Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Matt Greene Book of Shadows benefits from being distinct from the original, shooting to be a meta-comment on the popularity and questions surrounding the found footage classic. Otherwise, there are few words for awful this is. I can't decide what is worse: the insanely stupid script, the collection of terrible actors, the clichéd and bland direction, or the insane choice to edit in a non-linear timeline. Works better as a comedy than a horror, as I audibly laughed way more than I jumped.

GL84 Trying to recreate a tour of the original witch, a group of friends in the Burkittsille Woods experience a series of strange visions and encounters they can't explain and drive themselves to madness trying to piece the clues back together to understand what happened to them.This one was quite an improvement over the original and offered up a lot to like. This one works here when utilizing the potentially supernatural happenings to build its mystery about their night together, which gives this such a fine, chilling atmosphere here. The visions we get of their party are fun enough, but the next day aftermath is where it gets good with the shredded paper, the paranoia about their equipment and the realization that the bloodied dream really happened as depicted which really comes off rather well here. The later scenes here in the warehouse are even better as not only does the tape-viewing uncover a series of enjoyable parts as they're tormented in fine fashion with erotic dreams that result in nasty, brutal wounds on all involved, the strange crying or howling wails heard throughout the building, the flashes of ghost children throughout or the strange reactions to the videotapes where it shows the group performing completely foreign acts from Wiccan ceremonial rituals to carving themselves up or even performing nude strip-dances around the fire all comes off as perfectly chilling for what's attempted in that style of tormenting that occurs in here. Even the final half here where everything comes out in true form where what really happened is revealed, the fates of the group is given and the psychological tortures are far more impressive and chilling that really takes the mind-games and tormenting to another level of intensity throughout here. These here the positive points that do hold this one here is pretty much dependent on the mind- games throughout the later half here indeed makes it pretty chilling, but it's also rather confusing in that what happens isn't going on as we see it and makes it all untrustworthy and pointless as to why it should be watched. This one never makes it seem like there's a twist or anything happening with what they're doing, it simply goes around doing one thing and then switches it around with the videotape reveals at the end which shows what really happened. In the end that makes the whole thing pointless twisting it around as it does without any warning at making the previous antics redundant. The other fact against this one is the completely irresponsible storyline here about the cop and his harassment of the group which is quite full of overkilled moments and completely uncalled for storyline segment just to make its point. Otherwise, this one was quite fun.Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence and Nudity.

Leofwine_draca A film best described as an "interesting failure", this sequel didn't have me holding my hopes up very much - seeing as just about all reviewers gave it negative marks. In my mind, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT was one of the scariest films I've ever seen, and any film following that is going to look bad in the process. So I kept my expectations extremely low and went to see this sequel on Halloween. It's a film that borderlines on genius and very nearly manages to be extremely scary, but loses all credibility with a cast of poor performers and some cheap shock tactics. Indeed it's easy to be alarmed by the "jump in your seat" shots of objects smashing through windows or instead be disgusted by some gruesome hallucinations our friends have - a woman rips a man's stomach open with her nails, another girl is seen to eat a dead bird - but the underlying themes in this film are the ones that make it interesting.Looking beyond the obvious shock/gore tactics, this film's main theme is that of perception - and whether we (the audience) or they (the people in the film) are truly seeing what's going on. Clever editing is used to build up to the chilling revelation and the ending was, for me, a very good one. Sadly the true horror of the situation is underplayed in favour of a high dosage of unwanted comic relief, poor acting and a whole slew of supposedly disturbing/horrific moments which actually turn out to be unintentionally funny.Whereas the first film established a back-to-roots documentary approach, this film in turn goes overboard with the exploitation tactics to appeal to a young audience. One character wanders around naked for much of the film while repeated clips of a bloody murder are shown throughout the film. The one interesting character in this film is the tour's guide, an ex-mental patient who finds his sanity breaking down as the film progresses. Played by Jeffrey Donovan, the acting is spot on and he turns in an excellent portrayal. It's just a shame that the others don't live up to his standards. The actress playing the pregnant woman is forced to do a lot of humiliating things and her acting skills are frequently laughable - of course this is not helped by inane dialogue like when she sprouts about dead children looking up her skirt. Her husband is not much better, being as he is a bland puppet, while the Wiccan character in this film I found to be extremely irritating. Finally, the actress playing the goth shows glimpses of a real talent, but for the most part she's simply obnoxious. And don't get me started on the intrusive music used at every opportunity.While it simply cannot live up to the first film, this is more interesting to watch than your typical mindless slasher or gorefest. The film is based around some real deep-seated fears of madness and chaos and with a better execution, I think this may have been as good as the original. Just enjoy all the general weirdness going on as the film messes with your head and let it suck you in. My favourite parts of this film were when the camera footage was being pieced together and revealing some pretty bizarre stuff. The shock ending is powerful too. As a follow-up, BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 sucks, but it almost stands on its own as a complex, partially successful piece of psychological horror.

