Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

REVIEW
Invention and filmic chicanery are replaced with silliness and clichés in this tired sequel to the surprise 1999 box office hit. Noted documentarian Berlinger (Brother's Keeper, Paradise Lost) is able to give this film an improved visual style over the original, but the screenplay he and Dick Beebe have concocted is trapped somewhere in the backwoods of mediocrity. Four fans of the first film spend a night in the Black Hills of Burkittsville, Maryland, courtesy of a local tour guide. It soon becomes apparent that there's something out there when they all descend into a nightmare of madness and murder. Too many jump-cuts add to the confusion of too many flashbacks, resulting in stock scares and little tension. A decent twist ending is lost amongst the one-dimensional characters and convoluted story.