Post by StevePulaski on Oct 30, 2016 12:48:52 GMT -5
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
Directed by: Joe Berlinger
Directed by: Joe Berlinger
From left: Erica Leehrsen, Stephen Barker Turner, Tristine Skyler, and Jeffrey Donovan.
Rating: ★★★½
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is one of the strangest sequels ever conceived in that it came quickly off the heels of its monstrously successful predecessor but did something entirely different. An evocation of the early days of internet fandom and pop-culture phenomenons, Blair Witch 2 looks and moves nothing like the original 1999 chiller that pioneered the "found footage"/"shaky camera" style of filmmaking. Its production is a lot more expensive, combining the look and tone of a procedural and supernatural drama with an unmistakable feel for the strangeness of the year 2000.
The film takes place shortly after The Blair Witch Project was released in theaters, attracting nationwide attention to the formerly quiet community of Burkittsville, Maryland. Just like in real-life, the film shows the massive amounts of tourism the town attracted upon the film being released, and centers its story around a group of young people, two of whom are researching the Blair Witch for a book they plan on writing. They are Stephen (Stephen Barker Turner) and his wife Tristen (Tristine Skyler), who decided to venture out into Burkittsville Woods under the direction of their inexperienced tour guide Jeff (Jeffrey Donovan), who comes prepared with equipment that will allegedly help spot paranormal activity. They are also joined by Erica (Erica Leehrsen), a passionate Wiccan, and Kim (Kim Director in a very cool performance), a Goth woman who they find at the local cemetery.
The gang arrives in the woods with the hopes to stay awake the entire night and capture any strange activity on their cameras. However, after being harassed by the presence of another opportunistic tour-group, the next thing the gang remembers is awaking to the free-falling scraps of paper falling from the sky that were once in-tact to form Stephen and Tristen's research. The gang had blacked out with no recollection of the early-morning's events. Unlike Josh, Heather, and Michael, the group doesn't have a problem getting out of the woods, but they do indeed come across issues when it comes to trying to assimilate back to normalcy. The group goes back to review their footage and finds spooky clues embedded in their work, as well as their behaviors rapidly changing. Erica gradually becomes more distant, and Tristen begins to become overtaken by some unspeakable force.
Much like in The Blair Witch Project, an aura of mystery washes over Book of Shadows, but not in the same way. Where we were simply trying to come to terms with what exactly was haunting the group in the first film, here, we are trying to look deeper; director Joe Berlinger (who previously only directed documentaries, including the famous Paradise Lost trilogy) and cinematographer Nancy Schreiber have laced clues, hidden messages, and spooky images within the frames of the film. There's even a special feature on the DVD called "The Secret of Esrever," which boasts its own set of clues which, if correctly interpreted and found, reveals a unique message that at one-time could've been cracked by going online and belonging to an elite club.
Point being, few cash-in sequels are this involved with their predecessors, especially ones that come out so quickly after the first one and feature a bleeding-heart aesthetic representation of the low-level but ever-present technology of the year 2000. Book of Shadows is stunningly entertaining from the moment it begins, and its characters, although a bit dopey, are no less compelling than the three leads we saw in the original film. The first Blair Witch catered to our love for mystery, difference, and presumed authenticity of source-material. This sequel caters to our love for mystery and finding clues that turn the audience into a more active viewer.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2's lack of success and notoriety amongst horror fans as being generally terrible - coupled with the recent critical and financial disaster that was Blair Witch, the Adam Wingard-directed true-to-form sequel - leads me to question if there is simply no way to make a generally "successful" sequel to The Blair Witch Project. The first film was the tried and true definition of lightning in a bottle, and perhaps the same audiences that were scared sleepless after seeing the first one were laughing about their fears so hard by the time the sequel rolled around that they couldn't be bothered to waste their time again. Such a mindset isn't unheard of with horror films, but it does unfortunately render Book of Shadows as one of the most misunderstood, unloved horror sequels of the genre.
Starring: Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Barker Turner, Kim Director, Tristine Skyler, and Erica Leehrsen. Directed by: Joe Berlinger.