The Blair Witch Project

Not, as advertised, the scariest movie ever made, but certainly among the most deeply unnerving; imagine Jaws without the boat, its trio of protagonists frantically treading water, watching a fin that's content for some time merely to circle and circle and circle the swimmers at a distance that's slowly but perceptibly diminishing. There are a few scattered moments of genuine horror, yes, but even these are either implied or ambiguous (not since Bill Pullman was swallowed whole by a pitch-black room in Lost Highway has onscreen darkness been used to such nightmarishly disturbing effect); the film is less about the titular bogeyfemme than about its characters' rapidly disintegrating psyches. Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez milk their gimmicky premise for all that it's worth, but what ultimately makes the picture more than just an impressive stunt is the gut-twisting immediacy of the central performances, Heather Donahue's achingly believable combination of headstrong self-confidence and rampant insecurity in particular. This, let us hope, is the future of ultra-low-budget digital cinema: ambitious, intelligent, unaffected, riveting. Highly recommended. (M. D'Angelo)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 12, 2010—Lionsgate, 82 min., R, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1999's The Blair Witch Project features a fine transfer with DTS-HD sound. Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, a “Curse of the Blair Witch” production featurette (44 min.), four alternate endings (8 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), a featurette on the legacy of the film (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: one of the most influential films of the ‘90s makes a solid debut on Blu-ray.]