Quote:
Originally Posted by XtRaVa
The Blair Witch Project: Err...do you know how it was made? The directors got the 3 actors to camp in the woods, and were told they would get scared over the few days. They would find food left for them at certain places, as the days went on the directors gave them less food and made more scary noises during the night so that the actors started to get very hungry and tired.
This meant that a lot of their acting was in fact them being real, getting annoyed at each over because of sleep deprivation and hunger, even their reactions to being frightened was real. When you go to a haunted house amusement the staff that jump out on you scare you even though you know its not real. Or when you played hide and seek in the woods or something with your friends, you know its not real but if they jump out on you it will scare you. Thats much the same way the actors were being scared, they knew it was the directors but they didnt know how or when the directors would be scaring them - they just stayed in character of pretending it was a witch or whatever.
People thought it was real because it was hyped and rumoured by the directors on the internet before its release, making out as though it was a real film. I think when people went to see it in the cinema though, they realised it wasnt real. Considering their movie budget was that of a car, I think they did a good job. To me though, it was more like a very good grade at a film studies class, rather than a box office hit.
The Hostel: Not sure how to discuss your feelings on this one, your reasons arent great or substantial enough to give a good discussion back. You just seem to be TELLING us it was lame, rather than giving coherent reasons why.
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As I stated in my first post: Look at how clean they are. They weren't sleeping in the woods, they were shooting in the woods. If they had a place to stay, then they were probably well taken care of. This entire movie is hype, beginning to end. The making of, the publicity, everything, 100% hype. It had to be, because as far as substance goes, there is none.
They say this movie cost thirty grand, I doubt that .But, if it did, what did it pay for? It wasn't no-name actors salaries. It wasn't for the camera, even back then cameras were still affordable (if you consider 10 grand affordable). It was probably for living expenses while they were shooting.
I'm not knocking the media or director hype, because dollar for dollar it's one of the most successful movies ever made. It grossed over a hundred and twenty six million dollars. Hopefully, the directors didn't out and out sell the movie. If they did, they must be kicking themselves.
But, do you know how many people bought into the fact it was "real"? TOO MANY. Because had the oroginal audiences used a little common sense and said "no way is this real" then it would have gotten around that the movie was a fake and no one would have went to see it. Because without the "reality" of the situation, there's nothing there. For those that are too young to remember, the "real" situation was everywhere.
Tagline: In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary...A year later their footage was found..
Hype 100% hype.
Was it an original idea? Absolutely. Was it a great media campaign? Without a doubt. Is it a great horror movie? Not even close. Is it a good horror movie? IMO, no. Was it entertaining? Not to me.
Everyone is an individual and can like whatever they want. But, personally I'll take the substance of what I'm watching over the hype which got me to see it in the first place. Take away the hype behind Blair Witch and we wouldn't even be debating it, because NO ONE would have seen it.
As for Hostel, again it was all in the media campaign. I don't remember how the exact slogan went, but it suppose to be the most terrifying movie of the year, or it'll shock you like you've never been shocked before. Again, it was suppose to be the new generation of horror. Which translates to originality. There was nothing original in the horror of this movie, because it was a complete rip-off of Saw, down to style and atmosphere, once it finally got to the gore. The first hour was tits and ass. There's nothing scary about tits and ass, unless you're homosexual (that's a joke).
IMO, people buy more into the hype, then the actual product. Which translates into more crap being made and sold. Some musical cases in point Madonna, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync...
Go for substance...