Amsterdamned (1988) Horror Slasher

  Amsterdamned (1988) -  This is a slasher film I had never seen, it opens with a POV of someone in the water in the canals of Amsterdam. The sound and the ducking under the water of this point of view tells us that it is someone in scuba gear. When the diver steals a butcher knife from a restaurant we know we are going to get right to the business of this slasher film right away. Moving right to the first kill establishes the setting, a poor sex worker after fighting off a cab driver is stabbed to death and dragged in to the canal but a killer in a scuba suit.  We have a setting but the fun that has just begun does not stop there. Wasting no time a tourist boat full of scouts runs into the body of the sex worker that the killer hung from a bridge scarring the poor kids for life.
  After being introduce to our feature cop Eric (Huub Stapel) and his teenage daughter Anneke (Tatum Dagelet) we get right into the solving of the canal killer. At this point you could anticipate that the cop will be on the case and that some time in the future his daughter will be at risk from the killer. This film does not waste time and we soon get a second murder scene where two guys collecting water samples from the canals are brutalized and left in their blood splattered boat. Eric meets John van Meegeren (Wim Zomer) a river cop. The two have a history with Eric's exwife so they have that we can work together but will show each other a bit of attitude kinda relationship. We will see if John saves Eric's life later in the movie, that is what the dynamic suggest. Now the cops know there is a diver prowling the canals so they have to hop into action to solve the crimes. Time to check out diving schools and all registered divers. They red herring the manager of the local dive club a bit but Eric being there is also so he can meet his love interest in the film Laura (Monique van de Ven). Also we meet Martin, a psychiatrist and former diver.
The murder scenes and body discovery scenes are pretty good in this film and as the bodies pile up pressure goes up for Eric to solve the crimes. We learn that Martin could be a suspect also a guy who use to dive but gave it up after some kind of event. We also see that there are canals all over this city and that will make it hard to track down the killer. Of course he goes from stalking and killing at night to killing in the middle of the day. A cool visual as he kills a pretty waitress who is floating on the canal getting sun in her plastic raft. Even with pressure from the Mayor we see a bit of internal politics and the way the bureaucracy works in the country. I like how Eric's boss defends him to the Mayor even though he has spent more time pursuing Laura than the case. You can also feel the Giallo influences on this film, its blue lighting at night mixed with reds, close ups of feet, hands and weapons it all works in what really has turned into a police procedural for the most part. The police get a lead but miss the guy as he rides away on a motorcycle. There is a chase scene that I was not expecting as the cops try to corner the man on the motorcycle. This lead seems like a red herring also. His arrest sets up the trope where the higher up officials want this guy to be prosecuted but Eric is not sure he has his man. What to do, oh yeah Laura and Eric get to bump uglies while we get another murder thus proving Eric was right.
  I loved the underwater scuba fight the cops death. We have boats following the bubbles of the killer from their boats. A real slow motion chase scene that still seems to have a bit of tension. They eventually trap the bubble producer in a lock so they just have to wait for him to run out of air and surface. They start pumping the water out of the lock sure that they have the killer but when the water level falls enough we see he shed his tanks and got away. Still after him though they think they have him again only to see him slip through their hands. Since this is about the canals in Amsterdam the movie can't be complete without a boat chase scene on the waterways. Eric pursues a guy dressed in black leather  all though the city at high speed. So reminiscent of like a James Bond movie even at the end with the giant explosion. The pursuit then continues on foot through the sewers. Eric is shot with a dart and passes out but not before shooting the guy.

  The story switches from hospitalized Eric to love interest Laura, she arrive at her therapy session where Martin is late. As she listened t music the camera pans the room focusing on a door in the back of the apartment. Laura hears a bang and goes to investigate. Searching the boat house because of course he lives on the canals and now our suspicion about him is raised. As Laura walks around we see the discarded Salvation Army collection can and we have to believe that Martin is the killer. Now Laura is in jeopardy being at his place all alone and not suspecting him. Then she finds his wet suit with water on it and his mask shattered and she knows. She calls the hospital to talk to Eric but he is still passed out from medication. She should just call the police but apparently is too panicked to think of it. Martin comes home and she has to hide.  Will Eric learn about Laura being trapped with Martin in time? Can Laura find a way to sneak out of the house without Martin catching her?  It all plays out during a rain storm with thunder and lightening and when it does there is a frantic scene that really is a proper climax.

  I like this film well enough, some mystery about the killer a cop in pursuit it all adds up to an entertaining story. We finally get the story of who the killer is and how a chemical spill underwater deformed him and drove him mad. The ending is a bit disappointing but overall this is a well crafted film. I watched it on DVD in a print that was less than perfect from Netflix but very view-able. SO they never brought back the red herring of the club manager and his daughter was never really developed other than to show that Eric is an absolutely horrible neglectful father.

Things:

Written and directed by Dick Maas he is known for Prey (2016) and one of my favorite Christmas horror movies Sint (2010).
I learned in the commentary that they did not actually light the scenes on the canals but waited until dusk to get the blue light effects.

Spitting in a cops face, is something you don't see too often.

Kills, one hooker, two environmentalists, one salvation army worker, and old man on his boat, a river cop so the body count is pretty low.

From Wikipedia "At the American Film Market in 1988, the movie would go on to become the third highest selling motion picture that year. Vestron Pictures released the film dubbed in English on home video. The dubbed version featured the voices of lead actors Huub Stapel, Monique van de Ven, and Serge-Henri Valcke in English, as they speak English quite well. The film was given a limited release, grossing $14,819 on 5 screens in its opening weekend in North America, and a total of $98,003 over its entire run"

