Review: House II: The Second Story (1987)

I was a bit disappointed with this since it didn't seem like a sequel at all. It's not really related to the first one in the slightest except it's yet another house hooked into an alternate dimension or something but this feels much more like an adventure movie. I guess it's not bad really but you get less monsters. The story focuses on a glowing crystal skull (please don't remind me of Indiana Jones 4: Don't Repeat Its Full Name) that again has nothing to do with the original movie. Instead of more cool monsters, you get a caveman bodybuilder type and some Aztec natives or something. That is a little weak in my opinion. There are a couple dinosaurs but sadly no T-Rex and then there's a large mutant rat (I think that's what it was). Bill Maher shows up (he's an actor?). The kid spends the whole movie with his decaying zombie grandpa who is pretty funny and they befriends some kind of giant caterpillar dog. A little weird there then the big bad is another decaying old dude who wants the skull for himself. Eh it was alright. I prefer the first film. Very little horror in this one.

Review: Banshee Chapter (2013)

The true events behind this film are much more fascinating and terrifying than the end product unfortunately. There are definitely some creepy moments but the main investigative story fails to be compelling. You've got a female reporter trying to find out what really happened to her friend who she may or may not have been in love with (probably should've opted for the latter since it's hard for the audience to get invested in a relationship if the girl doesn't even know how she feels about the guy). I know this movie didn't have a huge budget, but it's also too small for its own good. You barely get to see any monsters or experiments, and the ending just made me go, "That's it?" Ted Levine who we all know as Jame Gumb from The Silence of the Lambs is excellent and helps liven things up a bit, but he doesn't get that much to do. They mostly wander around, attempting to solve the mystery, but there isn't any ticking clock or narrative device to build momentum. Making a horror film based on these real events is a brilliant idea if only they could've mined it for its true potential. It's ok but not as good as it could've been.