Customer Reviews

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch Project 2

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(31)
1 star:		(75)

 

 

I really enjoyed this movie even though most people did not. Its very eerie and is a totally different type of scary than the original. Its about five people who are obsessed with The Blair Witch Project movie who decide to spend the night in the woods where the movie and legends took place. They also decide to film what they see and plan to stay up all night, but they mysteriously fall asleep and their footage is missing the next morning. When they finally find the film, they realize they weren't asleep all night and they weren't alone. This was alot scarier to me than the original which is a horror movie classic. Instead of hearing mysterious noises and finding sticks on the ground however, these characters are seeing things - not knowing if what they are seeing is real or if they are going crazy. Strange markings appear on their bodies, they see dead children haunting the neighborhood and the Blair Witch turns the five characters against eachother making them look guilty of things that none of them actually did. If you like eerie, creepy, scary movies that leave you creeped out long after you've seen them, this is the perfect movie for you and a perfect sequel to a classic horror movie.

When I first heard about about a Blair Witch sequel, I thought why? Here was this little indy movie, that made a ton of cash, was the water-cooler talk for the better part of a year, and was a truly unique film. Why try to top, or equal that? Of course, Hollywood saw a possible cash cow and a big studio jumped in and tainted the Blair Witch name. Now, I have to give the sequel credit in that it didn't just throw another group of kids into the woods and rehash the story from part one. The idea of Book of Shadows is actually a neat idea, but the execution of that idea was horrible. First of all, we are presented with such an annoying group of people to follow in Book of Shadows, I am immediately ready for the killing to begin. Seriously, I was praying Jason would come stumbling out of the woods with his hockey mask and machete to hasten the demise of this cast of characters that no one could relate to. The special effects get ramped up right along with the volume of the soundtrack, and I guess the producer hoped you wouldn't notice the bad acting and lack of story?? I see this movie is listed at under $2 used here on Amazon......Is it worth it? Not really, if you are like me and enjoy watching crappy movies now and again (Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation anyone?) then pick it up, but be warned...this could be one of those movies where in six months you may ask yourself "Was it really that bad?", pull it out to see and doom yourself to another wasted evening!!

First saw this having low low expectations (a feeling warrented, and im sure shared among horror fans when the announcement was made to make a sequal to one of the most NON-sequal friendly movies EVER). Within the first ten minutes I had my foolish expectations thrown in my face as the hellride began (no hyperbole needed, the film has a very fast moving, w/ a paranoid feel to it).

A great psychological film, with a thick but respectable "figure-it-out-yourself" aspect, that lended hand to the film rather than using it as an escape. It compliments the first film well, and without using it as a crutch presents the next logical step in evolution (rather then the usual redundant sequal).

The problem of how to resolve a reality based first person perspective film/pseudo-documentary and parley it into a real movie format (third person) is solved within seconds of the opening of the film... simply enough the first was just a film, they claim, and this is the real deal (and, consequently, about the hysteria the film provided in its opening weeks).

The editing is choppy, scenes change quickly, and the viewer is left with no choice but to stay on the edge of their seat.. in this way, the movie draws you in to it. The editing can tend to be confusing, but thats what makes the second viewing all the more fun ! :) Its horror tactics mostly rely on hallucination, claustrophobia, and asphyxiation (and, of course, I applaud them on all three fronts).

The ending is solid, imho (and thats all im gonna say about that).

My only problem is that I found the acting a bit dry at times, but, of course, that might just be all part of the game the producers are playing with you throughout... a second viewing will shed light on that.

Strongly Reccomended/Two Thumbs Up

Terrible. Absolutely terrible. The Blair Witch Project was amazing and one of the best horror films in years. This travesty of a film is confusing (deep - I don't think so) with such stereo typed "cast" that I really wanted them all to get killed - violently - in the first 5 minutes. I wouldn't recommend this even to people I disliked and am now trying to erase it from my memory - you have been warned!

I saw this movie expecting the worst, and sadly, that's exactly what I got (perhaps even worse).

