|
Post by Tweek on Sept 16, 2016 21:13:11 GMT -6
Remember to use spoiler tags in here. Let's SPOIL, shall we? Back from my first viewing. Still wrapping my brain around what I just saw. Let's start by saying I like it. But I don't love it. Lots of references to the first one. Those were nice. Too many characters and not enough development of any of them really. Not even James. The trailer showed too much, as I suspected. Those woods do not look like Maryland. The loud sounds in the woods... what was that? Sounded like a giant stomping around and growling. We get a glimpse of something out there. Was that supposed to be Elly? 'Cause that ain't what she looks like. What I saw looked like a space alien or something. Reminded me of this from Grave Encounters: Thought I was watching Four Corners again for a moment. The bright light in the attic? WTF was that? A freaking UFO? Are they being hunted or abducted? C'mon now! And the video that led them to the woods... is actually Lisa's video of her being chased through the house... that hadn't been recorded yet. From the future. Yep. They went there. Is this sounding like a rant? Am I raving? Perhaps. Forgive my ramblings. Seeing it again tomorrow, maybe it'll make more sense then. I liked much of what I saw. But some of this is just plain silly.
|
|
|
Post by Tweek on Sept 16, 2016 21:21:50 GMT -6
Jump scares? Yes, there are a few. And I rolled my eyes every time they did one.
|
|
Woll
rock pile disturber
Posts: 176
|
Post by Woll on Sept 16, 2016 21:23:43 GMT -6
You mean to tell me they turned Blair into a lame, CGI monster face, assembly-line-found-footage horror? Who could have seen that coming?
And you plan on giving them more money? In hopes that you'll fool yourself into liking it? Spoiler tags dude!
|
|
Woll
rock pile disturber
Posts: 176
|
Post by Woll on Sept 16, 2016 21:29:34 GMT -6
Tried doing spoilers, wouldn't work for some reason. Sorry.
|
|
trey
rock pile disturber
I see a dirty behind!
Posts: 199
|
Post by trey on Sept 16, 2016 21:31:14 GMT -6
How do you make a spoiler tag? I want to post my thoughts but don't know how that works.
|
|
|
Post by Tweek on Sept 16, 2016 21:32:04 GMT -6
There's a spoiler button but I don't think it works right. Just type it in. Spoiler inside [ ] at the beginning and /spoiler inside [ ] at the end.
|
|
trey
rock pile disturber
I see a dirty behind!
Posts: 199
|
Post by trey on Sept 16, 2016 21:40:23 GMT -6
Like this? Testing now… Heather makes a nekkid cameo with some soft marshmallows
|
|
trey
rock pile disturber
I see a dirty behind!
Posts: 199
|
Post by trey on Sept 16, 2016 21:43:32 GMT -6
Okay, that worked. So here we go. Keep in mind that I've been on radio silence and avoiding this thread (and all spoilers) up until tonight, so if anything I've said (I typed this up earlier) is inconsistent or ill-informed, that's why. Ahem. For the most part, I liked it. It had some of the obnoxiousness of modern horror movies, particularly the loud sound effects and jump scares, but as someone else on here pointed out back when the trailer came out, that's just how horror movies are today. I think they felt obligated to do that to appeal to the current younger generation (and yes, it has been almost 20 years since the original movie came out), and the bit where Lisa said "Will people stop DOING that?" was probably intentionally self-referential. (And funny.) I liked how they used different types of cameras like in the original, how you could hear the high-pitched whine of the MiniDV camera when that footage was shown, in contrast to the modern digital ones. The drone thing seemed unnecessary and gimmicky, but at least it made the scene when Ashley was climbing the tree more interesting. What I couldn't get past was the idea of the earbud cameras looking so flawless the entire time (except for the obviously inserted glitches), I mean, are we seriously supposed to believe Ashley's or Lisa's hair never once moved in front of the lens as they moved around? Plus when one actor was looking at (supposedly) the other's camera, they were always looking directly into the lens, not at what would have been the person's eyes, which is what would happen in real life. And like all found footage movies after TBWP, everyone just happened to be looking in the right direction at the right time to see the scary stuff. Maybe not quite as bad, but it was still apparent how the movie was so scripted and directed. That was what made the first movie feel so authentic: It was amateurish because the actors were amateurs who were improvising. Too often, this one felt like I was watching actors say lines. But you know, that's what movies are. The bit with the flying tent was silly, plus I wasn't clear on just how Talia died. But that was reminiscent of how unclear things sometimes were in the original (we debated for months what the stick bundle with Josh's teeth in it actually was because the shot was so blurry). And the thing with the cut on Ashley's foot and something moving around inside it and later people pulled out