Gutterballs (2008) Horror Rape Revenge Slasher

Gutterballs (2008)  Sometimes the writing and ideas of a film are so vile that the writer/ Director's attitude has to be questioned. When the direction is sadistic, voyeuristic, misogynistic and sexually violent you have to wonder about the creator's mindset. This is a nasty film with horribly foul ideas in it, great special effects and gore but is so mean spirited that it is hard to watch. Every conversation is presented as angry, confrontational and full of swearing making almost every character unlikable. The direction of the rape and then kill scenes are unflinching but also really the male gaze and shot from the point of view of the rapist and the killer, the victims after thoughts, things to be harmed but empathized with. Shots lingering on the rapists enjoyment of their vile acts as opposed to the horror of the victim. This film challenges the viewer not to shut it off without finishing it.  The film starts with two groups of young adults meeting at a bowling alley for an after hours competition. The two groups really don't like each other and are verbally hostel to each other.
  The Writer / Director Ryan Nicholson says in an extra features interview " ...I wanted people to hate these characters. I wanted the characters to be really over the top, cartoony characters. It's not a realistic portrayal of human interaction but Gutterballs is a cartoon for adults essentially."  He is correct in what he says he wanted to do with this script because it is exactly what the viewer gets. He goes on to say he is a big fan of slasher movies and tried to create a killer that appeared as a unique reusable icon. when talking about the rape scene he says it is "...very reminiscent of "I Spit on your Grave", "House (sic)at the Edge the Park", movies that generally be called and exploitation film rather than a horror movie but we set the rape in there as the catalyst for the violence that we have to create, and it is a lengthy scene.  It is a gang rape but some people accuse me of being a misogynist and that I like doing this and I get my jollies off on this sort of stuff, which is completely false. I don't want to candy coat the rape scene I wanted to shoot it as how an actual gang rape would occur and that is what Plotdigger films is known for, shooting some pretty extreme stuff and I certainly didn't want to back down from that subject matter. So you know for those who think that I like shooting this kind of stuff, it's not fun. It is very difficult to shoot rape scenes and scenes of sexual violence, but for me it is very important to have the audience react with disgust and be appalled..." So he is correct the rape and sexual violence is appalling and hard to watch. I definitively repulsed so he got the reaction that was intended.
Set in the 80s there are two distinct groups four young men, Steve (Alastair Gamble) a super angry person who shouts his swearing intimidation continuously at all around him leads the izod wearing, popped collar group he with AJ (Nathan Dashwood), Joey (Wade Gibb) and Patrick (Trever Gemma) are the antagonist group.. The other group more of a John Hughes collection of misfits with goofy hats and button filled coats look like the just got back from a New Wave club. When the groups get into a fight before bowling the old guy that let them use the bowling alley kicks them out. This second group having injured Steve's foot leave the place but Lisa (Candice Lewald) forgot her purse and has to sneak back in side to get it.  The four men still angry from the fight and the fact that somewhere in their past Lisa chose Jamie (Nathan Witte) over Steve for prom of something, he takes that rejection and the anger over his injury and decides to violently rape Lisa. Joey and AJ hold her while Steve rapes her, only Patrick seems horrified by their actions but even he ends up participating in a vile way leaving no like-ability for this group. Now although Nicholson explains what he was trying to do and was successful in getting the audience reaction there is still room for calling this misogynistic, just the rape by itself does the job in getting the reaction but adding in the bowling influence sexual violence seems to take it a step too far. Maybe a better approach would be to do the least amount of this kind of violence to get the reaction. Nicholson seems to think you have to do the most foul thing for that reaction even though the added violence is not necessary. Hiding behind  the film company and its reputation for extreme violence feels like an excuse to do the most shocking things possible and the audience interpreting them as anti women is justified whether or not the intent was to present it that way. The rape scene not only is horrifying but is shot to highlight the sadistic pleasure the rapist are experiencing and that is 100% a choice made by the director. Even after this the two groups who obviously hate each other but for some reason still want to bowl against each other meet the next day the film is setup for the slasher we have been promised.

  This is a rape revenge film disguised as a slasher so when the killer BBK (Bowling Bag Killer because he wears a bowling bag on his head) starts taking out the people in the bowling alley you wonder why Lisa's group are victims of the carnage. It is explained as the film climaxes if you can hang in that long. I found that the creativity of some of the kills was enough to keep me engaged although I had a hard time listening to these unlikable characters spew their antagonistic lines at each other. Again the director got what he wanted I hated these characters.
  The kills range from creatively cruel to nasty and over sexualized (considering the subject matter the revenge being sexualized makes sense on some level. Still there is a sexualization in characters interactions that is completely male gaze centered.) Death by 69 quite graphic almost in a porn kind of way, bowling pin violence, anti-transexual body mutation, kills using machinery, bowling ball and pin kills aplenty all gruesomely done with really gory special effects make that part something to see for you gore hounds out there. The logistics of people walking away from the bowling match do not make a ton of sense but it isolates people so the killer can do his deeds. When the turn comes we have Jamie and Sarah (Mihola Terzic) from the John Hughes group and Angry Steve still at the lanes, so this big bowling challenge really is secondary to the kills. Like is classic slasher form the survivors find all the gory remains of their friends and enemies in bits and pieces. The turn made a lot of killer logistics more feasible and the climax was twisty in its presentation making this film a bit more tolerable. Still the fact that Sarah as a character  had really little to do during the film and then is somewhat thrust into the role of final girl did not totally track for me.
  Overall I can't say this is a film I would revisit, that is true for a lot of exploitative horror, once is enough. It is particularly nasty and gruesome creative but in a really sadistic way. I can't say I would recommend this to a general audience, but if you are a depraved gore fiend who likes extreme kills and pretty amazing practical effects this might just be your groove. Although the Director states his intention in the making of  video and seems to execute that vision with a lot of success I found the meanness of the film and it's lack of any kind of humor to be a bit too much to want to see it again. So you have been warned.

Maniac (2012) Horror Psycho

Maniac (2012) - This remake of a slasher Maniac (1980) is a surprise to me. It's original was not really a hit and although horrorphiles will point it out as something to see it is not a very good film. Too straight forward with a real lack of surprises it is just a slog to get through. Although the lead, Joe Spinell is great at being a maniac and Tom Savini's gore effects are awesome, the lack of a interesting story is its downfall. I mean how many times have we seen Mommy issues as a basis for abhorrent behavior in the horror genre. Pycho (1960) famously did it and there were scores of films after that. So the trope needs something else to make it interesting. The original did not bring that added something and fell flat. So what will the 2012 remake bring?
   Starring Elijah Wood as Frank in the opening scene he is stalking a young woman who is out clubbing with a friend. When the friend grabs a cab we see POV from Frank are he drives slowly following the girl along the street from inside his car. She notices him too and starts moving at a quicker pace getting scared. When he turns off saying he knows where she lives we get the realization that this is not a random victim, that Frank has been following her for a while. When the girl arrives at her apartment building relieved for the safety of home, the lights have been cut by Frank. POV Frank walking in the dark behind her as she arrives at her apartment. As she gets the key to her apartment she senses him and turns, Her says Please don't scream and then jams a large knife up her throat to make sure. Unfortunately this effects in this scene are not well done and the logic of the interaction make no sense. Frank grabs her hair, takes the knife out of her skull, at this point the body should fall to the ground but no an unnaturally she stands in place dead while he makes a quick slice to scalp her. eh.
  Frank stalks women through a online date site, which as an idea is scary as shit. The fear that should come with the amount of our personal lives are broadcast through the internet is his tool. After finishing off Judy in the first scene he now introduces himself to the profile of Lucie (Megan Duffy) who he expertly chats up to get a date with. Franks issue social anxiety as we see when he meets Lucie for dinner. Shot always in the POV of Frank the film is interesting in its approach. Producer / Screenwriter Alexandre Aja wanted this change in perspective thinking it would be terrifying. The POV perspective becomes an issue now, where the viewer will wonder over and over again how the director Franck Khalfoun will manage to get the star into a shot. Distracting at best annoying mostly. Frank's awkwardness with Lucie's seduction is wonderfully uncomfortable. Seeing himself in the bed above the mirror shows the star who you would not see otherwise. The scene though is a character defining event where we learn about the sickness driving the main character. The gore is more realistic in this scene and we are now set up for the main story.
  Frank meets a young artist, Anna's (Nora Arnezeder) who is taking pictures outside his store. She loves his collection of mannequins from different eras and wants to use them for a photo shoot she is doing. A new obsession that is not from a dating site maybe?  Well instead of that we get another very long stalking and killing scene which brings us to almost the halfway point in the film. I would think that establishing who the killer is was already done in the two stalking and killing scenes we already saw. No this one is different, way more brutal and surprise a release from the killer POV but just for a second. Did the brutality pull is out or did I miss something?

