What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I liked both Grave Encounters movies but the second film's ending was a bit stupid. Abandoned mental asylums are freaky as hell.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

What was The Blair Witch Project supposed to be? Scary? Suspenseful? Funny? I mean, I watched it, but outside the found footage concept, I couldn't figure out what was intended.

I found it pretty scary at the time. It probably helped that it was original, but when I watched it again a few years ago, I still liked it well enough.

That's not to say it's on the same level as Cloverfield, which (as I keep saying) I think is near perfect for what it is. I don't think there's much more it could do right within the restrictions of its genre.

I don't think I'm familiar with anything else in the genre though, so I'm hardly an expert.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Now they're going for big foot!

[Wojo 2,453]

It's actually about time. I can't believe they haven't done it sooner.

All those GoPros. The guy should've stocked up on beef jerky.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It has been done before, though not via found footage.

[nightscape94 965]

I thought Chronicle was a good example of the genre being used effectively.

[Wojo 2,453]

"Via found footage" is what I was implying. Sasquatch itself has been done in everything from The X-Files to cheesy B-movies to just another room of death in Whedon's Cabin in the Woods.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Now they're going for big foot!

More BLAIR WITCH shite.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

He's taking you back to the woods! But nah, Blair Witch had a great sense of atmosphere.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

It was ugly, sloppy, artless, shit that degraded cinema. Can't believe how so many bought into it.

[filmmusic 1,829]

It was ugly, sloppy, artless, shit that degraded cinema. Can't believe how so many bought into it.

It was ORIGINAL at the time!

(or so I believe)

[Koray Savas 2,251]

We're not all as enlightened as you it seems. It was a good time at the cinema, no one is calling it an artistic masterpiece.

[nightscape94 965]

Blair Witch was an extremely effective movie.

[A24 4,333]

How was it extremely effective? Were you extremely scared by it? Why?

Or did you really believe you were watching a found footage movie?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

As I said above, it really nails the atmosphere. Perhaps it's more tailored to my childhood experiences of exploring the backwoods of Maryland with my friends (the film was shot near me), but I think it's a really tense "horror" film. Stuff like finding a pile of bloody teeth underneath a stack of rocks doesn't freak you out?

[Quintus 5,399]

I watched Blair Witch in the cinema with my gf at the time and she absolutely bottled it. It was a brilliant and novel experience, and very much a fad movie. Have never seen it a second time.

My experience with Paranormal Activity didn't compare favourably with Blair Witch.

[DreamTheater 131]

Gandhi (1982)

What an absolutely wonderful film. With lord Attenborough's passing I've decided to finally give this one a watch. I'm so glad I did. The story of Gandhi is unique, a man that has always been fighting for justice, against oppression from the British but by doing so in a peaceful manner. He gets the Indian people behind him thanks to his charismatic presence. The Brits fighting him and his followers in the most brutal manner come over as cocky arrogant SOB's and this may very well have been the truth. Attenborough really did show the atrocities in India his country was responsible for. What really struck me in this film (or Gandhi's story) is that no matter how many times he was thrown in prison for ridiculous reasons, he never lost his nerve or wanted to attack his fellow men. His humility and peaceful character is something to respect and be envious of. A very powerful film and one that all of humankind could learn a thing or two from. Not too much music present in the film, but it felt appropriate wherever it was needed, and the native tunes during key scenes and the end credits were great to hear.

[A24 4,333]

Stuff like finding a pile of bloody teeth underneath a stack of rocks doesn't freak you out?

You're kidding, right?

It's really puzzling why to one group Blairwitch was an abnormal frightening experience while to another group it was a complete non-event.

Some of you must've been not even 10 when this movie came out. Maybe that explains it?

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

In real life, sure....in a film.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

Koko is afraid of dentists.

[Quintus 5,399]

I think I was about 22 when it came out, I remember it was very much hyped up as an 'event movie' here. We all went together to see it, a big pile of us, boys and girls. We all had a scream with it apart from one guy who came out with terrible motion sickness.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

We all had a scream with it apart from one guy who came out with terrible motion sickness.

Thank god it wasn't in 3D.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I've never seen a found footage film.

[Hurmm 91]

There's some primal yet intangible fear underneath Blair Witch which makes it terrifying, especially given the correct circumstances. Try watching it before camping in the jungle yeah?

And come to think about it, the worst kind if fear is the sort that is primal and intangible right? That something that you can never explain...

[A24 4,333]

How about no fear at all?

What is intangible fear? Don't you want fear to be tangible? If it's not tangible, you don't feel it.

[filmmusic 1,829]

There's some primal yet intangible fear underneath Blair Witch which makes it terrifying, especially given the correct circumstances. Try watching it before camping in the jungle yeah?

And come to think about it, the worst kind if fear is the sort that is primal and intangible right? That something that you can never explain...

