Director: Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Year: 2024
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
After getting away from the first encounter, the lone survivor finds his attempts at integrating back into society held up by the perception of what happened previously, which borders a secondary rampage by the creatures, forcing him to save the town from the creatures.
Review:
This was a letdown from the original, even if there are still some likable factors here. The main selling point here is the central setup involving the attempt to return to a state of normalcy following a tragedy and the failure of others to grant that. Based on how the events of the original ended with the creatures getting to their betrayer and escaping the whole thing, to eventually paint him as the culprit for everything, which damages his attempt at getting past everything, going back to a normal life. This comes along nicely with the incident causing the new massacre when the disbelief turns hunters to go out and kill the creatures which only gets them killed and forcing them to seek revenge fully on the town for everything and bringing him back to save his few friends and family left on his side which is intriguing enough to keep this one going along until it’s time to reveal the big twist in their origins that has some fine moments to this one.
As well as this strong start, the film’s attempts at getting the creatures out and about in their rampage make for another solid series of attacks and action scenes that get quite gruesome and bloody. The initial opening attacking the random group of women in the RV manages to start this strong with some rather strong and suspenseful stalking before the break-in that includes some immensely brutal and barbaric treatment of them, which gives this a great start. While later scenes, including the hunters getting wiped out in the woods, the attack on the girlfriend’s house, and the ambush on his parents, are decent enough, it's not until the full-scale slaughter on the rave that it gets enjoyable again with the concept and quantity of kills making for a fun time. With a solid finale also offering more brutality as well as enough action to be somewhat rousing, this one does get enjoyable at points.
There are some big problems with this one. Among its biggest issues is the lethargic and dreadful pacing that makes it feel far longer than it really should. The first half going through all sorts of useless shenanigans, from his return to the hospital where he used to work and interact with the patients, the dealings with the therapist trying to come to terms with everything, and then dealing with the girlfriend about the nightmares spawned by the treatment of the locals who don't believe his story, might make for a great story but it’s just deathly dull to get through. This all has a rather lethargic way of getting through a storyline that doesn’t require as much time to tell these stories, so it makes the rampage come off way too late in the scenario for what it should’ve been. As well, there are decidedly obvious weak effects here with sloppy designs for the main creatures and gory aftermath for most of the kills, with off-screen antics that are disappointing overall, which all lower this overall.
Overview: ***/5
A solid if decidedly downgraded sequel, this was watchable for what it is, although its issues are what bring it down considerably compared to the outstanding original. Those who appreciate this kind of feature or still enjoy the first one will want to give it a shot, while those turned off by the approach of the original or the factors present here should heed extreme caution with this one.
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