Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows (2000)
The year of release isn't so much to comment on my taste-- even though it does, I suppose-- but also to help capture its era. I have plans to rewind the horror clock and watch some oldies, and have been told (ordered) to see a newer release to the point of being handed the DVD. Anyway. Onward.
Less found footage and more characterisation. Helpful when the first film specialised in making the audience motion sick, and honestly, I still don't care about those kids from the first one. Not that I care much about this lot, either.
Jeffrey Donovan, a fellow (and now former) Masshole, leads the bunch of walking victims as a diagnosed patron of the mental health professionals; paranoid schizophrenic, if I had to guess. So, trusting him, they go into the woods, things go wrong, and yadda... yadda... yadda. Ghost stories and intoxicants around the campfire. Missed medication and leaving a hospital AMA. Disappearance and death. Stupid choices and hysteria. A story told through the frame of an investigation by a cop with a grudge.
Also, tip: when researching a serious topic, even one Fox Mulder might roll his eyes at, one should usually avoid booze, pot, and questionable information sources. And-- backups.
Sorry, I'm being too harsh. Let's assume the Blair Witch is real and this isn't a pack of stupid people having psychotic breaks. Or-- perhaps these are psychotic breaks being had by people being directly influenced by a supernatural presence that left a psychic scar on the woods and its ruins. Vulnerable mental states being toyed with by a malevolent spirit. Technological issues mixing with ethereal bad luck. A PTSD-addled ghost that doesn't like tourists any more than the living residents do.
Regardless, this movie is best enjoyed with no emotional attachment to the characters, and an appreciation of their messy ends. Call me heartless for enjoying the catharsis, but real life doesn't wrap up with credits and a heavy metal song.
Would I watch it again? Sure, as a popcorn and boredom horror flick.
Would I own it? Already do. It's Jeffrey Donovan.
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