Curse of the Blair Witch

Originally airing on the Sci-Fi Channel the week before the release of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), this fascinating look at the supposedly "true" legends of the Blair Witch, from the banishment of Elle Kedward, the drowning of little Eileen Treacle, and the massacre at Coffin Rock, to the 1941 murders committed by Rustin Parr, right up to the 1994 disappearances of Heather, Mike, and Josh, cleverly reels in viewers to this fictional mythology. Many who watched this later swore it was on The Learning Channel or Discovery, not Sci-Fi! In many respects, this short piece is far better than the actual feature film it was meant to promote.

Released to TV in the summer of 1999 three weeks before the premiere of the found-footage film "The Blair Witch Project," "Curse of the Blair Witch" is a mockumentary (fake documentary) that goes over the mythology of the Blair witch and interviews people who knew the three amateur filmmakers who supposedly went missing in 1994.

How do you review a documentary that's phony? I suppose by how real it makes its topic appear. As far as that goes, this is a quality mockumentary that inspires interest in the non-subject. I say "non-subject" because there never was a Blair witch; there wasn't even a town of Blair; nor are any of the people in the film real. It's all fake. But "Curse of the Blair Witch" was an ingenious set-up to fool people into believing (or, at least, MAYBE believing) the found-footage of "The Blair Witch Project." With the hysteria of that movie far behind us "Curse of the Blair Witch" is still entertaining for what it is and you can't help but respect its cleverness.

I helps that the "documentary" only runs 44 minutes.

GRADE: B

I haven't seen the blair witch project yet.At first I thought it was real but later found out it wasn't.When I watched this special I began to forget this.It was very well staged and almost appeared real.It was almost like a mini movie accompanying the film.I know have a better understanding of this fictional myth.So when I see the movie I might better understand it.

I saw the movie before Is aw this TV special, though now I wish I had done in in reverse order. I was far more scared and intrigued after watching the TV special than I was after I saw the movie, which was good but fairly disappointing. Even if you hated the movie itself, please give this TV special a chance. It has many details and answers many questions than the movie does not.

Well, I actually saw the movie and knew it was fiction before I saw this special. I must say though the actors in it are great and how hey make some pictures look weathered and old is pretty cool. There are some parts that are so cheesy I had to change the channel. I don't want to say it was a bad special because if you watch it before the film it will add some history and more depth to the film and will probably make you enjoy The Blair Witch Project even more.