  Finally we get to his obsession with Anna, she likes him even with his quirks and they date and start forming a relationship. Frank is not a person who can handle situation that are not what he imagines them to be so every little negotiation of interpersonal boundaries is too much for him. He can't stay connected to anyone because he has been warped by his past. We get a couple of scenes where we see his Mother (America Olivo) was a prostitute who had no boundaries about him seeing her at work. So the story really is the same as the original in its structure. Still not really connecting the dots about how his childhood made him the way he is we get even more killer POV as he continues to deal with his sickness by acting out. Trying to make us understand but really no one should get this crazy from that childhood.
  This film should have had a couple detectives hot on the trail but it doesn't and because of that you have to wonder if this is a cop free city. Instead this is a meditation on his sickness and how he just can't stop himself. When his relationship with Anna goes sideways as we knew it would. We realize they are really not going to attempt to make the film have a different outcome than the original. In the 1980 version there is this small hope that Frank can change but not in the new version. There is never an indication that this film is going to be anything but a tragedy. Although it tries to save itself with a gore filled final scene overall you are left wanting. It is a film about a sick bastard and in the end he stays just that. I have to say I love that there was enough interest in this film to get it remade. I think it is an indication of how strong the genre is right now where even bad horror is getting remade. Not really my cup of tea Maniac is what it is and this film never found an audience. It opened and closed before anyone could see it and will probably never recoup the 6 million spent on making it. I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone but those who have seen the original may want to check it out as a slightly different take.

Terror Train (1980) Horror Slasher

Terror Train (1980) - Jamie Lee Curtis was quickly making a name for herself in the horror genre, 1978's Halloween really put her on the path. Coming into this film just two years later she had already appeared in The Fog (1980)  released in February and Prom Night (1980) release in July. She was everywhere and stardom was already in the cards for her. This third film in a year may be the lesser of the three, a classic revenge slasher where we know who the killer is all the way through even if we can't identify him at times.
 Derek McKinnon) three years earlier. Setting him up with the idea he was going to have sex with Alana (Jamie Lee Curtis) they lead the young man up to a frat house bedroom, except the switch is on and Jamie Lee is hiding whispering to Kenny to come kiss her. While Kenny moves to the cadaver prop up in the bed in the darkened room. When he kisses her and flips out while the six schemers bust in laughing, and Jamie feels guilt for her role in it. Kenny becomes unstable leaving school and spending time in a mental institute. So now out he has a plan to get back at this group of mean people.
A group of seniors plan there last college party before the leave pre-med and head off to medical school. It is a costume theme party. Naturally the costumes will work well in hiding the killer and the theme, a steam train excursion puts the group in an isolated location far from outside help. But why is there a killer you ask? Well this particular group of seniors played a very nasty trick on Kenny (

  This film is not so great as far a pacing or creativity in kills, It trudges along with the characters trading places in the train cars enough to hide where the killer is and what costume he is wearing. Early in the film he kills Ed (Howard Busgang) with a sword, but where Ed is a jokester everyone thinks he is kidding. So the killer starts by wearing Ed's Groucho Marx outfit and mask. once on the train it is a bit of a slog. We have a bunch of scenes with David Copperfield being pissy about having to do the performance. His assistant trying to please him is around through the film. When Kenny, now the Groucho killer hooks up with Mitchy (Sandee Currie) we get teased into thinking she is next but No Jackson comes by and suddenly the killer has a higher priority.. The killing starts but it also sputters. The film is ways back and forth when it comes to getting down to killing. Eventually though the six are hunted down one at a time. Jackson (Anthony Sherwood) killed in a bathroom face through a mirror. Mitchy seduces who she thinks is Jackson and is choked out in a sleeping birth. Mo (Timothy Webber) is poisoned and dies next to the prankster Doc (Hart Bochner). He in turn dies thinking the hand on his shoulder is Mitchy trying to console him but instead is beheaded by the killer.

  While the kills are slow and mostly shot off screen, the drama is not and it is all about  Alana and the train Conductor Carne (Ben Johnson) trying to keep everyone left on the train safe. At one point we learn from a yearbook that Kenny was really into magic. The idea that the magician is the killer gets in there heads and they work the crowd trying to isolate him in a locked session of the train. Several attempts are made against Alana as this drama unfolds and she narrowly like the final girl she is just gets away a bit bloodied but alive. When finally cornered and having to confront the killer, we get a twist that I won't reveal here. It is pretty good though and the final battle between Kenny and Alana although short is final.  The acting was fine for the most part, Ben Johnson was great as the conductor. I think the execution of the train and the on the nose writing were the bigger problems.

  My closing thoughts on this film is that it is sort of a not so well executed slasher. I don't hate it but I doubt I will revisit it anytime soon. I just found it too clunky with the on the nose revenge plot and a twist that was not that big, it all just fell flat for me. You can't like everything so I guess this is one of those. Certainly you could be driven as a complete-ist to want to see every slasher ever make and this is probably not the worst of them so have at it if that is you. No recommendation from me.

