234: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Sorry Smokey, I'm burning that place down.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to the spooky season with Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. I could help you, but I'd rather stand here and record. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack, a total joke, waste of time, or a slash.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Totally killer. Unintended.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with the perspective we've gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slash enthusiast. And this week I'm joined by the super fly space guy Mac.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

No, Mike, it's not the same vlog.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

And the gore lover Alexis. How he liked it? God bless him. This episode and the entirety of our 2022 spooky season is brought to you by our friends at Calmstrips. Calmstrips is helping us celebrate our 2022 theme of comfort horror. And in that spirit, our first movie of the spooky season may bring you the comfort of nostalgia, or potentially the discomfort of triggering your vertigo with Shaky Cam. Before we crack open the drama meme and dive into the past though, we have some follow-up.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Let's follow up on some stuff. This week we're excited to announce the launch of our second annual New Blood Drive, which is a month-long celebration of horror, our podcast anniversary, and the expansion of our patron family. The drive consists of a few major things. Number one, birthday gifts. We've commissioned an artist to create a poster commemorating our fifth anniversary. Every new patron who signs up in the month of October and stays will receive a poster of their very own. Number two, free sides. Now if you're still on the fence about joining our Patreon, why not test drive one of our best patron perks? For our listeners who may not know, after every episode, our patrons are treated to a bonus segment known as B-Sides. B-sides are for things besides the point. Pre-game chats, bloopers, tangents that really take things off the rails. You understand. Experience how the other half lives with Freesides this month only.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

And in addition to those benefits, we are also double stuffing our lineup. This month we have eight episodes, including a patron pick, our birthday special, and another round of the co-host clash. A series of episodes which pit our co-hosts in head-to-head matchups of their favorite comfort horror movies. At the end of the month, our listeners will get to crown a new champion by voting on which movie and episode they enjoyed most. Naturally, with a double stuff lineup, we have a lot of movies under our belt, but we want to take it a step further. Since we have a new Discord server this year, our new blood drive is also going to include public watch parties and patron exclusive live streams and video chats. Stay tuned to the events tab in our Discord to learn more.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

We're just so excited to have all of you along for the ride as we celebrate our show's fifth anniversary, which is insane to me. You can learn more by following the link in our show notes or by heading over to patreon.com slash hackerslash. And that's our follow-up.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Well, our double stuffed spooky season lineup is kicking off with a 1999 film considered to be the first widely released film with marketing powered by the internet. In June 1998, a website launched which compiled police reports and news interviews surrounding the disappearance of three missing students. The validity of the missing students was widely debated, but the release of an hour-long special a year later led audiences to believe they really had disappeared while making a documentary about a local legend. The success of the unprecedented marketing campaign proved to be the gasoline needed for the growing fire behind the film's legacy. This movie, while not being the first of its kind, went on to become one of the most successful independent films of all time and both revived and popularized the found footage subgenre. This week, we're talking about the 1999 film, The Blair Witch Project. Who's seen this one before?

SPEAKER_02 3:56

I have a little backstory if you guys will let me um explain. Obviously, I've seen this movie. I was dreading watching it because I'm so scared of this movie, mostly because of my childhood. My parents rented this shortly after it came out. My mom was so scared. She kept talking about this to me, like not to me, but like in my presence. And I heard her scream one night because they were watching the movie, and I guess something fell off the wall, and my mom was terrified. And I'm pretty sure ever since then she still believes in ghosts, even more. But she's terrified of this movie, and I think instilled that fear into me. So yeah, that's definitely seen this movie. I actually saw a second one too, but it's been it's been a while. It's been maybe a few years since I've seen it.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Well, I have successfully avoided watching this movie for 23 years until today, until I watched it, but it was not on my watch list in any way, shape, or form. I've mentioned it before, found footage is just not my thing. And anything where a camera shakes for a period of time, it's just gonna upset my my vertigo. So yeah, I think it's I think math-wise now it's been 23 years for me.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

That's surprising. I thought you would have seen this, but seeing that this is like the first found footage almost.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Yeah, exactly. The first one out of of a modern take on a subgenre that I do not enjoy. So yeah, this is definitely not one that I like looked forward to at all.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Fair enough. Mac, I didn't avoid this for 20 plus years like you did. Now, I've seen this movie before, but I've seen pop culture references more than I've seen the actual movie. I also didn't see it right when it came out. I didn't watch it until like a good three to four years later. I did, though, watch the Scooby-Doo project that aired on Cartoon Network just after this movie hit theaters. And I've dropped a link in the show notes. That was an absolute masterpiece of a cartoon parody.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

That actually sounds really entertaining.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Yeah, Mac, the version that I found is 4K upscaled, so it's a lot cleaner than even what I remember seeing on TV. But treat yourself if you haven't actually seen it because there's something about the realism with which they paint these characters. Obviously, this is a group of people like Lost in the Woods, right? And you have the wholesome Scooby-Doo gang, you know, Mystery Inc., and you have them getting tense with each other and kind of making snide remarks together and kind of getting scared. It's a really interesting experience.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

It sounds a it sounds a lot better than what I was expecting from this movie, having never seen it and having deliberately avoided it for so long. I just I just knew in my heart that it was gonna be full of shaky cam, really bad acting, and especially potato footage.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Yeah, although it was, you know, terrifying and I had some animosity watching this, I did recall that a lot of things didn't happen in this movie. So I actually thought my expectations uh were gonna be really low for this watch. I was like, I don't feel like this aged very well because I just remember it being scary, but I never remember why it was scary.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Yeah, so having watched this movie before, I felt like there couldn't possibly be anything left for me to appreciate more. If you've heard of this movie, you more than likely know it's a little more than an hour of shaky cam walking in the woods and people getting more and more stressed. So I expected straight up to just be bored, right? But I was actually really entertained. And I love the idea of like setting out into the woods to make a documentary about something spooky, Sue me, as someone who went into the woods for a lot less of a motivation. I I felt like this is an idea that I could I could grab onto. And I felt the relatable moment when like you're working on an important interview and the dude running your camera can't didn't pull focus right and he fucks up the footage. There's a lot in here that I enjoyed. Obviously, a lot of the uh hectic camera work, so I can't imagine how Mac must have felt watching this.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Well, I mean, I I think it was mostly on par with what I expected. I think there was plenty of shaky cam. I did pretty well. I kept my phone with me to mostly distract myself visually from the film. Um, but I kind of felt like what Alexis thought was going to happen, I kind of felt like I'm waiting for something to happen on screen that isn't just these people yelling at each other for minutes at a time. That was when I my biggest feeling, I think, while watching it was mostly just like, good God, these people are fighting and yelling and screaming, and it's so loud and they just need to chill out for 90 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

