Director: Katt Shea
Year: 1989
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Plagued by strange dreams, a stripper in a seedy club starts a relationship with a detective investigating the series of murders occurring around the other residents of the stripclub she works at when it starts to appear she’s acting out her dreams as the culprit forcing them to find the real killer.
Review:
This was a decent enough if somewhat problematic follow-up. The main feature that works here is the same factor that works well for the first one in that its sleaze trappings are incredibly fun and well-developed throughout. Featuring no shortage of high-end stripping scenes where neon-soaked dancers are put to the test with tightly choreographed sequences set to exotic jazz and saxophone-laden music creating an impressive visual involving the way the sequences come together. As this manages to incorporate a solid series of backstage interactions with the rest of the dancers who are engaging in the usual series of pettiness and jealousy expected in these kinds of features that involve changing or stripping down that manages to come across some solid nudity in that regard.
As well, there’s also the strong series of stalking scenes featuring the killer striking others around her. Since we’ve been given a great setup for this involving the hallucinations that paint her as the killer who’s targeting her coworkers in stark black-and-white sequences featuring the striking imagery of the killer coming after them working well alongside the shocking concept of it all, there’s a fine start here to the rest of the sequences here. The actual stalking scenes are incredibly rare and not nearly as involved but still manage to get some fun work out of the terrified nature of the victims in such a situation before the actual strike occurs which is usually accomplished by either razor slashes across the face or strangulation leading to a decent enough finale where everything comes together. These all give this a decent amount of positives.
There are some pretty big issues with this one holding it back. Among the main flaws here is the excessively underwhelming and lazy storyline that tries too hard to put red herrings into this simple-minded murder mystery. With the way this tries to leverage doubt on the occasion by making her a potential suspect with the dreams being used to help intimate her as the culprit doing nothing more than throwing up a flashing sign saying this is a fake reading, it leaves only a few possible suspects who could be the main figure so this comes off somewhat underwhelming. There are also the film’s obvious low-budget limitations here, not only the cheap gore and flimsy sets but also the exceptionally awkward stripping dances that are focused exclusively on the girls in isolated settings rather than in a fully-packed club of admirers so it feels a little cramped and low-budget, lowering this one overall.
Overview: **/5
A disappointing sequel with a few enjoyable aspects, there’s some likable features on display here even though they get somewhat overwhelmed and overcome by the more damaging detrimental elements. Those with an interest in this style or are hardcore fans of the creative crew will be the main audience for this one while most others out there should heed caution.
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