The first time I saw Blair Witch it was on VHS and it was afternoon with light outside.

I remember not fearing, but it surely seemed very original to me!

The second time I saw it , it was on DVD, alone in the dark of the night!

I was scared!!

I was scared also by Paranormal Activity, and at the end of REC (the Spanish one) i had a panic/fear attack (don't know how to call it) and started crying.(fortunately I was with a friend)

But I think now, the found footage trend has to stop.

It's not original anymore. Just cheap..

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

It's really puzzling why to one group Blairwitch was an abnormal frightening experience while to another group it was a complete non-event.

Better skill at suspension of disbelief perhaps? As long as you "accept" it as found footage (and I think it's done well enough to be sufficiently believable in that regard), I think it works quite well and has its share of scary moments.

I don't think suspension of disbelief is something that depends solely on the film itself. There are people who don't like old films (because they say the effects are crap, or they can't get into the plot). The original King Kong's visual effects *are* crude and unconvincing, but to me, once I start watching a film like that, I get into a mindset that can accept the ape just fine. I also find that if a film is made well enough, I don't start thinking "outside the film" while watching it - a good film can surprise me with plot twists that I would have spotted from a mile away if the film was less convincing.

It even depends on the company you see it with. A flawed, but good film (e.g. Temple of Doom - hoping not to start another flame ware) can be great fun or a strange experience depending on who you watch it with and what they're saying about it.

With its big found footage gimmick, perhaps Blair Witch has been dividing audiences because there were many people, even when it came out, who had made up their minds that it's stupid? Even back then, there were complaints that the characters were totally unbelievable because they're just running around in a wood, panicked and crying. For me, that seems a natural reaction when you're lost in a wood and perhaps even half believe in some witch legend which then apparently comes true. Michael Bay style badass heroes are what would have ruined the illusion.

I don't think a film like that can work if you go into it expecting it to be unconvincing.

How about no fear at all?

What is intangible fear? Don't you want fear to be tangible? If it's not tangible, you don't feel it.

How about fear of the unknown? That's intangible. You don't think the unknown can be unsettling?

I was a nervous wreck at the end of my first viewing of 2001.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

For all Myrick and Sanchez’s appeal to contemporary film enthusiasts, their movie requires an astounding suspension of disbelief—gullibility strained to the point of stupidity. Don’t ask how the team’s battery pack for lights and camera lasts so long. Don’t ask who’s holding the camera at any given moment of threesome crisis. Or who’s turning it on—even when it’s simply pointed down at the ground (80 percent of the imagery is shaky cam footage of leaves, rocks, branches). What’s outside the frame is not intimidating when what’s inside is insipid. Myrick and Sanchez want audiences to condone their cosseted notion of youthful inquiry, even though—as Heather, Michael and Joshua are portrayed—it’s nothing more than a badly planned career gesture.

Abjectly humorless, Myrick and Sanchez take horror movie cliches to heart. Their film (like its Internet offshoot) fulfills a post-70s idea of movies as private fantasy rather than social or cultural tool. Myrick and Sanchez fetishize the careers of such quasi-professional, up-from-the-ranks film geeks as Robert Rodriquez, Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith. Eager to join that league, their horror tale indulges wannabe-ism. The scariest thing about the film is its insistent (implicit) indulgence of trustfund filmmaking. The Me-Too Project. Their trio goes to the woods not for the perfectly good horny-teen reasons in Friday the 13th or like the unsuspecting cemetery visitors in Night of the Living Dead. They’re really longing to go Hollywood or bust. First bust, Maryland; second bust, your pocket. The proof—as always—is in the filmmakers’ moment of truth: Heather, lost, wet, frightened, humiliated, gets the camera turned on her by an angry teammate berating her ambition. Her competence and her moviemaking dreams attacked, Heather blubbers, “Please, it’s all I have left.”

To hell with Heather’s illusions—and Myrick and Sanchez’s. Art requires honesty and a movie like this further requires the discipline, talent and craft to sustain a conceptual conceit. There have been many beautiful ones in the history of cinema —Blood of a Poet, L’Age D’Or, Citizen Kane, Singin’ in the Rain, Last Year at Marienbad, M*A*S*H, Killer of Sheep, Gertrud, Excalibur and many others, high and low. But it’s not likely that Myrick and Sanchez have seen them or that they (or their enablers in the media) have learned anything from those films. BWP simply wants in on the blockbuster game; it’s a low-rent version of Die Hard, Speed, Titanic disguising its corruption in rags.

-- Armond White.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Blah blah blah.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

The Blah Witch Project.

[Quintus 5,399]

Lol, classic Sharky.

[Jay 37,363]

I've never seen a found footage film.

You should see Europa Report

[Quintus 5,399]

That's literally the only good proper sci-fi movie I've seen in nearly 10 years. When will the drought end?

