Blair Witch is the third installment that began back in 1999 with The Blair Witch Project and has now spawned two sequels. It may be considered a slight improvement over the second one, Book of Shadows, but that’s still giving it too much praise.
This newest chapter follows six kids investigating the events of the first film in the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland. James Allen McCune stars as James Donahue, the younger brother of Heather Donahue from the first film. He’s joined by other friends and a documentary filmmaker who wants to expose the myth of the Blair Witch.
Unless you live under a rock, you know that once these kids enter the woods, they’re bound to be caught by a series of unfortunate events. One girl cuts her foot which leads to a nasty infection and another person goes missing and doesn’t return under mysterious circumstances. If I go any further, I just might spoil the rest of the plot.
Needless to say, it’s that repetition of thrills that inevitably wore me down. The Blair Witch Project was a watershed film for the horror genre and it’s a shame its sequel didn’t learn how to equal or surpass it in any way. On the other hand, I can say that it’s photographically made with style in a way that attempts to echo the original, but that’s about the best thing I can say.
Plus, don’t even get me started on some of the plot developments that are impossible and make zero sense. Overall, it’s too dull, pretentious, and repetitive from start to finish and even die-hard Blair Witch fans won’t find anything of real enjoyment. They’ll only go to see it to analyze it and then complain.
Grade: C-
(Rated R for language, terror and some disturbing images.)
