Director: Stewart Sparke
Year: 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
After surviving the original massacre, the last woman left is taken into custody by the police and kept with the rest of the inmates at a jail cell until they can figure out what’s going on, but when they inadvertently summon a swarm of demonic creatures forces her to save everyone again.
Review:
This was a fairly fun and enjoyable genre follow-up. Among the better elements with this one comes from the strong opening setup present within here that provides this one with the kind of intriguing connection of preexisting storylines, while also letting it work as a standalone genre effort. Tying into the previous events by showing the actual aftermath of the events and rolling credits in a meta-way makes the connections clear pretty early on about its sequel status, much like the flashback detailing what went wrong in the cabin that resulted in the actual start of the film proper when she gets picked up. The disbelieving staff at the police station who go through her belongings and try to paint her a the culprit for everything despite her insistence on the monsters responsible for everything makes for a fine touch to carry the storyline on, and with this giving a great opportunity to look into the various other incarcerated members of the station coming along for the ride, there’s a lot to like here.
That leaves the film with a great setup for the strong slew of impressive creature attacks throughout here. With this going for a constantly-changing selection of creatures that continually show up as obstacles to prevent the crew from finding the tool that stopped them the last time, this provides the film with the ability to work as a more action-oriented siege effort focused on clearing the monsters as they encounter the next hurdle in their quest. From the first confrontation in the jail cells giving everyone a sense of what they’re up against, the fight to get upstairs to the remaining troops left in the station where they find the creatures have started sealing them off from the rest of the world, or the later scenes in the station where the race to uncover the one sacred object that can stop them brings about a series of different creations on everyone offering a great mix of practical creature effects for the uniquely-designed beings they come across and practical gore. These manage to make for a lot to like here.
There are a few issues that hold this one down. The main issue here is the somewhat underwhelming and unneeded change of pace the third act takes, which is a different entity entirely from what had been previously featured. Rather than focus on a more Action-oriented Horror setup with the way they constantly face off against different creatures standing in their way, the film opts for a series of over-the-top arcane spells and wizardry that tries to paint the use of those powers which are nicely hinted at earlier but just feels out of place in this kind of setup. It still keeps the rest of the gore and practical effects here but there’s a different type of tone and atmosphere that stands out compared to the rest of the film, and manages to accomplish the other main issue in dragging the film out longer than it should trying to bring about a series of different revelations and storylines that this brings up. It’s all a part of what makes the ending a bit underwhelming, and with the somewhat obvious low-budget limitations featured here, is what holds it down.
Overview: ****/5
An immensely enjoyable indie creature feature, there’s quite a lot to like with this one as it manages to hold itself up quite well over small drawbacks that aren’t too damaging. Give this a shot if you’re a fan of this style of indie effort, appreciate indie creature features like this, or are fans of the creative crew, while most others out there might want to heed caution.
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