There are few things better than seeing a really great horror movie in theaters. The atmosphere of the pitch-black auditorium and the tension in the audience makes for such a palpable experience that it's like actually being in the horrific, life-threatening scenario shown on-screen. Not that I've actually been possessed by demons or been chased by killer clowns, but a good horror movie makes me feel like I've gotten close.
So, of course, all the hype surrounding BLAIR WITCH is getting me jacked. Like super jacked. Like, more jacked than those dudes who inject needles into their bums and lift weights for eight hours. You could say I’m jacked all the way to 11, which is great, because in an interview with the Found Footage Files podcast (via Hitfix), co-director of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT Eduardo Sanchez says that’s exactly the level the sequel goes up to:
It just turns it up to 11. It's just full-blast Blair Witch. It's really creepy and the last third is just crazy. It's just all over the place. It just does not let you go, you know? I'm really happy to have been a part of it… it kind of progresses the found footage genre a little bit which I think is really cool."
As for the film’s likeness to the original, Sanchez talks about how it stays true to the first flick, and then becomes its own thing by going completely bonkers:
“It's kind of a recognizable…it's almost like you've been, like kind of a deja vu, but then it turns into just a — like I said, it kinda takes our film and blows the doors off and goes nuts with it, in a really really good way."
According to Sanchez it seems like this movie is embracing a lot of what made the original great, but is adding it's own flair that will make it a truly haunting experience for modern audiences. This is exactly what should give the doubtful viewer a glimmer of hope that the film could be as great as the early reviews are saying. If it doesn't then I don't know what to tell you. All I know is I will personally enter the theater with an extra pair of undies.
BLAIR WITCH will show people what fear is on September 16, but you can read JimmyO's review of it right now.