Re: The Blair Witch Project

The fragmented ending of BWP reminded me of the ending of Don't Look Now. That's one of the great psycho-thrillers and kind of out-Argentos Argento.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: The Blair Witch Project

I'm sad that no one picked up on Teague's 'I enunciated Christ' joke.

Also, Dorkman talking about how Slendy just wants to make friends reminded me of this:

Last edited by HenryChM (2012-10-01 06:52:44)

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Zarban wrote:

The fragmented ending of BWP reminded me of the ending of Don't Look Now. That's one of the great psycho-thrillers and kind of out-Argentos Argento.

Brilliant film...

http://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/large/658034043.png?key=1000552&Expires=1349073722&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIYVGSUJFNRFZBBTA&Signature=V2bVj7TiL3ljo1T7FQjr836gURJ-tEDSRKOpMtLRjRH3m8Y5TwwfZAy84Zbj-F9qttMHhFyaFP9WCkMsIJjXmtmd3iF~vmWewRln0L6TTSA-vyJb1FMTC8KY6uIzPqJW8Zfjh~sTFPCueRPQCnr6kegeSGFkVG1lXpV8uqj3Ogo_

Re: The Blair Witch Project

Great episode, guys. Very thought provoking. Thinking about the movie again, the thought occurred to me that cell phones have really fucked horror directors. If Blair Witch were made today, they'd have to create some workaround as to why their iPhones aren't working. (Maybe the new Apple Maps are to blame  wink )

I brought this up in conversation with my mom, and I mentioned the scene where they walk south all day and end up in the same place. She said something I found interesting, especially because I never thought of that scene in a supernatural context. What if there was a scene where they used their smartphones to get out of the woods, but no matter what they were led to the same place? Every time they check their phones, they haven't moved, or they're even more lost than before. I think that horror movies need to stop being afraid of technology and start thinking of creative ways to use it.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Doctor Submarine wrote:

Every time they check their phones, they haven't moved, or they're even more lost than before.

So they used Apple Maps?

Re: The Blair Witch Project

The whole cell phone thing came up at the time of release, and the excuse was used that there just wasn't coverage there. I agree, there are ways to use cell phones creatively. Hell, being too dependent on technology should be a failing. (A character in a current story of mine is screwed when she'd whisked off into space because everything on her phone was on the cloud, so she's left with no music or books, no photos of family, etc).

I will just point out this is the second time a post of mine was mentioned in an episode, yet my name was forgotten. Oh, woe is me! smile

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Brian wrote:
Doctor Submarine wrote:

Every time they check their phones, they haven't moved, or they're even more lost than before.

So they used Apple Maps?

I'm so writing that sketch.

"We've been walking in the same direction all day, we must be...wait, this says we're in the middle of the ocean."

"Weren't we in Finland yesterday? I guess that's progress."

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Just do a search and replace in all the old Mapquest jokes.

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Invid wrote:

Just do a search and replace in all the old Mapquest jokes.

Just don't try to find them with Apple Maps.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

clap

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

I've been told I look like Mike from this film. Huh.

My chest hair isn't as bad.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Anyone seen this found footage horror short on Youtube? There are four of them but it's fine if you just watch this one-

WARNING: Contains violence, horror and English accents.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

I'd like to reiterate the opening comments about the BIG difference between seeing scary movies in a cinema (on an immersive screen with surround sound) versus in the comfort of your lounge room with distractions.

It's like two different movies. You can have a great experience in the cinema and then you recommend it to someone who watches it on their 22" monitor while texting and eating and listening to it on laptop speakers, and they don't know what you're talking about. That was lame, bro. No, how you watched it was lame.

not long to go now...

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

That's funny, cause for me its the opposite. I find it much harder to be scared in a movie theater full of other people than just watching something by myself, alone at night.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Since I think some in the chatroom hadn't seen it, here is the Steve Oedekerk parody "Blair Thumb". If you've seen "Thumb Wars" you know what to expect. So quotable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g02jT8lXhaA

Parts 2 and 3 on the right hand side.


As for the movie itself, for me it is definitely dependant on what mood I am in, it is a bit same-y throughout, but it can definitely be effectively unsettling.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Teague's introduction summarized my thoughts about the movie. I watched it for the first time Saturday night (in the dark, if that counts) and I felt the movie building to something that didn't really pay off for me.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

bullet3 wrote:

That's funny, cause for me its the opposite. I find it much harder to be scared in a movie theater full of other people than just watching something by myself, alone at night.

Paranormal Activity was a blast to watch in the theater because everyone was freaking out. At one point, a woman started crying - CRYING - in fear. But it was distracting. My mind kept floating to "man, the filmmakers must love going to showings of their movie to soak up this reaction."

So in that sense, I'm the same way, Bullet. But right now I'm at my parents' house all alone except for 2 dogs. It's in the middle of nowhere, on a lake, and they have an awesome entertainment center. So I'm in a good position to scare myself with movies this week.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Great opportunity to knock off some of our halloween suggestions. Oh, we should add Signs to that list, that scared the shit out of me when I was a kid (granted I was going through a UFO phase at the time, but still).

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

So I just listened to this episode, enjoyed it a lot. But I have to ask; why did you all agree that District 9 is found footage, but then decided that the Christopher Guest movies are faux documentaries? I would think District 9 would be a faux documentary too, if you're making the distinction.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

C-Spin wrote:

why did you all agree that District 9 is found footage, but then decided that the Christopher Guest movies are faux documentaries?

The beginning of District 9 is surely supposed to be footage of a documentary that got covered up, so I guess it was "found" in that sense.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: The Blair Witch Project

District 9 is kind of a mix of both. It's a documentary using found footage. The film abandons both of those aspects about halfway through, though.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

It abandons them until the end, when it returns to the documentary conceit to have some interviews giving postmortems on the story. So really DISTRICT 9 is a bad example because it's kind of a confusing mess if you try to nail it down on a "style," it's just so refreshingly unlike the typical sci-fi blockbuster it can be forgiven.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

Dorkman wrote:

DISTRICT 9 is a bad example because it's kind of a confusing mess

A really awesome confusing mess big_smile

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

District 9 is to be commended for doing what it does. I LOVE that it abandons the found footage and expands into a normal narrative for the 2nd half, that's what I wish Chronicle had done.

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Re: The Blair Witch Project

iJim wrote:
bullet3 wrote:

That's funny, cause for me its the opposite. I find it much harder to be scared in a movie theater full of other people than just watching something by myself, alone at night.

Paranormal Activity was a blast to watch in the theater because everyone was freaking out. At one point, a woman started crying - CRYING - in fear. But it was distracting. My mind kept floating to "man, the filmmakers must love going to showings of their movie to soak up this reaction."

This is one awesome aspect of watching movies in a Japanese theater: the audiences don't make a fucking sound. I've been to all sorts of movies here, and every single person in the audience was respectfully quiet until the  very end of the credits. Even during obvious comedic moments when you expect the whole theater to be filled with laughter.

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