Eight years...the mutant cannibals are back. It's surprising that it took so long for a sequel to be made considering how great the original was. After watching the sequel though, maybe eight years was too soon.
The Hills Have Eyes part 2 begins with one of the survivors from the original, Bobby, recounting his first run in with the cannibals (in one of many flashbacks). Bobby is now the maker of a new brand of motor oil (can you say random?) which he and a group of bike racers plan on showing off at a bike show. Sounds all fine and dandy, right? Except for the fact that the bike show is in the desert near the happenings of the first film. Bobby decides he can't go but the rest of the group soldiers on, including Bobby's wife Rachel, whom you may also remember as Ruby, the escaped cannibal woman from the predecessor. On their trip, they unsurprisingly break down and end up in a deserted mining town. Turns out it's not so deserted when one by one, the group keeps turning up dead.
Let's start with the good things about this film. It's good to see some of the characters from the first film, especially Michael Berryman as the cannibal Pluto and Janus Blythe as Rachel/Ruby. The mining town location is also a great atmosphere for scares. The biggest problem with the film though is those damn flashbacks. It's like watching a double feature only half as long and twice as sucky. Even the fucking dog in the film has a flashback. Another problem is the supporting characters. To put it plainly, they all just suck. There is nothing likable or interesting about them whatsoever. The scene where one of the female characters decides to make use of an abandoned shower that she finds out in cannibal country just proves how little thought went into these characters (outside of physical traits). In case you can't tell, this movie isn't worth your time.
RATING: 2/5
I honestly think this one was pretty solid, yet it seems every time I see it reviewed nobody sees the same "average" followup I do >.< . Really, there weren't THAT many flashbacks (Not like some "clip show movies," Howling 7, Silent Night Deadly Night 2...), and so what if the dog has one? Can't dogs remember shit?
ReplyDeleteI found part 1 to be overrated as a harrowing thriller and I'd say this one is pretty underrated as a slasher. I'd give both about a 6/10
I would definitely call this a "clip show movie". I actually liked this film the first time I watched it but the second time it was dreadful. I actually thought the story (other than the flashbacks) was ok but it was pretty pointless.
ReplyDeleteI still think the first one is a classic.