Sorority Sister Slaughter (2007) Horror Slasher

Sorority Sister Slaughter (2007) - Wen the DVD which arrived from Netflix had the blue screen without any DVD into screen I know I was in some trouble. My mind immediately started thinking low res video film with the mostly amateur actors and shitty camera work was possible. Sure enough there were some really strange and disjointed camera shots during the title sequence. Shot in video, or a transfer from the film opens in black and white  in what is seemingly a minority sorority house in the fifties where dahlia is upset waiting for a call from her boy Billy, she is upset and obviously pregnant from how she is touching her abdomen in the bathroom. Her friends are trying to talk her out of the room and out to a party. Having been dumped by Billy she is at her wits end and this drives poor Dahlia (Tafne Ellington) to stick a knitting needle inside herself to try to end the unwanted pregnancy. Let's remember this was pre-abortion as a legal option and the statement her might just be 'Do we want to return to the days when girls ended up dying in the tub because of a lack of choice. The scene is compelling enough to keep viewing even if the production values are low.
  Director Susan Hippen forcing the connection between past and present but maybe does not have to. A scene where one of the modern day girls, Eve (Desiry Hall) finds Dahlia's ring in the bathroom where she died. Keeping that ring can not be a good thing in the context of a horror movie.  The lighting maybe from the transfer in this part of the film is too dark and it does not help that a lot of the scenes are lit by candlelight since the electricity has yet to be turned on in the house.
  Move forward in time to 2006 on Valentines Day, back at the sorority we have a candles and color lit scene of a young woman settling into a dream. Will this film end as just a dream all along? I have seen that before so the possibility is there. I believe we fade to a dream of all the young women arriving to that house from the fifties scene where they are about to take up residence. Cool house by the way. The Sorority house is a hit with the new arrivals but the music tells use that this is a horror movie.  Kappa Tau Omega is back in business in a beautiful house but is it haunted? There is some strange cuts at this point in the film where I think
  Effective music carries this part of the film where the girls are introduced and at the same time there are notable instances of a haunting. As much as I appreciate that so far all the characters are minorities and that there are some strong personalities in the story. It is bothersome that there are the cat-fighting mentality we see so much when young adult women are portrayed on screen. Chloe (Kira Modallo Sesay) who is president of the sorority has to establish her dominance not only by bullying her friend and roommate Isabel (Anica Barbosa) about the accompaniments of office but is a bit nasty to the other women around her, like Tessa who walks in at the wrong time and and tries to defend Isabel about her diet. Sure it builds Chloe as a self driven leader but also fulfills a cliche about women having to cut each other down to get ahead.
  The men connected to these women are shown as the classic and not complex hound dogs looking to get their dicks wet. They come around looking to sneak into the new building to get a bit of ass. There disrespect of  Chloe' homecoming sash and tiara as well as their homophobic comments definitely define them as the least desirable type of men.
 The woman are also somewhat catty with each other. We do get our ghost story and the girls are strong enough to not be scared by by the story. Chloe again comes through as a mean spirited character showing no sympathy for Dalia's tale. Some cliche scenes where the men are wandering around scaring each other and the women using a Ouija board to summon the spirit. Teasing Eve seems to be the in thing to do and it is probably not the most feminist approach to character that the writers could have taken. It serves it's purpose to separate her from the group though so again even if I don't like the choices there are reasons behind them.
 Smoking pot, drinking and hooking up become the game once the men are discovered, cut between those scenes and Eve in the tub. So there is an establishment between sex and death as is the most classic of horror tropes except in this case there is some female dominance in the sexual scenes (Isabel) and the kill of Tessa in the tub is short, too short to make it frightening. That quick editing of scenes, not allowing them to play out must have had its reasons but it is hard for the viewer to know them. way to make a bulimic vomit scene a bit scary but again they cut too soon, and only come back to it as a mechanism to show it is still going on for her.  Also sort are the kills not enough staying with the scene. Better is when Kip (Farley Jackson) and Roxy (Erika Ringer) get there death scenes after a game of strip one on one basketball but it is really the ghost they follow through with it. Short and sweet on the scary is the general rule but big on the music which continues to make the mood right.
  Like all well constructed horror movies the kills happen in isolation and the discovery of the bodies have to wait until the cast is whittled down to a few. This film is classically constructed horror and we even have Star (Amy Black) the artist in a trans creating art that shows the killer, the ghost of Dahlia reaching out to us.
Aside: Pizza dude was funny the spirit infested bong of death. A white character which was amusing in his pot head character.
So close to having a whole a black cast. Our dream girl Tessa (Terry Bookhart) from the beginning of the film and Chloe seem to be the only ones that have a chance to be the final girl.  The make it out of the house and into a vehicle and then there is this strange exchange to explain away that it is Isabel's car and how did Tessa get the keys. I really don't think the audience cares that it's not one of the survivors car. Of course in cliche form the car does not start and the ghost finds them. Tessa becomes the final girl that the ghost is following her and since she had the dream it is structurally sound. That said it really makes Chloe expendable so you can guess that now that they have run back into the haunted house that shit is going to go down for her.
  Clever Tessa does the smartest thing in the film by calling Billy Bart and tricking him into coming to the house. Will it be too late for her though? Can she talk to Dahlia and make a deal?  Billy Bart arrives the dog he is and makes really inappropriate comments to Tessa. The ghost gets a chance to reconcile the past and Tessa gets out of it. The final scene between Dahlia and Billy was pretty damn remarkable and unexpected. It really gives an ending to the very sad 1950's tale. Predictably this circular story predicted by the introduction of the dream sequence was a bit expected.
  Overall I have to say the film was alright, it has a really nice horror score and a story that is solid enough. The almost exclusively African American cast although a bit cartoonish, because of the horror structure not their race could have been better drawn better. The men were just pieces to be killed horny guys looking for ass. The women were stereotypes that showed little compassion or caring for each other. Still the story was really well structured with a bit of a slower pace which was good but with short cut editing that made it a bit scattered. The lighting was cheap candle light and color filters which is a mark of low budget horror, but the music was moody and for the most part pretty spot on.  Still a video transfer that was dark and hard to see is not good.The DVD presentation was poor with the blue screen and now title window or scene selection. I can't say that  hated this film but it has enough drawbacks to not make it a recommended film either. There are a tone of cliche horror elements that take away from the fact that it is a women writer / director and an all black cast, things you do not often find in horror and which the genre could use more of. So sort of a middle of the road approach to this one
As I have done so far this year; I am doing as an experiment my Twitter account @Soresport is dedicated to following and being followed by people in and behind the scenes. Then I am also hoping some of them follow me back. I do fear that Twitter has become too much of a promotional tool for people in film to actually get those follow backs but hey its an experiment. Now since the last post I have been followed back by @elskemccain who was in the Splatter Movie Thanks!  So Far though I have followed 75 people with only four following back, not a very good ratio. So lets see who I can get from this latest film in my little social media experiment.
 

