Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"The gene pool is a little shallow here. Dive in and you'll crack your skull open."

[year/rating] 2000 R [genre] Horror Suspense [director] Joe Berlinger [starring] Kim Director Jeffrey Donovan Erica Leerhsen Tristine Skyler

Tagline

You can't go forward until you go back... the Blair Witch experience more terrifying than ever

Summary Capsule

Blair Witch groupies... yes, there are some... track down the bad force with predictable results.

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Check out this movie in VHS or DVD, and the soundtrack CD

DnaError's Rating: 2 out of 4 Promotional Stick-Men (available for 19.95$)
DnaError's Review: You knew it was going to happen. The Blair Witch Project was one of the highest grossing, most innovative, and beloved (or reviled) horror movies of all time. So, it just a matter of time before they figured out how to make a sequel out of movie where everyone died at the end. And thus, Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows was born.

"These suspense-breaking cuts and music make the movie fail in even providing jump-out-of-your-seat thrills, making a 90 minute movie feel like a 5 hour study of Nine Inch Nails."

So, the question that's on everyone's studded tongue, is it as good as the original?

Short answer, No. For the long answer, see below.

The concept behind the movie is interesting, and one of the movie's strong points (which is maybe why it's so infuriating to see the director screw it up). The original movie spawned a bunch of fanatics who swarmed the little town of Brukittsville, leading to stressed out shop-owners and people with odd facial hair offering tours of the Black Hills Woods. One such tour guide, Jeffrey (Jeffrey Donovan) leads a wispy earth-witch, Erica (Erica Leerhsen) a sassy Goth chick Kim, and a thudingly dull grad student, Stephen (Stephen Barker Turner), and his wife, Tristen (Tristen Skyler) into the woods to study the fanaticism around the Blair Witch.

After an interesting opening mockumentary about the Blair Witch craze, we get to the story and the plot takes an amazing nose dive into mediocrity. Basically, the little group camps out, drinks enough beer to pickle their livers twice-fold, and blasts hard rock into the woods. Afterwards, each person experiences their own little mental breakdown as a variety of witchy-acts haunt the quintet.

The original Blair Witch had characters that seemed to be plucked from our very classrooms and offices. Book of Shadows has model level stereotypes being played by actors that are seem to be chugging Nyquil. I could barely remember the names of these people, let alone care about them. Only Erica, the annoying, shrill Wiccan who uses every line to scream "Witches aren't evil!" inspired an emotional response. Mostly the hope that she'll be burned at the stake and end the audience's suffering. Although it should be noted that Kim the Goth Girl is the only character I found mildly interesting as she was able to make a one-dimensional character at least fun to watch. The plot itself lacks any drive or direction, it stumbles from Scary Point 1 to Scary Point 2 with little attempt to connect the two into a larger scheme.

Not to say the movie is very scary to begin with, without a story to follow or logic to be concerned with, the scenes meant to inspire fear just evoke a hearty "duh?" What raises this movie from the level of bargain-basement schlock is the style of it. This mostly comes from the director, Joe Berlinger, who uses heavy MTV-style methods of fast cuts and filling every scene with blasting music from odd angles. While this isn't inherently a bad thing, David Fincher used it to make Fight Club one of the most innovative movies in years, the interesting camera work creates some very stylistic shots and gives the movie some artistic merit However, the over-use of these methods destroys any kind of tension by blasting heavy metal in almost every scene and rapid fire cuts to the past, present, and future. These suspense-breaking cuts and music make the movie fail in even providing jump-out-of-your-seat thrills, making a 90 minute movie feel like a 5 hour study of Nine Inch Nails.

So, in the end, you are left with yet another disappointing sequel. While not as laughably bad as some horror-sequels (EXORCIST 2 anyone?), it's less of a movie and more of a 90 minute music video. (what other movie could pull off a long scene where they product-place their own products.) The original made you squirm in your seat from a primal fear. This movie gives you some eye-candy to chew on, but little else. While it's sad to see a good idea ruined, can you imagine how bad it could have been? Well, wait for Blair Witch 3.

Kyle's Rating: On the one hand, the movie is 95% awesome! On the other hand, er, I don’t get it.
Kyle's Review: Once upon a time, there was an incredible phenomenon of hype that centered on a “film” that pretended to be “real” but in actuality “sucked”. That’s my opinion, at least: I’ve only watched like two minutes from the first 10 minutes and then the last five minutes. I’m pretty sure I got the gist, so just calm down there, BlairWitchHeads. Anyway, regardless of whatever I thought, enough people loved The Blair Witch Project that a sequel was guaranteed. But how? What? With whom? Would a shaky camera perspective somehow be involved in a fresh new way?

"Stupid movie. Rragh! Kyle smash!"

The answer is yes. Sort of. Is the sequel any good? Yes! Sure! Did people like it as much as the first one? Nope! I don’t think: it seemed to be a big flop by the standard the first one set, and it confused the heck out of people. Here’s a handy tip for all your filmmakers out there:

- Ambiguous stuff going on where we don’t have to think too hard = good (Blair Witch 1)

- Ambiguous stuff going on where we need tto pay attention to multiple layers of reality and look for visual clues to Esrever = bad (Blair Witch 2)

At least when it comes to a mass audience. Remember those immortal words spoken by Agent Kay in Men in Black: “A *person* is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.” Blair Witch 2 probably caused full-scale riots when it came out, because of animals in the audience who were expecting first-person madness and got... a somewhat standard slasher pic? What the hell!?!?

