When it was released in 1998, “The Blair Witch Project” was viewed as one of the most influential horror movies of all time. The movie revitalized the found footage genre and paved the way for modern cyber-marketing while simultaneously being labeled one of the scariest films of its time.

The film followed the story of three college students who go into the into the woods searching for an urban legend monster known as the “Blair Witch” and shortly after they get into the woods, spookiness ensues. Now 15 years later a sequel that directly follows up the original film and tells the story of yet another group of college students going into the woods and getting spooked in their own right. But does it stack up and to original or is it destined to become yet another pointless remake?

The performances in “Blair Witch” are mostly not all that noteworthy and the actors perform their generic roles with competence. The exception to this acting blandness is Callie Hernandez who brings great life to her character Lisa. By in large the characters are your standard horror movie clichés, lacking any real character development beyond some brief glimpses of interesting plot lines that are immediately dropped.

The film has a definite over-reliance on jump scares. While these have become a staple of modern horror movies – for better or for worse – this film has a ridiculous amount of them. It seems like they can’t go five minutes without someone jumping on to the screen and screaming boo and it really breaks the tension that “Blair Witch” is trying to create.

One of the notable elements of “Blair Witch” is that it takes many of the supernatural and horror elements of the original and cranks it up to 11. There’s body horror, time travel, flying objects and the aforementioned succession of jump scares. The multi-faceted horror elements are a double-edged sword, however. They do make the movie more engaging and there are scares a-plenty. But all this action takes away from the subtle tension building that marked the original.

All told, the new “Blair Witch” is an effective horror vehicle. The movie had me on the edge of my seat especially in its masterful third act, but it’s still significantly less creative and unsettling as its more experimental predecessor.

The new “Blair Witch” fails to live up to its predecessor and ultimately resorts to becoming a standard modern horror movie. All that said, it’s still an entertaining horror flick that manages to be a fun ride, one suitable for an October evening at your local theater.