of her leg seemed unnecessarily gory and gross to me, not in keeping with the rest of the story. But on the way home later I wondered: Was that supposed to be a reference to Eileen Treacle and the "ghostly hand" that pulled her under the water? Maybe a more concrete example/explanation? I think so, given that all of the other things that Lane and Talia mentioned about the legends (which felt kind of plodding at the time) got a payoff later on in the film. Speaking of that, it was interesting that they added bits on to the Rustin Parr part of the legend, like the attic and the underground tunnels. I squirmed at that at first, but once they showed up later, it made sense. The bit where Lisa was crawling through the tunnels and got stuck was good, genuine horror, especially for me given that that's a recurring nightmare of mine (and will probably come to me tonight or soon. Thanks, guys.). The witch not being able to harm you if you didn't look at her seemed like a logical addition too, and I liked the fact that even though they did show her, it was very brief and hard to see. Maybe a bit of a dumbing down from the original (it was scary because you never saw her), but still effective. They were a bit inconsistent with an element from the original even though they still referenced it: The Blair Witch would use the voices of the dead to taunt or lure new victims (the children who shook the tent and later Josh in the original, and Heather and later James near the end of this one), but in this film, the cameras didn't pick up the voices; it was like they were just in the intended victim's head. We heard them in the first film. Still, not necessarily a flaw. Elly can do what she wants. The sound design was good, though I was annoyed by the loudness of the effects, again a necessary evil to fit in with modern horror. The first film's scary sounds were so subtle that you really had to listen closely, so all of the BOOOOM STOMP STOMP GRRRRRR ARRRGH in this one was a pain the ass. And whenever it got quiet for any length of time, I knew that a jump scare was coming, so I braced myself for it. Even so, some of them still got me, particularly when starving/crazy Talia screamed when one of the girls touched her. I got genuine chills sometimes. My favorite part was how they expanded on and played around with the time-phuckery. Lane and Talia were in their own time continuum once separated from the group, and Lane was even farther along once Lisa found him in the house. And the bit with the sun not coming up. It ties in nicely with the first film and how Heather and the others got trapped, plus the fact that everyone kept ending up at the Parr house even though it had been burned down. (And Curse of the Blair Witch implied that Heather's footage had been zapped back in time a hundred or so years before being dug up by the archeologists.) What I didn't like was how there was no framing story, or maybe there is one that I'm not aware of since I've been avoiding the web sites and everything (until tonight; that's my project for later). The opening caption said that the footage was compiled from found DV tapes and memory cards, but who found them? TBWP, at least the promotional material at the time, was very clear on how the police found the tapes and film and later turned them over to Haxan to make the 1999 movie. And how were the tapes and cards found? Did the Blair Witch snatch all the bodies away but somehow leave behind these tiny little bits of technology? Maybe that's explained somewhere I haven't seen yet. Otherwise, it seems sloppy and implausible. As for the movie-going experience itself, that was a mixed bag. I was excited to be going, and last night, I rewatched some of the stuff I've had saved from the first film, including Crybaby Bridge. While killing time before getting to the theater, I was in a store and couldn't resist doing this: www.flickr.com/photos/flyinginthepark/29439274810/Still, there were only 11 of us total in the theater for the 7:00 show, which was simultaneously nice (not packed with tons of nervous people running their mouths the whole time because they were scared due to all the hype, like in 1999) and disappointing (the movie probably isn't going to do well at the box office). So yeah, I liked it. Was it as good as the original? Of course not; nothing ever will be. That's why I'm more forgiving than most about Book of Shadows: I appreciate it for what it is, a big dumb slasher movie that happens to have some Blair Witch elements in it. This one felt like a more worthy sequel, faithful to the original, and good despite its occasional annoying flaws. Not perfect, and not as intriguing as my 1999 experiences, but hey, we were different people back then. I'll definitely watch it again, and I'm glad they were able to put it out there. Sure, there will be some people who will whine and stomp around and pan it because it makes them feel superior to be contrary, but I lost patience for people like that a long time ago. This was what it was, and it was a good time.
