Blair Witch haunts once again

It's time to go back into the Black Hills of Maryland in search of evidence that the Blair Witch is real. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 follows up The Blair Witch Project, the hit film that took the nation by storm in the summer of 1999. Book of Shadows follows a tour group into the forest near Burkittsville, where the Blair Witch murders supposedly took place. The group is made up of two writers doing research for a book about the Blair Witch obsession that seems to be prevalent among the population, a modern witch with hopes of communing with the spirit of the Blair Witch, a gothic girl that seems to be one of the aforementioned obsessed viewers and the tour guide. The group hikes into the woods to the point where the foundation of the long-since burned down house rests and where the tapes from the first film were discovered. While camping out overnight the group seems to have been attacked by someone or something. All their equipment and belongings are totally destroyed. After some initial disbelief the members of the tour decide to review some tapes that may have recorded the entire incident during the night. But the truth of what happened may be too much for them to handle. Since Book of Shadows was a studio film, there are obvious improvements over the original, including professional camera operation and a musical score through the entire adventure. The story keeps the audience guessing until the end when almost all is revealed. Although there is less mystery in the ending than in the original, which leaves less to the minds of the audience to speculate, the film proves to be very entertaining. The only big drawback to the film is the horrendous acting. Although the cast still goes by their original names in the film, they add nothing to the believability of the story with constant over- and under-acting. Overall, Book of Shadows will be enjoyable for the fans of the original Blair Witch Project. However, if one expects all the mysteries of the first film to be revealed, then they may want to look elsewhere. Rating: B-