Customer Reviews

The Blair Witch Project / Book of Shadows - Blair Witch 2 (Special Edition)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I found this set in the bargain bin. It was inexpensive enough, so I bought it, being a fan of the original Blair Witch Project (and also coming from Orlando, like the film-makers), and having no idea what the sequel was like -- other than most people said it stank up the joint.

The set is a mixed bag. Despite some genuine hackle-raising moments (when the video camera is hunting in the dark and we hear, for God's sake LAUGHING CHILDREN in the woods), the original Blair Witch is uneven, with the improvised dialog occasionally backfiring. There are moments when the spell breaks and we can tell that the actors are self-consciously going for moments, rather than remaining immersed in their characters. But these are quibbles. The Blair Witch Project remains a stunning acheivement if for no other reason than its sheer audacity. The nerve of these guys, Myreck and Sanchez. The chutzpah. I admire it.

Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows is almost a good movie, and probably would have been, were it not for idiot studio bean-counters A) rushing the production (soup to nuts in ONE year), and B) interfering with the creative process. Listen to director Joe Berlinger's somewhat pained commentary track and you'll understand what I mean. His intent (which probably would have worked), was to go for a subversive, darkly satiric take on the so-called "Blair Witch phenomenon" and its subsequent backlash, while at the same time making a genuine psychological thriller on the nature of evil (human? occult? a mixture of both? he wanted it ambiguous).

Alas, while creative people and thoughtful film-goers like philosophical ambiguity, studio bosses don't. So they made him dumb it down. Berlinger is a gifted documentarian who should have been allowed, for his first feature film, to exercise his creative muscles in the realm of a fictional narrative. As it stands, a lot of carefully modulated effects are placed out of their original sequence. Only a viewing of his original cut would tell us if they would have worked better as originally conceived, but as it stands, Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, is a noble ruin -- a film with some very good ideas that are not allowed to get very far. It's a shame.

The DVDs are chock-full of extras, including some nifty puzzles and creepy, hidden images. Overall, it's worth the purchase, if only as a cautionary tale to other would-be film-makers -- be they from Orlando, Florida, or anywhere else.

This "sequel" to the Blair Witch project should not have been made.

The movie had absolutely NOTHING to do with the advertisement for it, it was as if the advertisements had been talking about an entirely different movie.

There was talk of a third Blair Witch movie in the works, but nothing came of it.

After viewing this bomb, you will know why.

This "sequel" to the Blair Witch project should not have been made.

The movie had absolutely NOTHING to do with the advertisement for it, it was as if the advertisements had been talking about an entirely different movie.

There was talk of a third Blair Witch movie in the works, but nothing came of it.

After viewing this bomb, you will know why.

I watched the Blair Witch Project with an open mind. I waited and waited and waited for something to happen. Something finally happened other than a bunch of ... kids running around in the woods, and the movie was over. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. Then I got to see Book of Shadows. I was so impressed. This movie is so much better than the first one. Things happened!! It made me think. It confused me a little bit. I couldn't tell what was going to happen next, and that, to me, makes it one of the best movies I've seen in a LONG time.

The Books of shadows is a good movie with good actors. The only thing is, that this one is very different from the first part, but is that really such a crime? I don't think so!!!

Did I see the same movie as everyone who so casually trashes Blair Witch 2? Okay, so it began a little erratic
and strange, but once it got going, I was glued to the TV. I found it suspenseful and dramatic. To me, it was
a study in human madness; how a group of people can experience something together so markedly weird that they
slowly descend into insanity.
I wasn't a huge fan of the original Blair Witch. I didn't find it as scary as everyone else. I found it to be
very...anticlimactic. They kept trying to build up suspense over and over, but very little actually happened! I
was actually bored by Blair Witch by the very end.
Not so with part two. I found it eerie and unsettling, and when the truth of what actually happened came out in
the end, I was blown away.
Maybe I'm a minority of one, but I recommend B.W. 2 wholeheartedly.

I have to also disagree with those who thought this movie stunk. This was not done to be a sequel to the original which was about the most boring hour and a half I ever spent at the movies. This film was meant to entertain and boy does it deliver. I thought it was a fresh take on an urban legends and how people perceive the witch which was never seen in either movie. This is a solid stab at the modern horror movie.

The first blair witch project was ok i guess. It wasnt terribly scary, i only watched it once. I saw bits and pieces of the second one on tv. They were both kind of the same from what i saw. if you like one of them then buy it. Its a good price for both of them. Can someone tell me why they have that double deal where you can buy this and then the first one for 30 bucks? i dont get it...

What were the producers thinking? They abandoned all of the things that made the first Blair Witch a true classic. This abysmal piece of horse defecation features the misadventures of a group of adolescent losers, who stumble through the film cursing, fighting and giving off horrible attitudes. There is no suspense, no fright, and no reason to watch this one. If Mystery Science Theater 3000 were still on, this would surely have been spoofed by now.

people who watch movies for jumps to get scared will not get into these movies. what makes it scary is that when you immerse yourself into the film, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in either of them that is unrealistic-some improbabilities, but nothing impossible.