Dead Again in Tombstone - Le Pacte du Diable

I only thought that the original "Dead in Tombstone" was just okay, but I decided to give this sequel a chance, given my love for westerns and for the fact that Danny Trejo was returning. Most likely you'll find this sequel a few notches below whatever you thought of the first movie, as I did. I admit that the movie looks pretty slick for the most part, though some interior scenes are either severely underlit or overlit, and there is some very unconvincing CGI blood and gore. But the script is kind of a mess. There are a number of plot points that are either vague or unexplained at all, and the result is that there is a feeling that the filmmakers were making things up as they went along. The sorry and clumsy script may explain why stars Danny Trejo and Jake Busey seem to be going on autopilot instead of delivering their lines with conviction and true menace. As for the action sequences, it comes across as standard stuff at best, not directed or choreographed in a way that grabs your attention. The movie is not dull, I admit, but all the same it's quite unsatisfying to watch.

Colonel Boomer (Jake Busey) suspects that Guerrero (Danny Trejo) knows where a book about black magic rituals is hidden. He threatens to kill his family, consisting of daughter Alicia (Elysia Rotaru) and grandma (Michelle Rios, much too young for the role and therefore covered with ridiculous make-up) if Guerrero doesn't tell him the hiding place. Now Guerrero is undead since his pact with the devil in part 1 and comes back several times from the dead. How can Boomer deal with a man he cannot kill, how can Guerrero save his family, and what does the magic book really do?

The first movie was a horror movie in the disguise of a western, but the sequel - apart from the MacGuffin, the magic book - is a much more traditional western about protecting your family against gunfighters (even if some of them are zombies). The technical qualities are good. For example the scene when Boomer blows up a stagecoach and at the same time, Guerrero is caught in an explosive trap in the town, the two explosions are cut parallel to each other, really elegant editing you hardly ever see in cheap movies. If I voted one notch below for the sequel (6 of 10 after 7 of 10 for the first movie) it's because 'Dead Again' lacks a villain of Mickey Rourke's caliber. Otherwise it is a satisfactory variation of the 'Undead Gunman' theme.

I gave this 2 stars only because I like Danny but he can do WAY better than this. This film was bad in so many ways that it's pointless to elaborate. Please Danny ... don't make any more movies like this. I would love to see you make more serious action/adventure films and dramatic roles as well. You are better than this ese.

The first movie, Dead in Tombstone, was fairly okay. Not great but okay. This movie, the second installment, was a bit of a disappointment though. The general idea is a good one. At least it is one I would generally have liked. However, it is really poorly implemented.

Danny is supposed to be the devil's servant imbued with supernatural powers and supposed to kick some serious ass. You know, a bit like Ghost Rider in the old west. Unfortunately he is nothing but. Most of the time he is roaming around sulking and trying to patch things up with his daughter.

He is really not showing much in terms of terrifying presence or supernatural powers. Whenever he springs into action he is just blundering in shooting at everything that moves and usually he gets shot up and "dies" in the process. Afterwards he get's revived and the process starts all over again.

Towards the end of the movie we finally get some supernatural action but it is really too late to save it and not really that impressive to begin with.

On the whole the script is pretty bland and unconvincing. It is more suitable for a TV-show episode than a feature movie.

Really a shame. I generally like Danny Trejo when he is playing bad ass.

Here we go again! Danny Trejo returns as Guerrero for another round of killings. This time the antagonist is Jackson Boomer (Jake Busey). He was a friend of Guerrero's stepbrother and is now in pursuit of a box containing a book that will give him incredible power.

The film follows on the events of 'Dead in Tombstone'. We learn more about Guerrero's family and meet his daughter and mother, and also realize there was a reason the Devil made a deal with him in the first film. With Roel Reine returning as director, this is another visually stunning treat - visually even better than the original film. The cinematography is STUNNING. The photography and aerial shots are FANTASTIC. There are some films I'll watch again and again for the sake of the cinematography - and this is such a film. It's one amazing shot after the next. Some shots are breathtakingly beautiful. It's the type of photography you expect from big budget productions.

Just like 'Dead in Tombstone', 'Dead again in Tombstone' is fast-paced and filled with action, adventure, suspense, gore, fantasy, and there's that great score again. As the film progressed, it became more intense with incredible scenes. The carriage chase sequence was stunningly well done. The final act is very supernatural and fantastical, but the film nevertheless remained interesting and exciting. It might not be as good as the original film, but this was good in its own right. I certainly was entertained!

Would I watch it again? Yes.