THE BURKITTSVILLE 7

By Matthew F. Saunders     July 14, 2000

If you were one of the many turned off by last year's over-hyped 'The Blair Witch Project,' you're in for a pleasant surprise with Showtime's The Burkittsville 7. That is, if you're willing to make the return trip to the Blair Witch universe. Therein lies the short mockumentary's greatest strength, and greatest weakness.

On its own accord, the short film is for the most part well-produced. The writing, acting and directing all present a solid package, with production values far superior to it's full-length predecessor (which, admittedly, was indy-film, low-budget fare). But where the short film succeeds, and Blair Witch itself failed, is in successfully immersing you into the dark world of the Blair Witch universe and generating true horror.

The premise is simple. The legend of the Blair Witch has tentacles that reach far-and-wide in the Burkittsville, Md., community. Cursed with numerous tragedies dating back to the 1700s, the townspeople inevitably blame these incidents on the Blair Witch, even if they'll never fully admit to it. One such incident involves the abduction of eight children in the early 1940s. Seven of the children were murdered, allegedly by hermit Rustin Parr, who confessed to the crime, blaming it on voices that told him to do it--voices his convictors, through leading questions, cause Parr to attribute to the Blair Witch.

After establishing this background, the mockumentary proceeds to follow film archivist Chris Carrazco's quest to uncover the truth behind the murders. Carrazco believes that Parr--previously known only as a simple, gentle man who lived in the backwoods--is innocent and may have been forcibly compelled to participate in the gruesome crimes. Furthermore, he controversially champions the belief that the eighth kidnap victim, Kyle Brody, was not only a co-conspirator, but a young sociopath who masterminded the entire affair.

It's within this framework that the show begins to deconstruct the events surrounding the case through typical documentary trappings, such as interviews, file footage and re-enactments. And it succeeds in presenting a compelling, even chilling, unraveling of Carrazco's thesis. Far more than the invisible stalkers and whiny film students of Blair Witch, The Burkittsville 7 delves headfirst into Brody's extremely unsettling life. Particularly disturbing is a documentary entitled White Enamel, which captures footage of an insane Brody during his adult years in a mental institution. Much more than a knife-wielding Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger, these images cut at the very fabric of social order and society's perception of the norm.

To call the effect Hitchcockian would perhaps be overstating the case. The term, of late, is being bandied about with too much frequency. But the mockumentary works on the level that he best describes, that the truest, most insidious form of evil is the one lurking next door, around the corner, down the street or even in the room next door. By film's end, the evidence pointing to Brody's involvement is convincing. And despite entering the film knowing it's fiction, you're nonetheless drawn into, and disturbed by, his world.

But the case against Brody, as it should be for the documentary premise to work, isn't completely cut-and-dry. Doubts are introduced, and the case is left unresolved enough to let the viewer make his or her own final judgment. The film's weakest link, though, is its inability in the end to reconcile the case and its conclusions with its own internal reference point, the legend of the Blair Witch. Carrazco, at show's beginning, attempts to debunk the entire legend. He acknowledges that certain incidents did occur, but dismisses the supernatural element as ridiculous.

The problem with this, and it's not really giving anything away, is that as he continues to build his case, much of the evidence against Brody is linked to elements of witchcraft. Carrazco never draws the supernatural conclusion, but the one the audience inevitably walks away with is that, not only is Brody insane, but that there's clearly some darker power at work. While this doesn't weaken the Hitchcockian-like level on which the show works, the conclusion is so obvious that it's surprising the mockumentary doesn't attempt to reconcile or dismiss it further, at least for consistency's sake.

In the end, the show weaves nicely into the background mythology established by Blair Witch, but also stands firmly on it's own two legs. Which brings us around to the film's final measure. Tied as it is to that mythology, the mockumentary--even though it succeeds on its own merits--is inherently targeted at fans of the original film. To viewers disinterested in the whole Blair Witch franchise, it's a fair criticism to walk away from the mockumentary saying, 'So what?' After all, none of these events occurred, none of these characters are real, so what's the point of spending time watching what, in the end, is exactly what it's meant to be, a fake documentary?

The only answer that can be given is that it is compelling and immersive, irregardless of the film that spawned it. And to those eagerly awaiting a return trip into the franchise's lore, this should more than satisfy as an appetizer to the upcoming sequel. It's not a main course, but it's chilling examination of the dark side of the human soul will leave you much more fulfilled than its parent ever did.