Director: Peter Goddard
Year: 2020
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher; Zombie
Plot:
Hosting a costume party for her friends, a woman and the other guests learn that the intended friends who were supposed to arrive after a camping trip ran into a deranged serial killer and his psychotic assistant looking for bodies to complete a deranged personal quest and must try to get away alive.
Review:
This was a decent and enjoyable follow-up. One of the best features here is the simplistic and straightforward approach that doesn’t include the convoluted setup of the first one. Utilizing a two-pronged storyline of the early stages of the party getting together with the friends getting to the house and preparing for everyone as well as the police investigation into the murder of a connected victim that turns out to be related to the party which brings everyone together. This in effect makes for a rather fun time as this approach allows for the various connections and tidbits about what happened to the original group that gives this a cohesive overall feel between the various incidents.
The other nice factor on display is the series of enjoyable slasher scenes that emerge from the killers being out on the loose. With the early scenes of the two going around picking off the stragglers found in the woods doing the search before turning to the house party taking place, the film starts off nicely with some decent stalking and bloodshed. The party rampage throughout the house with the group unaware of everything going on. When the zombie invasion and a far more apocalyptic outcome are brought into play, this mix of influences is quite fun mixing together the action, an over-the-top sense of spectacle, and some goofiness with the events and kills that are quite likable and giving this a lot to like.
This one does have a few issues involved. One of the main factors here is that, for a film as short as this one is, there’s still way too much filler and padding found here. The first half is especially egregious in this regard, going through tons of extraneous footage of the group getting all of their plans together and sorting out who’s getting hooked up with who that it becomes quite tedious. That the police officers going alongside all this in their investigation comes off in a single, extended sequence of the two going around in the various points necessary for the plot to get spelled out. Both of these scenes are way too long for their own good and don’t have much use to be especially in a film of this length.
The other problem here, much like the original film, is that there are some side stories that are included which are way too underdeveloped in a film like this. Considering the brevity of the film and the immediacy of the main storyline that drops these main storylines along, the idea of getting to the meat of their quest with apocalyptic tinges to their need to collect bodies is a huge missed opportunity. That it comes into play way too late in the story being a last-ditch attempt to make the villains seem more imposing almost is unnecessary since that doesn’t get explained or explored more. It’s almost like a by-product of the low budget on display, which does crop up as well and becomes the elements holding this one down.
Overview: ***/5
Quite a fun indie effort that mixes a slasher, zombie apocalypse, and a strange murderous cult together, it may exceed its reach at times but it’s usually fun enough to stay interesting and enjoyable when it matters. Give this a look if you’re intrigued by the various elements incorporated here, a fan of this kind of indie effort, or enjoyed the original while only those who don’t enjoy any of those elements should heed caution.
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