All Hallows' Eve 2

For sure, it could be said this entry lacks that which made the first something more special. Is it using old shorts from YouTube? Maybe. Is it the lack of a proper foreground story? Probably.

But nonetheless, it's a fine combination of horror shorts - obviously some lesser than others but that's a very subjective opinion. None of the shorts are overly gory and the ones which stand out stand out VERY well and it's quite clear why they should be featured in this movie. The cinematography and acting is surprisingly solid throughout all shorts and the effects aren't too shabby either.

All in all, it's not a terrible waste of an hour and thirty minutes of your life - but I wouldn't plan a movie night around it.

I like to watch a portmanteau style horror film every once in a while, so with an idle afternoon Amazon Prime recommended me "All Hallows Eve 2". I haven't seen the first one, I'm hoping that it doesn't matter. Unlike some other films like this, where the short stories were created specifically for the film, these appear to have been a selection of previously produced shorts, some even as much as 10 years old at the time the film was released. It is, as with a large proportion of films like this, mostly rubbish.

Calm to the point of idiocy, a woman (Andrea Monier) is delivered a VHS tape by a pumpkin masked madman, carrying a knife. She watches the tape, the stories of which make up the bulk of the film. Then the least surprising thing happens.

The first is "Jack Attack" in which a young boy Jack (Tyler Rossell) and his babysitter Elizabeth (Helen Rogers) are preparing a pumpkin for Halloween celebrations. Having roasted the seeds, they each eat some, but soon discover, to their horror that the pumpkins are growing inside them. The visual effects were pretty good on this one, but the story was over before it really got started.

The second "The Last Halloween" sees for young children trick or treating in a post-apocalyptic world. Though rewards are small, and danger is high, it's not until they're refused access by Jack (Rob Basch) and Kate (Emily Alatalo) that the true dangers of this world come to life. This was better, the effects work perhaps a bit less impressive but a better story. It also had Julian Richings in it, as the films first recognisable face.

"The Offering" sees a father (Bob Jaffe) and his adult son (Jared Mark Smith) driving to a remote location to prepare a ritual offering for an unseen force, arriving at the site, the father discovers that he has forgotten a key aspect of the offering and must made an unthinkable choice. All in the mind and the performances this one and was all the better for it.

"Descent" sees a woman, Andrea (April Adamson) discover her friends' body, and have to hide from the killer in a cupboard. Weeks later, she's trapped in a lift with the same man and has to maintain her composure, as she works other whether this is a co-incidence or something more sinister. A nice twist in the tail of this one, but the performances are so-so and the short (from 2004) has dated more than the others.

"M is for Masochist" is an ultra-short, where three young man stumble upon a circus and are offered the chance to hurt a "masochist" for the chance to win prizes. Two of the boys begin immediately, but Sam (Fin Kobler) is reluctant. When the masochist's mask comes free, Sam discovers that the victim is his father, who beats Sam at home. He takes his chance for revenge. It fills the running time, I suppose but it's not particularly interesting or well made.

"A Boys Life" was a confusing one. Lengthy and well shot, and starring a young Griffin Gluck, it felt like a psychological chiller, where a boy who hears a monster in his room and is scared sets traps to capture it. But it could just as likely be unprocessed grief over the death of his father, a military man. Until the last minute which, though classic horror fare, undermined the work that had been done before. It felt more like a proof of concept for a larger film, than any of the others.

"Mr Trickers Treat" sees Mr Tricker (Michael Serrato) torture and kill two men and then use them in his front garden Halloween display. It's . . . Not particularly well done - let's just leave it at that.

Finally, "Alexia" which despite being entirely in Spanish and presented without subtitles, was entirely the best. I'm guessing a bit at the plot here, a man (Sergio Beron) is closing down the facebook account of his girlfriend Alexia (Pilar Boyle), who has taken her own life. He has a conversation with his new lover, whom he has invited over and at the conclusion of that, his PC and then his flat is haunted by the ghost of his ex. The visual effects on this one were really well done and this is the really the only one I actually found at all scary.

