Post by The Missing Bear on Sept 25, 2022 15:03:16 GMT -6
So one thing I've never really understood regarding BW2 is what its internal logic and lore was compared to The Blair Witch Project as I can't really understand its perspective.
There's semi-conflicting lines even within the film. An early line says Burkittsville is where a fictional movie was "set", then a later news report says "where it was filmed". Erica believes in Elly, whilst Kim "thought the movie was cool". The paramedic in the early scenes makes it all out to be a pop-culture response to a film and it's all bullshit, but then Jeff who's apparently a local believes in the lore. The Rustin Parr house seemingly existed. So did the lore ever exist before the BWP or not?
Is it...
1) BWP was *entirely* fictional, nothing in it was real, there was no Elly Kedward, Rustin Parr or Blair Witch legend, it was purely the movie as listed on IMDB as it was actually made. That means the original cast did indeed stay at Seneca Creek State Park rather than the Black Hills. Which then opens up the plot hole of why were they staying in the ruins of the Rustin Parr house if that was all fiction, there was no Rustin Parr, there was no Elly Kedward, and how did the woods seemingly have any supernatural influences if there was no legend to begin with? They get creeped out that their tapes are found in the same place that they were found in the BWP, but considering that film was all fictional, how and why would the original film have suggested such a concept if it was all pure made-up nonsense anyway?
2) BWP was *mostly* fictional, in that it was still 'just' a movie and the cast (and therefore crew) lived happily ever after, however the mythology was completely real but seemingly the original cast never stayed in the Black Hills, and were indeed at Seneca Park just making a movie.
3) BWP was *slightly* fictional; the mythology was completely real, the cast did actually stay in the Black Hills and filmed at the real locations, however they never encountered anything supernatural whilst making their film. Essentially the film makers made a lot of money taking advantage of a local legend, like an episode of Most Haunted, and were simply just lucky to get away with it during a period where Elly wasn't "active".
4) BWP was completely real, all the mythology is real, the cast all died/disappeared, however in the hysteria of it having been such a popular film meant that people started to doubt the reality of it.
Shadow of the Blair Witch goes with 4 and takes the route of the original BWP was genuinely real footage and the entire lore was real. But then this conflicts with BW2 that to me has its own confused logic that the original was to some-degree "just a movie". Shadow even reuses the interview cast of Curse of the Blair Witch who obviously treat everything as being 100% real.
So with all of these potential realities, to what degree do you feel that BWP was "just a movie" in this film's internal logic?
There's semi-conflicting lines even within the film. An early line says Burkittsville is where a fictional movie was "set", then a later news report says "where it was filmed". Erica believes in Elly, whilst Kim "thought the movie was cool". The paramedic in the early scenes makes it all out to be a pop-culture response to a film and it's all bullshit, but then Jeff who's apparently a local believes in the lore. The Rustin Parr house seemingly existed. So did the lore ever exist before the BWP or not?
Is it...
1) BWP was *entirely* fictional, nothing in it was real, there was no Elly Kedward, Rustin Parr or Blair Witch legend, it was purely the movie as listed on IMDB as it was actually made. That means the original cast did indeed stay at Seneca Creek State Park rather than the Black Hills. Which then opens up the plot hole of why were they staying in the ruins of the Rustin Parr house if that was all fiction, there was no Rustin Parr, there was no Elly Kedward, and how did the woods seemingly have any supernatural influences if there was no legend to begin with? They get creeped out that their tapes are found in the same place that they were found in the BWP, but considering that film was all fictional, how and why would the original film have suggested such a concept if it was all pure made-up nonsense anyway?
2) BWP was *mostly* fictional, in that it was still 'just' a movie and the cast (and therefore crew) lived happily ever after, however the mythology was completely real but seemingly the original cast never stayed in the Black Hills, and were indeed at Seneca Park just making a movie.
3) BWP was *slightly* fictional; the mythology was completely real, the cast did actually stay in the Black Hills and filmed at the real locations, however they never encountered anything supernatural whilst making their film. Essentially the film makers made a lot of money taking advantage of a local legend, like an episode of Most Haunted, and were simply just lucky to get away with it during a period where Elly wasn't "active".
4) BWP was completely real, all the mythology is real, the cast all died/disappeared, however in the hysteria of it having been such a popular film meant that people started to doubt the reality of it.
Shadow of the Blair Witch goes with 4 and takes the route of the original BWP was genuinely real footage and the entire lore was real. But then this conflicts with BW2 that to me has its own confused logic that the original was to some-degree "just a movie". Shadow even reuses the interview cast of Curse of the Blair Witch who obviously treat everything as being 100% real.
So with all of these potential realities, to what degree do you feel that BWP was "just a movie" in this film's internal logic?
, I don't think I've ever left a cinema as angry as after seeing that movie haha, but I try my best to maybe, hopefully see what they were going for... but even then I'm baffled. I've just watched Paxtn's Artistan Removal Edit and I'm sorry to say it's still rubbish (nothing wrong with your work Paxtn, it's the original movie itself that's the issue). It works "better" with the confused descent-into-madness ignorance cut, but god, it's still cheesy and so MTV; I don't think there's anything salvageable from the movie personally. It's never scary, it's never serious, it's just this cheesy music video post-Scream load of numetal nonsense that's in total conflict with what gave BWP its heart and terror (especially if you knew the lore from Curse).
