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mackeral
Reviews
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Interesting Idea...Overblown Film
First of all, I must give high marks to the producers of this movie and to Artisan Films for one of the most imaginative advertising campaigns I have ever experienced. The TV "teasers" and the website - not to mention the various ancillary products (especially, "The Blair Witch Project: A Dossier) associated with the movie were uniformly first rate and whetted my appetite for the movie.
Upon first viewing the movie, I was feeling rather foolish - I (and, apparently, millions of other had been "had). What I saw was a short movie with a great premise and a few really good suspenseful/scary scenes that had been stretched out to feature length by seemingly endless footage of the hapless principals wandering about lost in the woods and - even worse - continually whining about it. I was not a happy camper.
Later, a few other members of my family saw the movie and they literally ranted and raved about how creepy it was and how a woman they saw at a local carnival was the spitting image of Mary Brown. This incident triggered a large number of conversations among their friends and family. The capper came when my wife watched it on Cable and it gave her the major "willies".
I began to think that maybe I had been too harsh in my judgment and that this movie deserved another viewing.
Well, I have watched this movie about a half dozen times and I have good news and bad news. The good news is that it can be spooky fun for a while. The bad news is that the total quality time in this movie amounts to only about 1/3 of the running length.
I am still impressed with the concept and with the genuinely creepy look of some of the scenes but the best score I can muster is 5 points out of 10.
I would really like the originators of this movie (or someone else who sees the potential for a really GOOD horror movie here) to re-imagine the project and , perhaps, include more of the back story (Rustin Parr and the Blair Witch herself). By the way, I do not consider "Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows" to be even close to this idea. The less said about this the better.
The Black Sleep (1956)
Terrific Cast of Veteran Horror Actors
I first saw "The Black Sleep" 48 years ago and was most impressed by the overall atmosphere and genuinely creepy nature of many of the scenes.
Upon more recent viewings and further reflection, I must say that this film still fascinates me. I am hard-pressed to recall another Basil Rathbone performance (other than his work as Sherlock Holmes) to equal this one. Sure, he chews the scenery unashamedly, but that is a big part of what makes this movie fun. Add in the first rate supporting cast of Lon Chaney, Jr., Akim Tamiroff, Bela Lugosi, and especially John Carradine and you have a veritable "Who's Who" of horror and film noir icons of the period. One must not forget the contributions of Tor Johnson and the lesser known actors filling out the cast.
The best scare occurs when we first meet Lon Chaney as "Mungo". The imaginative "point-of-view" camera work, focusing on Chaney's hands is very original and creative - especially for a low-budget production such as this one. My favorite scene, though, occurs quite late in the movie when the surgical "recoverees", led by the always riveting (although over-the-top) John Carradine, make their escape.
Sadly Bela Lugosi's character is mute and we are thus deprived of the exquisite pleasure of hearing his unique voice and diction. His character induces sympathy - even pity, rather than horror. In my opinion, this represents his best work from the declining days of his career. I must also single out Akim Tamiroff for the unctuous humor he provides as Rathbone's procurer of surgical subjects.
I give high marks for creative use of obviously cheap sets and evocative camera work. This is a movie which should not be missed by serious fans of films of the 50's. This is an excellent reminder of how they used to make effective horror films without soaking the screen with blood.
10 points out of 10.