Witches

What's the reason of the incredible success of "The Blair Witch Project"?
A lot of opinions have been expressed about it (maybe too many!)...some say it is related to a claimed collective fear of computer age, others think it plays on millenium's end's ancestral fears.
I cannot say anything about it, i am certainly not entitled to judge upon these irksome topics.., the only thing i can say is that maybe these opinions may (and i repeat it, MAY) have some claims to explain why there are so many horror films in these last months of millenium, certainly not to find the reasons why "TBWP" worked so enthusiastically better than the others.
In order to understand the true genius of the two directors (Eduardo Sanchez e Daniel Myrick: REALLY GREAT!), let me draw a parallel, that someone could not like, between The Blair Witch Project and another good film about witches, SUSPIRIA by Dario Argento.
I personally love Dario Argento, and i consider Suspiria one of his best films, if not the best, perfect as to the atmosphere, perfect as to its refined visual beauty.
Well, the originality, but more (i know i repeat myself) , the genius of TBWP derives from the fact it weakens if not totally abolishes all the main features of a classic horror film (and, i repeat it, a good one) like Suspiria.
First of all the music, which in Dario Argento's movie was the unforgettable one by Goblin ...well, could you imagine Suspiria without Goblin's soundtrack? The music which creates the suspense, which excites your imagination and your fear, which reveals the terror? TBWP bravely gives up this element i myself always considered of fundamental importance, and this choice has been surprisingly successful.
Moreover, TBWP renounces to frighten through special effects, and as to gore , there is almost none, at least for a horror. In spite of all this TBWP is TERRIBLY scary, believe me, really scary as hell. It is certainly the scariest film I have ever seen...and I have seen a lot of horror films. The tension grows gradually, but constantly from the beginning up to the incredible (really incredible!) conclusion. In one of the many American sites dedicated to TBWP (I cannot remember which one, unfortunatedly) the webmaster said that, after having seen the end of the Blair Witch Project, he simply burst into tears, because he couldn't know how to vent the emotional turmoil inside of him. I agree totally... and i think that whoever has seen the last shot of the film, cannot but agree, and be obsessioned, like me, by it.
By the way, this reminds me amazingly of the closure of a charming tale by Mauro Sprugnoli about witches (see Triora): "While the sky was crying, some liberating tears came for me too "...
LIBERA VOS EX INFERIS, was said in a good sci-fi-horror of some years ago (Event Horizon). But if you really want to face the hellish depths of your fears, don't miss the best horror ever, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.