Three college students (Heather, Josh and Mike), decide to spend a weekend in the Burkitsville area of Maryland, which was originally founded as Blair. The purpose is to make a documentary about the legend of a phantom witch that has haunted the area for a couple of centuries. Interviewing locals, they discover sights and accounts of a woman with strange features: those who saw her covered in hair, those who noticed her walking without touching the ground, those who observed her shrouded in a halo of mist. Increasingly intrigued, they go into the woods to videotape possible traces of rituals and any other evidence. But the game becomes overwhelming when day after day they feel they are being watched and pursued by someone who always remains hidden in the shadows. Tired of the "game," they try to return to their car, but lose their way back and get lost in the woods. Eventually they will have to confront their fears and perhaps something else, until the dramatic ending.
In the opening credits, it is reported that the incident actually happened. Police reportedly found a videotape, shot by the students, testifying to the events.
Obviously this is clever publicity propaganda, cleverly filtered by the film's authors mainly via the Internet. Leveraging curiosity, many viewers filled the theaters, attracted by the story.
Leaving aside any possible lucrative discourse, the film, composed of a montage of the two amateur films shot by the protagonists, is truly distressing. Though lacking in call-in actors and splatter scenes, the two filmmakers have crafted a product that has entered the history of thrill cinema. And plenty of chills run down the viewer's spine. In a sense, the Lovecraftian philosophy is picked up: being able to convey terror without necessarily showing who or what produces it. Costing very little, it grossed several million dollars worldwide. As they say, get the most out of the least effort. Must-see.
Review by Maxena
