Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 2000
Running Times:
Format: colour 8mm 16mm 35mm video
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

(Full Credits)

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Artisan Entertainment / Haxan Entertainment
Executive Producers: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Producer: Bill Carraro

SCRIPT
Script: Dick Beebe, Joe Berlinger

DIRECTION
Director: Joe Berlinger
2nd Unit Director: Bill Carraro

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Nancy Schreiber
2nd Unit Director of Photography: Craig Haagensen

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editor: Sarah Flack

MUSIC
Music / Recorded By: Carter Burwell
Music Performed By: Carter Burwell, gman, SPlaTTeRCeLL

SOUND
Supervising Sound Editors: Warren Shaw, Paul P. Soucek

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Key Make Up: Gina W. Bateman
Make Up: Joseph A. Campayno, Cheryl 'Pickles' Kinion
Key Hair: Janice Kinigopolous
Costume Designer: Melissa Toth

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: John Caglione Jr

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects Co-Ordinators: Steven Kirshoff, Will Caban
Animatronic Owl: KNB EFX Group Inc

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Vince Peranio
Art Director: Rob Simons

LOCATIONS
Locations: Baltimore, Maryland
Location Manager: Kathleen Ash

STUNTS
Stunt Co-Ordinator: George Aguilar

CASTING
Casting: Bernard Telsey, Will Cantler, David Vaccari

CAST
Kim Director (Kim Diamond)
Jeffrey Donovan (Jeffrey Donovan)
Erica Leerhsen (Erica Geerson)
Tristen Skyler (Tristen Ryler)
Stephen Barker Turner (Stephen Ryan Parker)
Kurt Loder (himself)
Chuck Scarborough (himself)
Bruce Reed (Burkitsville resident 1)
Lynda Millard (Burkitsville resident 2)
Deb Burgoyne (Burkitsville resident 3)
Andrea Cox (Burkitsville resident 4)
Joe Berlinger (Burkitsville tourist 1)
Sara Phillips (Burkitsville tourist 2)
Lanny Flaherty (Sherrif Cravens)

Former psychiatric patient Jeff Donovan organises trips into the Black Hills for fans of The Blair Witch Project wanting to visit locations used in the film. But one trip goes horribly wrong when he and his party camp in the ruins of Rustin Parr's house and wake the next morning to find their video camera trashed and personal possessions destroyed. Returning to Donovan's warehouse with no memory of what happened to them during the night they quickly realise that they've brought something out of the woods with them...

Muddled, poorly acted, blandly directed and saddled with a clichéd and utterly predictable metal / industrial soundtrack, Book of Shadows is a disappointing follow up to the original The Blair Witch Project. Only tangentially linked to the original, one has to applaud the film's attempts to try something new and not simply repeat the winning formula of the first film, but one can't help wishing they'd come up with something more coherent. A point to it all would have been nice, or at the very least a halfway decent story. Terrible in almost every respect.

Germany
DVD Distributor: Highlight Video (features an audio commentary by Joe Berlinger; a short behind-the-scene featurette; live footage of the band GoodHead in concert; interviews with the cast and the director)

USA
DVD Distributor: Artisan Entertainment (11709 - The Blair Witch Experience box set: this version includes an audio commentary by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez on The Blair Witch Project (1999) disc; the documentary Curse of the Blair Witch (1999); some 'newly discovered' footage from the original film; audio commentary by Joe Berlinger on the Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) disc; scene commentary by Carter Burwell on Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000); live footage of the the band Godhead in performance; CD-ROM of The Blair Witch PC Games Collection; pewter stickman necklace)); Artisan Entertainment (11577 - features an audio commentary by Joe Berlinger and scene commentary by Carter Burwell; live footage of the band Godhead in concert; this is a double sided disc featuring a CD soundtrack on the reverse)

2001
Razzie Awards
Worst Remake or Sequel (Bill Carraro) - winner
Worst Director (Joe Berlinger) - nominated
Worst Picture - nominated
Worst Screen Couple (any two actors in the movie) - nominated
Worst Screenplay (Dick Beebe, Joe Berlinger, Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez) - nominated

2000
October
27: Denmark, UK, USA - theatrical release; Norway - shown at the Bergen film festival 28: Finland - shown at the Night Visions Film Festival

November
Day Unknown: Sweden - theatrical release
1: Belgium - theatrical release
2: Netherlands, Norway - theatrical release
8: France - theatrical release
9: Austria, Germany - theatrical release
10: Mexico - theatrical release
16: Peru, Switzerland - theatrical release
30: Hong Kong, Switzerland (in German speaking region) - theatrical release

December
1: Italy, South Africa - theatrical release

2001
January
4: Argentina - theatrical release
11: Australia - theatrical release
19: Estonia, Lithuania - theatrical release
26: Brazil - theatrical premiere; Iceland - theatrical release

February
9: Brazil - theatrical release
23: Poland - theatrical release

March
13: USA - DVD release (Artisan Entertainment (11709 - The Blair Witch Experience box set)); Artisan Entertainment (11577)
24: Japan - theatrical release

May
10: Czech Republic, Hungary - theatrical release
11: Greece - theatrical release

July
8: Israel - theatrical release

August
2: Germany - DVD release (Highlight Video)
23: Slovenia - theatrical release

December
28: USA - television distributor (on Showtime)

2002
January
1: USA - television distributor (on Showtime)
13: USA - television distributor (on Showtime)
16: USA - television distributor (on Showtime)

SEQUEL TO
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Curse of the Blair Witch (1999)
Shadow of the Blair Witch (2000)
The Burkittsville Seven (2000)

SEQUEL
Blair Witch 3 (2002)

SEE ALSO
The Bogus Witch Project (2000)

MAGAZINES

Entertainment Weekly no.564 (20 October 2000) pp.28-34 (USA)
illustrated article (Scream Test by Daniel Fierman)

Entertainment Weekly no.567 (3 November 2000) pp.48-49 (USA)
review (Witchful Thinking (C-) by Owen Gleiberman)

Rolling Stone no.853 (9 November 2000) p.137 (USA)
review (Anything For Halloween by Peter Travers)

Shivers no.94 (January 2002) p.42 (UK)
illustrated DVD review (by Stephen Foster)

sequels, witches, spiral staircases, miscarriages, dogs, woods, video cameras, hallucinations, dreams, forests; shops; hangings; human sacrifices; nightmares; owls; teenagers; wicca; police