That's exactly how I felt while watching. Um, I'm gonna be honest with you, did close my computer and finish watching it later on because I was like, you know what? It's making me feel anxious, and I don't know if it's a good anxious or a bad. I don't know if I'm anxious because man, I'm really hoping something's gonna pop on the screen, or just these people yelling at each other is just like, and I'm like, are they gonna get out of the woods? Like, and it wasn't for the actual movie, just the circumstances they were in per se. But it really surprises me and disappoints me that this movie had such low quality because I feel like during the time the video could have been way I feel like the video was better back then. It feels like they almost purposefully probably made this bad.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

It's almost as if they did that because they did, because they needed to age it since it was supposedly shot years before.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

I don't think you needed to do that, you know. But I bet whoever is like in their 20s today, whatever they are, I bet they're thinking this is what VHS looks like, and it doesn't.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

I know, but I mean I'm watching this and I'm thinking to myself about like the work that had to be done to make this movie, or maybe the work that didn't have to get done. There had to be so much editing done. Um but really I'm thinking of like Chris could go out and make a movie like this. Like Chris has the skills. Is she sitting there like tearing this movie apart or like analyzing components of it? Like I really wondered, Chris, if you had like while watching this gone through a whole like technical thing in your mind versus being able to just try to soak up the story.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

I think this movie does enough to suspend my disbelief to where I don't really care to get lost in the technicalities of it. There is an inexplicable moment, actually a couple moments, where someone is wasting a very precious resource in this movie, and it drives me fucking insane. And that is the one thing that like really broke the realism for me. Aside from that though, I was also surprised at how much better a time I had watching this, particularly in the comfort of my own home with the speakers really close and the captions turned on, because there's a critical point in this movie when tensions rise and you can hear a very faint sound. And this is the first time I've ever been able to hear that. And that kind of sound work, that kind of audio work, Mac, is the technicality that I dove into on this rewatch. So it was less about the camera work, it was less about what they're trying to do in terms of like structuring their documentary and more thinking about the meta of how this film was made. It's really fucking impressive when you think about the resources and the amount of improv that had to happen to bring this movie together.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

I think I if I were to like do this again, I probably would want to watch it with headphones on. I think that would add probably a lot to it. There were definitely moments where I struggled a little bit with trying to hear what they were talking about because they were saying, Oh my gosh, do you hear that? I'm like, no, I don't hear anything. And um that was kind of a bummer for me. But you know, there was there was another bummer for me, and that was it was a disappointment in the antagonist, because I think with a name like this and the way things are dressed up, I was really expecting a certain type of antagonist that we just truly don't see on screen depicted in the way I I had hoped for, which I think kind of detracted from from the level of fear that I had. I I mean, obviously I'm never scared when I'm watching a movie, but I didn't really feel like this was a scary movie. I actually kind of thought to myself, like, why was anybody scared when they watched this?

SPEAKER_01 12:00

See, I think the less you see, the scarier it is. I also agree though that that this is not a scary movie, but I also can imagine how this would have been scary had you watched it of conscious mind in the late 90s when it came out, and you had and you had some of the factors surrounding uh the movie and whether or not you believed if it was real or if you were misled, etc. There's a lot in here though that choices were made that I don't think they could have executed well had they gone a different direction. And there is so much footage that is shot for this film that was never used, period. And even more footage that was used for marketing. And so you get a lot of that when you think about like what the original vision of the project was. There's even a point in the movie where that you're supposed to see something, but with the style of filmmaking that was employed for this film, you end up not seeing anything at all. And knowing that the actors see things that we don't, I think adds to the tension.

SPEAKER_02 13:01

I would agree with you, Chris. It definitely brought up some tension, but I don't know. I think for something like this, I just need I needed something more to make it frightful, which was hilarious because I went into this movie, I kept the lights on, I made sure I ate dinner and I did not have to go downstairs. I mean, I was set up to be frightened the other night, and I was not, but it it did build tension. I I don't know. I I struggle with sometimes, you know, when we watch movies and review them, they put they put the antagonist too much on screen. They didn't put enough. This is not what I imagined, but I feel like some subtle hints would have been good for me that I really was solidified that there's something there and these people aren't just crazy.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

It didn't come across to me as crazy as much as it came across to me as like maybe there's nothing to look at. And so I I didn't I didn't while watching this realize that there actually were things that they were seeing that we didn't get to see. So I think knowing that changes a little bit makes it a little bit better. I think though the like cultural impact of this movie really gives it full originality points because it's not the first movie to do found footage for sure. It's definitely not the first movie to talk about ghost hunting or witch hunting or anything like that. But I think it's the first one to have this sort of impact on the culture. And I think using the internet fully brilliant. I remember like the whole advertising campaign was massive, and people were talking about this for so long after it came out, and actually leading up to it coming out. So on its own, just like the way that it hit was I think the first of its kind.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Oh, absolutely. It may not have been the first found footage film, but it's definitely the grandfather of modern found footage. And Mac, you mentioned the marketing strategy behind it and absolutely does put it in that original territory.

SPEAKER_02 14:47

Yeah, I do believe the cultural phenomenon of this movie is kind of out of this world. I mean, people know this movie and don't even really watch horror movies. I mean, shit, it scared the mess out of my mom. She won't even watch scary movies, and I'm pretty sure my stepdad remembers that. I mean, if I can remember this from when I was a kid, I'm sure. So I'm sure other people have similar circumstances or certain memories surrounding this, and seeing it in theaters, I'm sure was crazy back then too, and this being something essentially new to the time. So I will definitely give it originality. But the ending, I don't know, it was like so crazy, but like I said with how frightening it was, I I was missing a lot in the ending that I just I mean, I got the ending, but I don't know how to describe it. Like it was it was missing something to me, and I think it was missing what made the whole movie frightful.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Hmm. I don't know. I disagree. I think the mo the ending was exactly what I wanted it to be without needing anything more. Because at that point, it's like this this critical moment, really. Because if you go much further, or if you try to go a different direction, then it becomes this like uh fourth wall breaking thing where you begin to wonder how the hell this footage is even even got here, right? Like it can only realistically go on so long.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

Just saying if the camera like they do now just tilt it a certain way, that's all I need.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

I do feel you on like the danger of going too far because then I think you get to the kind of ending we had in like Hellhouse LLC, where we might have gone like a little bit too far on that one. But I think the ending of this one was probably the best part of the movie. The very end scene, I think, was my like the most unexpected scene for me in this film. Like with the the whole vibe of the film, I did not expect that to happen. And I was very pleasantly surprised by that. I think there's a moment leading up to it where I'm like still criticizing it out loud while watching it, and then we get to the end and I was like, oh, nice. Like that that was well executed. I liked it. And I think it's it's something my band director told me many, many years ago, where he says, you know, you can start out well and then end well, and it leaves you some freedom in the middle to not do perfectly. But if you start well and end well, that's what people will remember.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Well, let's see if it ended well enough to score favorably on our show. But before we get into our ratings, Alexis, what's the gore score for this film?

