Title: See No Evil 2 (2014)
Director: The Soska Sisters
Runtime: 90 minutes
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Sometimes I can’t help but wonder why some films get a sequel. Back in 2006, the world got to “See No Evil”. It was a WWE film with their very own Glenn “Kane” Jacobs playing a serial killer that stabbed people’s eyes out. It had a biblical flair to it, and just wasn’t very good. You don’t need to have seen the original film to enjoy See No Evil 2, though, as you’re given a brief rundown of the events in the sequel. Please be aware, though, that this review will spoil a few bits from the original film due to necessity.
Taking a cue from Halloween 2, See No Evil 2 takes place the same night as the original film. Jacob Goodnight’s (Kane) corpse is brought to the hospital morgue after his killing spree and death from the first film. It’s Amy’s birthday, and her friends decide to throw her a surprise party while she’s at work, the same night Jacob’s body arrives. Well, it turns out that Jacob isn’t dead, and now he wants to kill some more.
The characters of See No Evil 2 are pretty entertaining. No one was too horrific or annoying that I was praying for him or her to die. Yes, they do dumb things like make out with a corpse and have sex by his body, but, hey, when you’re a crazy nymphomaniac these things happen. See No Evil 2 offers up some classic horror girls. The always-charming Danielle Harris (Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween 2) plays Amy, her typical “Last Girl” role, while Katharine Isabelle (American Mary) plays Tamara, the sexually adventurous girl.
The Soska Sisters (American Mary) direct this, and they do the best they can with a script from two first-time writers. They have some great ideas, and the final act does put a nice twist on things, but the tools that Jacob is given to murder with seem a bit unbelievable for a hospital. The kills are fairly mild and only one of them really stand out, and even then it doesn’t entirely happen on-screen, which seems to be typical these days.
Even with a 90-minute runtime, See No Evil 2 seems to drag on a bit too long. The kills take a while to kick in, and then it’s a blood bath, followed by the tedious finale that just left me bitter because it is entirely unbelievable. I remember very little about the first film, but this one seems to be of a better quality than the original, and maybe with a stronger script this sequel would have been more entertaining.
If you’re a fan of WWE Films then you will probably enjoy See No Evil 2, but it’s not great, or even something I’d think about adding to my collection. The directing is pretty solid, however, and having two sexy scream queens never hurt a film. My biggest complaint, besides the lack of on-screen violence, is that this is another modern slasher film with no nudity (excluding a quick flash of a caged man’s junk, which I’m sure was CGI anyway). See No Evil 2 will be available for purchase and rental on both physical and digital platforms on Tuesday, October 21st, but I’d pass on it until it hits Netflix in a month or two.
Chris was raised on horror films, which gave him a deep love for the genre, especially its most quirky and offbeat titles (like A Nightmare on Elm Street 2). This love quickly turned into an obsession for cinema in 1997, when he decided he needed to see every major theatrical release. Video games (JRPGs), reading (anything but fantasy), and reality television (Survivor) are just some of his other passions. He’s been with Cinefessions since 2013, and has been writing reviews all over the internet for the past twelve years.