|
|
|
Post by Tweek on Sept 16, 2016 21:56:25 GMT -6
Yeah, there were only ten other people at the showing I attended. Five couples. Who knew Blair Witch was a date movie? Apparently it is I have a bad feeling this thing will have a weak opening and then drop like a rock. Cost 5 million to make, they'll be lucky to get that back. BoS cost more I think. This one is still better than that at least. Going the found footage route a second time was a risk. There was no way to bottle that lightning again. It was bound to come up short in some way. I really wanted this to be better. I don't hate it. Some things I like. But it could have been better. Maybe we'll get to see Woods Movie now. Or that extended cut of TBWP we are petitioning about.
|
|
|
Post by krtxballistic on Sept 16, 2016 22:08:37 GMT -6
I just got back from it. I really liked it. Jumpscares were a little annoying though.
|
|
|
Post by krtxballistic on Sept 16, 2016 22:13:15 GMT -6
There were only like, 13 other people in the theater though.
|
|
|
Post by Tweek on Sept 16, 2016 22:24:28 GMT -6
Lane was set up early on as the psycho baddie. Not really any subtlety in this movie. He channels Rustin Parr at the end (I guess) and gets a knife in the neck. I did like how they recreated the basement. Even got the old water heater by the stairs. Nice.
|
|
Woll
rock pile disturber
Posts: 176
|
Post by Woll on Sept 16, 2016 22:30:18 GMT -6
Sure, there will be some people who will whine and stomp around and pan it because it makes them feel superior to be contrary, but I lost patience for people like that a long time ago. This was what it was, and it was a good time. It's got 38% on Rotten Tomatoes and is likely to keep dropping. Not liking this movie seems pretty status quo.
|
|
|
Post by krtxballistic on Sept 16, 2016 22:46:59 GMT -6
Sure, there will be some people who will whine and stomp around and pan it because it makes them feel superior to be contrary, but I lost patience for people like that a long time ago. This was what it was, and it was a good time. It's got 38% on Rotten Tomatoes and is likely to keep dropping. Not liking this movie seems pretty status quo. That'a shame. I really liked it.
|
|
|
Post by Tweek on Sept 16, 2016 22:48:06 GMT -6
Did you notice that the dead tree where the video was found is right next to the house at the end? Or how they ended up back at the campsite? I half expected to hear one of them ask "Is that the same log?"
|
|
trey
rock pile disturber
I see a dirty behind!
Posts: 199
|
Post by trey on Sept 16, 2016 22:57:41 GMT -6
Yep. That was a nice touch. It showed again how the witch loops everything around and messes things up and traps people. I liked that. BOS got that part right, too. And again, it's the time-loopery kind of stuff: It was Lisa's tape of them in the house that Lane discovered and posted on YouTube, which came from his camera that she took from him after killing him, but his posting it started James off on their ill-fated trip… Argh brain owie ow ow.
"I am so sorry…"
|
|
Woll
rock pile disturber
Posts: 176
|
Post by Woll on Sept 16, 2016 23:17:16 GMT -6
If I can convince some friends to go, I'll actually go see this movie. But I doubt they'll want to see it. They already hate the original movie.
|
|
|
Post by hazardousjj on Sept 17, 2016 0:59:22 GMT -6
Well before i even knew a reboot would come out, i said that if there was, it should not show elly in any way because the mystery behind the blair witch was what made it chilling because of all the stories that exist and for a billion other things. I don't think this movie was made by a fan or for fans, it was made to be as appealing to everyone as possible and they made it disappointing because of it. The crunching and growl sounds made it seem like trollhunters, which is an amazing movie but not for blair witch and the stick thing did remind me of that thing from grave encounters.... Both found footage movies and great but not for blair witch. BUT i liked the movie despite it being a disappointment in some ways. I liked the voodoo doll affect on the girl (terrible name memory skills lol) but it seemed cheezy. I enjoyed the stick figure and rock pile "cairns" being brought back, the tent flying was cool for me because it at least seemed ghosty but that fucking stick thing was weird. I had a theory since the curly haired guy said Elly was stretched out with rocks when she was banished, that maybe that stick thing is supposed to be her stretched out but most references ive read in books didnt say she was and that thing didn't look human or female. It should have resembled the early drawings of the witch. The "heather"ghost was creepy but that scare was cheesy. The rustin parr thing with the guy at the end was a great addition and i hoped for it. I like how many different psychological affects happened to each person. That was quite decent and much appreciated. The light thing was confusing. It didn't make much sense to include it. I reallllly liked how the video they found before was part of the end. Perhaps it happened that way because the black guy was cursed when he was apart of the search party, therefore bringing them to there? Idk. Now that i write it it makes no sense. There's things with this movie that need to be replayed a lot to maybe understand why they included it... I hope... Elly should not be a damn stick figure thing that is 8 feet tall. I want to see that thing on freeze frame and I'm going to kind of be like sheriff buchanan until then and believe this was a hoax so i can feel good about the blair witch legend Lol. Oh and the forest was way too dense to look like black hills and i was happy they brought the house back...and you kno what, they were all physically attacked too much. I think it should have been mostly psychological crap that made them go insane like curly haired guy and how he died. I like how the house showed up by that tree and they all went in circles and time seemed to be altered for them. It was great with many downsides i must conclude after my sparatic review.