Splatter Movie: The Director's Cut (2008) Horror Slasher

Splatter Movie: The Director's Cut - It's a film about a fictional independent horror crew shooting a movie about a crew of fictional filmmakers shooting a movie at haunted house attraction. What a movie within a movie within a movie sounds sort of confusing but really this is just a clever idea pulled off with precision by Amy Lynn Best and Mike Watt through their Happy Clouds pictures. Sprinkle in appearances by Debbie Rochon and Tom Sullivan with a competent cast and you have a slightly off kilter slasher that surprises where it can and fulfills expectations. The somewhat cynical approach the characters take when talking about what is involved in making independent horror brings a savory satire to the affair that promises a cliche but delivers something unexpected.
  In 2008 the film was featured in a Sirens of Cinema article and since Mike Watt was a contributor to the Magazine (maybe more I don't remember) and Happy Cloud Pictures were often covered I can understand the attention. These two have been making quality independent horror for a couple decades. In that article Best expressed her happiness with the set at the Hundred Acre Manor haunted attraction in Pennsylvania. A large facility with completed rooms made for a set that came ready for order. She and writer, partner Mike Watt spent a weekend looking at the location that Best described as "It went on forever and had some of the most wonderful sets." (Sirens of Cinema, vol 2 no.10 Identity Crisis: Dissecting Splatter Movie the Director's Cut by William Wright). They also worked on the script and the set dictated a lot of what they could do. It expanded and changed but remained a very character based story.
The film that came out of this experiment in meta film making is Splatter Movie: The Director's Cut and it is an surprising in its simplicity while still being complex in its structure. The story of  a film crew lead by Amy Lynn Parker (Best) as she directs a crew at the haunted attraction. There is this commentary on the what is needed to make an lower budget horror film. As Parker says in one of the in film interviews with her character. "When we first started making movies all you needed was a shower scene. Now you have to have a minimum of a shower scene and at two lesbian sex scenes, a randomly placed naked tits, we've been trying to figure out how to motivate everything and still mix it up." Since this is a movie in a movie this is the director character talking about the movie they are filming Tesseract, but also about the low budget movie realities. Sure there are lots of horror movies that do not follow this formula but for real horror junkies, myself included as you move down the food chain of more and more limited budgets there is the choice to increase the nudity as the money gets smaller.

   There is an argument to be made that this is a choice that the movie makers are limiting themselves to. Then by including the nudity and sex that the film makers are creating the environment where that is expected by the fans. Or you could say they are playing to a particular audience and could instead choose a different audience that loves horror but is the 'show me some titties' crowd.  It may also be a matter of scale because what I consider a small or micro budget may be giant to a company like Happy Cloud. Consider The Signal (2007) made for 50k and took in more than 500k, this seems like a low budget film but what could they have done if the only had 10k, would the film still be as successful? Or the the example everyone knows about Paranormal Activity (2007) that was make for 15k and has pulled in 193 million. What is the difference between these films that did not smear the screen with sex and nudity and the low budget films that feel the need to have a couple women in nightgowns making out and heavy petting? Is this an issue where the movie makers are boxing themselves in or are the returns on the films they made dictating the content? This film manages to not only have the conversation about nudity in the inner film Tesseract but also includes it in the outer film Splatter movie under the guise of playful actresses and crew. So is the point to complain within the inner movie while doubling the thing you are complaining about in the outer film? I am really not making an argument either way but it seems a conversation I would not mind hearing on a panel horror convention.

  Best for her part attempts turn expectations sideways  even if still participating in the exploitation. The rape scene as it place out in the inner film with Debbie Rochon playing herself  and a character that is a jaded stalking fan seems to be a pretty shocking and  an F-U to the viewers who are waiting for there misogynistic fill of violence against women. The film though is not preachy it really is a look behind the scenes of a micro-budget film making. While doing so it gives the viewer some tense moments where the killer is making a mess of the production. Finishing with a twist the film leaves the viewer in a place they did not expect to be. Now you may notice I watch a lot of Amy Lynn Best films. Something about her that just strikes me the right way. We really should be friends and probably wopuld be if we lived closer to each other. So check out the list of movies or search her name and see what else you can see that she had a hand in. As I have done so far this year; I am doing as an experiment my Twitter account @Soresport is dedicated to following and being followed by people in and behind the scenes. Then I am also hoping some of them follow me back. I do fear that Twitter has become too much of a promotional tool for people in film to actually get those follow backs but hey its an experiment. Now since the last post I have been followed back by Southbound's @HiRadioSilence and @BettinelliOlpin showing that they are not too into self promotion to put up with my tweet's about beer and food and horror movies. Thanks guys!

The Darkest Hour (2005) Horror Slasher

 Darkest Hour (2005) - I have too say I wrote some really terrific stuff on this film but this damn blogger and my touch pad highlighted everything and deleted then auto saved leaving me with part of the word "and" nd. Swearing can only do so much to relieve the frustration and in the end if I am going to write about this film I will have to try to dredge the thoughts back up and repeat them. Still i felt I was so in the mood to talk about this low budget first feature by Dan Zachary that finding that groove again is going to be hard.
  Not a lot can be expected from a low budget first horror feature and I have to say this one is a bit on the cliche side. Ben Traimer (Todd Hann) is making a movie, a Slasher and is having a murder mystery weekend at a local campground to promote it. there is something about this location being the actual site of a slashing adding to the sensationalist tone of the event.
  Early in the film we get to see the actual killer in action, a reaper dressed robed character with a skull face and a scythe, as he stalks a couple rednecks going down a rough dirt road in their truck. The scene plays out in expected fashion, ugly people acting mean and stupid coming across a body in the road. Then the music and the stalking by the killer all cliche and as expected. So cliche in fact that at the end of the scene the woman runs down the dirt track being chased by the Reaper Killer and instead of running into the trees and bushes on either side of the road, runs down the path chased by the killer driving the truck. On top of that she falls down in the road. (A part of me thought maybe this was satire but another part fear it is not.)