SPEAKER_02 17:13

It's pretty low for what it is during this time, but I will admit there are a few things that we'll get into into the second half that could, you know, raise this up a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

And what about the animal report?

SPEAKER_02 17:24

Like with any witch movie you can imagine, um, PETA's gonna be pissed, but it it's okay to watch.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings and the Blair Witch project from 1999. Was it a hacker or slash?

SPEAKER_02 17:36

So this movie has obviously some nostalgia for me. Um, half of it being my mother. Um, and I think that was the only thing entertaining about this movie was my mom's perception of this. I think I might have hyped it up a little too much. You know, I was dreading this, I was dreading it in a good way. Like I was like, I'm gonna be so scared. You know, I applaud it for that terror it even brings to me today. But you know, we were watching this and I just was found myself just being bored, and Heather, her voice just is cringy to me. Like, I don't know, something about it just didn't feel real. She didn't, she felt to me like she was acting real hard in this. And, you know, I applaud what it does in the genre, but I've seen better found footage. Unfortunately, it comes after this, and I will applaud the Poughkeepsie tapes because you start off and you don't even know. There's no credits, there's no like explanation, you're just in these tapes. I feel like had they been a little bit more in the time frame, they probably could have added some more things like the Poughkeepsie tapes has done to make it a little bit more timeless and you know cross-generational. But it's gonna get a hack for me.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

Wowsers. I I mean I kind of saw that coming from you, but this is one of the most annoying movies I've ever seen. The characters, all three of them, constantly create on my nerves. The plot is insanely boring, like you've mentioned. The camera angles are vomit-inducing for me, but maybe that's just me. I don't know. Um, but I truly don't understand why this was such a phenomenon after people watched it. This is a prime example of why, at least I think found footage is a garbage subgenre. Filming people unreasonably freak out while literally nothing happens on screen. I think it's cheap and effective and mostly aggravating. I hated it, and it's a total hack.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

But you didn't like Cloverfield?

SPEAKER_00 19:24

It was okay. I think 10 Cloverfield Lane was was a huge improvement.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Okay, Mac, tell us how you really feel. So, look, this movie is really simple, but it's not scary. It's masterful in some ways, but it's so difficult to watch now. But because it's simple, it's good at being effective the first time. And yet it's debatable whether it's effective for a first time viewing in present day. I'd venture to say it's really not. This movie is filled with quality performances that rely on some really intense improv skills. And for me, this movie is a slash, and I'm not expecting anyone to love it as a modern horror film, but that's because you can't. It is not a modern horror film. Instead, you can go back and watch this movie and appreciate it for what it is. It's like a time capsule of originality and fresh horror in a time when our world was slightly less disillusioned, skeptical, and hardened than it is now. It was a time before the internet, a time when, sure, things were obviously fake, but it allowed for the moments of mystery because you didn't just have the answers at your fingertips. You can't make this movie now, and that's what makes it even more special, particularly as a found footage film. But with that, the Blair Witch project from 1999 has earned two hacks and one slash. So we're really starting October off with a real big bang here. You can find this movie streaming on Hulu, so go check it out, then join us in the second half so we can break down things together. We'll see you in a bit. No, really, it's true. But what about those situations when spooky flicks aren't readily available? Well, here's a hack that can help slash those Sunday scaries, and they're called Calm Strips. Calm strips are textured sensory adhesives, super discrete fidgets that are reusable and residue-free. You can put them virtually anywhere. Phone cases, laptops, notebooks, crucifixes, and more. Pick at the corners, scratch the surface, or simply feel the texture for sensory feedback and stimulation, whenever, wherever. It's a helpful tool for anxiety, ADHD, fiters, body focused repetitive behavior, and reducing restless energy, something Josh, Heather, and Mike could have used when they were lost in the woods in the Blair Witch project. Comstrips have over 150,000 satisfied customers since 2020 and are used in over 5,000 classrooms. Save 20% when you shop. comstrips.com and use promo code slash during checkout. That's comstrips.com promo code slash our thanks to comstrips for sponsoring this episode and the entirety of our spooky season. Welcome back folks you are now entering the spoiler zone for the Blair Witch project which has tragically earned two hacks and one slash. And we have a lot to unpack here but before we get into the specifics of our ratings Alexis take us through the kills.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

The off-screen presumed kills of all three of these people uh solely but like we mentioned it would put this movie into an like otherworldly sort of atmosphere and some kind of like fakeness I feel like if we saw someone being dismembered or you know people are hit on the head you don't see them. I love seeing Josh's teeth. I wish we got an ear or something or a tongue. Like I wish we had something like more obvious that more harm was done to him.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

I think the hardest part for me about that was I feel like it took a second to register what it was. And eventually it was like oh that's a tooth and I think that's probably from being spoiled from most other like Hollywood productions where when you see a tooth it's like a clear tooth and you see like the roots and stuff and you're like oh my goodness that's someone's molar so maybe this movie does it the right way because there's so much blood and like it's kind of hard to discern at first but it did it did like take a second.

SPEAKER_02 23:34

Yeah and wrapped up in that log I was like I would never have thought that there was something in there. It didn't look like it.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

When she threw it I was like okay smart choice.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

Smart choice indeed and what I loved about that moment was the fact that it was just her natural reaction. Like she noped her way out of that and then they kind of had an oh shit moment on set where the guy who was monitoring them had to report back to the director hey she threw the bundle and then they had to instruct her to go back to it later and grab it and actually open it up and I think that's when she realizes that the bundle is wrapped in his shirt.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

It's like real life DD and somebody goes the wrong path and you're like ah crap how do I get him back?