My writing skills have suffered the The first seemed much more real and logical. few years so sorry if i make no sense plus I'm on my crap phone. My love and i laughed a lot at the weird couple because we are them by hair, personality, music and weirdness lol. [\spoiler]
|
|
mitabrin
crosser of fallen logs
Posts: 7
|
Post by mitabrin on Sept 17, 2016 2:04:27 GMT -6
There's this weird thing about being a found footage, faithful sequel to the BWP. I remember it was scary, that you completely don't see the witch in the original mainly because while watching it you completely don't know you won't see the witch. In other words they just had to show the witch in this one - otherwise the same trick just wouldn't work. I've seen people hating on the "alien" design of the witch, but I have my own theory about it... Do you remember how, when James was looking for Heather he was thinking he sees her running away from him? At one point, when James enters one room for like 2-4 second he can see a "ghost" of some kind of witch. I don't buy that it was Heather's ghost, imo must've been the actual witch. So in the other words there are times, when the witch looks like an actual ghost of a witch, and on the other times you she looks like some kind of naked Slenderman... I think that since in the potential sequels showing the witch would be inevitable, then it would be really wise, if one of the traits of the witch was, that everytime she appears she looks different. It would retain the mystery of you never knowing how the witch looks like. It'd be really cool especially, since now it's also established, that the witch has the powers of affecting perception of others (James thought he heard Heather, while Lise thought she heard James)
Also one of the main plotpoints of the film is the Witch having time and space bending abilities. I've read a lot of complains about it witch people calling it just idiotic and not in the style of the first one... I maybe be wrong, but... wasn't this whole timebending subtly hinted at in the original? I remember Mike and Heather having a hysteria over how they constantly end up in the same places even though they're going constantly in just one direction (not to mention finding a house, that was burnt down a 100 years ago). The footage they found at the beginning was the same footage the characters actually shot in the end. Maybe it's just me but adding such a surreal, almost illogical theme to the forest of Black Hills really expand the creepiness of the place. It's a place that tortures you psychologically defying the laws of physics around you. In actuality it sounds kind of awesome.
I also liked the little touches - The fact it's been directly stated, that the stickmen are partially made out of witch's victim's hair, and they directly affect the characters (it's liek if the witch is making some kind of a ritual), the fact that she'll leave you alone if you'll start killing people for her (what if Rustin Parr was killing children because like everyone else he was partially trapped in the time bending, logic defying forest? The fact of him returning to the village and saying, that he's done would gain a new meaning now) etc.
Overall I really liked the movie. It's sad that over the times the found footage genre became so overused, that a sequel to Blair Witch would become somewhat unoriginal, but at the same time it was really well done. The fake jumpscares were kind of obnoxious, but also not as obnoxious as you would expect. I also liked, that in the beginning it's Lane who's faking the haunting of the witch. You see the stickmen, start thinking, that the new film is just going to repeat the points of the first one, but then it turned out it was just one of the characters being deliberatly a dick. In other words - this is the sequel, that should have come out 16 years ago, better sooner then later...
|
|
thecult
crosser of fallen logs
There's something evil hiding in the woods.