  Then we start getting introduced in a minimalist way to the characters. The women apparently chosen to be attractive, Ben's  ex-girlfriend Lauren (Lee Tomaschefski), and current fling Stacey (Tamara Pender) as well as participants Lisa (Angie Zachary, any relation? and I have a personal weakness of brunettes with raspy voices.)  and Rosemary (Patricia Nudd) finishing with the sexy goth Therese (Tristan Risk @littlemissrick) who also has her first IMDB credit in this film and later went on to play the wonderful role of Beatress Johnson in the Soska Sister's American Mary (2012), and last year appeared in my friend Izzy Lee's Innsmouth (2015) (It may be presumptuous to call her my friend but I think she is great), a real up and coming feminist film maker who is sure to make waves. Preetty standard for low budget horror. Then the men who are pretty much dogs trying to get laid. Really not my favorite variety of character.
  It does not matter in the end though, there are a lot of characters but the plot is driven by story and not character. A flaw in most schools of screenwriting but not in the Slasher sub-genre where a minimal  introduction and basic personality conflict is all that is needed before slicing and dicing. The characters are introduced and somewhat pair off with some being successful at sex and other not. Surrounding this though is the story. A murder mystery weekend hosted by Dreighton Sawyer  (Benjamin Gutknecht) a face painted fiend setting the participant up for a weekend "Who wants to host a murder". except little does he know that because the real life killer from the area was never caught that actual death is just around the corner. Sure the story is known and shared by the participants but belief is a tough thing in a low budget horror flick.
  There are parts of this film that are promising like early in the film there is a kill. A strobe effect where the girl is attacked and a knife is seen and we know that it her end. Well done but the timing is sort of off. Instead of building the fear with strobe, the movie spend 20 or so seconds. It would have been so much better to draw this kind of scene out. Instead of lots of this we get a lot of daytime scenes with a large cast who explain to us all the different serial killer stories from twentieth century America.  This stuff is really filler until the real killing gets starting and mostly accomplishes that role playing games should only be done with friends and when everyone is willing to fully participate.
  Once night comes and the slasher starts slashing we get a lot of what you would expect, in any one of the multitude of Friday the 13th movies. The stalking the stabbing the He is right behind you and you don't see it, moments. Then there is the woman crawling and screaming for help as she is being murdered, I was never much of a slasher fan and it may be the misogynistic stereotypes that really turn me against it. I get the psychology of the final girl but there is so much running and screaming by women in these movies. I much prefer the always capable always strong heroine like  the character Erin (Sharni Vinson) in Simon Barrett's & Adam Wingard's You're Next (2011) . Unfortunately even when there is a final girl in this film it is a trope of the guys trying to protect the women and it is just so Slasher. failing at it and we always seem to get so much running and screaming and falling while being chased
  Even with all this criticism I have to say there is a part of the horror me that really does not mind the attempt. It did not work particularly well but there is always a place where the slasher movie even if sub ar has a part in my consciousness.
 As with every film this year I am doing an experiment where I will follow a lot of the people involved with the films I see this year to see my Twitter account grow.  Then see where it sits at the end of the year. I am hoping that some of the people involved follow me back @Soresport like recent  Actor, Director, Producer @davidheavener did this week. He is the first and I really appreciate it.

Blood Sisters (1987) Horror Slasher

Blood Sisters (1987) -The film starts setting up the killer as many a horror movie does. A small boy is traumatized by a little girl, with her making fun of him. See she knows that the boys Mother is a prostitute in the local brothel. The boy runs away from the taunting. Goes home and shoots his Mother to death with a gun that is way too big for him. This is especially important information about the killer when we jump forward whatever number of years to when he is an adult and again free in society, Edmonson College 13 years later. We see pledges getting ready for their final task for Cappa Gamma which is to spend the night in the house where the murders took place. Nothing good will ever come of this but that is what makes it a horror film. Pretty standard fare for a slasher at first I thought there were some high ideas to be explored in the film but the cut was bad. Then I watched the interview with veteran Director Roberta Findlay and she basically said she threw this film together on the quick to avoid a tax penalty. It shows in the film with a couple different tracks the plot takes and some of the ideas never being fulfilled in the film.
There are a couple things we can learn from this movie and horror in general. If the killer is a traumatized child and it is years later but we never are shown the killer, then the killer is someone we have seen in another role in the film. Stealing from the great psycho this killer is seen in bits, a hand here, a back there but never fully seen. Women's clothes are in frame sure but since we sort of know it was a boy that killed his Mom we know this is to throw us off the track. This blocking is to have a big reveal at the end of the film and chances are the killer is one of the cast who has been introduced earlier in the film. So who will it be. Well since the victims will be women we can safely go with the men that leaves it to about four people. So which of them is the secret crazed killer? The second thing we can be sure of is that each of the girls will have a trait to define them. Linda (Amy Brentano) the sorority's head is dating the football player John (Brian Charlton Wrye).  Make a point at identifying the Jewish girl, Bonnie and there are several jokes she makes to make her look stupid. There is also Diana flirtatious one, Helen the cautious on,Cara is the psychic one, etc etc.
Guys had set up a whole lot of gags in the house to make it spooky, skeletons, and a coffin and some prerecorded noises. They are played to be buffoons and are played by the actors more for laughs with lines like " Eat my shorts tampon breath." One is a bit jumpy thinking the house is haunted. Played for comedy there is a whole sequence getting Larry more and more scared until he leaves. The girls for their part will be creeping around in the dark on a scavenger hunt.
 The girls are blindfolded and driven to the house. Instead of using the scene to really accomplish something the director is happy to let it be filler with meaningless gabbing. So they arrive and the killer up in an upper window moves a curtain so we will know that he is there.
  So you would think this is all a setup for your average slasher. Problems with the script though have the story going different directions so it never quite gets there. Early on there are visions of ghost, primarily seen by Cara but then mirrors also flash back to scenes of the past. What is frustration is those parts never really play a part in the plot. The characters don't react to the ghostly apparitions in any meaningful way. They don't really add any depth to anything we don't already know about the house's history either. The spirits don't threaten or interact in anyway with the girls so they are wasted.
  The killer returns to his childhood home theme is filled with references to Psycho. The kills are not particularly graphic or suspenseful and there is no final girl. Oh and the cops in the New Jersey town are the worst cops ever, brushing off the last victims story of murder so casually you would think the production ran out of money the day they were shooting.
  So in the end this is not a film that is worthy of a recommendation.

