Brilliantly conceived fake documentary of the Blair Witch mythos, Burkittsville's past origins(..how the township of Blair became Burkittsville) regarding a witch banished to the woods by superstitious locals in Colonial times who is reported to haunt those very woods at least every 60 years, children disappearing, others dying. Also, this explores the footage found of three missing student filmmakers and their descent into the woods on the outskirts of Burkittsville. We get a series of interviews from actors portraying professors, a historian, sheriff, & detective. We get an eerie narrative voice summarizing the spooky recorded documents regarding past haunts of Elly, the Blair Witch and those who mention seeing, communicating, and obeying her(..such as the infamous child murdering hermit Rustin Parr, who proclaimed that voices directed his methods of execution). What I found stunningly believable were the interviews with those who either knew or were related to the three missing filmmakers. I remember watching this on the Sci-fi channel way back in '99 before The Blair Witch Project, and must say that "Curse.." and the movie are almost an essential package together. "Curse.." really adds to the marketing juggernaut that was The Blair Witch Project, giving the "lost footage" a rack to hang it's hat on. I applaud directors Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez for creating a complete phenomenon, forming a history and origin of a fictitious witch, using the medium of television and movie-making to birth this whole "missing students" and their supposed "lost footage." Sure, these guys were inspired by such as "Haxan"(..and I'm sure Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust" was as well), but The Blair Witch Project, even if it doesn't give you a definite answer as to what happened to those college students who went into the Maryland woods never to return, still lives and breathes thanks to imaginative efforts like "Curse of the Blair Witch." Heck, the guys even had an old interview with Parr on B&W film stock(..looks like something culled from old crime footage), and this 70's archival interview with a hippie cultist with an astute knowledge of witchcraft. A Blair Witch tome, photos of the student filmmakers working with equipment. Old child and family photos of the lost filmmakers. These guys went out of their way to create the success that was The Blair Witch Project. Too bad neither filmmaker has quite lived up to The Blair Witch Project, making little genre films, but never quite achieving the same experience as The Blair Witch Project & Curse of the Blair Witch. Maybe it is a product of it's time, but it's influence is seen to this very day..it's undeniable. As a promotional tool, "Curse of the Blair Witch" excels, and, heck, some might say is as creepy if not in fact creepier that the film it's supposed to sell!
Review of Curse of the Blair Witch
