...they might not hate it as much. I have a feeling that the majority of the haters went in expecting a traditional horror film. If they knew that the film relies solely on atmosphere and that [spoiler]you never see the witch,[/spoiler] before going into it, maybe they would feel differently about the movie.
shareThe hype that it had initially made it an instant classic. I was too young to remember that, but my brothers and my friends’ fathers have all said that it FREAKED OUT people to no end, that people were checking underneath their cars and in the back seats after the movie was over.
You know how some people are. They can’t enjoy something for what it’s worth, and are too busy being critical to become immersed in what’s happening in the movie. It may be a little overrated, but it’s worth the watch. Hell its better than Paranormal Activity, which I liked pretty good.
Too many people want cookie cutter even though most will claim that they don't. People suck because they either don't know themselves or they're not honest with themselves.
shareThis was the first movie I saw in the cinema that truly scared me. I was only about 13 and I'd bought into all of the hype surrounding it. I was one of those people that thought it was a true story.
There were a ton of kids my age thought that thought it was terrible though.
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Oh come on. Were you alive in 1999? If you were, everyone knew what they were going to see. The hype for this movie was incredible. Just because of the found footage concept, people knew that it wasn't going to be a traditional horror movie. Also, the hate for this movie has only come about as the years go by, probably because there have been so many knock offs since. I honestly don't think there was a witch, so I don't know how we could have seen something that didn't exist. The movie is more psychological in tone. That is why I like it.
shareI was born in 1998, so I was too young to see this back in 99.
shareOK, but the OP was talking about when it first came to theaters. Also, if you were old enough to see it in theaters, you would know that there was not that much hate for the movie back then. It made over 100 million dollars and that would not have happened, because word of mouth spreads fast. The hate for it has only increased as years have passed, due to the increase in these types of found footage films. People 20 years ago were more open to new and different movies, but millennials aren't that open to anything that might challenge their idea of what a movie should be.
sharei saw it at the movies when it came out.. the lines were so long to see it.. we were all excited as it was hyped as the found footage.. i was 21 at the time. My room was in the basement of my parents house and the back room where the laundry was unfinished.. i was so scared to go back there after seeing the movie because at the end you see the kid just standing in the basement of that house facing the wall...
I still have nightmares about it from time to time. That's true horror right there.
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I agree with other posters on this thread: there was TONS of press surrounding this movie upon its release. In a very real sense, it was a triumph of hype more than filmmaking. No one had any illusions that this was a traditional any-kind-of film.
Actually, one could argue that it benefited from expectations set up by the press. The key takeaways, as I recall, were that the film was largely improvised, the actors didn't know which of the locals would be actors too (in fact, one of the most prominent, the woman with the toddler, was NOT an actor and they had to track her down to get her talent release), and the actors were "living out" the nightmare by getting no directorial input other than daily written messages.
In fact, I doubt it would've made much money at all without the press. People went in knowing there likely wouldn't be a traditional ending and smooth camera work. The film benefited from lowered expectations as well as the "raw, real" atmosphere.