Plot: What’s it about?
By now, I am sure all of you have seen some form of spoof or satire based on The Blair Witch Project, right? Whether it be The Erotic Witch Project or the Blair Bitch Project, these parodies have made some laugh and some wince, but if nothing else, they’ve garnered some attention. This disc offers the chance to view several of these pieces in one sitting, along with various cut scenes and some antics from the weasel himself, Pauly Shore. The cut scenes involve such topics as serial killers, personal lawyers, legends and myths, home shopping channels, and other easy to poke at subjects. The actual spoofs range from a profanity laden search for Blair Underwood to a trek to uncover the truth about the Watts Bitch, but all follow the same path as the original Blair Witch film. Between the varied approaches of the spoofs and the various cut sequences, this eighty-five minute piece goes by pretty fast. Sure, a few of them will be worse than others, but none seemed to drag along too much. I think this is a worthwhile title, just to find so many spoofs collected on one disc.
I figured this would be a less than stellar release, but while some of the entries did suck, a couple of them were pretty funny. Some of the cut sequences were worth a few laughs too, though some were almost horrific they were so bad. Of course, since these are parodies they’re pretty much the same, but a couple of them manage a few unique ideas. I think we all need to remember, not all the low budget home movies make millions, some of them just sink to the bottom and are never seen again. A few of these shorts need to disappear, but again, some of them are worth a look, especially if you love or hate The Blair Witch Project. I am always glad to see Pauly Shore (Encino Man, In The Army Now) back in action, but I was let down by how minimal his screen time turned out to be. But at least he is still alive and working, which is worth something in the end, I think. So this disc is worth a look if this is your type of thing, but I think a rental will suffice in most cases. Trimark has done a very nice turn with this disc though, so if you do want to purchase this piece, the disc is worth the cash.
Video: How does it look?
The Bogus Witch Project is presented in a full frame transfer, which is how the film was meant to be seen. This feature is made up of several shorter home videos, so the image isn’t as sharp as a normal motion picture. I wasn’t let down however, as this transfer delivers a clean image and makes the shorts look as good as you could hope for. The source materials hold some of them back from looking real good, but no real bad ones seem to be present. The cut sequences look much sharper of course, but the spoofs also look quite good.
Audio: How does it sound?
You don’t watch a release such as this for audio power, but I was never disappointed with the level of quality. I heard minimal harshness and distortion, even in the lowest quality source materials. These type of home movies could have sounded like trash, but the included mix makes sure they always come off in more than decent form. The music sounds good and the sound effects have a distinct ring to them. You might not be blown away by this mix, but the material doesn’t really allow for that in the first place. I didn’t have any problems with dialogue either, the vocals were clean and crisp at all times. This disc also includes subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s trailer, a rap fueled campfire sing-a-long, the complete versions of the infomercials found within the film, and some deleted footage from three of the spoofs.