Posts: 6
|
Post by thecult on Sept 17, 2016 2:28:20 GMT -6
I had to watch it a couple times to understand what I was seeing, mainly because I'm a complete air-head and I need to be told things twice haha I liked the references to previous films plus the lore and all that good junk in the beginning but that is all we ever hear about topics along those lines. The characters were too plain for my liking so they didn't gain any sympathy or empathy from me at all. Sounds a little savage but it's true. (that could just be me though) The mysterious tapes that Lane finds and James watches on youtube ends up being Lisa's camera earpiece footage. Footage that shouldn't exist until later in the film. What's with that? Suddenly there's time travel added into the mix. The "lightning tree" (as I will call it) that Lane finds the tapes by appears again near the end of the film in a different location. I'm pretty sure most of you have noticed that as well. Nothing really ever became of Ashley's cut on her foot. I mean when it started moving I thought perhaps there'd be a reason or explanation behind that but nope. We just get a couple seconds of nasty puss and her pulling something out of her leg. There was a part when the group circled around and ended up staying at camp another night. Ashley wanted the stick figures gone so Peter took one down. Did anyone notice that that specific one looked different from the rest? Instead of the rope that Lane used it appeared like a different rope was used? Perhaps it was an actual stick figure. Idk if anyone watches again and sees it just let me know that I'm not crazy haha. There were quite a bit of things I noticed and that is already posted here~
|
|
|
Post by bw.asylum on Sept 17, 2016 5:55:57 GMT -6
The Blair Witch was really Hillary Clinton Just testing
|
|
|
Post by bw.asylum on Sept 17, 2016 6:07:31 GMT -6
Okay, first off, I loved the little nods to the original, right now to the whiskey bottle in the hotel room. I didn't like the constant jump scares in the first two thirds but hey I suppose every horror feels like they have to have them nowadays. I think the filmmakers made it the only way they could, by paying homage to the original then including their own touch. I feel like if they didn't follow the same formula, people would have complained saying it wasn't a Blair film but let's be honest, haters gonna hate for no reason. I liked the witch design at first and I like how they added the theory that Elly died by getting rocks attached to her limbs and stretched. I thought she just looked like an extremely haggard old woman with stretched limbs, albeit a little exaggerated. I also thought the flash of light was related to the time loop the witch has created, like maybe that flash was only daylight in the woods before it was reset. Solid 8/10, 8.5/10 compared to other horrors today. Going to see it in 4D next Monday.
|
|
|
Post by Tweek on Sept 17, 2016 6:27:44 GMT -6
The stickmen. Seems this time they went with them being literally "voodoo dolls". But there was a broken one in the first film and nobody got folded up like a taco. I know Mike referred to them as "voodoo s--t" and I guess they just ran with it. When Ashley got injured crossing the creek they had just talked about the Treacle case. I wanted her to say that something grabbed her foot. That would have been a sweet reference. They missed one there.
|
|
mitabrin
crosser of fallen logs
Posts: 7
|
Post by mitabrin on Sept 17, 2016 6:41:50 GMT -6
Yeah... The nods and references to the lore were really the thing that sold the entire movie for me. Right from the start, when they talk about Rustin Parr, his house, Coffin Rock etc. and how exactly town of Blair became Burkittsville the whole thing became really... immersive...
Also - I really liked the plotpoint of town of Blair suddenly becoming empty. It's kind of weird, but now that we know the whole area is a place filled with a reality bending curse it is possible, that everyone in the whole town was dragged into this "personal hell" by the witch. Everyone experiences the flow of time differently, everyone is alone even though they may be together, nobody can escape, the curse of the witch defies every law of physics and make slowly everyone is becoming more, more and more insane to the point, that you start to become the witch's puppet... Just like Lane became one figuratively, and how Talia became one literally... What if the people of Blair came to similiar conclusions as Lane did, and basically started killing each other in hopes, that the last man standing will be spared by the witch? What if exactly the same thing happend to Josh in the first film? Even the BOS was based on similiar psychological tortures with characters not knowing anymore what's real, and what is fiction? In the end there are no answers, only interpretations of footage, that remained after the incidents.
Well... in case of that doll it was clearly stated, that this stickmen in particular was representing Talia. I'd guess, that Mike must've destroyed a stickmen, that wasn't attached to anybody of the original characters (if I remember correctly original stickmen consisted of one big and about 8 small ones... I'd say they must've represented Rustin Parr and children if anything... Also since Talia already spent about 6 days inside the forest, and was clearly mindbroken maybe she was more influenced by the witch?
|
|
|
Post by Tweek on Sept 17, 2016 7:38:15 GMT -6
Here's a question. Did James kill Lisa at the end? Was he "doing what she tells him"? Or did the witch use his voice to get her to turn around and look?
|
|