BLAIR WITCH (2016)

BLAIR WITCH (2016). Director: Adam Wingard. 

In this second sequel (after Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) to The Blair Witch Project, James (James Allen McCune), goes with friends to see if he can find his long-missing sister, Heather, who disappeared 15 years ago in the woods supposedly haunted by the Blair Witch, who was murdered there many, many years before. The group, which includes Peter (Brandon Scott) and Ashley (Corbin Reid), hooks up with two locals, Lane (Wes Robinson) and  Talia (Valorie Curry), who are more familiar with the area. These last two fake a little evidence at first to get the group intrigued, but eventually when weird things begin to happen it is clear that they couldn't be behind the mysterious and frightening happenings. James is determined to find the spooky house that appeared in the original found footage (that forms the first movie) and he does -- more's the pity. 

the talented cast of Blair Witch

As found footage movies go, Blair Witch is better than most, and while the film engendered some serious hate, I found it much better and more professional than the original. If I recall correctly, the 1999 movie meandered along and was somewhat boring with only a creepy final few minutes, but Blair Witch manages to sustain the eerie atmosphere and tension almost throughout the entire movie. The climax, especially the discovery and exploration of the horrible old house, not to mention a bit when Lisa (Callie Hernandez) crawls her way through a narrow underground tunnel to, hopefully, escape and you get the disquieting feeling that you're down there with her, is marvelously effective and chilling (excruciating for claustrophobes). All of the actors are on top of things. The movie includes a drone camera that can fly over the woods to give the group some aerial views, but this doesn't add too much to the movie, and there's a little gore as well. 

Verdict: Atmospheric and suspenseful and for my money much better than the original film. ***.