Reunion From Hell 2, as a second effort in the Riley Conner saga, while challenged in story and flow, definitely improves in its entertainment value over the first installment. While the story is egocentric and a little far fetched in believability, it is horror fiction after all. The cast is greatly improved with the addition of Lisa Wilcox, Danny Hassel, and Mark Patton (who steals the show). Some other worthwhile efforts include Steve Holiskey - his banter with Mark Patton offers good tension relief.
One of the greatest improvements, overall, is the use of the killer and the mask made from a former victim's face. While it isn't the first time that's been done, it was well utilized given the drastically different and bleak color and lighting scheme. It would have been cool to see some snow in the movie, given the fact that we see snow in the opening credits with blood dripping. But, I guess without a huge budget, you can't always control that.
There are some genuinely creepy moments in the movie and that is already an improvement over the first one. Johnna Hodge works well within the time provided in the movie to give a pretty grotesque performance and definitely offers something actually scary to the flow! Jeremiah Lee returns in a unique way and delivers a solid performance. It would be interesting to learn how much of the "killer's" performance was from Lee as the stunt operator behind the mask. Kelly Layne, like Hodge, should have had a larger role because she was solid as well.
Negatives - there are a couple of particularly over-the-top, over-acted performances from actors I won't call out, but they are particularly distracting. It would have been nice to see a larger world beyond the isolated cabin we already arrive at, because, when Mark Patton arrives, we ask... "Why? I'm confused." But, when Mark does arrive, it's horror comedy gold. And lastly, the sex scene. No...
Positives - Newcomer, Evan J. Mackey is written very slowly at first but eventually makes it his own and delivers a solid, angry performance that ends in the wildest way possible! His interaction with Darren Lee Cupp works well and hits the banter mark effectively. Lisa Wilcox brings some nice stunt work and handles her emotional range well! She is refreshing and brings something solid to the screen. Danny Hassel, this dude is solid, especially when he is allowed to offer something more than quippy one-liners. He gets into some good stunt fighting as well! Along with the positives I mentioned earlier, there are some really cool kills in this one - death by deepthroat?!?! Knife exits the face? Drowning? Gratuitous slashing and stabbing? Yup! Better blood content and better over all effects in general. Cinematography, music score, location, the mask, and overall mood.
It appears Hayden Newman did assemble a good group of filmmakers and cast for this one and has improved in overall performance. 7/10.
One of the greatest improvements, overall, is the use of the killer and the mask made from a former victim's face. While it isn't the first time that's been done, it was well utilized given the drastically different and bleak color and lighting scheme. It would have been cool to see some snow in the movie, given the fact that we see snow in the opening credits with blood dripping. But, I guess without a huge budget, you can't always control that.
There are some genuinely creepy moments in the movie and that is already an improvement over the first one. Johnna Hodge works well within the time provided in the movie to give a pretty grotesque performance and definitely offers something actually scary to the flow! Jeremiah Lee returns in a unique way and delivers a solid performance. It would be interesting to learn how much of the "killer's" performance was from Lee as the stunt operator behind the mask. Kelly Layne, like Hodge, should have had a larger role because she was solid as well.
Negatives - there are a couple of particularly over-the-top, over-acted performances from actors I won't call out, but they are particularly distracting. It would have been nice to see a larger world beyond the isolated cabin we already arrive at, because, when Mark Patton arrives, we ask... "Why? I'm confused." But, when Mark does arrive, it's horror comedy gold. And lastly, the sex scene. No...
Positives - Newcomer, Evan J. Mackey is written very slowly at first but eventually makes it his own and delivers a solid, angry performance that ends in the wildest way possible! His interaction with Darren Lee Cupp works well and hits the banter mark effectively. Lisa Wilcox brings some nice stunt work and handles her emotional range well! She is refreshing and brings something solid to the screen. Danny Hassel, this dude is solid, especially when he is allowed to offer something more than quippy one-liners. He gets into some good stunt fighting as well! Along with the positives I mentioned earlier, there are some really cool kills in this one - death by deepthroat?!?! Knife exits the face? Drowning? Gratuitous slashing and stabbing? Yup! Better blood content and better over all effects in general. Cinematography, music score, location, the mask, and overall mood.
It appears Hayden Newman did assemble a good group of filmmakers and cast for this one and has improved in overall performance. 7/10.
Tell Your Friends