In 1994, Heather Donahue and two of her friends disappeared in the Black Hills Forest, Maryland, where they had gone to shoot a documentary about the legend of the Blair Witch, leaving behind a trail of mystery heightened by the viewing of the images contained within a camera found at the scene. Now, more than twenty years later, her brother James, convinced that his sister is still alive after seeing her in a video posted online, decides to return to the cursed forest in search of Heather. Accompanied by his friends Peter, Ashley, and Lisa and by two ambiguous locals, the protagonist begins this excursion that seems to proceed without hitches and, above all, without losing orientation, also thanks to the use of drones and other technological devices. Things, however, change when an endless night falls in which the malevolent force that hovers over the forest manifests itself in all its destructive power.
The P.O.V. and mockumentary are two subgenres that for nearly twenty years have invaded and dominated the horror scene with enormous box office returns, against very low production costs, without, however, avoiding the grumbling of genre fans who are divided between those who consider them veins from which more than decent product can be derived and those who, on the contrary, do not tolerate their stylistic approach characterized by the excessive use of the subjective. A true revolution that has as its reference date 1999, the year in which "The Blair Witch Project" by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick came out in theaters, a film in which, following what Ruggero Deodato had done in "Cannibal Holocaust," the story of three boys who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in a forest in Maryland during the filming of a documentary about the legend of the Blair Witch was told in a realistic manner. The success was so enormous that the film, produced with a budget of a few thousand dollars, became a box office and cultural phenomenon and, above all, gave rise to an endless series of imitation products. With such results, the project could not be definitively abandoned, and thus, after a modest sequel dated 2001 and directed by the semi-unknown Joe Berlinger, comes a new chapter titled "Blair Witch." At the helm, we have Adam Wingard, a big name in the American indie scene and author of the excellent "You're Next," "The Guest," and V/H/S... a "strong" one, therefore, who here, however, limits himself to playing it safe by proposing a film for the use and consumption of an average and not very accustomed public with horror.
When undertaking a remake or sequel operation, the best approach for a good outcome is to tell the story from another point of view or analyze elements not explored in the first version.
And instead, in this "Blair Witch" none of this happens as Wingard proposes a plot almost identical to that of the 1999 film, except for the introduction of new technologies represented by next-generation cameras, cell phones, GPS, and a drone whose unnecessary use remains one of the film's great question marks. The result is a plot that is not very engaging, dotted with poorly characterized characters, almost non-intriguing atmospheres, and long sequences in the dark forest that should impress the viewer but ultimately lead to involuntary ridicule, especially when the tents and the boys themselves perform improbable flights and leaps solicited by the malevolent forces of the forest. To make matters worse, there is the usual and now unavoidable monologue of one of the protagonists regarding the origins of the witch, which, on the one hand, enriches the story of the first film, but on the other hand, increases the feeling of déjà vu already present for the reasons mentioned above.
The only noteworthy moments, however, are condensed within the final twenty minutes, all set inside the mysterious abandoned house in the middle of the forest.
In this long sequence, in fact, the narrow and dark interior spaces are exploited in the best way, transmitting anxiety and unease to a viewer who, at some moments, might even feel a sense of discomfort and oppression. Another nice idea is to show, albeit not clearly and cleanly, the witch whose appearance reminds one of the monsters in "Rec."
Too little, however, to save a film that disappoints everyone, from fans of the saga to those of general horror, up to the audience looking for easy scares that only occasionally find bread for their teeth.
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