Blair Witch 2 : Le Livre des ombres

Rewatched Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows last night for the first time in like 20 years. I remember liking it when I was a kid, but was kind of shocked at how much I enjoyed it.

I definitely think this is an unfairly maligned film and don't quite understand the hate or the 4.0 imdb user rating.

Don't get me wrong, it's far from a masterpiece, but at least Book of Shadows tried to do something different with the Blair Witch lore. A solid attempt was made to preserve and integrate all the faux "history" into the story. Yes, there are plot holes, and some ridiculous scenes, but overall the cast and acting are above average for a horror film, and I thought it did adequately carry a fair bit of suspense throughout.

Having seen both recently, I think Book of Shadows is a far superior film to 2016's "Blair Witch", which I thought was a pretty shallow rehash of the original with no original ideas or even the most minimal attempt to expand upon the given mythology.

Why is this film so hated? Yes, it's pretty dumb and no where near what the original was, but what I liked is that the people in the film are aware of the existence of The Blair Witch Project, and in the beginning it even has some nice clips from real reviews. I was entertained throughout this whole film, and enjoyed the twists and turns, even though, yes, they are pretty ludicrous. The overall plot is suspenseful and mysterious, and why would anyone expect the same thing as the original? I can see why as a sequel it would not work, but as a stand-alone horror film, I thought it got the job done well. Oh well, I guess I am easy to please...

Joe Berlinger set out to make a film with a different feel than what the studio twisted Book of Shadows into, but the end result is nothing to throw in the trash bin. I would love to experience a true Director's Cut and wonder if it would have been as memorable, because Book of Shadows, as it is, is a fun little flick that deserves better than some of the ratings it's garnered by those wanting more Blair Witch Project.

After Blair Witch how would it be possible to continue to suggest the possibility of real footage and lost documentary videos falling into the hands of a movie studio? Viewers have now latched onto found footage as a style, but at the time following the release of the first film the idea was simply seen as a gimmick to get people to pay to watch a movie with zero budget.

Book of Shadows is a great horror film, not quite as ambitious as the director set out to convey in his final cut, but tons of fun for horror fans. Turn off the lights, turn off your phone, enjoy the show.

I loved the blair witch project and would have much rather they make a sequel that continued with the original story then made a sequel like this.

I liked this movie but it would have been a lot better had it been by itself and not part of the Blair Witch Project original movie. The plot was a bit hard to follow but I managed.

It was almost nothing like the original but I found it scary and a reasonable movie.

The first Blair Witch was both a phenomenon commercially and creatively. Book of Shadows had the same potential, but was ultimately was let down by its high aspirations. The director could not decide if he wanted to make a straight documentary or a straight movie. In my eyes, the combination of the two cost this movie. The choppy editing had a huge factor in this as well. If only the first hour had been as carefully assembled as the last half hour, this would have been a true masterpiece. All in all this is not a super bad movie and is worth a viewing - just not multiple times. Bottom line: Good story, poor execution. My score: 4/10!