Falling back in love with this movie
I was 10 when this movie first came out. I didn't see it until it came out on VHS and I rented it from Blockbuster, and it scared the absolute hell out of me. It wasn't for probably another two or three years that I learned that it wasn't actually real. They did so well marketing it as actual found footage with the documentaries and missing posters and all.
I can still remember that first time I watched it. I was supposed to go watch a meteor shower with my aunt and uncle, and while I was waiting for them to come pick me up, I decided to pop it into the VCR and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
My aunt and uncle arrived after the movie was over and we headed out to the boonies to watch the meteor shower, away from the light pollution. My uncle found a spot to park, some field next to an abandoned house that looked an awful lot like Rustin Parr's house at the end of the movie. They went and laid down in the field, but I was too terrified to get out of the truck because of that damn house after I'd just watched the movie.
I was never that big of a horror movie fan, only watching one on the rare occasion, but this movie always sat at the top of the genre for me. There's a handful or so that I've always liked, and the movie Arachnophobia gave me arachnophobia, but nothing ever had the effect of TBWP.
I was always more of a comedy fan, but after my wife died last year, I don't really get much out of it anymore. Recently, I decided to give horror another chance since death and dread have become such an overwhelming piece of my personality now, and this movie is still just as alluring as ever, and I've become an even bigger fan now than I was back then.
I've watched the movie numerous times lately. I watched some videos of Mike, Josh, and Heather answering questions about the movie on youtube (though one was hard to watch because they recorded it on the day my wife died and the date was on the screen behind them). I even watched the extended 3 hour version with all the extra scenes they've mentioned, like Mike's breakdown scene(s) and the slam poetry bit they were embarrassed about.
I also watched Blair Witch 2016, and while I liked the added lore, I found it pretty meh. The repetitive jump scares became tedious and annoying, the acting was too rigid and scripted by comparison, and I think it would've been better not to show the monster/witch/whatever that was, at least not fully. I think it would've been much better if they'd kept it lo-fi and ad-libbed like the original.
Anyway, I think I've rambled enough, so I'll just close out by saying I love this movie. It's amazing that they were able to turn $60k into something so incredible, haunting, and genuinely believable. I know it's always been somewhat polarizing and not for everyone, but I love this movie so much and it still stands firmly as my favorite horror movie ever.
I'm gonna turn off the lights and watch it again now.