So, as predicted the film is mostly a waste of time, but a couple of the films are worth your time, particularly Alexia and The Offering, maybe skip to those ones or hunt them down outside of this film.

In most every way this one was better than the first... except for one big part. The lack of the character Art the clown left this one as much more of a compilation of short films and not so much an anthology. While I'm sure they wanted to do something different with this one, Art was not only a wildly creepy addition but was also the connecting factor and cohesion throughout.

The actual over arching storyline between the shorts took a huge backseat and was very lacking which was unfortunate. Plus the pumpkin man severely paled in comparison to Art, but it didn't seem like they even tried tbh. In general it just felt a bit lazy.

Now, in every OTHER way this one was better than the first. The picture quality, the stories, the acting, the level of engagement and intrigue... all better. Because of this it kind of evens itself out to its predecessor landing pretty middle of the road. 5.5 rounding down to a 5. Would recommend.

Has the feel of an indie straight-to-tv movie, and yeah, there's plenty to criticize. From bad acting to cheesy attempts at scares, this one's far from perfect, and falls a quite a bit short of its predecessor. But that doesn't mean it's not a good, Halloween-themed thrill ride.

The over-arching plot starts off basic. They rush the first few segments, and rush the breaks with the main arch in between.

The first segment is actually really, REALLY cool. It's short, but kinda shocking, and leaves the audience going "whoa." And as a bonus, there's a bit of a John Carpenter's "The Thing" element to one certain part. It's fun, shouldn't disappoint.

The second segment feels like a production of Spirit Halloween. Has an interesting premise, some cool aspects with the kids, but has a cheap execution. Very rushed, feels like an early Peter Jackson short. Not to say it's bad, but it's far from great.

Third segment is interesting. It's rushed as well, very short, and hardly any context is provided. Yet, somehow you're able to piece together what is happening, and create your own theories what led the father and son to this point. Acting's not bad. Nothing shocking on screen, but it feels like a campfire story told in 3 minutes by a scout leader to a bunch of wide-eyed cub scouts. And when the scout leader is asked by the scouts to explain everything, the scout leader takes a pull from his flask and tells them to shut the hell up and figure it out themselves.

By the 4th segment, we're only a third of the way through the movie. Starting to feel like the "ABC's of Death," only with more scares, thought, creativity, budget, and talent. And less rushing. Still, this segment isn't half bad either, despite trying to hard to be clever.

By the 5th segment, you may be wondering how many freaking segments there are. And this segment is just stupid. Maybe it could have been better, but, and I hate to sound like a broken record, it's WAAAAY too rushed. Feels like filler.

6th segment (holy crap, is that Pam from "The Office?!?" Wait, no it isn't) tries to tug on your heartstrings a bit. There's more context, time to think. Throw in a disturbed kid, a parent in mourning, cliche drawings of a child, it becomes real easy to predict. Kid's a great actor though. Characters do earn some sympathy points. And she gets the "Mother of the Year" award.

7th segment, well, it catches the spirit of Halloween no doubt. Despite it apparently being made on someone's mid-2010's smartphone using random people around a Californian neighborhood for actors. It's weird, not bad, but not great.

8th segment tries to be with modern tech. It's ok, some freaky imagery, but otherwise it's a bit weak. And the guy really needs some decor in his apartment.

That's......pretty much it. Some lows, some highs. 1st and 3rd segments were my favorite. The main story arch is entirely forgettable. Whole thing worth a watch, nonetheless.

My quick rating - 4,7/10. Another horror flick in the anthology format. If you are unfamiliar, these are short stories bundled together into one film, usually bound by an underlying central theme. This one, as the first one was (and also the "VHS" movies) is centered around a mysterious videotape appearing and the contents of it. That plot is nothing more then fodder to bring the stories on. This one had a few good shorts, some average, and the rest garbage. Pretty typical of anthology flicks. Not going to break them all down, that will be up to you but the first "All Hallows Eve" was definitely better and also had a much creepier encompassing story to it. Make sure on this Halloween to save some trick or treat candy for sweet tooth ;)