I think it completely works. Every time I've watched it, I just get filled with an overwhelming sense of dread about half-way in and want to stop watching because of how uncomfortable it makes me. I think the reason it works better than most newer found footage movies is that they've been trying to progressively get bigger and more elaborate, which just distracts from the believability of the found footage and makes you wish they were shot conventionaly. The rawness of Blair Witch is what gives it it's power.
I suspect part of why it's successful is that unlike most found footage films, this was almost entirely unscripted, with the actors stuck in the woods and the directors making sounds at night and stuff to screw with them and get natural reactions. It's much more of an experiment than a calculated horror film like the Paranormal Activities.
It does only work if you watch it in the right mindset straight through though, you absolutely cannot just watch bits of it out of context.
Last edited by bullet3 (2012-09-29 21:01:24)