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Considered to be the found footage horror movie that made the genre popular, there was no way a Blair Witch sequel was going to please fans, no matter what the film makers did.
That would explain why, although its referred to by many as a remake, it was supposed to be a direct sequel to the original, totally ignoring its original 2000 sequel.
Considering that for many horror fans, this was their first exposure to the franchise, and none of the original actors are in it, we’ll be taking this time to just treat it as a remake.
While the original followed Josh, Heather and Mike heading out into the woods of Maryland in search of the Blair witch for their documentary, only to go missing and have their harrowing footage found, the ‘remake’ focuses on Heathers younger brother, James, venturing out into the same woods with his friends, in an attempt to find his sister.
The 2016 movie begins with James, his friend Peter, and Peter’s girlfriend, in almost a recreation of the original set up, until another two characters, Lane and Talia, are locals who join the group.
Their connection is that they uploaded a video which prompted James to go looking for Heather, believing she’s still alive and he spotted her in the video, which the pair had found in the woods where she disappeared.
It’s unfair to compare the plots of the original and what is supposed to be a sequel, but not only is it very easy while watching the film to forget its supposed to be a sequel and not a remake, but its also such a convoluted plot for something that was so successful originally due to its simplicity.
As the movie continues, the audience is forced to live through continuous recreations of scares from the original movie, such as the terrifying noises through the night, and the stick figures.
Occasionally things turn around, such as the plot twist of the stick figures having been created by Lane and Talia, but it’s just not as impactful as the film seems to want it to be.
Ramping things up for this movie, we see much more of the Blair witch and her powers, completely destroying the reason this entity is so terrifying.
The original gave us glimpses and minor experiences, followed up by genuinely terrifying moments such as Heather finding the bundle of teeth and blood, where as the sequel gives us the finished copy of what they should be drawing in front of us, followed by characters we don’t care about dying.
It’s a film thats fallen prey to modern horror tropes and cliches that audiences are not only so used to that they’re not scary, but are also growing increasingly tired of.
With the benefit of hindsight, and knowing for sure it was entirely fictional, the original Blair Witch movie has lost plenty of the horror it once held, but this sequel is about as scary as a kitten playing with a ball of yarn from the moment you begin watching.