THE Blair Witch Project was the right film in the right place at the right time - a low budget movie which ruthlessly exploited the public's hunger for reality-based entertainment and the supernatural.

Book Of Shadows looks to capitalise on that by returning to the ominous Black Hills of Maryland in November 1999. The Blair Witch Project has become a worldwide media sensation and hundreds of curiosity-seekers have descended upon theonce peaceful town of Burkittsville - the movie's real life setting.

One of the town's more colourful characters, Jeff (Donovan), a former mental patient with a keen interest in the legend, has turned the public's obsession into a lucrative business, running the Blair Witch Hunt tours.

For his inaugural trip, he is accompanied by an eclectic mix of fans and eccentrics: Erica (Leerhsen), a practising Wiccan who is critical of the film's portrayal of witches, Kim (Director), a sardonic Goth with the power of clairvoyance, and grad students Tristen (Skyler) and Stephen (Turner), who are writing a book on the legend.

After spending a disorienting night in the woods, the group awakes to a scene of destruction with no memory of the previous night's activities.

With the help of videotape evidence, the group attempts to piece together the missing hours, discovering chilling evidence that they may have been possessed by evil spirits and compelled to murder another group of thrill-seekers.

Documentary director Joe Berlinger abandons the camerawork which was a key factor in the first film's success, and shoots Book Of Shadows on conventional 35mm in an effort to evoke classic, mainstream horror movies.

He enhances the atmosphere of unease with sparing use of mixed media such as digital video, 16mm and computer effects, but the film essentially conforms to stylistic expectations. It's goodbye to motion sickness induced by shaky-cam.