chow913 I saw this film when it first came out. I was in college in 1999 only 20 miles away from Burkesville MD and so I understand as well as anyone the huge sensation 'The Blair Witch Project' caused. Every weekend about 25% of my college would roam around the Burkesville woods getting drunk and high.Hence, this film really hits home for me. Just as the viewer is forced to be around hung over kids whom spent the night drinking and smoking in the woods, so was a whole year of my college life! This is the classic example of a rushed sequel punched out to cash in the original's popularity before the fad wears off ('Sister Act 2' 'Sherk 2' 'Shanghai Knights') without any regard for quality. The studio never cares about quality because the sequel factor alone will guarantee box office success.The major factor here is that ALL FIVE of the characters are just named after the actors playing them! That's how fast this script was punched out! It was literally written ON THE SET! I'll never forget the trailer for this. Usually trailers highlight the major action and money shots of the film. This trailer actually showed a girl dancing on bed. Yup, that's the best shot they could show us to drag us into the theaters! A girl dancing on a bed! This is supposed to be a scary movie right?Anyway, five stoners camp out in the Burkesville woods just like 'The Blair Witch Project.' Scary? I'm always amused at how even respected film critics like Roger Ebert religiously recited 'The Blair Witch Project's promo, "the Black Hills of Maryland" as if somehow it's scary. Burkesville is the suburbs. The suburbs! No one can get lost in someone's backyard! And any "campers" would be arrested for trespassing. It's the suburbs! After a hard night of drinking and drugs the five kids awaken to find their book in progress destroyed by an industrial shredder. They all act surprised at having blacked out as if something scary has happened. Nothing scary has happened! They just passed out drunk! Next, the pregnant girl has a miscarriage. Drinking and drugging will cause that as well. The nurse at the hospital says, "Your body is telling you something's not right." as if it is scary. No, it's just the drinking and drugs! So the five kids go to what's described as an abandoned Civil War factory. WOW! Plumbing, electricity, paint and glass that's held up for 150 years! No wonder the North won the war, they were really advanced. WWII factor we might buy. But Civil War factory? Anyway, the kids watch the tapes of themselves from the night before but find nothing until they're played backwards. OF course you can't really do that because video doesn't work the same as film but whatever. The backwards footage reveals an orgy of drinking and drugs. We already knew about this!!! The kids then go into a trance and wander off to murder an neighboring group of campers. They're so out of their minds that they remember to bring a camcorder with them to capture it for posterity.Next the kids are interrogated by the police in scenes which fail to work as either drama or comedy as ALL the cops are overly acting redneck stereotypes. Again, Burkesville isn't the Deep South. It's the suburbs! Why are ALL the cops inbred rednecks? If the movie isn't going to take these scenes seriously neither is the audience.All in all it is fun for some laughs and not horribly made. It does go down as a classic example of a punched out and rushed cash in sequel.Only one mystery remains. What's the "Book of Shadows?" There are no books or shadows in this film or even mention of them! Again, this leads me to conclude there were multiple studio scripts and rewrites and the film was just slapped together without regard.