Rating: 
Summary: Good Witch? Bad Witch?
Review: Before watching this film I had built up an expectation that I was about to view a film, which would be bad and when I say bad I mean terribly bad. This was a view, which I had purely obtained from the various reviews I had read. However this film is NOT terribly bad, in fact it's very watchable. Alright so the acting in places leaves a lot to be desired and its not particularly scary for a horror movie. But the story kept my interest right till the very end and made me feel that it was a worthwhile 90 minutes of my time. Also despite the bad acting and possible miscasting, the characters actually worked quite well together. I think this films biggest mistake was to have the number 2 in its title, had it been advertised as more of a spin off to the original then I think this film would have won a few more fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Loses itself in confusion, acting, and lack of a good script
Review: Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, a slick, effects-ridden sequal to the innovative 1999 pseudo-horror film "The Blair Witch Project," takes more than a little suspension of disbelief and little-to-no knowledge of the first film. Blair Witch 2 seems like it's caught in a bit of a flux; it fluctuates from horror film to suspense film to horror spoof to commentary on media spectacle without seriously delving into any of those categories. Unfortunately, the lack of a point - and utter lack of believable characters - takes what could have been an interesting plot and drain it of all life (no pun inteded). The film opens as Jeff (Jeffrey Donovan), a twenetysomething Burkittsville, Maryland (the fictional setting of "The Blair Witch Project) entrepeneur, prepares to lead a group of stereotypes into the woods to see the sights portrayed in the first film. Among this collection are the skeptic (Stephen), his believer girlfriend (Tristine), a Wiccan with a serious persecution complex (Erica), and a supposedly psychic goth (Kim). Interspersed throughout the opening - and the rest of the film - are scenes alluding to some horrible crime about to occur, and echoes of Jeff's past in a lunatic asylum. The group arrives at Rustin Parr's cabin, the location of the terrifying final scene in "Blair Witch," which is now little more than a ruined foundation. They settle in for a night of booze, dope, and Marilyn Manson and awake the next morning to find that cameras brought along to record "unusual activity" and other belongings were destroyed during the night. Worse, there is a five-hour gap in everyone's memory and the local Sheriff suddenly seems very interested in asking the group about a series of brutal murders that occured the same night at Coffin Rock, another location famous in the first film. Blair Witch 2 continues in Jeff's house, a converted factory from the Civil War era. Needless to say, the group experiences all kinds of strange manifestations, including dreams, ghosts, hallucinations, and all sorts of other stock paranormal activity. I'll say this about Blair Witch 2: it wasn't awful. I've seen a lot worse. Unfortunately, because of the stereotypical characters and poorly written dialogue (by the fifth time the Wiccan explained that witches are nature-lovers, not evil Satanists, I kind of wished Ash from the Evil Dead would have shown up and cut her in half with his chainsaw), the film lost a lot of the edge that made the first Blair Witch so entertaining. On top of that, it was a little over-Hollywood-ized; any of the plot motivators, or even a combination of two of them, would have made much more fully developed film. There is also a significant amount of plot holes, not the least of which is that anyone engaging in that much drinking and smoking in the middle of November in the woords is going to wake up missing a few hours of memory - it doesn't take a witch to cause that problem. What we were left with is an entertaining experience, and certainly one that fans of the first film will want to see, but I wouldn't recommend it to the casual moviegoer. A rent-it-before-you-buy-it scenario.
