Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva

Please do not waste your time. All the 9/10 reviews look dubious at best. No suspense or horror. I feel embarrassed for the fact that I wasted 1:14 minutes of my life on watching this thing.

Apparently there are at least 5 more horror in the high desert movies in the works. I mean, are we serious here? Have mercy on us and this time around actually think and try to make a decent film.

The first movie (2021) was actually creepy and I don't understand how a talent behind the original movie could have been satisfied with writing this movie and release it to the public. One of the most boring and flat movies I've ever watched in my life.

You could do better than this.

The first movie I watched just because I saw the close to 8 rating on this one and my OCD would kill me if I started a series with a sequel. Except that business with Star Wars. But that, that doesn't count.

I'm very glad I did. This isn't a spectacular horror movie, but then what even is? Worth asking. For me, the best horror is able to bring the scares without relying on kitsch like jump scares. And it isn't gratuitous with the violence, while not being afraid to use it either. But perhaps most importantly, it's gotta tell a good story. And the story established in both films is vague enough to be menacing, while pointed enough to establish itself as doing something new-while not even being very new.

HHD (someone's gotta coin the shorthand title after all) is a series that, so far, has taken the found footage and documentary narrative styles and performed them together in a remarkably smooth way. Seriously, as it starts you think, "Ah this is gonna get old." But by about midway, I found myself wondering, "Well if there was something like this in real life, wouldn't this be how it'd be delivered?" Don't get me wrong, it's not unique. But it's pulled off without it being clunky and dumb, which in this genre is itself unique enough.

What's more, often the independent productions either go too far into graphics and effects, which fail to make up for the hollowness of the rest and with they can ill afford anyways, resulting in a weird piece of uncanny valley with bad dialogue, or they sacrifice so much at the artsy fartsy altar that watching it feels like a Halloween TEDTalk by Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'd say not in a good way, but I don't think there is a good way.

In short, these folks have done a great job at just making a solid entry into a sorely unappreciated genre. And I look forward to the next entry, which is all but guaranteed following this second chapter.

Please, really please, don't sell out.

Having just watched this and last night the first film, I'm beyond baffled by the recent positive reviews and can only speculate who made those. This film is dull and a total duff, just like the first one.

I've seen loads of horror films with bad reviews which I often think are undeserved, but this has made more annoyed by the bizarre positive reviews, especially those mentioning particular crew members (who on earth ever mentions the casting director? Seriously?). My standard for horror films is low, I like low budget indie films, but NOT when the reviews look blatantly not genuine. An OK film for found footage fanatics like myself.

This was pretty decent for a sequel, however where it did some things better, it also was a tad too short and got a bit tedious at times, I liked all three of these movies but this one and "Firewatch" gave me a sense that they set out to make ONE sequel and then were like nah wait a sec. And decided to make the sequel into two movies instead.

This film also hints that whatever Gary (Gawy) found out there has a more supernatural tint instead of just inbred cannibals.

If you liked the first one you'll probably like this one as well, and if you like this one you'll probably like the "Firewatch" as well, I recommend watching them in one sitting, they're not that long and though slow paced aren't boring either.

I could've done without some slow paced scenes such as the volunteer firefighter (who is later mentioned as EMT) running around inside the abandoned mine town, they could've made that a tad bit shorter and maybe added a couple more "eyewitness accounts" or spooky stories, anyway its a good film just not as good as the first one, and even the third one is slightly better because of the pacing.

I enjoyed the first 'Horror in the high Desert'. It was a little slow but the ending sequence was well done and made the wait worth it. 'Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva' however didn't work for me. It was equally slow but I never felt like the pay-off justified it.

Found footage is always a tricky genre to get right, because it's so crucial that the audience buys in. I try and make the effort to always buy in, however it can sometimes be harder than other times. The interviews in this movie felt very fake. Camera angles and candid shots that would never be filmed or used are in almost every scene. It can be quite distracting.

I was disappointed I didn't enjoy this one. Others seem to be thoroughly enjoying it, so I can't help but wonder whether a second watch would be worth a try. It looks like there will be more sequels in the future too so I will still check those out when they come along. This one wasn't for me though. 3/10.