SPEAKER_01 24:12

You create a plot hole and you make it so you play God back. You play God.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

Oh yeah we've had a we've had a little bit of practice doing that sometimes I do have to admit it was kind of creepy and I know you get a lot of deaths that are talked about especially the children that die and I like how that's kind of reflected in the end of this movie but I mean I really do wish we had some more violence in this movie. I know that that's probably weird of me to say but I feel like that would have made this a little bit more creepier. And I don't mean I don't need terrifier level stuff. I don't need I I don't actually maybe even need to see it per se, but like if there was blood or something on someone like especially at the end when he's just standing there maybe if there were some blood on him like some sort of obvious notation that he's dead.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

I don't know I feel like I got enough blood with the real human teeth that were in that thing. Did it really bother you that much it's not that it bothered me.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

It was just enough like that was a good amount that let me know okay there's danger and I don't want to fuck with it do I actually really liked the the the final scene I think was effective for me because the camera drop did it right so I think seeing Mike in the corner that's one thing is it calls back to the story we heard earlier and it's like uh oh it's gonna happen and we know that this is found footage so they're not gonna survive so something's gonna happen to Heather but I think when the camera dropped so suddenly that really sold it to me and I actually I really liked that. I just wish there had been like a really good thump or something just like a much louder final blow to the back of the head or something or a blood spray something we could hear that would really cement it just really sell it. But I think the camera the camera drop was was pretty good though.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

Yeah like some stickiness so you know if like something got stuck in the head and got pulled like something a little bit more exaggerated because with all the screams it was all exaggerated.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

So what I'm hearing is the sound effects and scoring of our first birthday episode in the opening summer camp massacre was more up your alley than the Blair Witch project.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Oh a thousand percent you don't have to show me everything on screen but sound it does so much of the work for me.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

Speaking of what did it for you none of these kills really did it for me I just love to see Heather gone. No offense Heather um you were annoying in this movie.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

But that was my favorite death I don't know if y'all had a favorite I know there's only three I mean I was stoked about Josh disappearing in the middle of the night particularly because we have these moments where we hear his screams of agony and pain and I love knowing that you know the team themselves didn't know that he was going to be missing. So he had to wait for them to fall asleep then sneak out of the tent and the actress who were playing had no idea that he was going to be gone. So I think the tension of that and the mystery of him just disappearing all his shit is left behind and then we hear the screams and then we see the teeth and the blood so good.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

Yeah if only we could uh rate this movie on everything that happened not in the film but while filming it.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

I I'm gonna go for one that doesn't really count because we don't get to see it but I'm gonna say Mike's Mike's death I think is probably my favorite because it happens presumably after everything that we see happen. So I think you know we get Josh then we get Heather and then we get Mike and we know that Mike has to face the corner while Heather is killed and then Mike will be next and all that's just relating to the story that we hear in the very beginning of of the movie. And so I think that one's even worse because Heather's like Heather's taken out and that's pretty quick. But Mike has to sit there listen to Josh and then listen to Heather all while being like frozen in place in the corner and then we assume is going to go next and that that's a pretty sucky experience I think having to sit there and listen to everything knowing what's coming.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

Yeah it's really cruel very cruel. And I think that house and that house has to be definitely just it's it's creepy and it's a visually probably the most appealing thing about this movie, especially seeing as most of it's shaky cam. But specifically when they get to that top floor and I just knew some shit was going to pop off I thought on the third floor but I was mistaken but all these hands on the wall and you're like oh my gosh these are the kids so you start putting this story together which I do appreciate about this movie you don't know where it's going and you're like oh wow these stories are true but they're not so in your face about it but just those little hands just the just the little hands were perfect for me.

SPEAKER_01 28:57

The hands were spooky and it was a really good callback especially because I think the first time I saw this movie I'd completely forgotten about the story in the beginning I mean I watched this when I was way younger so I didn't really connect the dots there. But to see this now as an adult and to understand the thread that is running through this movie and to know the the backstory and kind of the lore behind it, I really enjoyed that moment as well. But I think my favorite visual is really just the inner cutting of the two different types of cameras and the way that we get these moments that are supposed to be the proper film moments, the proper documentary moments and then we see the chaos of what's actually happening behind the scenes. And I love what that lends in terms of like the perspective we're able to get about these characters from these characters presumably when the tape is no longer rolling on the main documentary camera.

SPEAKER_00 29:55

So interesting because I specifically picked the black and white film as my favorite visual element. Specifically just that one. The one where it's like the handy cam, like the portable thing that's it's a bit hard for me because it does feel like a potato cam most of the movie and I know it's like kind of done on purpose but we get to those segments where we're filming the documentary itself and we've got that 16mm rolling that's when it started to feel more like a movie. I mean it's still like we're getting blurry shots and stuff but it just feels a bit more polished and the black and white I I love black and white and I think it just does something to add to the gravitas of the idea of a uh of a of a witch or a ghost.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

Oh for sure. And I I do think that camera plays a very significant part in one of my favorite scenes and this is gonna sound super ridiculous because it has nothing to do with the woods or anything like that. But it's the first crack in the wall between Heather and Josh. And it's a moment where he's not acknowledging that he messed up the footage and they're in the car and he's talking about how the lens has meters instead of feet and how he's trying to like calculate and like measure the depth of field chart because he messed up the previous interview and she says oh it has our system too he's insistent no it doesn't it's all meters and then he eventually admits the brown ones are feet and she says the brown ones are on there aren't they he's like yeah but the white ones are more obvious. It's like they're getting at each other in that moment and she's being very steadfast and she's proving her point and standing her ground and he's kind of squirming around her and the tables turn later in the woods but I love seeing this dynamic because it's kind of like the precursor to what's to come even if it seems so insignificant in that moment.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

So Chris also my favorite part is this dynamic between all of them specifically when the map is lost and you really get to see Heather like absolutely lose her freaking mind and I feel like all these little you know tidbits add up to this point. And then it just everything just hits the wall from there.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

When she hits that point when they're like that's not the same log and then she has to admit to herself it is the same log and and starts crying you're like oh man it's finally in her brain that like how lost she is and and how doomed she feels and she's like now starting to process exactly what's going on and realizes like I'm pretty much helpless at this point. And you gotta feel for because up until that point like she's she's kind of in charge of this and trying to keep them together and trying to keep them going, trying to be the leader and this is the part where it's like crap like what on earth can be done now because we have no way forward.

SPEAKER_02 32:42

Yeah and I feel like when she was crying too I found myself putting myself in her shoes and essentially I was like would I cry during this or would I be so determined to get the hell out of there and I feel like it's more the second I feel like I'm not crying in front of these dudes I'm gonna put my boots on and start trekking.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Okay you think you think that but you also haven't been in the woods for eight days with no food.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Very true. Actually I would be crying on day two because I'm hungry.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

Oh yeah no the hangary tears are unreal.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

I was kind of upset though about their navigation skills it did bother me a good bit and I think part of that is just me thinking from a 2022 perspective and not thinking from a 1999 perspective there's no smartphones there's no digital maps that you can use if you only had one map and someone kicked it into the water you're kind of just out of locking up a creek.

