Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

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This is one of those horror movies that you sort of have to give it up to at least a little tiny bit, but hear me out, because this movie IS still pretty bad. I tend to give a notch of credit to a horror sequel that takes place in a reality outside of its regular canon - the best example is probably 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare', and the worst is... well, maybe this, but I haven't seen (nor do I want to) 'Human Centipede II' because the first one was so dumb (sorry fans but, it's shock value for shock value sake).

Anyway, this one opens up some time in 1999, following the release of 'The Blair Witch Project'. Whether you liked the film or not, one can't really deny that it's pretty much the birthplace of found footage popularity. Yes, some found footage existed before it, but none of it was on the big screen for the public eye. If you understood what it was, you probably didn't get a whole lot more out of it that a little thrill-ride. But some bought into the idea of it actually being a full-fledged incident, considering the unknown actors of the time, and the fact that they were all playing themselves. Things start with news reports all about that, and fans crowding the town of Burkittsville Maryland, featured in the original movie.

An obsessive fan, Jeff, arranges a group tour of locations from the film. He gathers an expecting couple of mythology researchers, Stephen and Tristen; a Wiccan girl named Erica who is so obsessed with her Wiccan kind it's infuriating; and a hardcore goth type named Kim who seems to be psychic. What really gets my goat here is that Jeff is a former psychiatric patient who we clearly see was in rough enough shape to be locked into a padded room, bouncing off the walls in a straight jacket. But I guess he's just okay now - by the way, this is after about a week.

As the film progresses, the group stops at the ruins of Rustin Parr's house (a serial killer from the '40s once found guilty of the murder of seven children, instructed by the Blair Witch). Here, Jeff sets up cameras to try to capture something supernatural. They later review these tapes at Jeff's weird lair; an abandoned factory he got for a dollar somehow (everything in there works, too), but soon strange and even deadly occurrences start up, and we are to question what's real and what isn't, along with what's up with a ritualistic killing we keep seeing pop up out of nowhere. In a word, it's all just very "confusing", and it happens so often you wish things would just focus. The film's like a little, rambunctious kid who won't sit down and shut up - it's all over the place.

To make matters worse than they already are, this group is full of people you just plain can't like. There is no one to route for here; everyone comes with their own set of annoyances, and much of it just comes from either underacting or overacting. I tend to look for that character I'd love to have a conversation with, or have a drink with, but I couldn't see myself hanging out with any of these people. Therefore, I have no one to relate to, and even when we're supposed to empathize with anyone, we don't really know what to think.

Above all else, I just found this movie to be a confusing mess. I may not have liked it much, but I can at least give the original film credit for what it is, as well as its place among horror movies. 'Blair Witch 2' is really just a failed attempt at what might have been something interesting, and is wasted on throwaway characters, terrible dialogue, supernatural scenes that seem to have nothing to do with anything (seriously, what's up with that girl ghost?) and bad editing. I think the one thing I can give this movie is that its soundtrack is actually pretty decent, albeit potentially dated, being from 2000. I saw this one through to the end, but I definitely considered cutting it off half-way, so I can't possibly recommend wasting your time. There are better witch-related movies out there... MUCH better!

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