Sketch Artist II: Hands That See

Like others, I wonder why someone thought a sequel to SKETCH ARTIST would be a good idea, since the original went direct to video (I FF my way through it on PRIME's MGM channel). Kind of fun watching cops use pay phones & mumble about 'blood types' in the early 90's (No widespread cell phones or DNA technology yet).

But Mr Fahey does a good offbeat character & we get to see Ms. Cox close to the time she played the fake wife on Seinfeld. Here, she is a blind rape victim who can describe the assailant from touching his face during the assault. The guy appears to be a serial attacker who leaves no DNA behind anyway, making it tough for even a modern Forensics team. He also killed the other viciously, meaning Courtney was fortunate her husband came home in time.

Another holdover character is the MR STRICKLAND guy from Back to the Future, wearing the same suit? Talk about typecast--a crabby Homicide Captain. Anyway, this is decent timefiller, with less fast-forwarding than #1 for PG content, and a little more suspense, as the bad guy starts stalking poor Ms Cox . Is he worried she saw something?

Its interesting to see some of the comments here. The film overall quality is a step down from the previous film in most ways. From how its filmed, to its pacing, suspense, overall cast.

The first film was a low budget suspense mystery thriller that one could see make it to theaters. Not a massive release, but a limited run and did get limited release internationally.

This film feels like an episode of Law and Order. The extended court drama, non existent mystery and limited suspense from chase and capture of suspect was just underwhelming to me. I still liked it overall, but its surprising to me this film is rated higher.

I was very surprised to find out that they actually made a sequel to "Sketch Artist", because it didn't seem to be the kind of film that would demand a sequel. The first film was made in a lifeless production, and there didn't seem to be any kind of cult audience with it. Also, considering what the hero did in the first movie, it seemed very unlikely he would still be with the police force! Anyway, we got this sequel, and it is a slight improvement. There is some life here, some tension, some mystery, some curiosity as to how it will wrap up. Still, it could have been better. Fahey's character, for one thing, is almost a secondary character, when there should have been more focus on him. There are some questions, like how the crime inflicted on the blind character is kept murky when it should have been described early on, and just how the antagonist is exactly tracked down. Still, I will admit that this movie was pretty painless to sit through.

This is one of those movies that isn't good and that isn't bad.

I mean it has got a good story, good actors but somewhere something is missing. A little more tension or excitement. It is right between good and average so is my rating then

6,5 out of 10

But we only work with full grades here I hear you say, well

7 out of 10

Solid sequel with another interesting performance from Fahey. Lacks the neo-noir vibe of the original, but better than a lot of sequels from that era. Jack Sholder spends more time building suspense and the payoff is superb.