And what is the book of shadows in this movie? I ask you. For shame.

Still, I happen to really like Blair Witch 2. Jeffrey Donovan is fabulous as the funny film-obsessed dude with a murky past (that’s not how I eat yogurt, but okay), all those other people are cool, and Erica Leerhsen is beyond attractive, existing in a magical realm of physical hottie-ness we ordinary humans can only glimpse from afar and dream about. Wowsers. The film is actually a lot like your standard demonic possession film, with a lot of somewhat heavy-handed reality-as-it-is-individually-perceived-by-characters versus reality-as-it-is-captured-on-film intrigue thrown into the mix. The group possession angle also gets shafted by a drift into “who’s the real killer?”-land, and any tension about who survives is robbed by mixing in police interrogation sessions periodically during the action that clearly show who does and doesn’t make it.

Of course, since the film is presented as an interpretation of actual events, you can argue that all the supernatural hints and flashes didn’t really to the characters, because these are actors portraying the real people (leaving we the audience two layers removed from the “real” action, as it were. I think.). The whole film seems to be designed to piss you off one way or another, and it tries its best to succeed. Stupid movie. Rragh! Kyle smash!

But I still like it. I think Blair Witch 2 is one of those undiscovered cult gems that will really start to shine as years go by. I would never watch Blair Witch Project again; who would? But Blair Witch 2 has just enough kooky premise, strong performances, and haunting visuals to reward multiple viewings. And there are unanswered questions that persist when the credits end, and they’re the type you’ll want to think about and discuss among your more cultured film friends. What the hell is the book of shadows here? What would I do in their situation? Are tattoos too played anymore, or are they still hot on hot girls? Why in the world does the actor playing the actor playing the sheriff act like that? Why don’t I live in a cool faraway deserted warehouse loft thing?

Blair Witch 2 can either piss you off and ruin your Blair Witch fanaticism, or make you grin devilishly in pleasure at the twisted phanatical (new word alert!) film you just watched. It’s nothing like the first one, and if anything, it makes fun of you and your friends if you were one of those who went overly nuts about Blair Witch Project and did anything stupid as a result, including buying any Blair Witch Project merchandise (official or otherwise) and/or actually driving to Burkittsville and looking for the witch. If you’ve avoided the sequel because you hated the first film or because you didn’t want your opinion of the first film tarnished, enough time has passed that you can watch both without fear. Or, if you’re thinking about going camping somewhere remote and/or going on a tour with a group of strangers, well, see this movie first and then think about it. ‘Cause: damn.

Honey, go back to sleep! ...and that's when they saw Kyle's "Speedo" picture on the web. "Here lies Lester Moore. Killed by 6 shots with a .44. No Les, no more."

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Kim sleeping on the grave of Treacle, one of the girls killed by the witch.
• Tristan's heather's confession scene-like shot?
• The Sheriff seemed to be from a whole other planet?
• The constant, never-ending heavy metal music?
• The reference Kim makes to Paradise Lost?
• One of the Symbols written on the walls of the Rustin Parr Ruins, the one that looks like , is the Celtic Symbol Thorn, the Bringer of Death
• References to other horror flicks: playing tapes backwards (Exorcist), barking dogs (Omen), fly-over during opening credits (Paradise Lost), spinning around the tree (Evil Dead 2)
• Director Joe Berlinger appears as Burkittsville resident "Joe" during the documentary opening sequence.
• There is a man repairing the refrigeration unit at the roadside store and his pile of tools, stacked in the shape of the stick figure, can be seen twice

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

A bird's-eye-view of the forest is seen during the end credits.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

The director of this peice of Horror-trash is repsected documentary film maker, Joe Berlinger, who directed the groundbreaking documentary "Paradise Lost" and it's follow up "Paradise Lost 2", both highly respected by Clare. I think this movie knocked him down the latter-o-respect a few notches.

In the police files Kim finds in Jim's desk, you can see Stephen and Kim's real names. This is because Joe Berlinger wanted to use the actor's real name in the movie (as reference to the first movie). However, Artisan wanted Joe Berlinger to change the names of the characters to avoid confusion. Since the movie was already filmed, Berlinger was only able to dub in new last names (since new first names would have messed up the dialogue of the film).

Unhappy with Joe Berlinger's version of the film, Artisan opted to re-shoot certain scenes to add more "traditional" horror movie elements and re-cut the movie to make it more commercial.

Groovy Quotes

Jeff: The gene pool is a little shallow here. Dive in and you'll crack your skull open.

Stephen: How many Heather Donahue's does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one!

Erica: May I have permission to take this leaf? Thank you!

Erica: We brought something back with us...

Kim: They never should've let you out. You're a long way from sane.

Jeff: If you don't believe in the Blair Witch, then why the hell did you come along?
Kim: I thought the movie was cool.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• The Blair Witch Project
• The Convent
• Paradise Lost