THE BLACK SHEEP is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATH. We’re hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. Dig in!
BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 (2000)
Directed by Joe Berlinger
” One of those rare films that’s so bad that it’s not just great, it’s damn near perfectly entertaining “
Ah, Blair Witch. Once a cultural phenomenon that took the world by storm is now just a simple footnote in cinematic history. Hate it or love it, it will forever hold its place as a unique entry in the horror genre. It stands on its own; its job long since completed.
But hold on, what about that ill-fated sequel? You know, that atomic bomb failure that stalled a potential franchise; that was shunned from the movie-going public and has been systemically erased from memory as a failed experiment? Was it really that bad? Or with time has Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 become not just watchable, but possibly entertaining?
Well, I must admit that when I originally saw BW2 in theaters a decade or so ago that I agreed with the rest of world. It sucked. And it shouldn’t have been tough to decipher it was gonna bomb as any movie that begins with Kurt Loder of MTV News reporting on the grandness of the original is a doomed production from the start. And with a fresh viewing of the movie, I originally had a few minutes of doubt (like can I really write the f*cking black sheep over this). But quickly, it became clear that there’s life left within it yet. Buried within the failed experiment is something watchable and out and out entertaining. In fact, I declare that time has healed all celluloid wounds. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 should no longer be hated by the world but be fully embraced (well, to a point). On a second viewing a full ten years removed, I viewed it for what it is. A bomb. A really, really, really satisfying bomb. BW2 is one of those rare films that’s so bad it’s not just great, it’s damn near perfectly entertaining. It’s like processed cheese. You don’t want it all the time, but if you’re in the mood, there ain’t a thing that’s better.
BW2 could’ve gone two different ways. By ditching the original directors and bringing in seasoned documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger (who helmed the Paradise Lost docs and Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster) one would assume that it would’ve resulted in something subtle, something understated that builds upon tension and horror, something that dives deeper into the Witch legend. Like the first one. Of course, it does none of that as BW2 is a “hip” movie with “hip” characters who talk, you guessed it, “hip”. Everything, from the dialogue to the clothing to the music to the camera work to the story, feels horridly hip. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not trashing the thing. In fact, the more fashionable and modern it attempted to be created a sense of charm, especially when looking back a decade out. It wants and strives so badly to be its own entity and to outperform the original that it sucks balls with a smile. And that’s a good thing.
Of course, the cynic might say everything distinctive about the first film is lost here. Take the camera work. Somehow, when the characters review shot footage of their investigations, the shot film comes in many, many different forms all from the same angle. Night vision and black and white. Clean then grainy. Some of it even looks like security film stock. It makes little sense and its clearly a gimmick to remind viewers of the first film. And the idea that the entire movie is a “recreation” of previous events takes away from the very thing that made Blair Witch Project something to begin with. At the same time, every character this time is a walking cliché. The goth girl. The Wiccan. The rebel. The clean-cut couple. Hell, it even has Japanese tourists. The only thing missing is the token black guy, but at least rednecks appear to fill the void. Now if BW2 had really attempted to stand on its own, it should’ve known that using clichés and stereotypes allows the avoidance of actually creating characters. What it does is makes it all the more badly enjoyable. It becomes a shit storm in the vein of Plan Nine. If the filmmakers don’t mean to use cliches, then it’s only that much better when they do.
I have a few favorite moments I must share. One, Sheriff Cravens (played by Lanny Flaherty). Wow. This character needs his own feature because his drawn out annunciations are so ridiculously awful (“pent-a-gram”) that it’s like he’s doing a drunken Shatner impression. And not a good one. Seriously, find a scene and watch it. He made the movie for me. Two, I’m a fan of Burn Notice and I completely didn’t realize Jeffrey Donovan starred in this. It’s something seeing him be the “hip” guy, but there are flashes here and there that explain why he still has a career. Three, the goth girl and the owl. Both are ridiculous. Lastly, I love the importance the film attempts to create. Everything pretends to carry some grand weight of an event movie, but maybe that’s why at a second viewing it plays so well. It’s a failure of the best kind.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 means to be great, to be scary and frightening. It no doubt was intended to outperform the original. Perhaps that’s what makes it so damn entertaining. It’s a colossal failure. It wants so much but it just can’t do it like a three legged dog trying at a dog show. It just can’t win. Its average and dull story doesn’t hold any real interest or logic. With that said, I dig it because it’s the ultimate f*ck up movie. A bloody, corpse-creating trainwreck that no proper horror fan can deny. From the acting, to the camera work, to the story itself, it all creates the near perfect cheese film.
Disagree? Get the DVD and see for yourself.