10 Great Horror Movies That Fell Victim To Franchise Fatigue
9. Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
How on earth can a franchise suffer fatigue before its first sequel is even released?
The fact that The Blair Witch Project was such a runaway success upon release in the summer of 1999 initiated a HUGE influx of spin-off and tie-in material. Whilst the film was still scaring up its record-breaking $250 million box office haul, the market became flooded with items baring the "Blair Witch" name. There was a series of novels, comic books, a documentary, mockumentaries, video games, magazine articles, clothing... not to mention a slew of found footage films hoping to imitate the success of The Blair Witch Project.
All of this lead to people rolling their eyes with cries of "MORE Blair Witch?!" when the sequel arrived just over a year later. Instead of taking the found footage route, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 presents a much more conventional horror film as it follows a tour group investigating the Maryland woods in search of evidence of the Blair Witch, which has by now become a cultural phenomenon. Soon, they find themselves haunted by mysterious events and start to disappear one by one.
Audiences took a dislike to yet more Blair Witch fodder and fans of the original film took issue with Book of Shadows eschewing the found footage approach. This resulted in the film grossing over $200 million less than its predecessor.
Don't be discouraged, folks, for there's a lot to like about this Books of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.
First of all, the film is beautifully photographed. The woodland featured in the films first act is rich with warm red and orange tones, and the remainder of the movie feels suitably claustrophobic with dull grey tones as madness appears to encroach on the characters in an abandoned factory.
Blair Witch 2 has a wonderfully surreal and paranoid atmosphere as characters lose their grip on reality, and that translates to the audience not being sure what is real and what is imagined.
Book of Shadows also has very strong performances from all involved. The whole cast sells the idea that reality is slipping from their grasp, with particular standout performance from Jeffrey Donovan and Kim Director.