Having seen this without any prior knowledge that it was complete fiction, I have to say that it scared me badly. By the time I got to see the movie, I'm afraid the initial impact had worn off, so if you want to get the full force of the horror in "The Blair Witch Project" I would recommend seeing it first, with as little information as possible, then following it with this special.
The documentary style is mimicked beautifully in "Curse of the Blair Witch", down to the Ken Burns-like reading of period documents in various voices. This program could stand on its own as a humorous textbook example of how a standard TV documentary is put together in the 1990s, complete with stock characters: the skeptical historical expert, the stolid, unimaginative police official, the superstitious townfolk, the irrelevant friends and family members. Only occasionally does the story overreach in an attempt to produce shivers; for the most part, this "mockumentary" is thoroughly believable. Even once the trick behind it is explained, it can be enjoyed as a skilful piece of film craft.
The documentary style is mimicked beautifully in "Curse of the Blair Witch", down to the Ken Burns-like reading of period documents in various voices. This program could stand on its own as a humorous textbook example of how a standard TV documentary is put together in the 1990s, complete with stock characters: the skeptical historical expert, the stolid, unimaginative police official, the superstitious townfolk, the irrelevant friends and family members. Only occasionally does the story overreach in an attempt to produce shivers; for the most part, this "mockumentary" is thoroughly believable. Even once the trick behind it is explained, it can be enjoyed as a skilful piece of film craft.