Brotherhood II: Die Warlocks

What a complete waste of time watching this movie was, bad acting, no suspense at all, very predictable situations, not even one "magical" special effect..... and don't even let me start about the terrible make-up, everyone, man and woman, is wearing the same make-up!!

David DeCoteau's second film in the lengthy BROTHERHOOD series is a marginal improvement on the first, but that's really not saying much. Once again the story sees a bunch of high school students - who are in reality warlocks - attempting to introduce new members into their group. Inevitably some of the evil characters are murderous and go around bumping off peripheral characters until the good guys step up to do something about them.

It seems that the budget for THE BROTHERHOOD 2: YOUNG WARLOCKS was slightly improved over the first, as the production values are slightly stronger. Unfortunately, there are even MORE endless scenes of young muscle guys parading around in their underwear here, as well as a three-way sex scene between two guys and a girl (what else?) which seems to last a lifetime. The whole thing is poorly acted and silly, just an excuse for the director to appeal to gay men who also have a tolerance for Z-grade produce.

After watching the disaster called The Brotherhood, I vowed I would not watch any of the sequels. I guess curiosity got the best of me because there I was buying Brotherhood II on PPV. The acting and dialogue were much better than the first movie; however, the plot was missing entirely from this film. At least the first Brotherhood had some potential to be better than it was.

Also, I wouldn't call this a sequel. The first movie had a Dracula theme. This movie has a completely different set of young actors and focuses on witchcraft. If you are expecting any wand waving or hocus pocus, you will be sadly disappointed. About the only magical transformation you'll see is 3 dweebs become the most popular in school, and yet still remain only marginal looking.

If this movie is directed toward a gay audience, I don't see the point in wrapping up overt homoeroticism in an otherwise heterosexual plot. That's what makes The Brotherhood movies so frustrating and unrealistic to watch. Let the guys lust after each other already! And for gosh sakes, give these actors something other than cheap white boxer-briefs to run around in. Unless you've got the time and money to blow on this flick, don't bother.

Well, here we have The Brotherhood II: Young Warlocks. Somehow, between the first one and this one, they've changed from vampires to warlocks, even though the "baddie" is supposed to have been in the first film. But, then again, you can't really look to deeply at this movie if you want it to make any sense. Lets just say that again, DeCoteau has filled one of his movies with a bunch of cute boys running around in their boxer briefs, and not much else. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, but at least try to have a little bit of an interesting story to surround all that naked, well toned flesh.

I'll be honest, I enjoyed the first Brotherhood, and was looking forward to seeing this one, but found it to be a major let down. Just like the first movie, the main lead (Sean Faris..."John") is gorgeous. He's got an undeniable cuteness that, if he plays it right, will move him on to bigger and better things (he's already started...he extra'd in Pearl Harbor). Stacey Scowley (Mary) is also surprisingly good in her role. She also has the potential to really break out. (I kept thinking of Meg Ryan - no joke - while watching her). The rest of the cast, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

Luke is the "new kid" at a posh private school, and sets out recruiting a group of outcast friends for his coven he's trying to start. One "lets all get naked and jump in the pool" scene later, and wham-bam, he's got his warlocks. Only now John wants out. Oh, and did I tell you that there's also sub-plots that involve a militant head mistress and a rather cute bully named Harlan who's group never wears shirts, and gets the proverbial "what they deserve" routine? Well, there are. A teacher also figures into all this somehow, but I couldn't tell you how even if I tried...and I just finished watching the movie 30 minutes ago!

To make a long story short, The Brotherhood II: Young Warlocks is a movie that has a couple cute guys in their underwear, bad acting, rotten dialogue, many unanswered questions, and totally ridiculous plot twists. Take my advise, stick with the first film. That wasn't a masterpiece by any means, but it at least tried to be a good movie.

My grade: C- (It'd be a "D-", but I still think Sean Faris is a hottie!)

If you are a Lowell High School class of 1996 alumn, then you might find this film interesting. Also, this movie over does the homo erotica bit, such as the scene where the boys must lick the warlock's face in order to join his coven.