Rating:
Summary: the secret of esrever
Review: obviously meaning the secret of "reverse" unbt all i got out of it are the words "door, rug, grave, mirror, water" and you watch the movie and look for "clues" uh hello like you need any, but with a couple glasses of wine on a sunday night hey lets give it a shot so the only thing i got out of this the second time was one scene with the main character "jeff" being cross examined by the cheif of police or whatever, and when the cheif walks in front of the mirror the back of his head.. or his hair looks like that mask from scream whatver this is brennan signing off
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed on so many levels
Review: Where do I begin? This movie has so many problems I'm still reeling from the sheer badness of it, so I'll just cover the most glaring. First off, this movie does the twentysomething alternative/underground crowd no favors, portraying every one of them as an annoying, abrasive, irresponsible fool. Every one of them -- from the cookie-cutter "goth" chick who looks like she took Daddy's credit card to the Hot Topic at your local mall, to the book-banging revisionist "Wiccan" chick who spends every other line whining about how how ignorant the rest of us are for misunderstanding "her kind" (did she ever stop to consider the Blair Witch might have *really* been evil to begin with?), to the pregnant girl who knowingly & willingly exposes her unborn child to drugs & alcohol (hmm, maybe she was *trying* to induce a miscarriage -- commendable behavior in any case), her alternately pushy/smothering boyfriend, and the doofus-opportunist criminal tour guide fresh out of the asylum (& probably too soon) -- have virtually no redeeming value as characters & so you feel no empathy for them or their plight (though from the tone of other reviews here, the goth & Wiccan are seen as "kewl" simply because a) they're attractive females, and b) represent trendy subject matter for teens and young adults, no matter that both portrayals are badly off-the-mark). The film shows them all carelessly partying it up rather than paying attention to what's going on around them, then wondering why they all "fell asleep & can't remember." (Gee, I wonder...) Pitting them against a cartoonishly over-the-top, Yosemite Sam caricature of a narrow-minded small-town sheriff only heightens the stupidity of it all. Then there's the cinematography: People who didn't like the "shaky" & "amateurish" camera work of the first film missed the point completely. The first film succeeded *because* of its first-person verite feel, not despite it. The sequel is so glossy and smooth, it might as well have been filmed on a sound stage. The first movie's actors looked like real-world nobodies, average folks caught in something bad. The sequel's cast looks (and acts) like an episode of MTV's "Real World"; I expect their careers will boost as a result of this film, and they'll turn up in future trendy productions, further diluting the believability of the film (AFAIK, the original's cast hasn't been seen since, and that makes the film's resonance continue). Finally, there's the whole "message" thing. I'm left with the impression the movie wants to make a commentary on something, but it tries so hard to make a commentary on *everything* (goths are misunderstood, witches are unfairly persecuted, rural folk are slow, ignorant & judgemental, making a profit off of the suffering of others is wrong, ebay is a haven for stolen-goods trafficking, mental institutions have questionable practices, etc.) that it ultimately trips over its own feet right out of the gate. By the time "Blair Witch 3" rolls around (& you just know it will), we'll probably have the ooh-spooky witch running around in obvious, cheesy physical form doing all the slashing herself while making Freddy Kreuger-style one-liners in a pilgrim dialect, while plucky, pretty teens fight her Matrix-style accompanied by the latest MTV-Top 40 soundtrack. Ugh.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Thriller
Review: I saw this movie in the theater and I was waiting for it to come out on dvd. I really enjoyed this movie. You never knew what would happen next. It was a really freaky scary horror that will keep you out of your seat.
Rating:
Summary: They REALLY learned how to keep the camera steady this time!
Review: I can't remember how long it was between the two movies... but the increase in the quality of the camera work is just exponential! It really goes to show that if you keep at something you can truly be great at it. Aside from how technically good this film was, it touches on some important themes such as how the woods are frightening and dangerous at night. It really drives that point home, as it does the idea that maybe witches and ghosts aren't all "Gen-X" fun and games and that people who "play with fire" are going to get "burnt". To Ouijja board and Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts: take note! Though this film is loosely based on the themes and plot structure put forth in such classics of the genre as Friday the 13th part 2, Nightmare on Elm St. part 2, Halloween part 2, and Hellraiser part 2, it comes away with a distinct voice thanks to the unforgettable and touching narration of Scott Bacula (of TVs Quantum Leap). We can only hope that Scott shows up as an actor in the next Blair Witch installment, rather than just a disembodied (albeit heartwrenching) voice-over narrator. Who better to wage the final battle against the witch?!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable ... But Flawed
Review: Enjoyable sequel to the highly successful - and highly over-rated Blair Witch. Artisan Entertainment actually gave this film a budget, and helps to deliver a surreal, somewhat creepy horror film. Creative direction and some above average acting destroys the general rule that "horror sequels suck". That is not to say that this film is not flawed. It is. Like for instance, what is the Book of Shadows? Ask Joe Berlinger.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, Rarely Creepy
Review: Berlinger's first fictional foray into cinema is not as disappointing as some reviews would lead one to believe--but it is definately a far cry from the original. The key device is an exploitation of our habits of seeing: That what we see on the screen is "real." Over and again, the film comments on itself by showing the viewer that what they see is not what they get (e.g., lost time in discovered footage is miraculously recovered when played in reverse, cuing the late eighties obsession with "backward masking"). The schemes and shooting techniques are original and clever, and often highly entertaining. The problem with this movie is the "Hollywood" problem--pre-screenings probably de-railed the original scripting time and time again until Artisan was comfortable with the product. The end result is a smartly conceived sequal with poor delivery. The films saving grace is the gothed-out Director, who is nothing short of mesmerizing. Fans of Berlinger's past work will recognize his genius, but also his failure. For film buffs and fans of mediocre horror only.
Rating:
Summary: More watchable than the first....
Review: I found myself fast forwarding through much of the first movie (I found it boring and stupid). At least this movie made an attempt at a plot. But this movie was overdone and was only entertaining from a "campy" (funny) point of view.
Rating:
Summary: The Witch should retire ...
Review: 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").
|
