While I was watching the trailer for Paranormal Activity 3 i saw a trailer for an independant movie called Grave Encounters. The storyline is nothing remarkable for these days, a ghost hunting TV show is filming in an old mental hospital when hijinks ensue. However, the actual movie looks pretty cool. This is the first I have heard or seen anything about it. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those that make huge money compared to the cost.

On another note, all of these modern POV movies and TV seem to be the children of The Blair Witch Project. They are quick, easy and inexpensive to make. Why has The Blair Witch Project not returned to its roots with a movie that stays true to the original story line? I know they dropped the ball badly with part 2 but that had very little to do with the original movie. It would have been great for them to go back in time to a beginning of the witch.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

dolpin, did you ever see the "documentary" they made for "blair witch" called "curse of the blair witch"? it basically outlines the legend and its history and whatnot.

they were supposed to make 3 movies i think originally, and i think after the second one tanked, there wasn't much interest in going ahead with the third one.

you're right that "blair witch" spawned this mainstream POV horror movie craze. i still think it's a creepy movie, too. did you ever see "the last broadcast"?

I remember seeing curse of the blair witch on some cable show. I cannot remember if I saw it before or after seeing the movie. I loved the backround information and how it was marketed.

I still think The Blair Witch Project holds up. It's not really a great movie to watch over and over again as the scenes of the daytime in the forest start to become tedious. It sucks that I have no one who really wants to watch horror films with me. I'd love to share watching the movie for the first time with one of my kids, especially since we are past the time when a young person would have heard about the movie.

I seem to remember The Last Broadcast. What was that about?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

i feel lucky i got a buddy who shares my love of horror films, especially slasher classics of the 80's. i'm working on my list of top 10 favorite of all time...

"blair witch" is always going to be great if you watch it in the right atmosphere and at the right time. it's a great "midnight in the basement on a projector" movie.

"the last broadcast" was released a bit before "blair witch" and the only reason why anybody heard about it was because the filmmakers were pissed off that "blair witch" was getting press because they claimed their idea was stolen. it seemed more like a publicity stunt because "blair witch" was clearly a different kind of film, and i don't know if the two even premiered at the same film festivals.

it also involves "footage" found involving an underground cult-like TV show in which the two hosts went out to the pine barrens in new jersey in search of the jersey devil, and disappeared...then were found dead. No one knows who killed them but it becomes a huge media circus, and it's told in a documentary style, while showing the only known footage surrounding the event. there is some dark humor in it, and i loved the ending.

it's very cheap looking because it was filmed using a digital camera, and this was 1999 so the technology wasn't as good. but they do a good job for a small budget film. i liked it.

I don't know why but I buy into the "footage provided by ____ police department with killer still at large" fantasy than the fake documentary. Intellectually, I know this isn't police video but psychologically it puts me in a lot more suggestive state of mind.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I hated the Blair Witch Project and all of the POV horror films that it spawned. But I love 80's slasher flicks. Would dig reading your top 10.

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i could probably make a whole separate list of favorite slasher flicks from the 80's...my top 10 favorite horror films don't really include them because of other films i think are better.

but here's off the top of my head, favorite slasher flicks of the 80's:

friday the 13th part 4
a nightmare on elm street
child's play
my bloody valentine
the burning
happy birthday to me
psycho 2
maniac
basketcase

Friday the 13th part 4 is by far my favorite 80s slasher flick ever. I always thought the 4th Halloween was underrated too. And I have a soft spot for The 3rd Friday the 13th with the kid in a wheelchair

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I think it's difficult to top the orginal Nightmare on Elm Street

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

+1

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But that goes beyond just being a slasher flick and verges into the territory of being an actual good suspenseful movie. Same can be said for the first two Halloween's (don't get me started on the Rob Zombie abortions)....I was more talking about cheesy fun 80s slasher type flicks.

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the 80's were a great decade for really fun horror movies: "return of the living dead", "night of the creeps", "the monster squad", the "puppet master" movies, the "dollman" franchise (into the 90's), "from beyond", "re-animator", "creepshow", "braindead"...

also featured some good stephen king movies: "the shining", "christine", "pet sematary", "maximum overdrive", "cat's eye"...

I loved return of the living dead.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.