Review of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) by Thequietgamer — 17 Oct 2018

Following the release of The Blair Witch Project in 1999, the town of Burkittsville, Maryland was overrun with tourists who had seen the movie and wanted to visit locations from it. Or were maybe just hoping for a Blair Witch sighting. Because it's not like the characters in that movie died or anything. That's the basis for this odd meta-sequel that does away with the found-footage approach in favor of a more traditional film-going experience.

Putting the two films side-by-side it would be impossible to tell this was meant to be a follow-up if didn't constantly reference it's predecessor by name every so often. Cameras still play a big role, but we're not watching the action through them. Instead they are used as a nod to the first movie, another attempt to convince us that all of this really happened, and as a method of delivering a twist ending that most will probably see coming. The approach and setting are totally different, but things play out in basically the same manner. As the strange events the characters experience begin to get more sinister the paranoia and frustration set in causing them to become distrustful of one another.

There are attempts at social commentary about mass hysteria and people's perceived perceptions on reality, but the movie isn't really smart or scary enough to have true depth. It's mostly just the character's seeing stuff that isn't there when they turn around and an ending that poses the question of whether or not they were actually afflicted by something supernatural or were just a bunch of nutcases. The bad acting doesn't help.

While I'm not quite sure I liked it, I was certainly never bored. It's got that early 2000's cheese (a Marilyn Manson song plays during the opening credits) that's perfect for an October horror marathon. The movie is worth watching just because it exists and is such a bizarre way of turning The Blair Witch Project from a standalone horror film into a franchise. As mediocre and much less enjoyable as the Adam Wingard title was, you can't say it didn't resemble the first movie. This is something almost entirely different and it's interesting because of that.