The Summer of Massacre (2012) Horror Slasher

The Summer of Massacre (2012)  When starting this film the first impression was that it was a student film, some aspiring computer effects artist experimenting with After Effects and trying different ways to layer and record the carnage that is on screen. It is really a poor film and one has to wonder if this film was done on a home computer in Joe Castro's spare time. There is no story structure in the wrap around that can be seen in the opening. As the film progresses and the wrap around is filled out and a theme comes through about serial killers who have escaped and are killing together in an LA warehouse, but the first visit is bizarre torture images police and bullets. Flashes of horrors in a semi animated layering of imagery which evokes feeling but does not really get one into a story. Then as I watched the film which is four stories one wrap around and three other stand alone it occurred that maybe this was an artistic surrealist take on the slasher anthology. An artistic collage that is designed to evoke emotion and leave the viewer to fill in the details of meaning. Where the computer effects were so equally bad and distributed through the film it makes you question that it was designed to be bad. Countered with some very effective practical effects you can see that there is some skill on the film. So to see such amateur computer graphic made it hard to believe that those cartoonish parts were anything but for some artistic purpose.  To sully out what was going on meant a second viewing with the director commentary turned on. Unfortunately that experience confirmed that there was no greater artistic merit to this film. The writers Joe Castro and the single named Schroeder and executive producer Steven J. Escobar really just wanted blood and guts. Castro learning the after Effects tool just did the best he could.

The first chapter after the opening is entitled "Rampage"and is the most puzzling of the set. A young muscular man, Chris (Tim A. Cooley) is assaulted while out jogging. Beaten and mutilated something goes wrong in his brain from the trauma which makes him get up and start killing. No explanations not plot about who or why just this beating turned him into a killing machine and we are subjected to at least a dozen kills each highlighted by some unique and poorly executed digital effects. Castro says in the commentary that he has always wanted to do a story that was just killing. Although there needs to be a reason to start he just wanted everything in the frame to be carnage. It is an interesting experience watching this film with the commentary on. The makers of this film really love what they have done. They believe the digital work to be good and laugh and congratulate Castro on it sincerely. You feel the love and enthusiasm come through as they discuss each kill and how they make it happen. It is a real counterpoint to the viewing experience of ridiculous kills and horribly unrealistic cartoon effects. It  goes to show that there is a wide gap between an the ideas and the journey of film making and the experiencing of the final project from the outside. Viewing this film it is hard to believe that there is an audience for it, and from the six IMDB reviews one could say there may not be. Of course such a small sampling should not make or break this film. It's 2.4 of 10 rating probably does not even phase the makers of the film. So you have to ask yourself, if you were part of creating something, really loved the process and the final product, how would you deal with it if it was panned when you presented it to the world? 
  The second chapter "Lump" is a complete tale about a hermaphrodite cripple Lori (Nick Principe) whose place in the family is despised by most of the members. A mother, Mrs Williams (Brinke Stevens) so tired of the constant care of the dying child that she hatches a plan to rid herself of the burden. Even though there is a new steroid treatment in effect she asks her daughter Beverley Ann (Lisa M. Garcia) to take the wheelchair bound sibling and dispose of her. She and her brother and a couple friends take Lori to a nearby park. When pushing her off a cliff  does not kill her there is a shift in the film as the steroid treatment changes the handicapped pariah into a being capable of seeking revenge. This is a very complete story probably the most coherent of the four.
Chapter three "Son of the Boogyman" is the story of Jesse (Jerry Angelo) who is telling the story of his Father the infamous murderer rapist the Boogyman (Scott Barrows) to his fiancee (Kimmarie Johnson) only to  find out during the telling that the killer is free and looking for him and his Mother (Tchia Casselle). What fallows is a superhuman or supernatural encounter with the hulking killer that can only end in death and destruction.
Chapter four "Burn" is a campfire tale come to life as firefighter lovers die together fighting a forest fire in the park the campers are holding there retreat. Sent to die by other firefighters in a hate crime that is hard to imaging the two are fused together from the heat and the curse created by their deaths has them wandering the woods looking for descendents and connected people to the crime so they can exact their revenge. Lisa (Lauren Boehm), Vinnie (Felipe Winslett), and Carmen (Justin Marchert) are the unfortunate campers who get to live out the curse.
The wrap around "The Warehouse" we cut too throughout the film as interviews with serial killers from prison, talking about the wonders of the kill and how much they love it. By coming back to this, filling in the pieces of who they are it changes the tone of the film. They, Richard Khan (Joe Manetti), George Vic (Bahram Khosraviani) and Dax (Dan Lovell) are the carnage creators in the beginning of the film and their outcome finishes the movie. Its a shame because their story is the least interesting and throws a pall over what are some inventive anthology entries. They are the least interesting but are the most built up. Who really cares what a serial killer is thinking or that they are destructing for the sake of destruction. Its boring and predicable as is the ending to their story with the obligatory naked female and no matter how beautiful her body it can not save this kind of story.
 In the end I would say that the story Lump is the best of the set and although it speaks to the nature of bullying and how the lesser of humankind are often the most harmed. Still even though some of the stories are decent ideas the execution of the digital effects takes the viewer out every single time. Its a shame because there is so much of those effects you really do not go a minute or two without them interrupting the flow of the film. So there is no recommendation for this film but maybe I will look at another Joe Castro experience, one before he discovered the magic of after effects.