SPEAKER_01 33:34

So that that is kind of a bummer but I was really curious like why was there only one person that really knew how to navigate well here's the problem Mac it has nothing to do with the map or even their ability to navigate because these are witch woods bro everything was fine. They were navigating just fine until Josh accidentally desecrated that grave with the rocks the fact that they stayed going in circles when obviously they had been walking in a straight line shows you that even if they had a map even if these were professionally trained navigators they would not have gotten out of those woods. I think it shows the point of like you're stuck here you're in the Blair Witch territory.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

At that point I think sorry Smokey I'm burning that place down just taking the whole woods with me. But my my favorite scene was honestly getting into the house leading up until that that end scene and I think they hear that voice and and that was great because you knew even though they're hearing him like the dude's gone it's not him you're being led to your death but I love that we're going up the stairs and we see the handprints and we're getting to the attic and you and I Alexis both have the same thought something crazy is going to be at the top level. Always is always right and then but no they get up there and they realize it actually no it's coming from downstairs. And and of course it is because we already heard the story it happens in the basement you face the corner that kills the other one. And so like that whole like chaos but they're still going through it because they obviously didn't think back to that story. They're only worried about finding Josh and the just the sheer panic and dread that they were feeling I think that whole end scene from getting to the house all the way up into them dying was the most effective for me.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

Okay I stand by my belief that nothing good happens in basements uh that's the first point the second the sheer terror the panic man it it was great in that final scene but it also felt really great in my second favorite scene which was the tent attack when they're all running out and this is the first time that I've been able to hear the laughing kid voices right before the tent is attacked. And I saw I was like oh what what is that? And I saw it pop up in the captions and I was like oh shit that is actually fucking brilliant and made me appreciate the experience of watching this movie even more. But Mac I mentioned earlier that there are things that the actors were saying that we didn't there's a point where Heather's running and the camera's like following behind her and she says what the fuck is that and then it's at that point that the camera was supposed to have turned and you would have seen a glimpse of the Blair Witch all in white. Because we didn't see that you can't possibly be disappointed by poor makeup, bad effects maybe the camera picked up a little bit too much and you see it's just a person in the costume. You lose all of that and all you see is the terror. All you feel is the terror which I think really adds to the reality for this movie that less is more.

SPEAKER_00 36:28

I think I missed out on a little bit of perhaps the emotion we get in the characters' faces because a lot of times when we have the camera it's from a it's from a good distance or we're capturing darkness or we're capturing like the woods while we're hearing the voices and a lot of times when you get that like found footage or DIY footage it's pointing the camera at yourself pointing the camera at yourself and it's a bit too unreal and I feel like when you have the when you have a camera you're rolling you're you're taping pretty much everything these actors are definitely capable of portraying some some emotion especially fright and they did it I think very effectively but I was I was kind of bummed that we didn't get a little bit more time to like get to know like how they're reacting to everything like kind of one on one.

SPEAKER_02 37:15

I don't know if I need that either I mean maybe to build the stakes up a little bit but I mean they're fucked either way. I mean they knew that they were well I think we got it.

SPEAKER_01 37:27

We have Heather's iconic confessional when we are not only not far away from her face but we're accidentally so close to her face and she's ugly crying right like the snot coming out kind of crying the tears in your eyes kind of crying and the reality settling in with this crushing hopelessness and helplessness that you done fucked up and there's no coming back from this. I feel like we got so much reaction time from these characters. I could have done with a little bit less of it.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

I think that was my probably favorite part of Heather because in the beginning when she's talking and I I don't know it was just that news reportery like tone of voice that I just couldn't deal with and I know we'll talk about best part worst part but it was like certain points where she was speaking were like the worst parts for me. I don't know it was just so off putting but when you get her a little bit more emotional I do like that it's more grounded in reality than it was previously. I'm interested because I know you guys probably know a little bit more about this film than I do. So were they acting or were they did they know the things that were going on? I'm very confused.

SPEAKER_00 38:41

I think the answer is yes and no the answer is like some things they knew were coming up and other things they didn't and they were like legitimately surprised by a lot of the stuff that they came across but I think certain things they would brief them on but not too much because they still need it to be like a real reaction. They're still doing so much work on their own to come up with dialogue which is honestly awesome the fact that they were able to come up with like this much dialogue. A lot of it is just kind of like repetition which gets a good bit old which is why I found it to be kind of grating but I think the fact that they could like go into an area of the woods not really knowing what to expect in in some cases and be surprised by something is is pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

And to not only come up with the amount of dialogue but the quality of the dialogue like there's that moment when Josh is talking about how Heather views being behind the camera as like a filtered reality and a way to distance herself from what's actually happening. So fantastic but they were given some vague instruction right and think about how you know how Paris has gone to these improv classes of late this is like the ultimate game of improv.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

It's like whose line is in anyway but horror. That's really interesting. I think that adds another layer to me that's enjoyable to this movie.

SPEAKER_00 39:59

But honestly that's just the background so but I I missed a bit of background I know you guys think we got a little bit too much of like emotional reaction but I didn't get enough like building of who these people are aside from this moment. And I know that's a lot to ask from a found footage film, right?

SPEAKER_02 40:16

But I'm kind of a fan of this if they told you this is my life story.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

You're like this ain't real I don't want to know their life story but like having some dialogue between people about other things in their lives like I know Mike isn't you know Heather's best friend or anything yet. They just met but like Josh knows Heather how do they know each other? What's going on in their lives? Do they have a favorite sports team that they like to visit together I don't know those the small details.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Okay so those details are provided and offered in the 1999 special that aired on TV before this movie's released called Curse of the Blair Witch and it dives into the lore of the Blair Witch and it's like its own mini documentary surrounding the disappearance of these kids. So I mentioned earlier how that website was posted in 1998 and it creates like the oh that's probably fake. This thing airing as a special on TV and not being presented as fictional had people believing that this shit was real. But here's the cool thing Mac it's a whole fucking extension of the movie because it interviews their relatives and talks about how they know each other and you hear from Josh's girlfriend and how she had briefly met Heather but she didn't get a good impression of her they talk to Mike's family they talk to the professor who you know Heather's even doing this whole fucking thing for and get some glimpses at what her proposal was and what her plan was for the Blair Witch project. Honestly watching that makes this movie even fucking cooler. I've added a link in the show notes if you want to check it out for yourself.

SPEAKER_02 41:56

No I feel like I should go back on my maybe this will be what I rehash at the end of the year.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

I'm not sure see I think if it wasn't too long that could have added a lot of value to this as a single viewing experience because part of part of the movie that I enjoyed the most I think the best part of the movie was honestly the interviews with the townspeople at the very beginning. That was actually really enjoyable. The people they interviewed seemed very interesting and like had good stories and that part seemed way more real than what happened afterwards and it's really impressive knowing that like Heather and Josh and Mike didn't know that these people had been like tapped by the director to be their interview subjects. They didn't know that they were in on it. They just thought these were like real human beings that knew about this this legend because they didn't know it was totally fake at the time.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

Well the news flashed for you Mac this movie's only 75 minutes if you don't count the credits and then that thing is only an hour long so really you could watch both things together and it'd still be shorter than some of these movies that we're out here watching like Susperia the remake painfully long. But also I think it does go back into that potential right because a lot of the footage that was used in that special was filmed originally for the movie and the movie was supposed to start with the wrapper of like these news stories and a little bit more of that like documentary approach but I think it was a wise decision to split the two particularly because of how they decided to market this movie. I don't think this movie's marketing or the movie itself would have been nearly as successful had they kept it all combined.

