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Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is the 2000 sequel to the hit film The Blair Witch Project, directed by Joe Berlinger. Another sequel was planned but no mention has come of it recently. <ref> [1] Web Wombat The Blair Witch Project 3: Interview with Dan Myrick</ref>
Contents |
Cast
- Kim Director - Kim Diamond
- Jeffrey Donovan - Jeffrey Patterson
- Erica Leerhsen - Erica Geerson
- Tristine Skyler - Tristen Ryler
- Stephen Barker Turner - Stephen Ryan Parker
- Lanny Flaherty - Sheriff Cravens
Production
After the massive success of The Blair Witch Project, Artisan was eager to produce a sequel while the film's popularity was still at its peak. However, Haxan Films, who created the original film, was not ready to begin work on a follow-up, preferring to wait until the initial buzz had died down.<ref>Morris, Clint. 'Interview with Daniel Myrick and Ed Sanchez' Web Wombat. 2008.</ref> Artisan decided to proceed without them, hiring Joe Berlinger, who had previously (and subsequently) only done true documentaries, to direct. Blair Witch directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez served as executive producers on the film, but later stated that they had little influence on production and were unsatisfied with the finished film.
Stylistically, Book of Shadows was the direct opposite of its predecessor: though the film occasionally utilizes the point of view camcorder/pseudo-documentary format used in the first movie, Book of Shadows more closely resembles the glossy, big-budget special effects-laden horror films that Blair Witch was a counter to. Berlinger has stated that he originally made the film with more of an ambiguous tone, but Artisan recut the film and re-shot certain scenes to add more "traditional" horror movie elements, thus creating what they saw as a more "commercial" film. Berlinger repeatedly expresses his dislike of the studio's changes throughout the film's DVD commentary.
Though Book of Shadows' marketing campaign made no attempt to present the film as a "true story", a promotional "dossier" for the film, compiled by D.A. Stern, was released, including fabricated police reports and interviews surrounding the events in the film as if they were fact (a similar "dossier", also by Stern, was released as a companion piece to the first film). Additionally, similar to the first movie, each of the main characters retain the first names of their respective actors, though their surnames are changed slightly.
Release and Reception
Book of Shadows was released throughout the world in 2000-2002. In the United States, it debuted at number 2 with $13,000,000. After 8 weeks, it finished with $26,421,314<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) - Weekend Box Office Results</ref> Overall, internationally the film made $47,737,094.<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)</ref>
Although its theatrical release made a profit, critical reaction to Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 was mostly negative. It currently holds a 13% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 101 reviews.<ref>Template:cite web</ref> Metacritic reported, based on 34 reviews, an average rating of 15 out of 100, indicating "Extreme Dislike or Disgust."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Metacritic</ref> Additionally, Book of Shadows was nominated for five Razzie Awards, including "Worst Picture", and won for "Worst Remake or Sequel".
Roger Ebert, who gave the first film four stars (out of four), gave Book of Shadows two stars, calling it "a muddled, sometimes-atmospheric effort that could have come from many filmmakers" and "not a very lucid piece of filmmaking." <ref>Review by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times</ref> Shawn Levy of the Portland Oregonian gave a mildly positive review, saying: "There are moments of pleasure, humor, and [...] terror to be had here."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review, Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian, 2000</ref> Luke Y. Thompson of the Dallas Observer said the film "deserves points for creativity" but is "not entirely successful."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review, Luke Y. Thompson, Dallas Observer, 2000</ref>
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called the film "a flat [...] thriller."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review, Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, 2000</ref> Chris Kaltenbach of the Baltimore Sun said: "Gets credit for avoiding the easy path. Too bad the path it chooses doesn't lead us anywhere we want to be taken."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review, Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun, 2000</ref> Jack Mathews of the New York Daily News commented that "the characters are boring, the violence generic, the suspense nonexistent."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review, Jack Mathews, New York Daily News, 2000</ref> Wesley Morris of the San Francisco Examiner called the film "throwaway megaplex fodder."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review, Wesley Morris, San Francisco Examiner, 2000</ref> David Edelstein of Slate summed up his thoughts with, "Lordy, what a stinker."<ref>Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 review, David Edelstein, Slate, 2000</ref>
"The Secret of Esrever"
Much like the first Blair Witch, Book of Shadows also featured a marketing gimmick, although this one centered around the film's video release, fully exploiting video technology. The DVD and VHS releases came with a featurette detailing "The Secret of Esrever", a number of near-subliminal messages in the form of hidden words and images that were placed throughout the film. The featurette encouraged viewers to watch certain scenes in reverse and/or frame-by-frame in order to decode the "secret", and, through scrambled letters flashed throughout the program, offered five clues to where they could be found: "door", "water", "mirror", "rug" and "grave".
An example of these messages can be seen in a scene early in the film where the main characters are in a graveyard, standing behind a tombstone inscribed with the word "Treacle". The shot briefly cuts away and then cuts back, though the same tombstone now reads "Further". This is seen for approximately one second until it cuts away again, and the tombstone once again reads "Treacle" for the remainder of the scene.
When all of the clues were identified, the hidden words, when put in the correct order, spelled out "seek me no further", plus an extra hidden word, "or". Viewers could then go to the official Blair Witch website and type the words into a special search box: typing "seek me no further" would play an extra scene from the movie, and typing "seek me no further or" would enable them to add their name to a list of people who had also decoded the message. As of 2008, this function is no longer available.
DVD and Soundtrack Releases
DVD
The DVD of Book of Shadows was released on September 18, 2001 on a double-sided DVD/CD disc. The DVD side included few special features, including the "Secret of Esrever" featurette, audio commentaries by Joe Berlinger and Carter Burwell, production notes and a live video of the band Godhead.
The CD side featured three cuts from the official soundtrack (Godhead's "The Reckoning", Tony Iommi/Dave Grohl's "Goodbye Lament" and Steaknife's "Tommy (Don't Die)"), Carter Burwell's entire instrumental score and a live recording of Godhead's "The Reckoning".
Soundtrack
Two soundtracks for Book of Shadows were released: the first was released through Priority Records on October 17, 2000. The second, released through Milan Records on October 24, 2000, consisted of Carter Burwell's instrumental score.
Track listing
- "The Reckoning" - Godhead
- "Lie Down" - P.O.D.
- "Goodbye Lament" - Tony Iommi/Dave Grohl
- "Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Remix)" - Rob Zombie
- "Mind" - System of a Down
- "Stick It Up" - Slaves on Dope
- "Suicide is Painless" - Marilyn Manson
- "Soul Auctioneer" - Death in Vegas
- "PS" - Project 86
- "Old Enough" - Nickelback
- "Feel Alive" - U.P.O.
- "Tommy (Don't Die)" - Steaknife
- "Arcarsenal" - At the Drive-In
- "Human" - Elastica
- "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" - Queens of the Stone Age
The Shadow Of The Blair Witch
The Shadow Of The Blair Witch was a documentary created for the DVDs special features. It aired on the Sci Fi channel in the U.S and Channel 4 in the U.K. The documentary follows the story of Jeff Patterson, a character in the movie but in the mockumentary, he is portrayed as if he was real. The mockumentary follows the murders that he commited which were in the movie.
