In an article titled "Telling the Untold Stories of The Blair Witch Project", the writer thoroughly explains how, following the absolutely incredible success of TBWP, the small independent studio which has come together for the sake of producing the film was bought by Artisan (which produced the sequel). The original creators told Artisan to give the hype (both praise and backlashes) time to die down before releasing a sequel, for which they had many profound ideas. However, Artisan weren't there for the story, for the sake of creativity or to continue the groundbreaking original creation. They were there for the money. They bought out the rights for the franchise in order to ride it out and milk it dry, and that meant striking at the iron while it's still hot from all the buzz around the original film. That meant a sequel, stat.
The aforementioned article refers to Book of Shadows as an "atrocious" film which has completely buried the franchise, snuffing out the flame of what had the potential of becoming a supernatural Horror masterpiece. It even compared it to Batman & Robin, a symbol of bad cinema. I'm here to tell you otherwise. Not because I'm some juvenile rebel or a pathetic edge-lord saying bad=good for the sake or controversy, but because I truly and honestly feel Book of Shadows got a raw deal. I am here to say it was the perfect sequel to TBWP.
First - the setting. Thousands making the journey, indeed the pilgrimage, to the black hills woods where the original film was shot, or rather - where allegedly the footage made by the original missing students was found. The small town has become a tourist attraction, and everybody has an opinion. Some enjoy the extra attention. Some want to be left alone and feel invaded. And some like to live out the good ol' fashioned American dream and make some money by offering tourist attractions. That's how four tourists (again, with names identical to the actual cast for the whole authenticity effect) find themselves on a commercial tour. That's how things start going wrong.
The choice of stereotypical characters is very reminiscent of classic slashers. One "Wiccan" who never misses an opportunity to state how offended she is by how witches are perceived as evil beings when they're actually "daughters of nature"; one Goth poser claiming to be a psychic; a romantic couple made out of one believer (perception creates reality) and one sceptic (group delusion and mass hysteria); and the tour manager, a stoner with a past of mental illnesses. However, each character is developed beautifully, in a manner which offers excellent service to the plot. By the end, anyone paying attention will have been able to point out exactly why each character type was chosen for the film.
Finally, what really makes Book of Shadows great is that it truly feels like a fan-art film made for a cult classic, even though it came out just one year after the original. I watched TBWP yesterday, and Book of Shadows made me feel it's been ages. The narrative driving the plot presents the entire phenomenon as ridiculous, mocking those naïve and indeed pathetic enough to fall for the publicity stunt of the original film, all the while showing blunt and harsh scenes which create a lot more than reasonable doubt regarding the involvement of a supernatural force. The ending, of course, is the final spectacular step and is an excellent conclusion, combing a plot twist with a tragic outcome.
Now, yes, the entire film is too much of a franchise blowing its own horn and ascending itself into the status of a cult classic. That's vanity bordering narcissism. But don't forget these are different creators and a different studio, so they're basically paying homage to the original creators. Yes, they're doing so in order to build the foundations for their own future success, but still, it feels honest and innocent in the film itself.
Book of shadows isn't TBWP. It isn't supposed to be. It isn't a cinematic breakthrough, it isn't the invention of a new genre, and it isn't an act of genius. But it is the PERFECT sequel to TBWP, and I hope at least some of you can recognize that and enjoy this amazing film without letting the critics control you into hating it. As a cinematic creation - a 6/10; as a specific sequel to TBWP - a solid 10/10; that would make it an 8/10 in average, so I added one more point on account of my personal experience and pleasure. Atrocious? No. This is how you make a sequel to a masterpiece. Buried the franchise? Sadly, yes, for over a decade, but in my humble opinion - for every single wrong reason in the book.
The aforementioned article refers to Book of Shadows as an "atrocious" film which has completely buried the franchise, snuffing out the flame of what had the potential of becoming a supernatural Horror masterpiece. It even compared it to Batman & Robin, a symbol of bad cinema. I'm here to tell you otherwise. Not because I'm some juvenile rebel or a pathetic edge-lord saying bad=good for the sake or controversy, but because I truly and honestly feel Book of Shadows got a raw deal. I am here to say it was the perfect sequel to TBWP.
First - the setting. Thousands making the journey, indeed the pilgrimage, to the black hills woods where the original film was shot, or rather - where allegedly the footage made by the original missing students was found. The small town has become a tourist attraction, and everybody has an opinion. Some enjoy the extra attention. Some want to be left alone and feel invaded. And some like to live out the good ol' fashioned American dream and make some money by offering tourist attractions. That's how four tourists (again, with names identical to the actual cast for the whole authenticity effect) find themselves on a commercial tour. That's how things start going wrong.
The choice of stereotypical characters is very reminiscent of classic slashers. One "Wiccan" who never misses an opportunity to state how offended she is by how witches are perceived as evil beings when they're actually "daughters of nature"; one Goth poser claiming to be a psychic; a romantic couple made out of one believer (perception creates reality) and one sceptic (group delusion and mass hysteria); and the tour manager, a stoner with a past of mental illnesses. However, each character is developed beautifully, in a manner which offers excellent service to the plot. By the end, anyone paying attention will have been able to point out exactly why each character type was chosen for the film.
Finally, what really makes Book of Shadows great is that it truly feels like a fan-art film made for a cult classic, even though it came out just one year after the original. I watched TBWP yesterday, and Book of Shadows made me feel it's been ages. The narrative driving the plot presents the entire phenomenon as ridiculous, mocking those naïve and indeed pathetic enough to fall for the publicity stunt of the original film, all the while showing blunt and harsh scenes which create a lot more than reasonable doubt regarding the involvement of a supernatural force. The ending, of course, is the final spectacular step and is an excellent conclusion, combing a plot twist with a tragic outcome.
Now, yes, the entire film is too much of a franchise blowing its own horn and ascending itself into the status of a cult classic. That's vanity bordering narcissism. But don't forget these are different creators and a different studio, so they're basically paying homage to the original creators. Yes, they're doing so in order to build the foundations for their own future success, but still, it feels honest and innocent in the film itself.
Book of shadows isn't TBWP. It isn't supposed to be. It isn't a cinematic breakthrough, it isn't the invention of a new genre, and it isn't an act of genius. But it is the PERFECT sequel to TBWP, and I hope at least some of you can recognize that and enjoy this amazing film without letting the critics control you into hating it. As a cinematic creation - a 6/10; as a specific sequel to TBWP - a solid 10/10; that would make it an 8/10 in average, so I added one more point on account of my personal experience and pleasure. Atrocious? No. This is how you make a sequel to a masterpiece. Buried the franchise? Sadly, yes, for over a decade, but in my humble opinion - for every single wrong reason in the book.