Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

There are moments of pleasure, humor and, yes, terror to be had here all the same.

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

Has the incoherent look of a movie thrown together by a committee whose members weren't on the same page.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It's a muddled, sometimes-atmospheric effort.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Gets credit for avoiding the easy path. Too bad the path it chooses doesn't lead us anywhere we want to be taken.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A flat, heebie jeebies thriller.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

It never actually coalesces into a movie.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A clever if muddled collection of riffs on the "Blair Witch" juggernaut, dressed up with intellectual pretensions by Joe Berlinger, who directed this film with a chortling zest.

TNT RoughCut Andy Klein

There are lots of elements that make no sense whatever.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Berlinger has approached Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 with intelligence and even a bit of thematic heft. But, frankly, the cheap thrill is gone.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The assault is against our ears, as the soundtrack pours forth a stream of thrash and Goth music.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The characters are boring, the violence generic, the suspense nonexistent.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

Can't scare up a decent plot.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

While not entirely successful, at least deserves points for creativity.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Downright awful.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

Resembles an old Nine Inch Nails video. Missing from the mix are any characters with whom you'd want to spend one minute around a campfire.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

If you're going to direct a piece of crass, nonsensical junk, at least have the decency to release it straight to video, where it belongs.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

While the first movie steadily tighened its vise, the second loosens its grip through strained acting and incoherent plotting.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

A peerless indignity, a club-footed vomit launch of teen-horror clichés, overproduced self-importance, and scareless gore.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

We're only a little spooked, only a little amused and, by extension, only a little entertained.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It doesn't have the imagination or daring to make a full turn to self-parody.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Cult shocker has been turned into throwaway megaplex fodder.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

A straight exploitation story.

Slate David Edelstein

Lordy, what a stinker.

Time Richard Corliss

Few movies have spread their fibs or facts as clumsily as this one. There's not an emotionally plausible moment in the picture.

Film.com Sean Means

Admirers of "The Blair Witch Project" are going to be left high and dry.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

There's nothing scarier than a group of hormone-crazed 20-somethings, but this sequel isn't much more than a footnote of a footnote.

Variety Dennis Harvey

Disappointing in every aspect.

Film.com Robert Horton

It's just another bad horror film with inadequate young actors chased around a big house by something.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Filled with all manner of tawdry tricks.

Newsweek David Ansen

If you harbor any fond feelings for the original, stay far away from this mess.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

Worse than dull. It's parasitic.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

A schizoid monster slapped together by uneasy bedfellows.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Doomed to be inconsequential and forgettable.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Guaranteed to inspire many more belly laughs than it does actual shivers. Boo, scary? I think not.