Being a BIG fan of the original "Blair Witch Project" it's terrible to watch this and witness how they exploited such an original and compelling idea. The only part I enjoyed would have to be the opening 10 minutes where the film shows the hype of the original, however from there it quickly becomes b-grade trash. How many times does a character really need to say "That's impossible!!"??

The actors are annoying, the violence is too obligitory to be disturbing or creepy, and the plot is just too confusing to even bother trying to figure out. And what is with that pathetic Scream-esque ending?? "You're the witch!!"

Wait for it to be the $1 weekly at your video shop (even then just go for "Battlefield Earth").

"Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" may very well be the most maligned sequel of all time. I have read more positive reviews for "Airplane 2: The Sequel." I have heard more compliments handed out to "Friday the 13th Part 2." There have been far more words of praise lavished like so much lumpy sausage gravy over "The Matrix Reloaded." What gives?

Actually, I think the answer lies in the very hype surrounding the first "Blair Witch" which this film so succesfully spoofs. I mean, think about it. You start out with an unexpected cultural phenomenon on the level of "Star Wars." You wait barely a year before issuing a sequel (not nearly enough time for memories of the first film to become hazy, but plenty of time for the inevitable backlash against it to firmly take root in the popular psyche). Then you have the audacity to release a film that not only pokes fun at the very people who are most likely to rush right out and buy a ticket for the opening night showing, but you make the film in a style completely different from the first film. Whereas the original "Blair Witch Project" was groundbreaking and unique, "Book of Shadows" is groundbreaking and unique... But in a very different way.

Joe Berlinger is more than well aware of his roots and pulls no punches when it comes to honoring and lampooning them all in the same breath. This is not to suggest that ol' Joe has gone the route of McG and is pandering with one hand while he smirks and winks the whole time. "Book of Shadows" is far too subtle and made in too much good faith for that kind of nonsense. Berlinger's point has more to do with questioning reality and fantasy and the complicated dance between the two which most of us take so much for granted. What is the truth of the Blair Witch? If it is only a story then how can it so deeply effect people and at what point is a story not merely a story any more?

This is a question most people (at least in this country) tend to shrug off, but which, ironically, is a question that most people (especially in this country) need to start examining. This is, after all, the native land of one Mark David Chapman who murdered a peace-loving cultural icon because he thought it was prescribed by a J.D. Salinger novel. This is the place where hordes of people came out in protest over "The Last Temptation of Christ" because it was a story that did not live up to the other stories they had been told all of their lives. This is still the same America where Charles Manson founded a faithful cult following willing to kill or die for him based upon a science fiction novel. And this is the same country where three boys were jailed and await execution on the strength of a popular myth that says they look like (and therefore must be) witches.

When is a story not a story? What is the boundary between sanity and insanity? Is it when fantasy begins to take precedence in the mind? Here Berlinger confronts us with a whole town full of characters who have been washed away by a fiction. You have tour groups roughing it out in the middle of nowhere hoping to find... Something... Anything. You have townspeople who find their quiet way of life destroyed. You have a sheriff driven to the point of vigilantism. All in the name of a fiction.

What Berlinger is trying to show us is how none of these responses are appropriate to the situation. You cannot kill a myth simply by deconstructing it. The amount of time and attention means that the myth has already won. It has become just as much an obsession for the naysayer as it has for the fanatic and the results can be just as damaging either way.

Want proof? Well, not so very long ago, in a town quite close to where I reside, there was a little incident known as the Columbine Massacre. In the days, weeks, months and years that followed, everyone began extending their index fingers in the direction of everyone else. The vast majority of these fingers were leveled directly at popular culture. The music of one Marilyn Manson was usually singled out for the greatest abuse. Pundits and so-called experts appeared on television nightly to discuss the relative merits and demerits of Mr. Manson's wailings and shoot off (no pun intended) an opinion as to just how much, if any, blame should be laid at his feet. Only months later did we learn, to our collective shock, that neither of the perpetrators of the Columbine killings was all that big a fan of Marilyn Manson. Oops. By then, however, it was too late. The myth had taken root. The pundits and so-called experts laughed all the way to the bank. Mr. Manson rescheduled his canceled concert dates. The so-called news networks stuffed yet more money in their collective coffers and none of us learned one damn thing. We simply supplanted one fiction with another. And the beat goes on.

