The promotional roll-out for the movie was similar to the 2008 film Cloverfield, in that no one actually knew the film's true nature until it was first screened at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. For the longest time, all the promotional material was presented under the faux title The Woods, and even the posters that were at Comic-Con showed this title. It wasn't until after the screening, in which the audience realised it was a Blair Witch Project sequel that they were changed to reflect this. This was mostly done to prevent perceptions by reviewers and internet commentors that this would be a reboot of the franchise, and also to boost talk about the project with an unexpected twist, thus generating way more interest and excitement with the film then would've taken place otherwise. The film would later premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival that September.
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The thing that most people will recognise upon watching this film is that the scope of the Blair Witch's powers is much more overt and clearly shown on screen in places. Whereas the first film takes place over the course of eight days, Blair Witch only lasts around two from James' perspective. This is skewed, however, as several characters seem to have time pass much differently for them when compared to the others, to the point where the guide they had been following appears towards the end, seemingly having been in the woods years for him, which has driven him insane by that point. Once one of the characters is killed after a stick figure with their hair is snapped in half, everything goes downhill, and everyone is dead within the next half an hour of run time, right up to the end.
Another detail that people picked up on when the film came out was that the Blair Witch seemingly appears on screen more than once, appearing as a thin, tall white figure. In fact, the film's creators have clarified that this creature is not the Witch, it's supposed to be Heather Donahue herself, who has apparently been turned into something akin to a Wendigo since the events of the first film. The Blair Witch is, however, shown to enter the same room as the last two survivors, who deduce that looking at her would kill them, so they attempt to back out of the room using the cameras as mirrors to see where they're going. The Witch, however, is able trick them into looking behind them by mimicking the voices of their friends.
One final detail worth mentioning is the fact that the original camera footage that James was sent that he thought had been filmed by Heather was in fact filmed by Lisa, a Film Student that had gone into the woods to look for her. This means that James had seen the footage before any of the group had even filmed it, heavily implying that the Blair Witch has the ability to warp time to their will, and has trapped the group in something of a time loop.
With all these details in mind, the film certainly sounds more exciting and fast paced then The Blair Witch Project. However, this can be considered the film's biggest flaw. The ambiguity of what was really following the film students in the first film was what made it scary and unique among the horror films of the time. Depending on how you interpret the film, it's possible that nothing actually paranormal is happening at all, and Heather and her friends are being tormented by something more tangible, perhaps a cult that worships the Blair Witch legend, or a group of locals are trying to mess with them. Here, though, everything that takes places is undoubtedly paranormal, thus removing any doubt that what inhabits the woods is anything less than an eldritch horror.
The more strange events and imagery also go against the original film's intent on delivering its plot through simplicity, which made it work. In recent years, however, films like Paranormal Activity have come along and have slowly inserted more threats and jump scares for viewers to sink their teeth into, and Blair Witch definitely feels like it took a leaf out of those kinds of Found Footage movies, and as such partially loses sight on what made the first film work so well.
At the end of the day, however, Blair Witch feels like a much more faithful sequel to The Blair Witch Project, and if you wanted some more of an idea of what the Blair Witch was actually capable of if it wanted to, then this movie is alright. I enjoyed it enough when I first saw it, as the acting was pretty good and nothing really felt forced or shoehorned in. There's actually a short moment of contemplation when James and Lisa first find Rustin Parr's old house, where the first movie had ended, and they realise they're going to have to go inside. There are certainly worse found footage movies than this one, and it has some pretty good scares for all it's worth, so Blair Witch is definitely more worth a watch if you're a fan of the first movie and looking for a good continuation of the story.
You can get the movie on DVD here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blair-Witch-DVD-Corbin-Reid/dp/B01LTHLFK6/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=blair+witch&qid=1564846231&s=dvd&sr=1-2
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=girSv9UH_V8
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