Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2’

Written by Scott Edwards

If you can see it and touch it, it must be real. That is something that most of us believe and knowing that we are in control of what we do, it seems logical. But what if there was something that could control our minds into seeing something that is not there, or worse, make us do something that we would never do of our own free will. Hysteria can play with people’s minds in this way and so often things that should never be done are carried out without even a feeling of regret. You may not remember what you have done when in a hysterical fit, but this is one of the few things that can make you lose control of yourself and your actions.
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It’s been a year after the release of The Blair Witch Project and the town of Burkittsville, Maryland has never been the same. With fans of the movie piling into the small town trying to get a glimpse of where the movie was filmed, to purchasing memorabilia from the locals, it is no longer the quiet town that the locals remember. But all is not bad for everyone as Jeff Patterson has found his niche for a new business venture and will capitalize on every dollar that he possibly can. Getting out of the mental ward a few months earlier and seeing The Blair Witch Project, he has plenty of tchotchke items and is now ready to make some real money by taking tour groups out on camping trips.

The Blair Witch Hunt is in full effect as Jeff has three of his tour group aboard, Stephen and Tristen who are looking to finish their book on the hysteria that the Blair Witch has caused, along with Erica who is a Wiccan and wants to communicate with the Blair Witch herself. Stopping by the local cemetery to pick up the fourth member of the group, Kim, Jeff spots her lying on someone’s grave and wants to know her reason for coming along. Kim comes absolutely clean about loving the movie and wants to see where the adventure will take her. After a quick stop at the shop to pick up drinks, the group makes their way into the Black Hills to start their trip, but something is amiss when they arrive at their first location.

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​Hiking into the newly famed Rustin Parr house ruins, the group sets up shop for a night that they will never forget. While Jeff gets all of the cameras set up around the camp and the sun sets, the group hits the booze hard and will not stop until sunrise, at least that is the plan. Hearing something strange in the distance, the group sees that they are not alone in the woods as another Blair Witch group has arrived.  Telling the other group that they spotted something at Coffin Rock, the other group takes off for the night and Jeff and his new friends are set to party once again. Waking up to a snowfall of paper clippings, the group is shocked to see that their campsite has been torn to shreds. Without any idea of what happened and why they blacked out for five hours, Kim is able to use her psychic abilities to pinpoint something that might give them an idea as she knows that the tapes from the night are still present and accounted for.
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But all is not well in the camp as Tristen starts to complain about not feeling well and seeing that she is bleeding, and the group rushes into town only to find out that she has had a miscarriage. Needing a place to shack up for the night, the group heads back to Jeff’s house and sees all of the money-making ventures he is into. Yet the old warehouse is filled with more than goods to sell as Jeff has set up cameras all around. Taking the tapes to his editing station, Jeff starts to run through the footage as his guests take a load off. Cycling through the tapes and catching glimpses of strange things, the group starts to worry that something might have followed them back to their safe haven as strange things start to happen outside of the building. Not knowing who or what it could be, the group starts to put things together, but it is Tristen who holds the key to what the group did the previous night and what they will be doing in the future.

I will openly admit that when I first watched this movie, I wondered what the heck I was watching, this had nothing to do with the Blair Witch, but now, I can see that I am wrong. You can’t do back-to-back Found Footage movies in the same series for one reason, you already did that once and it is time to change the story around. Focusing more on the power of the mind, you are left to question if the Blair Witch had anything to do with what the group was actually doing. I will say that the actors did a great job in showing different emotions and Tristen was the perfect innocent/evil character we love to feel sorry for. The shock on all of the group’s faces was priceless when they saw the footage of what horrors they inflicted while in the woods, along with seeing their uncut footage in the police station. With plenty of booze, a cultist ceremony, an ex-psych ward patient, a couple looking to learn, a psychic who is all about beer, a Wiccan who fears the witch and two stories that are on the opposite spectrum being brought to life, this is a movie that focuses more on the mental game, and it left me wondering as to whether or not the Blair Witch has the power to alter the perceptions of her victims. Stay Scared.

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