For this, if for no other reason, "Book of Shadows" deserves a second look. Despite Mr. Roger "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" Ebert's gripes about how horribly this movie reflects on Berlinger's previous documentary efforts, I think a closer inspection will reveal just how wrong the portly one really is. If you haven't seen it, then do yourself a favor. Now that all the hype has died away, put on a fresh set of eyes and keep your mind open. You're in for a fast-paced, stylish, genuinely scary ride with something more on its mind than simple shock value.

I thought I would go back and see if this movie is as horrible as I remember it being. It is. I can only hope that few other people have had the misfortune of seeing this celluloid monstrosity twice. One is hard pressed to say which is worse-the overdramatic acting or the hopeless script. The promos promised to take us back into the woods, but we spend almost the whole movie knocking around an old abandoned warehouse converted into a home by the local psycho. The four people making up the Blair Witch tour group are possibly even more annoying than the guide-a spooky-looking Goth girl with an attitude, a disbelieving writer and his seriously disturbed, recently impregnated girlfriend, and a hot redheaded Wiccan whose nude scenes are the only positive contribution any one makes to this film. Then there is the constantly fuming Sheriff Craven yelling and cursing all the time, adding even more misery to the experience of the viewer. The frequent time shifts between past and present serve only to make a nonsensical plot completely incomprehensible. Don't count on a big finish; this thing just ends suddenly, as if the filmmakers ran out of money and had to shut down production all of a sudden.

This DVD does feature a bunch of special features, but so did the Titanic, and we all know how that journey turned out. The most important thing to keep in mind about this film is the fact that, despite its promises, it really has nothing to do with the Blair Witch. Oh, they talk about her and show us Coffin Rock and the foundation of Parr's house and a few ghostly images of children, but The Book of Shadows does little more than parody everything that was so fascinating and innovative about the Blair Witch Project. Thanks to Heather, Josh, and Michael's incredible, unscripted performance in the original, the legend of the Blair Witch may indeed never die-this will only be despite the determined attempt made to kill it by the makers of this atrocious sequel.

I rated The Blair Witch Project 3 stars. I was anxious and curious to see what this movie was going to be about. Well, I bought it and like other movies I've bought without seeing first, regret it. This is a terrible movie. It has VERY little to do with the first Blair Witch. They cleverly threw in the Blair Witch name to this movie to get people like me to see it!! Poor acting, boring film. It centers around 4 "fans" of the first Blair Witch film who spend the night in the woods to see if the Blair Witch story is true. It makes no sense and to me shouldn't be called a true "sequel". A real let down compared to the first movie!!!!

What a total waste of time this DVD was. Where did they find the lame cast? and who wrote the script? Total garbage!!! I am sure the cast of the first movie laughed all the way thru this piece of trash. Stick with the original. I could not wait for this movie to end and the only reason I did not turn it off to begin with is that I thought it would improve. How wrong I was!!! Don't bother.....

Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows was not a good movie in any way what so ever. From the hilariously bad acting to the horrible editing and the even worse directing, this movie was just plain and simply bad. Sometimes I don't understand why good movies need sequels. Yes, there have been darn good sequels like The Godfather, Lethal Weapon, and in my opinion the second Jaws. If you are going to make a sequel, don't just make one to make one. Spend a couple years on it, and actually make it a real movie by itself instead of taking everything that worked in the original and using in it. Well, Blair Witch 2 took nothing from the original besides the premise. Usually sequels go back to the same environment as the first, but this movie took a totally different approach. That isn't such a bad idea, but it just didn't work. Also, there are some very disturbing scenes, which I think added to the demise of the movie. They had no establishing shot, which made it very hard to know what the heck was going on. I really can't think of anything positive to say about this movie. Overall, Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows is another typical sequel that fails in every way to entertain you and make you come away with a sense of time well spent. 1 Star