Blair Witch Legacy, The (2017)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Samantha Marie Cook, Cody Epling, Jason Reynolds
Directed by Jason Hawkins
I’m not going to even attempt to tally up all the hands that will shoot in the air if I ask who saw The Blair Witch Project back in 1999 (you can keep your hands down for the 2016 film, however) – but the ramifications of that “little” movie back at the tail end of the 90’s set a precedent for which I feel we as the horror community have been under a landslide of since then. Some found-footage films have been memorable, while others were meant to line the bottoms of exotic bird cages, however today’s focus is a fan-film made to show both appreciation and pay tribute to the original, even going so far as to play it off like these actual events took place. Grab your backpacks, kids – we’re hitting the woods to skin this one alive.
The Blair Witch Legacy is indeed a fan-production, directed by Jason Hawkins, and this film centers around a small group who indeed wants to venture into those same cursed woods that our original three campers met their fate in back in the day, and while the original wasted no time in dropping the trio directly into the belly of the beast, this film sets things up in a different fashion. Taking a lot more time in centering around the small town’s infatuation with the tale of the Blair Witch, our current band of backpackers fill their hours with multiple interviews and almost three-quarters of an hour spent on dialogue. Fear not, despisers of boredom! – This actually is time well spent setting up the remainder of the film and Hawkins is a man who has an attention to detail, and the construction of this premise is one that pays off, minus all that damn shaky-cam footage.
As the movie rolls along, we find out that one of our budding filmmakers has a bit more knowledge of the entire situation than initially disclosed, and it will pose quite a problem for this determined dynamic as the rest of the film progresses. We’ve got arguments in the wilderness from turned-around hikers, dead-of-night whip-shots that may (or may not) give us a peek at what’s stalking the group, and a conclusion that is not only well thought-out, but well presented in a fashion that could give more than one brave soul a serious case of the heebies – impressive feat for a fan-film, and I mean that with the utmost of respect. Overall, The Blair Witch Legacy is one of those tribute presentations that absolutely deserves its place in the light (or darkness, for this matter) – make sure to give this one a peek if you have the opportunity.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
