Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

The Blair Witch Project (1999) is a classic of horror, even if it is a bit of a marmite film. While not the first of the genre, it really pushed found footage into the mainstream as a genre that can be successfully both commercially and critically, and it remains one of the greatest box offices successes of all time. So is it all that surprising that the studio would want to push out a sequel as quickly as possible in order to capitalise on the hype and success of the first film. And so, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) was released onto the world. And unsurprisingly, a rushed job of the film didn’t turn out all that well.

This film does not start off terribly, and it actually presents an interesting narrative idea. The film takes place in a world post The Blair Witch Project and the opening few scenes are shot like news reports focusing on the hype and craze that surrounded that film. This includes hoards of the film’s fans converging on Burkittsville, the town form the first film. This is quite a strong start that builds on the found footage style of the first one and kind of looks at it from an interesting perspective. And then the rest of the film happens. This film is horribly late 90s/early 2000s edgy and it has edged horrible. A soundtrack of Nickelback style rock underpins the entire thing, and everything feels grim and dirty. It is very of its time and I’m sure works for some people, but it does nothing for me. Add on to this horrible characters, poor acting, and a narrative that is horribly put together and you have a recipe for disaster. But the main problem this film has, is that while it is bad it is not so horribly bad that it is at all entertaining. Outside of those opening scenes I was so unbelievably bored sitting through this and was so thankful that it is only 90 minutes. It feels rushed because it was rushed and was most likely a script that was coopted into a Blair Witch film, so it also just feels disconnected. Outside of the name and mentions of the Blair Witch there is very little tying this to that first film, so if you are a fan of the original I would not recommend you waste your time with this one.