[Jay 37,363]

I too miss the real sci fi films, ie ones that aren't simply action films in a sci fi setting. Why can't there be more films like Gattaca?

You should check out Ronald D Moore's Virtuosity, I think you'd like it.

Did you like Children of Men and Snowpiercer?

[KK 3,307]

Wasn't a big fan of Gattaca. I'd like to check out Europa Report.

Never seen The Blair Witch Project, might try it out sometime soon.

[Jay 37,363]

You're too young to enjoy Gattaca

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Oh yeah the hyper-passionate Gattaca defence league will string you up by your buster browns if you dare criticise this infallible, unquestioned masterpiece of boring sci-fi cinema.

[KK 3,307]

How very clever of you Jason. How long did it take for you to come up with that one?

In all fairness, I watched it a good couple of years ago. And I think the reason I wasn't too impressed with it is because I found the science behind it rather rudimentary. Really liked the atmosphere of it all though.

Will probably have to add that to the long list of movies to check out again.

Oh yeah the hyper-passionate Gattaca defence league will sting you up by your buster browns if you dare criticise this infallible, unquestioned masterpiece of boring sci-fi cinema.

Apparently...

Maybe it was one of those event films of the time (not that I'd know, as Jason will very soon point out). I wonder if people will find that it still holds up today?

[Jay 37,363]

I wasn't trying to be rude or disrespectful, KK!

I just meant it's made more for adults than teenagers. Sorry if I offended you!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[KK 3,307]

You're enjoying this too much Alvar...

I wasn't trying to be rude or disrespectful, KK!

I just meant it's made more for adults than teenagers. Sorry if I offended you!

Lol nah, no offense taken.

And so are most movies I appreciate But yeah, I'll have rewatch Gattaca soon too.

[Hurmm 91]

The heart of Gattaca isn't the science though, it's the... heart. Triumph of the human spirit. And on that front the film succeeds quite magnificently.

Europa Report was good too. A film that captures galactic mystique.

[Jay 37,363]

Well said on both parts, Hurmm.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I saw Gattaca when it came out and loved it.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

All I remember is Uma Thurman lookin' pretty good and two blokes at the end going for a swim.

[Jay 37,363]

Uma Thurman has pretty consistently looked good for years now, eh? Ever see The Adventures of Baron Munchausen?

[filmmusic 1,829]

I too miss the real sci fi films, ie ones that aren't simply action films in a sci fi setting. Why can't there be more films like Gattaca?

i would suggest THX 1138, Seconds (1966), Soylent Green (1973) , 12 monkeys, Brazil.

[Quintus 5,399]

Gattaca was just okay I thought. There was a visual narrative but nowt much else.

Forgot about Snowpiercer, it's on my list. It does look like I might like it.

[A24 4,333]

It's really puzzling why to one group Blairwitch was an abnormal frightening experience while to another group it was a complete non-event.

Better skill at suspension of disbelief perhaps? As long as you "accept" it as found footage (and I think it's done well enough to be sufficiently believable in that regard), I think it works quite well and has its share of scary moments.

I don't think suspension of disbelief is something that depends solely on the film itself. There are people who don't like old films (because they say the effects are crap, or they can't get into the plot). The original King Kong's visual effects *are* crude and unconvincing, but to me, once I start watching a film like that, I get into a mindset that can accept the ape just fine. I also find that if a film is made well enough, I don't start thinking "outside the film" while watching it - a good film can surprise me with plot twists that I would have spotted from a mile away if the film was less convincing.

It even depends on the company you see it with. A flawed, but good film (e.g. Temple of Doom - hoping not to start another flame ware) can be great fun or a strange experience depending on who you watch it with and what they're saying about it.

With its big found footage gimmick, perhaps Blair Witch has been dividing audiences because there were many people, even when it came out, who had made up their minds that it's stupid? Even back then, there were complaints that the characters were totally unbelievable because they're just running around in a wood, panicked and crying. For me, that seems a natural reaction when you're lost in a wood and perhaps even half believe in some witch legend which then apparently comes true. Michael Bay style badass heroes are what would have ruined the illusion.

I don't think a film like that can work if you go into it expecting it to be unconvincing.

How about no fear at all?

What is intangible fear? Don't you want fear to be tangible? If it's not tangible, you don't feel it.

How about fear of the unknown? That's intangible. You don't think the unknown can be unsettling?

I was a nervous wreck at the end of my first viewing of 2001.

I wasn't frightened when I saw 2001: ASO for the first time either. I was a young Star Wars fan and wondered why it wasn't more like Star Wars.

Yes, the unknown can be scary, but before that happens, I need to be a witness of things that I find unsettling. That didn't happen when I watched Blair Witch. Actually, I did like the very last scene which, strangely enough, some people didn't like because they deemed it "too vague". What a crazy world, huh.