Director: Mary Lambert
Year: 1992
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Moving to a small town, a doctor and his son trying to get over a traumatic accident learn that the local legend of an Indian burial ground works on more than just animals which soon turns into rather gruesome discoveries when several bodies need burying and the returned beings aren’t the same.
Review:
This was an overall pretty decent if unspectacular effort that does have a few good parts about it. One of its good points is that there's a solid enough buildup here mimicking the original about the source of the location’s powers. Still using the idea about the area being something the Native Americans used and then abandoned when it became obvious something was off, this one winds through the different mindset about how it works and instead offers up more reasons why it should be used. Featuring the traumatic backstory with the family where the son watches the mother getting killed in the accident on the movie set, the move to the small-town home where they meet the neighbor suffering from his abusive relationship with the stepfather who gradually grows in discomfort knowing the quietly antagonistic setup established, and the traumatic life at both school and home, these manage to come together with the implied nature of the site’s background to give everything a solid overall setup.
The other great aspect here is that this one has some really enjoyable action scenes in the later half which is really quite fun as it really starts here with the policeman stepfather's resurrection. That brings along with it the rather enjoyable aspects such as the slow realization of his degenerative condition, the more violent and overt displays of aggression towards the rest of the family, and finally the culmination of everything in the house chase and resulting car-chase which is all really enjoyable and sets up the rest of the action later on. From the brawl in the house to the confrontation in the burning attic, these scenes are all rather fun and exciting and really make the best points for this one which is all pretty much found in the final half. Along with the blood and gore present throughout this, these are the film's good points.
Still, these aren't enough to really overcome the various flaws within this. Among the more noticeable problems is the utterly ridiculous manner of accepting the location's powers and effects on everyone as the reaction to everything here is completely arbitrary. It's treated as if the reappearance of people who you have a personal hand in killing, being up and acting as if nothing happened is a normal, everyday occurrence in town which doesn't generate any kind of special reaction or builds any suspense at all. That really affects the power of this pretty significantly as well as undermining the whole experience by keeping this one so relaxed about this very disturbing tactic in the film, as if it's not a big deal at all. That also shows up in the unbelievable manner of how those who interact with the resurrected despite gaping and oozing wounds, a lack of life-like skin or eye color, and permanent cold skin no one catches on at all.
The last flaw here is the actions within the finale as this one manages to bring about a multitude of bad decisions throughout here. To start with, the decision to resurrect the individual is quite illogical given that there had been little indication it was something desirable so this whole point makes little sense other than being something it had to do by design. Also, the behavior of being supportive and on their side becomes quite troubling since there was little to get this built up, and then how easily this is abandoned makes this all quite confusing and flawed. Combined with the cheesy tone and atmosphere throughout here, these are the film's biggest flaws that keep this down.
Overview: ***.5/5
A far better sequel to a pretty bad first film, this is an improvement even with some issues with it holding it back from what it could’ve been. Give this a chance if you’re intrigued by this kind of feature, aren’t bothered by the drawbacks, or are fans of the creative crew while only those who are turned off by the approach taken here should heed caution.
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