Banal witch project

>> Blair Witch sequel Book of Shadows will disappoint the groupies

by MATTHEW HAYS

Following up on a freak success like The Blair Witch Project had to be a difficult task, seeing as the little-film-that-could left such an indelible mark on the public's collective imagination. With an initial budget of $30,000, the film went on to earn hundreds of millions. Thus, a sequel was not only inevitable, but an obligation.

And the principle conceit behind Book of Sha-dows: Blair Witch 2 is a good one. The first film is acknowledged by the characters within the sequel, but exactly as we, the audience, know it: a fictional box-office bonanza. The film follows five young Blair Witch groupies, as they head out into the forest where the first film was shot, to learn more about the legend. There are cynics within the group, a tour guide, academics who are studying the phenom and a couple of chicks who are really into the witchcraft thing (one's even got psychic powers).

Part of the original Blair Witch's appeal was its extensive use of hand-held camera, its found-footage ploy which allowed for a faux-doc, cinéma verité style. Audiences, and I confess I was not among them, read the material as the Real Thing. The folks behind the sequel didn't want to simply churn out another mockumentary, but wanted to hire a filmmaker who understood doc style.

Thus they hired Joe Berlinger, the director behind such excellent non-fiction films as Brother's Keeper and Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, hoping he would be able to adequately handle the expectations of Blair Witch aficionados.

The trouble with Blair Witch 2 is, in their efforts to distance themselves from the first film, the producers, screenwriters and director have managed to deliver a standard-issue, straightforward and rather banal teen horror movie. There's some blood, a few ghosts, slutty teens tonguing one another and scattered jolts--in other words, absolutely nothing special.

Being one of those who looked down upon anyone who appreciated the first Blair Witch, I must say it now looks much, much better, armed with the hindsight of having watched the followup. Though I didn't find piles of rocks, twigs in macramé arrangements or raccoons outside of tents even vaguely alarming, the lost-in-the-woods setup was at least a promising premise, unlike the sequel, in which we find our protagonists trapped in a ludicrously trendy loft. Nope, leaving the campsite was a gamble--one that does not work in this film's favour.

Then there's the final "A-ha!", that moment of closure when it all falls together and the dilemma of the murdered among them makes sense to the surviving hotties. The punchline feels less like a revelation than a let-down.

I didn't predict the first film's fortunes too well. But my sincere hope is that the largely uninspired Blair Witch 2 will pale in comparison to the prequel and nose-dive at the box office. Then all that tent-side hysteria can be buried, once and for all.

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 opens Friday, Oct. 27.