Grave Encounters 2

[Mogwai]

Originally Posted by DoubleBarreledShotgun

So I watched this legally as shit off the internet yesterday, and I have to say I was quite disappointed. Now, first let me preface this by saying that I wasn't a huge fan of the first one. I liked it enough but I thought the heavy emphasis on jump scares was rather lame and the whole thing was kind of uninspired. This noted I went into the sequel expecting basically a rehash of the first one where a ghost hunting team goes into some haunted place and it turns out to be actually haunted. That wasn't actually the case though, and I was pleasantly surprised by that. Though, that surprise was rather dampened by the introduction of quite possibly the most annoying group of characters ever and a very unlikable protagonist. This is a very bad thing for a movie where you are supposed to be rooting for the characters survival. I found my girlfriend, who is a rather mild mannered girl, wishing they died, which made me laugh pretty hard. The acting wasn't bad, but it really isn't hard to act like a doof (yes I said doof, it's applicable here). The scares were overall rather lame and uninspired, not once did I find myself slightly startled. Overall, I would not say avoid this flick, just watch it and don't expect much. You might be able to squeeze a small amount of entertainment out of it, but it isn't special.

Yeah, I watched it last night too and I'm inclined to agree with this. The first 30-40 minutes or so are enough to make a lighthouse keeper seasick, so shaky are the shaky cam effects. Once these irritating (and totally-asking-to-be-violently-murdered) shits enter the building it picks up. They should have just forsaken the first third with all its boring plot devices and had the new crew of filmmakers simply break in and the fun could have started from the start. Anyway, they break in and what follows is a complete rehash of the first. Once the irksome little brats made it inside it was almost a shot for shot remake of the first film. Skip the first half hour and just have fun with a camera crew wandering around in the dark recesses of a fantastically creepy building. It's not as good as the first but from about an hour in it's a fun ride.
7/10

[The Revelator]

Watched this yesterday and I loved it! Kind of surprised.

The first half hour was a bit too long and kind of stupid... but when they get to the hospital and things start happening it doesn't let up. I felt that the last hour of this movie was as intense as the last 20 minutes of the first movie. I even checked how much of the movie was left at only an hour into the movie because I was thinking "damn this feels like one big, long finale, there can't be much left". It kept going and going and going (in a good way). It took the original plot WAY further than I had imagined it would have and featured some cool scares and suspense (one scene actually got me to jump and had me freaked out, which happens rarely in horror movies anymore). Too bad the first half hour was so pointless and just a few of the happenings in the hospital seemed over-done and pushed on the audience. Still, surprisingly solid sequel. Turning into one of the best horror franchises in recent memory (this blows the pants off of the Paranormal Activity sequels).

9/10

[Deadly Fiend]

Good to hear that this film is getting a positive reaction for the most part. Watching it tonight hopefully.

[The Revelator]

Originally Posted by Urdeadlyfriend

Good to hear that this film is getting a positive reaction for the most part. Watching it tonight hopefully.

I would say it isn't as suspenseful or "scary" as the first one, but its more "in your face" and bat shit crazy.

[Deadly Fiend]

Originally Posted by The Revelator

I would say it isn't as suspenseful or "scary" as the first one, but its more "in your face" and bat shit crazy.

Understandable. The first really surprised me by how scary and twisted it was. More craziness in this one sounds like fun. Can't wait.

[Agent Panic]

Don't get lulled into the hype.

This movie was kinda bad.

Unlikeable characters, bad acting, no scares.. it was a disappointment, and I wasn't even expecting too much from it, even though I liked the first one.

[DoubleBarreledShotgun]

Originally Posted by Agent Panic

Don't get lulled into the hype.

This movie was kinda bad.

Unlikeable characters, bad acting, no scares.. it was a disappointment, and I wasn't even expecting too much from it, even though I liked the first one.

Thank you! I agree ten fold.

[Deadly Fiend]

This seems to be an audience divider, I'm still looking forward to checking it out. Going in with a very open mind. I loved the first so this would have to be pretty fucking disappointing for me not to enjoy it.

[BeRightBack]

hmm, mixed feelings about this one here. On the one hand, you have the first half, which is equal parts meta talk about film, and rehashing over the events of the first film. Boring... this is where the lame characters are at their most annoying. But then the 2nd half of the film is actually damn good. Once they get inside the building, the movie actually expands quite nicely on what exactly this haunted building can do. Felt more maze like this time. Most of the characters are truly annoying, and stupid as well, but the lead manages. That poster that looks pretty damn silly, actually translates nicely to the film. Pretty creepy stuff here. That one pivitol event in the first film that made everyone go "oh shit, they're dead" is used here, to greater effect, and then goes even further. Really, it's a worthy sequel, but could have done a better build up to the madness that is the 2nd half. I actually enjoyed the horror parts of this more than the 1st, but the beginning just kills it. 7/10

[TheHorrorGuru]

I dug this flick, though it has the same problems I had with the original. The characters jump from one to eleven on the freak out scale way too early, the CG ghost-facing diminishes the potential scares and not all of the camera glitch effects were that convincing. That being said, this film much like the first one has a lot of imagination and it's balls-to-the-wall nature delivers some truly fun moments. I'm totally down for a third one if they decide to go that route.