Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 * * * out of * * * * Starring: Steven Baker Turner, Tristine Skyler, Kim Director, Erica Leerhsen, Jeffrey Donovan, Lanny Flaterhy. Directed by: Joe Berlinger Rated R: strong violence, blood, sexuality, nudity, language, drug use. Running Time: 90 minutes
After the surprise $140 million dollar hit "The Blair Witch Project" a sequel was inevitable. Even though 65% of the audience who viewed this masterpiece, most hated it. I for one though it was a brilliant piece of art, and it literally scared the hell out of me, leaving me in my seat to sit, shaking, wondering what I just viewed. After I heard talks of a sequel, I wanted to kill whoever was making up the rumors, until I found out they were true, and now that the sequel has come out I must say I'm quite surprised at how well-made the movie was.
Opening with a clever sequence, of people praising and dissing on "The Blair Witch Project" we meet Jeff Patterson, a Blair Witch fantatic who sells stuff in his hometown in Maryland, stickmen, blair witch t-shirts, you get the point. He takes four people out into the woods on a journey known as "The Blair Witch Hunt", Kim, a smart gothic psychic, Erica a Wiccan witch, Tristen and Stephen a couple who are obsessed with Blair Witch was well, and Tristen is expecting a child, but obviously doesn't want to keep it.
After spending the night in the woods, they wake up to find themselves covered in shreds of paper, which is the work of Tristen and Stephen, not knowing what they did for five hours, the five people retreat to Jeff's home (an old factory) and view the tapes of what they did, what they find out is utterly shocking, and surprising, though I thought the film goes into too much of a slasher pic type of ending. Until then though, the film is quite clever and shocking, and very very gory. What the first film accomplished in Hollywood was that you didn't need gore, violence or monsters to scare you.
"Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" is a decieving title, there is no Book of Shadows, and the movie really has nothing to do with the first, except for Blair Witch herself. Sadly though she does not make a star-studded appearance, and really there is not any scares in the film at all, a few shlocks here and there, with a pumping rock soundtrack to back it up, but narely a scare is in the film. One would have hoped for a better "Book of Shadows" but Joe Berlinger does what he can with the film, and has some very good direction.
The stars in the first movie were memorable for not having a script, and adlibbing most of their stuff, in here the script is written out and it is quite obvious, the standout of the film is Kim Director as the gothic girl, she takes on her role and takes over the screen in the process. The rest of the cast is ok, but they aren't anything compared to Kim. There is some flaws in the movie, as well as some plot holes for those who didn't visit the website. But all in all "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" is one to be visited, maybe more than once.
Reviewed by Brandon Herring 10/27/00
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