As frightening as it might sound, "Exorcist II: The Heretic" will no longer stand by itself as the worst horror sequel in film history. The new contender, "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2," rivals the aforementioned sequel's ineptitude by backsliding into the muck that the original transcended.
"Shadows" begins interestingly enough by showing footage about the media hoopla surrounding the first film. Much like the original, director Joe Berlinger devotes the first few minutes to interviewing Burkittsville, Md., residents who criticize the unwanted attention the area has received.
One opportunist, Jeffrey (Jeff Donovan), leads a group of thrill-seekers into the Black Hills, the shooting site of the first film. Accompanying Jeff are a white-magic witch (Erica Leerhsen), a couple of novelists who are writing about the Blair Witch hysteria (Tristen Skylar and Stephen Turner) and a goth princess (Kim Director).
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The party sets up camp at the ruins of Rustin Parr's house, where he allegedly killed seven children. After a night of partying, the five wake up to a trashed campsite. They discover someone has destroyed all their possessions except for their videotapes, which were recording all night. Upon review, the tapes skip a segment of time when everyone was asleep. This leaves many mysteries for the group to solve.
The original "Project," easily one of the scariest movies of all time, triumphed in its sparing use of gore and reliance on the viewer's psychological paranoia. Yes, the actors may have cussed profusely, shaken the camera around a bit and filmed non-stop. But there was a purpose to this. They served as subconscious defense mechanisms designed to separate themselves from a terrifying reality. (Similarly, in Hitchcock's "Rear Window," James Stewart was lured into a false sense of security when spying through his camera.) Imagination was the key in "Project." The blackness, infused with chilling sounds, permitted a level of horror in one's own mind that surpassed anything that could be shown explicitly on celluloid.
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A respected documentarian prior to his work in "Shadows," Berlinger initially injects the movie with "Scream"-like self-awareness, only to abandon it gradually. The premise of "Shadows" must have looked good on paper, but the execution of the script, written by Berlinger and Dick Beebe, leaves much to be desired. Countless depictions of scare-less gore and MTV-style editing interrupt the narrative, reverting it to the style of cliched Hollywood horror.
"Shadows" remains in the shadow of "Project" simply because while it shows a lot, nothing it has to offer is particularly scary. Berlinger leaves nothing to the viewer's imagination. In the anti-climactic end, the script completely elucidates the events surrounding the night in question. The format of the exposition suffers immensely from setting the interrogation of the survivors in the present and then messily flashing back and forth to important events. Predictability thus arises from this layout and diffuses any potentially shocking revelations.
Acting rings false here as well, especially with Donovan, who is prone to overacting. Practically the entire cast emits an unrealistic tone in a movie where the characters need to be genuine; their terror feels falsified. The inclusion of Marilyn Manson-esque metal on the soundtrack downgrades "Shadows" into a lowly horror flick suitable for a direct-to-video release.
Artisan Entertainment, the production company responsible for "Shadows," is as much at fault as Berlinger because it rushed production in order to get the movie a Halloween weekend release. The intent was to cash in by riding on the coattails of the record box office profits earned from "Project." Evidence even lies in the title itself: The "Book of Shadows" goes unmentioned in the movie.
Berlinger and company deserve some credit for creating a concept that exhibits some ingenuity. Though the premise is not enough to sustain the whole movie, "Shadows" works best in the beginning, when documenting the phenomenon created by the first movie. Perhaps that should have been the focus.
The characters often repeat throughout that they brought something evil back with them. Hopefully, the filmmakers behind "Shadows" will realize the real evil inflicted is this cheap horror rehash.
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