Director: Wes Craven
Year: 1985
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher:
Plot:
Trying to get over his fear of the desert, a guy agrees to go on a dirt-bike expedition with his friends where he got attacked years earlier and gets lost on a side road where the surviving family members attack them and begin systematically killing them forcing the group to fight back.
Review:
Overall, this wasn't as bad as some say. One of the biggest features here is a far more intriguing and worthwhile storyline that has a lot more going for it than expected. The fact that its mostly just a carbon copy of the first and that it changes styles over the first one to become more of a stalk-and-slash film is a nice change of pace and adds a little more to the film that isn't really that damaging, as it allows for a constant stream of action scenes throughout the film. That they get stranded early on is quite enjoyable as the dirt-bike and ensuing foot chase through the mountains throughout various caverns is a wonderful action sequence with the brawling as well as the series of traps that are laid out allow for quite an exciting scene. The rampage of the group as they’re stuck at the abandoned house has a more traditional slasher set up in the way they go through the kids one-by-one has a rather engaging air with them being hunting down one-by-one.
The other big factor here is the fact that the film has an exceptionally fun and engaging finale. There’s a large amount of suspense played out in the cavern sequence at the end was a great highlight, as the novel idea of having the main character in that sequence being blind was able to make some new ideas out of a clichéd experience. It's quite nice to see something that had been taken through all of the possible explorations, but then to add a great new gimmick that actually adds some suspense to the proceedings. It's quite nerve-wracking to see them wander through the situations unaware of what's out there and there's no way for it to change. The big battle by the flaming truck is a fun finish as well, making for a lot to really like with this one.
Even though it wasn't all that bad, there's still a couple of things wrong. The biggest issue here is a plot that is a virtual retread of the first one, and the situation to get them involved with the group is a step-by-step repeat of before. Ignoring a map’s directions and taking a shortcut through the desert that brings them into contact with the family, much like before only they constantly bring up the events of the first one through several flashbacks by various characters. It really doesn't try anything new here, and instead goes mainly for new traps and more characters that don't really make it all that different from the first one. The fact that it's so maligned is based mostly around that and it's cheese factor, which doesn't bode too well for most movies. This one tries to rise against it with a couple of great moments, but the fact that it's so cheesy and clichéd is the major source of the complaint. Otherwise, it doesn't have too many problems here.
Overview: ***/5
As one of the most maligned films in the genre, this wasn't expected to be all that good it far better than its reputation will give it but don't compare it to the original and it might be interesting. Take it on its own merits, and you might find yourself enjoying it a lot more than you should while those that can’t separate this one from the original should heed caution.
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