SPEAKER_00 43:28

It does make me think specifically of Hellhouse LLC and how they tried to do that all in one go and it wasn't particularly effective especially because the news broadcast seemed so utterly fake oh absolutely but like Alexis mentioned earlier the Poughkeepsie tapes did that and nailed it like fucking perfectly so it's possible but it probably just depends on the content the real important content.

SPEAKER_02 43:53

You just get rid of the credits.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Right well you need the credits but I think in this case like like you said it wouldn't be the same movie it wouldn't have the same effect fact had they tried to squeeze it all into two hours.

SPEAKER_02 44:02

So the best part of this movie is definitely going to be all these little uh stick figures you see. Like that must have taken a lot of time. And I think that's pretty terrifying to see that when you wake first wake up, knowing that that wasn't there when you went to bed. But also the contraption that they made for the teeth. Like unwrapping that and all of that. That just seems very intricate that it would take time. And to know that someone's either out there doing that while you're sleeping and putting these all up or if it's magic because it's a witch and it just happens and also that's terrifying too, which I appreciate.

SPEAKER_00 44:36

I really enjoyed when we got to the scene where they were walking through the woods and started to see all of them hanging around everywhere. Because I we've seen that in a lot of movies and and TV shows where they have these types of like you know wooden stick made figures. But that was really lacking for me up until that point. There was like I get it you're hearing something at night we don't really see it. Okay, whatever. When they get to that in the woods I'm like now you're in witch country. Now we've now we've arrived and now some bad stuff is going to go down because there was like you said like a lot of work put into making a ton of these little figures and spreading them around and hanging them up and it was pretty darn effective.

SPEAKER_01 45:13

Okay but what wasn't effective for me was the majority of the extreme close ups that we get in this movie. Now we know that we have the accidental extreme closeup of Heather's face with the monologue and the crying and the power and the passion I get it. However there are two extreme close ups that I could have fucking gotten rid of and been okay. One Mike's chest hair patterns disgusting I hate body hair there I said it. I did not need the camera to zoom in on every particle of it but the second Heather wasted precious tape it is not infinite for her in these woods. She wasted precious tape on an extreme close up of a bag of fucking marshmallows in the grocery store.

unknown 45:58

Why?

SPEAKER_00 45:59

That bothered me because with the dialogue and the sound effects it literally seemed like she was just moving the camera and like poking the marshmallow with it like ooh look how soft it is squishy the marshmallow and was just like pushing the camera into the bag and that was a really weird choice. Like you're you're supposed to be looking at this after your documentary's made and you know going through the filming and thinking wow what did we get up to it was so silly or so much fun or whatever. And it's like and you're going to have to watch a scene of you smushing a camera into a bag of martial arts. Strange choice. Even if you had fully digital unlimited space.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

Yeah like I think about how annoyed I get when I accidentally film a little bit too much of something or yeah there's some times where I'm tripping over my own words and I'm thinking fuck this is going to be one more thing that I have to edit later, right? Even if it's not a big deal it's just like a little stroke it's one more thing that I have to do and it adds friction to the process. Heather you're an amateur is what this moment shows me.

SPEAKER_00 46:57

Yeah they all seemed kind of a a little bit amateur and I get that they're students and that's okay. But I'm not going to watch this again it definitely felt too much like a student project.

SPEAKER_02 47:05

I might make my mom watch this again I want to see her reaction but honestly I don't even need to do that. I don't need to watch this again.

SPEAKER_01 47:13

I'm open to getting drunk and watching what comes next uh but for this I think I'll hold off on never watching the Blair Witch project again. I think I would re-examine it through the context of just filmmaking and understanding what went into it and diving more into that I would love to do that. I'd love to see some additional featurettes or commentary on this movie but I would watch the Scooby-Doo project 30 times over before sitting down for just a regular wash of this that does sound like a great choice.

SPEAKER_02 47:43

Yeah how long is this I might watch this after after recording.

SPEAKER_01 47:47

It's like 18 minutes. It's amazing you should absolutely watch it. In fact you listening pause this episode go watch the Scooby-Doo Project it's linked in the show notes then rejoin us for factor fiction okay okay now you're back fantastic I hope you enjoyed the Scrappy Doo cameo regardless of whether or not I'm gonna rewatch it I am excited to see what Mac has in store for us with fact or fiction number one Heather's acting career took a dive after the film thanks to threats and trouble finding gigs.

SPEAKER_00 48:17

Totally believe that it was trash fact so trash that she deserves threats Alexis that's toxic nah very toxic of me to say okay yeah this this is a fact I do feel bad for because I think a lot of the crap that she probably got is kind of like what you're saying where you get annoyed at the character's reactions or the character's voice or the way that she's doing her like journalism style but I think you're acting you're in a movie you're improving like she did an amazing job but she did move on in 2008 and at the time she went into the medical cannabis industry. Number two, one of the cameras used for the film was bought at Circuit City. Rest in peace after filming was done the producers attempted to return it but were denied a return due to the obvious signs of heavy use.

SPEAKER_02 49:04

I doubt they try to do this but uh Circuit City wow what a throwback so fiction.

SPEAKER_00 49:10

This is a fiction but yes they actually did return it which helped bring down the budget a little bit more. Not much more I'm sure well when you have a 60k budget every penny counts. Very true. Number three I'm not the only one who has to fight nausea when watching this film. Some people actually had to take vomit breaks.

SPEAKER_02 49:28

I used to work at a movie theater when Cloverfield came out um I was cleaning up the rope left and right so this is definitely a fact.

SPEAKER_00 49:36

Oh yes it's a fact and even in like theaters in Toronto moviegoers who got motion sickness were asked ahead of time to sit near the aisle and try not to puke on anybody.

SPEAKER_02 49:46

Jeez, it's almost like they should have given you bags for this movie.

SPEAKER_00 49:48

Yeah instead of like a popcorn pail they just give you like a vomit pail.

SPEAKER_02 49:51

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 49:53

Number four Heather, Mike and Josh had to take a pause during filming to chat with the director about what they considered unfair psychological duress from unexpected surprises performed by the crew to increase the realness of their on-screen fear.