Sleepaway Camp (1983) Horror Slasher

Sleepaway Camp (1983) -There are a lot of things to like about this film, the horror geek loved film is a wonderful example of eighties slasher horror. Probably loved more now than when released Sleepaway Camp with it's shocking twist ending is something out of a time with practical effects, implied violence and inappropriate characterizations it stands up well as an example of how sanitized and yet how violence accepting films have become today. Striking in its simplicity the film is also a twisted little flick of  the effects of abuse on the psyche.
 Opening with scenes of Camp Arawak abandoned and closed, the autumn leaves changing the camera moves around the buildings while the audio echos of the events of the past are heard with the fine score by Edward Bilous building in and then winding down as we transition to the past. When we see the camp alive with campers in summer as writer /director Robert Hiltzik gives us the back story of the tragedy that forced Angela (Felissa Rose) to live with her aunt for the next eight years. Sad but necessary with just enough revealed to bring us into the present of the film timeline.
  Aunt Martha played with an insane vigor by Desiree Gould is sending Angela to camp for the first time. He son Ricky (Jonathan Tiersten) will be there to look out for her, a task he will take seriously. A bit off kilter the Martha may not be cruel but more oblivious to the trauma suffered by Angela. This is just another abuse sending her to the Camp where her Father and sibling were killed. The presentation of these scenes as almost an unreal dream like set dark all around the characters, the energy and slightly stilted and odd delivery of lines by Martha revealing her inability to empathize or be aware of the feeling of others. She is more looking for approval that will never come.
  Camp Arawak is presented with its dark side in view with pushy or apathetic counselors, pedophile staff and unstable management allows the viewer to see the brochures of play and bonding will be hard to achieve in this place. Kids arrive bonding and seeing where the relationships they had the summer before now stand a year later. We see the settling in and the beginnings of the pecking order kids will create. In a healthy environment this is where the counselors step up to smooth the distances between campers but this is presented as a dysfunctional setting and some counselor seem to just aggravate the situations.
  Angela a quiet girl who has to deal with her traumatic past is withdrawn and not wanting to participate in most activities. Older meaner kids use this as an opportunity to make fun and be mean to her. Ricky is there to keep an eye on her but her silent stare agitates the  other girls as much as her failure to participate in camp activities. In particular Judy (Karen Fields), Ricky's ex from last summer and counselor Meg (Katherine Kamhi) seem to have it out for the girl, being cruel in there harsh manner with Angela. I loved how Angela with her silence completely makes the other girls flip out. Those big doe eyes just staring directly back at the frustrated girls as they try to provoke a response in her. This is a very smart move by Hiltzik is how power is exercised in a relationship.
  Even when trying to help the camp fails in its duties, counselors bring Angela into the kitchen to see if they can find her food she will like. Concerned that she is not eating they have the right idea. Unfortunately the leave her in a back room with the perverted cook Artie (Owen Hughes). A man who commented while watching the kids arrive "Look at all that fresh young chicken. Where I come from we call them baldies, makes your mouth water doesn't it." So leaving Angela with him spurs the peddie to  to say to Angela while undoing his belt, "You sure are a sweet little cupcake ain't ya. ... I got you gonna like real good." This is a pretty messed up setting and it makes sense that the bad guys start dying in this movie. This is not your typical character in a horror movie.
I think it is pretty obvious who the killer is, but also it is a story of how Angela begins to open up and the dangers of that opening up. Things escalate more and more both the personal risk she is in but the deaths around her. The film pulls punches around the kills not too graphic but instead the editing cutting to show the effects of the kills with some good practical effects. Still there are things in this film  you will not see in many films. Like a man beating the shit out of a kid because he thinks the kid is the killer. When things start heating up and the killer is shown the giant reveal this film is known for is so wonderfully done it is worth all the time spent getting to it. This viewer still finds the final scenes exciting and just excellently revealed. So enjoyable that of course this movie gets a recommendation. If you have not seen this flick then you are in for a great surprise and there will be no spoilers here even after 30 years. So don't go read anything just enjoy the ride. If you have seen it you know and should just go back and revisit this wonderful slasher film.

Hatchet 2 (2010) Horror Slasher Ghost

Hatchet II (2010) - So lets do this again but up the gore and fill out the story a bit, and see what Hachet II is all about. The film again is as advertised but unfortunately not quite up to the quality of the first film. It starts immediately where the first film ends except final girl Marybeth has a different actress, instead of Tamara Feldman we have Danielle Harris. Harris at this point is a veteran horror actress started as a chjild in the genre in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) & Halloween 5 (1989), then later appearing in the remakes, Halloween (2007), Halloween II (2009), and also Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet (2009) and after this film playing Belle in the under the radar but very good vampire flick Stake Land (2010). Hatchet II promises to up the gore factor and indeed it does, but unfortunately it is not a better movie than the original. There is something missing, it may be that the bringing back of the classic slasher was unique in 2006, than it was in 2010, but something is missing in this film that the original had. Harris for her part was a not as angry as the Marybeth portrayed by Feldman, instead she sort of come across as whiny. Then there is the long setup before finally getting out into the swamp. I am sure writer / director Adam Green felt he owned us some more back story but it seems to this writer that he over did it. So we end up with an elaborate set up and lots of back story before we finally get what we are promised, inventive kills and lots of fake blood. Are the kills worth the wait, well I think they are but the viewer definitely won't come away from this film with that same happy feeling they got from the first one.
   The story after getting away from Victor Crowley, with the help of the urine drinking swamp man Jack Cracker (John Carl Buechler) we learn a bit more about Marybeth's family. Her father it seems was one of the three boys who threw the firecrackers that set Crowley's house ablaze all those years before. He with his brother and another boy Trent are the reason Victor was killed accidentally by his father in the rescue attempt. So you could surmise that revenge on them could break the haunting of the swamp. Through flashback though we learn even m,ore unnecessary back story about the boy who would become the ghost Victor Crowley. It sort of explains why he was born deformed in the first place and why a horrible end was inevitable for he and his father. Doesn't really need to be explained but we get a good section of flashback devoted to it. I guess Green was trying to add some real depth to the character but really all it does in delay the anticipated bloodbath.
  Marybeth at Jack's suggestion goes to see Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd) and when he learns who she is hatches a plan to end the curse and thus open the swamp back up for his tour business. Now there is no way to know what ultimately will stop Victor Crowley from appearing every night for murder and mayhem and the movie even states that. Still Zombie figures if he can get the remaining two men responsible for Crowley's death out into the swamp, Victor will kill them and the curse will be lifted. So on top of the already over complicated plot he creates another scheme where he lies to Marybeth so she will bring her uncle and the town's hunters so he can attract Trent. He presents a ghost hunt saying to the group that he will give each hunter $500 to behead the ghost of Victor Crowley, again paper thin this excuse works and we have a group of hunters all heading into the swamp to kill Crowley. Marybeth for her part just wants to retrieve the bodies of her Father and Brother but we all know how that is going to work out.
  It's all a bit tiring to get all this back story where the first film seemed to relish the journey without trying to create depth, this story is trying to create a myth that will last but it really takes away from the pacing. When the hunting party is fully formed things get movie and we get the action promised but it is only after the long setup. Again the gore is excellent fun with buckets of fake blood thrown against trees and walls and lots more including:

• An intestine pulled out and used as rope to strangle the person (and pop the head off).
• A bloody birth scene with ridiculous scared to death face.
• Gruesome mouth mutilation
• Propeller and face meeting
• Beheading and totally inappropriate hatchet in the privates
• Super long chainsaw up through the privates
• Axe kill with belt sander chaser.
• Beheading using table complete with blinking eyes
• Person pulled in half and top half manually skinned while still alive

The players are adequate with Kane Hodder returning as Victor Crowley, and Parry Shen returns this time playing his own twin brother Justin. The hunting party consists of Bob (Tom Holland), Trent (R.A. Mihailoff), Layton (AJ Bowen), Avery (Alexis Peters), Cleatus (Ed Ackerman), Chad (David Foy), Vernon (Colton Dunn) and John (Rick McCallum). 
When the film is done nothing is really resolved, there is a twist but no resolution so the third movie will have plenty of room to finish up the story. If I was going to recommend one of the two films it would be the first. Don't get me wrong this film is watchable just missing something the first had in spades.