Project for having the courage to try something which had never been done before. Unfortunately, the same credit cannot be given to the new release, Blair Witch, a film which is absolutely nothing but horror tropes.

Blair Witch at least makes an effort at giving itself ties to the original film through providing the premise that one of the protagonists is the brother of the protagonist from the first movie, though this notion is where all originality comes to an end. Admittedly, the film is better than its predecessor, but only by a fraction and due to the fact that things actually happen in it (such as a random and horrifying scene in which insects crawl out of a shrieking woman's leg). These minor improvements, however, are not enough to save Blair Witch from being a mess of pointless jump scares, idiotic protagonists who are unable to use common sense in the way a real human being would if they were lost in the woods, and confusing messy shaky cam which will leave audience members nauseated if the screen they watch this film on is too big or too close.

This film is the perfect example of why i am frequently wary when movies (particularly those in the horror genre) opt for a sequel when the plot does not require one. Occasionally there may be a surprising instance where the sequel is either better than the original or just as good, regardless of whether or not it was needed in the first place, but these moments are far and few between with films like Blair Witch and Saw IV making up the majority of terrible horror sequels. Blair Witch simply feels forced in every way possible, particularly in its scares and in the setup of its plot. When a film sets out to create a sequel to the first found footage movie of all time and puts this little effort into furthering the genre or building on new ideas introduced in the former, it's difficult to not view it as a waste of time.

Nothing in the film feels genuine, and with its odd convoluted exposition that attempts to mangle the original film's plot and twist it into something the writers considered more interesting, it's hard to keep up or even be completely invested in the film. Typically I judge a horror film based on how fun it is when the climax comes around, based on how wild, over the top, and shameless it is capable of being, and in the case of Blair Witch I may as well have been watching footage of someone walking through a cheap haunted house while filming the actors with a cellphone hidden under their coat. If the visuals of the film weren't such a difficult mess to keep up with, then the plot alone is enough to leave audience members wondering why they wasted their time.

Again, I wouldn't recommend either of the Blair Witch movies, but if you're feeling particularly masochistic and want to force yourself to sit through one, at least make it this one for the three instances of creativity you'll get to witness - it's certainly more than you'll ever get out of The Blair Witch Project.