Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, the brains behind The Blair Witch Project, know that the scariest part of the best horror films is waiting for something awful to happen; we spend most of The Blair Witch Project's 82 minutes waiting for the inevitable.

Inevitable because the film begins by informing us that the footage we are about to see was found after the three people who shot it disappeared. Three young documentary filmmakers, Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard, borrow some filmmaking equipment and embark on a mission to uncover the truth about Maryland's legendary Blair witch. The journey takes them deep into the woodland, the film's secret weapon. Fear of the forest is fused to our collective unconscious (inspiring some of our best children's stories), and it infuses every moment of The Blair Witch Project with an underlying sense of dread.

In a smart choice, Heather has the lead role, as it is her will and determination that drive this project and compel the young men forward, ever deeper into the woods. However, her logical belief that it is impossible to be lost in the forests of America, where civilisation has overtaken most of nature's retreats, is quickly betrayed. Soon they are lost, and like frightened animals they turn on one another. These scenes carry a real punch, as Heather, Mike and Josh convey their complex emotions with convincing honesty.

Our filmmakers have some help falling over this proverbial edge. After their second night in the woods, the trio finds three small rocky cairns forebodingly erected outside their tent. The third night they are driven out of their tent by terrifying noises and the fear of imminent attack. When the campers return to their tent, they find more grisly gifts, and Josh discovers that all of his things are covered in slimy ooze.

Despite the purposeful crudity of the cinema verité style, the film contains some strikingly memorable shots. There is an extended, forlorn shot of the car as the filmmakers first enter the woods (they spend the rest of the movie trying in vain to find it). Chilling shots of the totem-like stick figures provide concrete proof of the voodoo forces at their heels. Finally, Heather's hysterical confession, self-shot in extreme close-up during her last night in the woods, is as poignant and memorable a farewell as you will find in film.