I watched the 2023 movie "Island of the Dolls" just a week ago, and it was a rather abysmal movie, and thus I harbored no great expectations to this 2024 sequel titled "Island of the Dolls 2". So why even bother with the sequel? Well, because I believe in giving a movie a fair chance. And who knows, maybe writers Harry Boxley and Sam Gurney would deliver a more impressive script for the sequel than what writer Oscar Wenman-Hyde did for the first movie?
Well, I have to say that very early on in the movie it was clear that "Island of the Dolls 2" was not going to be a masterpiece or a particularly interesting horror movie. It was just oozing with that low budget and amateurish attempt at a horror movie atmosphere.
The script was generic. Sure, if you're a newcomer to the horror genre, then you might enjoy what Harry Boxley and Sam Gurney delivered. But if you, like myself, am a horror veteran, then there is very little to be enjoyed in this movie. Creepy dols? Check. Camera crew shooting documentary on location? Check. Deranged man trying to bring his dead daughter back to life? Check. All been done and seen before, and often with much better result.
I didn't really understand the Santana (played by Jenna N. Wilson) character and why the writers opted to conjure up that particular character. The character's appearance and role in the movie made very little sense. And the voice that kept changing made no sense either.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. That is actually something I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie, believe it or not. Despite the script being rubbish, I will say that the acting performances were actually fair.
The character Hughie (played by Tom Beechcroft) pretty much summarized this movie quite well around 28 minutes into the ordeal when he said "absolutely not".
For a horror movie, then "Island of the Dolls 2" was not a great movie. It was about as enjoyable as the predecessor from 2023. But hey, at least if you enjoyed that one, then you will also enjoy this sequel.
My rating of director Andrea M. Catinella's 2024 movie "Island of the Dolls 2" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.