All Hallows' Eve 2

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.

I liked Art in the first one, but I didn't need him to be in the sequel for it to be good. In fact, I do appreciate that he isn't in it, because I don't want to see him become a cash cow that gets milked whenever someone wants to make a buck.

That said, the reason Art worked in the first one is that he tied the stories together. I felt that, overall, the shorts didn't connect, at least not for me. I didn't mind most of them, but they were too short to make an impact. Just when you start getting into them, they end. I think fewer shorts, each getting more time to develop, would have made this better.

I also didn't feel any connection to the woman watching the films. I liked Katie Maguire in the first one. The woman in this one is forgettable.

Overall, fun, but not great.

Anthology can be a trick medium, you have many short stories told in such limited amount of time and with different direction. This formal is prone to consistency issue throughout, which is what happens to this particular anthology. The quality of each one is also varied, depending on the runtime as well as underlying concept, it can feel jarring and detached, especially on the longer less interesting ones.

This is a string of stories made in one theme, a woman watching a mysterious VHS of many strange occurrences. The similarity is vague, some stories might just end abruptly or simply too bizarre, creating a messy undertone. A couple of them even drag for a bit without too much pay off, this not only creates dull moments, it also hampers the pace for the other tales that follow.

At best it's a varied degree of successful short clips of campfire story. They don't have much depth in terms of narrative as many of them end in five or ten minutes, and the shocking revelations might not be satisfying. Others collection of short stories have presented nifty twists in the same amount of time, and while there is decent use of practical effect here, it's not the same level of dread.

The overall theme and quality displayed are not refined enough for more than average short bursts of thrill.

All Hallows Eve 2, the standalone sequel to the 2013 anthology horror film that introduced Art the Clown. This distinction is crucial because unlike its predecessor, the 2015 follow-up does not feature Art the Clown, a fact that often shapes audience reception and critical discussion.

"All Hallows' Eve 2" (2015), directed by Jesse Baget, Elias Benavidez, Andres Borghi, Antonio Padovan, Ryan Patch, and Marc Roussel, essentially functions as another horror anthology, connected to the first primarily by its thematic tie-in to Halloween and the concept of found footage or mysterious video content. However, it's less of a direct narrative sequel and more of a spiritual successor, taking a different approach to its scares.

The film's framing device revolves around a young woman who, on Halloween night, finds a mysterious, unmarked VHS tape on her doorstep. Intrigued, she pops it into her VCR, only to be subjected to a series of disturbing and increasingly terrifying short films. Unlike the first "All Hallows' Eve," which featured an overarching narrative tied to Art the Clown's malevolent presence, this sequel presents more disparate tales. The segments vary wildly in style, tone, and quality, a common characteristic of anthology films with multiple directors.

Some of the segments attempt to evoke classic horror tropes - jump scares, eerie atmospheres, and psychological dread. Others delve into more abstract or bizarre scenarios. One notable segment often discussed is "A Christmas Carol," which, despite its title, manages to be quite disturbing with its twisted take on the festive season. The segments in "All Hallows' Eve 2" are generally self-contained and don't contribute to a larger, unifying mythology or character arc, which was a strength of the original for many viewers due to Art the Clown's nascent character development.

The critical reception for "All Hallows' Eve 2" was generally mixed to negative, often drawing unfavorable comparisons to its predecessor. The absence of Art the Clown was a significant point of contention for fans of the original. Art's silent, menacing, and utterly depraved persona had made him an instant cult horror icon, and his exclusion from the sequel left many feeling that a core element of the "All Hallows' Eve" brand was missing. Without a strong, unifying villain or a compelling wraparound story, the film struggled to establish its own identity.

Furthermore, the quality of the individual segments was inconsistent. While some shorts might have offered genuine chills or interesting concepts, others felt derivative, poorly executed, or simply uninspired. This unevenness is a common pitfall for anthologies, where the strength of the best segments can be overshadowed by the weakness of the worst. Reviewers often pointed out that the film lacked the raw, visceral punch of its predecessor and that the scares felt less impactful without the singular focus provided by Art the Clown.

In essence, "All Hallows' Eve 2" (2015) stands as an example of an anthology sequel that attempted to capitalize on the goodwill of its predecessor's title but failed to replicate its most successful element - a terrifying and iconic villain. It offered a collection of Halloween-themed horror shorts, some passable, some forgettable, but ultimately lacked the distinct identity and memorable villainy that made the original "All Hallows' Eve" a noteworthy entry in the horror genre. For fans expecting a continuation of Art the Clown's reign of terror, the 2015 film was a significant departure and, for many, a missed opportunity. It underscores how crucial a strong, cohesive vision and a compelling antagonist can be for the success of a horror franchise, even within the anthology format.