SPEAKER_02 50:06

I would believe that because this movie first go around is really tense so I can imagine acting in it and not knowing what was going to be next or who was going missing or anything like that. So I'd say that's a fact.

SPEAKER_00 50:17

This one is a fiction because they actually had to sign a release ahead of time giving the producers permission to mess with their heads.

SPEAKER_02 50:25

That is a big fuck no yeah that no thanks for me.

SPEAKER_00 50:28

And in in one case the director actually came up and they like shook the tent and they had no idea what was happening. They didn't know the director was outside and they captured that on film and they're like freak out is real because they're in the middle of the woods. They don't even know that they're out there shaking their tent.

SPEAKER_02 50:43

This literally just seems like a jackass movie but uh less sexual.

SPEAKER_00 50:48

Right. I mean what's even crazier is like that amazing final scene when they get into the basement they were not even told what to expect when they when they got down there. So Mike was told okay go up and down the stairs yell for Josh then go down to the basement and don't let Heather stay too close to you. Right? So like you know the entire time she's like yelling for Mike like hey get back here like stick with me and all that that was on purpose. When he gets to the basement two PAs dressed in black grabbed him and then told him hey like stand in the corner. Then when Heather gets down there they grabbed her and then you know took the 16mm and put it on the floor and basically told her shut up, stop screaming but there were sound issues. So they had to do it all over again. Interesting. And apparently it was so bad she was so freaked out she had to she was like hyperventilating and they had to you know redo it and get her to stop it and get her to calm down.

SPEAKER_02 51:37

I mean I that chick had snot rockets coming out of her nose so I mean I guess I am being a little harsh when I say her acting was trash. I I'm saying the first half was trash when she got emotional I was there for it. That takes some that takes a lot of work.

SPEAKER_01 51:54

I don't think the acting in the first half was trash though I think she was successful playing it exactly as she intended to play it. I think you just don't like the character like the person that the character is possibly well that's been fact or fiction. Well there you have it folks the Blair Witch project much to my dismay has earned two hacks and one slash we've certainly had a lot to talk about here but it doesn't end here by any means we want to know what you think so let us know. You can join in on the conversation for free by hanging out with us over in our Discord. Click the link in our show notes to sign up.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

If you've enjoyed listening to this episode consider becoming one of our patrons visit patreon.com slash hacker slash to enjoy more of the show with early access to extended episodes bonus content and live shows thanks again to our friends at ComTrips for making our 2022 spooky season possible we'll see you next time folks and remember this is America we've exhausted all our natural resources bye okay so for as not scary as this movie can actually be I can attest that there are some spooky spots in Maryland.

SPEAKER_01 53:05

I haven't been to Burkittsville Maryland but there is something that is kind of spooky there that doesn't uh get any mention in this film and it's called Spook Hill.

SPEAKER_00 53:14

I don't know if you've all heard of this I have not I've not really paid attention to spooky locales.

SPEAKER_02 53:18

Yeah I've driven through Maryland and had no idea it was uh of spooky origins.

SPEAKER_01 53:25

Oh yeah so there's a lot of shit I lived in Maryland for a little while uh when I was in the Navy and I would go trespassing all the time to some you know urban exploration and all that good stuff. But Spook Hill is in Burkittsville and it's a point where you go down a hill and you can turn your car around and like um position yourself to start going uphill. You put the car in neutral without you applying your foot on the gas your car will start to climb uphill. I think I've heard of this is this one where they claim they can see like handprints on the window yeah but you know who fucking knows so there is the idea is that because Maryland you know just like the Northeast and all that good stuff uh Civil War all that activity all those ghosts the idea is that dead soldiers in the Civil War will push your car up the hill which is honestly a stretch I'd I'd rather enjoy the phenomena itself uh I've linked in the show notes a link called Spook Hill it links to an article that kind of explains things and then there's a YouTube video where it's a few people in a car the guy is at the bottom of the hill puts it in neutral consistent recording the whole time hangs his feet outside the window and sure enough they start climbing uphill it's bizarre it's something to do with gravity and not ghost gravity not ghosts yes I do want to watch this because I want I want to know I want to know what the scientific explanation is behind behind that because it sounds very interesting. Of course you do because you don't believe in ghosts.

SPEAKER_00 54:53

Correct because they're not real.

SPEAKER_01 54:55

It's something with magnets and whatnot who fucking knows how do those work the other two places that uh I I've absolutely been to and trespassed in many a time these are things that probably shouldn't be said out loud but Forest Haven in Maryland was an abandoned institution that was uh it absolutely riddled with asbestos and it was known for medical malpractice things of that nature and perhaps some abuse of its patients and then the other spot was Hellhouse which was St. Mary's College where there was rumored to have been an insane priest who slaughtered a bunch of girls who attended the college. Now it's completely torn down and it's absolutely ruins but there was a really creepy altar with a black crucifix up the top and it was such a fucking cool place to be at night.

SPEAKER_02 55:43

Yeah I'm looking at these pictures and they're terrifying especially the one with the asbestos hanging from the ceiling. Even that's just creepy it looks like bodies or something. I might die soon. Yeah no thanks I don't want mesothelioma can you call the number for the lawyers though if you went there or that's just if you lived in a place that had it I think if you worked in a place that had it. So if you if they live if they work there for sure.

SPEAKER_00 56:07

If you or someone you know has died from visiting Hellhouse due to mesothelioma.

SPEAKER_01 56:12

That's exactly what it would be there is one place that I do want to go though and it's called Daniels Maryland. It is an abandoned town.

SPEAKER_00 56:19

So it was like an old mining town and when they uh the when the citizens got the notice that they had to move out it was like a small town of like 90 people they left absolutely everything behind and now nature has just completely overrun it interesting that kind of stuff is is pretty cool though to see like what remains when humans leave to me it's not even spooky it's just like it's just a sign of the future.

SPEAKER_02 56:42

I would think the past but it's just so interesting because I didn't know Marilyn was this spooky and it's so close to us and it's kind of scary. So Mac we know you do not believe in ghosts but I have this uh healthy relationship with ghosts I know that they exist I don't acknowledge them because they don't want to be acknowledged and I just go about my day but there has to be ghosts I mean I think you'd be naive to not think that there's some sort of I don't know maybe this is the uh Catholicism in me.

SPEAKER_01 57:17

No I'm kidding uh she says to the actual Catholic man but also would you consider ghosts to be among the healthiest relationships in your life? Probably maybe not at this point in my life I have pretty good ones but in my past probably not the ghosts were the better of the relationships I did have there's this idea of your soul having um little soul helpers as you move on through the ages and now I'm just thinking of you having a little support team of ghosts saying drag him no move on or saying you say yes to the dress. You know what I mean? Like you got a bunch of these little hype ghosts around you.

