Search - The Blair Witch Experience Collection Set on DVD

Value of Package Outweighs Lameness of Sequel

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 05/06/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Whatever your feelings about Book of Shadows, you have to admit that the guys behind the Blair Witch phenomenon are very good marketers. This box set is a terrific value. I already owned the Blair Witch Project on VHS, so I would probably never have purchased the DVD; in terms of the sequel, I was hesitant about going for the DVD rather than the VHS version based on the reviews I had read. I would never have bought the computer games. Thanks to this package, I now have all of the above (along with a trivial but not uncool stickman necklace). If you are any kind of Blair Witch fan, you need to buy this set. As for the original Blair Witch disc, its main attraction is the movie commentary. Despite the fact that there are half a dozen or more people doing the commentary, it is very interesting, and it provides you with some insight and facts about the movie and how it was really made (you even find out what Heather was seeing when the trio ran away from the tent screaming that one night). Sadly, you won't find any extra scenes included here than were available on the VHS version; this is doubly disappointing because the commentators make comments on a number of occasions about cut scenes they hoped would make it on the DVD). As for the sequel, it wasn't all that bad. It wasn't all that great either. As the movie started, I thought that it could turn out to be a pretty good story; that promise faded as the movie progressed. One thing that annoyed me was the fact that the movie took place, for the most part, inside of one building. The characters headed out into the woods on a Blair Witch tour, but we never see those woods during the second half of the movie. Just before the movie ended, I got that old feeling that says "I hope they don't end the movie at this point in the story," and--of course--that is what immediately happened. Still, it's very watchable and far from horrible. You do get a bonus with the Book of Shadows DVD; the flip side of the disc contains four songs along with the score from the movie in regular CD format. Supposedly, this is the first such DVD+CD product to be released--I don't know how impressed I should be over that. Bottom line: if you don't have the Blair Witch Project on DVD, it would behoove you to buy this set."