The Blair Witch Project - Realistic Horror

When watching The Blair Witch Project this week in class, I found myself recalling the first time I watched the film and my first thoughts on everything about it. Something that I can distinctly remember from that first time that I watched it was feeling confused about why people found the film so frightening. Looking back on this now, I realize why it can make people feel so terrified when they're watching the film.

When people watch a horror film, the first thing that usually scares them is the fact that the situation seems to be completely plausible. Some of the scariest movie plots are the ones that seem like they could be footage right out of a person's home movies, and it's no secret that Blair Witch does this well. Something else that makes it so terrifyingly realistic is how well the feeling of being lost and alone in an unfamiliar place can be. Even though at first I didn't find the story to be that scary, If I think about the vibe of being in a random daunting forest in the middle of the night with the possibility of being followed with my every move, I start to understand the fear the film can convey to somebody.

The truth is, being lost and alone in the darkness is something that everyone is pretty much born being afraid of. I believe that this is what makes this film so appealing and scary to people. The main reason why people enjoy watching things that make them scared is the adrenalin rush it gives them, and it's not hard to understand why something that involves a fear so primal to us humans would appeal to people who enjoy that rush.