Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (R, 2002)

In the world of BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH PROJECT 2, the first film has created a sensation, with witch-obsessed tourists flocking to the small town of Burkittsville, Maryland. Four young adults join tour guide Jeff (Jeffrey Donovan) on his witch-hunting excursion into the woods and wind up spending the night in the home of killer Rustin Parr. The next morning, they can't emember what happened during the night, but one thing is certain -- evil is afoot, and they're connected to it.

What made the original Blair Witch Project refreshing, especially from a parental standpoint, was its lack of onscreen violence or sleaze (its R rating applied to abundant profanity). The eerie camera's-eye-view narrative allowed the viewer's imagination do all the spooky work. This sequel features gory, repeated close-ups of knives plunging into torsos and flesh gashed open.

The filmmakers behind Book of Shadows (who aren't the original Blair Witch writer-directors) are documentarians who made a more absorbing nonfiction feature called Paradise Lost about a murder case in which three high schoolers may have been falsely accused because of their gothic looks and music, not unlike the so-called Wiccans here. Whether it's borrowing those discussion-worthy themes from Paradise Lost, or referencing names and places from The Blair Witch Project, Book of Shadows finishes in last place.

Studio: Artisan Entertainment
Director: Joe Berlinger
Cast: Jeffrey Donovan, Kim Director, Tristan Skylar
Genre: Horror
Run time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release: March 26, 2002
DVD release: March 26, 2002
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: violence, language, sexuality and drug use