SPEAKER_02 57:53

I need them. I I really do need them because some days I'm not sure what the hell I'm doing. It's just weird like how heavy you can feel in certain places like this that are supposedly haunted I went to the Charleston jail and I was really going to go by myself and I was like oh it'll be cool going at night because I really thought it was just a museum like lightly lit very well lit all this sort of stuff my coworkers like no no no we'll go with you and I'll bring my um husband so we go in there one this bitch just has a flashlight and I'm like oh and then she's like okay make sure you lock the door behind you I'm like what the heck and it's not in the best place in town in Charleston and we go and she's telling these stories and I know that's a part of the gimmick but this stuff happened like they didn't know where to put people in the middle of a city so they buried them and the courtyard of this jail smelt bad and stunk the city up. So I was like I totally believe that that has to carry some weight not just in our realm if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 58:55

I think it it carries weight in our minds and that's okay that's why the idea of ghosts are I think effective for many people is because it is so effective in your brain but in terms of reality I I don't think there's spirits floating through the air going like man my life a couple decades ago really sucked and I'm just gonna chill here forever. And watch people live I mean come on that's scare 'em like what would you do if you're like okay I'm gonna be a ghost forever I think eventually you're gonna be like you know this is boring I'm gonna go like float over there and perhaps get some ghost beer and hang out.

SPEAKER_02 59:28

I don't like the word ghosts. I like spirit better.

SPEAKER_00 59:31

Okay sure sure spirit airlines I love it but I just I don't know I'm not a ghost person and I have family members who have told ghost stories. I have a cousin who states that you know she's talked to several ghosts in different houses and don't you believe in the Holy Spirit though? That's a ghost the only one it's the only one that's real.

SPEAKER_02 59:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 59:50

But like when you're going through a place that's spooky because the lights are low and because maybe you hear things or there's a smell I think it's spooky because of those things and not necessarily because of an otherworldly presence unless it's asbestos maybe or like natural gas leaking and affecting you.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:07

I mean possibly but I walked out of that place and one I mean one girl when we were coming in for the tour kind of like almost passed out and then I was like hell no I'm not going in. I was literally clutching my friend's husband because I was like oh my gosh she's like if you look in the glass this way you can I'm like nope nope don't want to know what happened here but when I did walk out of there it just had this heavy presence that I didn't notice till I walked out and I was like who I feel like I feel like I was myself again and maybe that's just because I was tense I don't know she did say don't go down this hallway and then she's like oh we have to go turn the lights all the main lights off and I was like is this a haunted house at this point where is where is someone gonna pop out oh sweet sweet Alexis this is why I don't do haunted houses I don't do any of this shit and I will never do something like that again.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:57

Okay listen at least a haunted house you know what the fuck they're up to you know the agenda they're very transparent they're gonna pop out and spook you you go to a a tour of an allegedly actually haunted house and they're just gonna say oh we can't go down this hall oh wait we had to traverse the hallway in order to turn off the lights from whence we came what a conundrum that does sound ridiculous now that I'm thinking about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:23

I mean I've I've been to places like World War I and World War II like battle sites so it's like battlegrounds where thousands of people died. I was in Verdun France um and there's just like literally there's the there's a building and there's just like tons of bones of people who fell there and you can you can see them it's really insane they're like kept in this building in the bottom of it. So like that's super creepy but even there the vibe isn't like some say that they're still fighting to this day. They're just like look it sucks that humans kill each other. Let's not do that anymore. Look how many people died because of this you know and so like in a place that should have nothing but ghost stories it's just like look how much we suck when we're alive.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:07

Absolutely I think what I find interesting are the places that claim or alleged to have a more nefarious sinister spirit. I don't believe it for a second but I kind of want the spooky experience of that like I'd like to go on a ghost tour and have something a little bit spooky happen. I don't need know that I'd believe in it but I kind of want the thrill of it.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:31

And of all these places you've been there's never been a circumstance where you're like that doesn't seem real possibly supernatural.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:40

No because I was just trespassing. I was more afraid of getting caught by the cops but it it felt eerie absolutely I don't know it's like the rush of being somewhere you're not supposed to be and it absolutely was creepy at night. One of the scariest nights was one of like I think this might have been like the fourth time we went to Hellhouse and it was a time when there was another group of people that were there but they were coming up through the woods and not through the main stairs so you could hear something and it it sounded like quiet whispering but of course it was because there were other people there. But again it's like the potential you fall in love with the potential of finding a ghost and that's where the real fun is not in actually being proven anything. I don't know that's just me. And if Ryan were here she'd say there goes Chris Rojas falling in love with potential again. Oh yeah the version that I found is 4K upscaled also there is a fucking lizard climbing on my wall right now. What I was gonna be real chill about it this whole time but he's getting a little faster so I'm just hoping that he doesn't try to climb on my bed would you like to see a picture of him? Yes. Oh is that what you're taking a picture of yeah he's a he's a little boy boop boop actually hold on his peen what how do you know it's a boy I don't know he's a chunk oh no he's he's little okay he's got like gecko feet it's good uh they eat the bugs you know he's too small to eat any of the roaches that I've ever had in my room so oh his tail is curning he's like a he's like a cat oh what are you doing dude I don't like this okay we'll carry on can you spray him with something I don't want to harm him because I do like lizards. He's climbing behind my audio acoustic form so we're okay he's good he's he's behind the foam panels. See I don't like that because then you don't know where they're at beyond that I think one of the things that surprised me most was that in this rewatch there was actually something from one of our past episodes and I can't believe that I did not draw the connection between Taylor Gentry from Behind the Mask The Rise of Leslie Vernon and Heather Donahue from this movie. I am ashamed of myself for not putting those two together because Taylor was giving us her best Heather and I also want to point out that a team of men 10 years later marketed Jennifer's body and all they could come up with was Megan Fox is hot but three women with a brains and brilliance behind this movie's marketing campaign.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:18

I'm just saying is this um the one where they had the website too yes it is okay okay I'm not like making things up I said it in the intro yeah you could take it out sorry to take it out going along with characters so Heather's monologue in the beginning reminds me of remember that show um I don't know if it's like Believe it or not but it had the guy with the m the goatee and he just go and on tonight's episode or it reminded me of unsolved mysteries but it was just very like fake and I just did not like that whatsoever. That monologue was trash.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:57

I'm curious if you're talking about Ripley's Believe it.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:59

Um

SPEAKER_01 1:06:00

You had to say a best part.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:01

Oh yeah. You do have to say a best part.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:03

Oh fuck, I have to say a best part. Oh fuck. Because I in my head was gonna slash this earlier today.