Wednesday, October 22, 2014

See No Evil 2 or The Twisted Twins' Third Film

7 of 7 Viewers "Liked" "See No Evil 2" (2014, USA)
Here's what the citizens of the Overlook Theatre had to say:

The Impostor - "See No Evil 2 is a refreshing slasher film to watch. I have been waiting 8 years for a sequel to this original slasher film. Jacob Goodnight is a lot more sinister looking with his mask and I thought it brought more to his character. Only thing that kinda bothered me was the constant flash backs to the original film but all in all I loved this slasher and hope to see a "See No Evil 3" in the near future." - 4 Stars

Lord Battle - "The Soska Twins help Kane hit his slasher stride, attract a solid pair of horror maidens, and try to influence this film as much as possible. I would have liked to see this film shot with a script they wrote. At the end of the day See No Evil 2 is a weak film but a strong slasher (Pun intended)." - 4 Stars

The Berkeley Blazer - "It's a marvel to see Kane burst through portals in a shower of debris, but despite being directed by talented auteurs the film was like a plodding nightmare dreamed up by no one in particular. Despite the tepid style the film wasn't necessarily boring. Watch in a group or with pro-wrestling aficionados." - 2 1/2 Stars

Math Mage - "Why don't more slashers break down doors, it's really effective & really scary. Also, I liked that all the characters kept remarking on how maze-like the building was, helping suspend disbelief as they remained trapped despite abundant exit signs." - 3 Stars

Book Wyrm - "I can't describe why I like this movie. The slasher was scary and the setting felt hopelessly never ending. I wanted the characters to get out. I liked this movie but I don't know why! It scared me." - 4 Stars

Huntress - "Jacob Goodnight is a welcome addition to the new slasher family! He embodies a very scary combination of murderous qualities; a hulking stature and mental vulnerability, both of which become weapons. The character gets fleshed out further in this sequel, and Kane's wrestling background gives him a new level of dexterity. The Soska Twins did him justice." - 4 Stars

Ice Giant - "4 Stars, each time Kane smashed through another door it gained another star." - 4 Stars




The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

First, I'd like to start by saying the Overlook Theatre has been waiting a long time to see the release of this film and I'm happy to finally write this review. It feels like a long journey since I had screened "Dead Hooker in a Trunk", "American Mary", and "See No Evil" in an attempt to build awareness of the Soska Twins and ultimately excitement for "See No Evil 2". After seeing the film I honestly believe the twins didn't have full control over any aspect of this project. None of this film really held any of the style that made them the renownly polarizing story tellers we've come to love (or hate). I know that's saying a lot about directors that have only made 2 features but the level of pulpy substance in the past films is so great that it makes "See No Evil 2" feel almost empty, and strung together by "filler", which has never been a problem for them.
With that said, Kane is awesome as Jacob Goodnight. The first film featured Kane as a boring, straightforward slasher. Which is fine for most films since you just write a cool background story and design a cool mask and voila an awesome character. But See No Evil had a unique problem, Kane obviously was the main draw for the film so it made sense when they didn't want to cover his face with a mask but they should have done what the Soska's did in the sequel and let him talk. 
I constantly talk about the two different groups of slashers, the masked and the unmasked and how big of an impact this simple difference really makes. Without getting too far off topic, the idea is that Jason was played by 4+ different actors and it didn't effect the character (too much...) but no one can replace Robert England, Warwick Davis, Tony Todd, Doug Bradly, etc... without killing the character. Essentially, masked characters are written and an unmasked character is acted. Kane is an acting athlete or a pro wrestler and these guys get no credit, they go out 300+ days a year and put on a live and physical improv show. The bottom line is Kane should be owning Jacob Goodnight just like the other unmasked actors I mentioned above. And the Twins giving him a clear mask is ingenious! It let's him act and show emotion but it also allows him to be a door destroying super killer like Jason or Hatchet Face. Doors being destroyed has come up quite a bit and you'll instantly know why when you watch the film, it conjurers up memories of Resident Evil 2.
In closing, "See No Evil 2" is an awesome slasher with Jacob Goodnight exploding with sequel slaughtering potential but as a Soska Film it felt very constricted and ultimately a let down.
- Lord Battle

*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not effect the rating.

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