Dark Rising 2: Summer Strikes Back!

Dark Rising 2 is without a doubt a great B Sci-Fi Fantasy movie through and through. Cheesy effects, pop cultural references and fun over the top violence and sex appeal. The story now takes more of a comedic spin on itself not taking itself really seriously and focusing more on goofy one liners and slashing and blasting demons with huge knives and laser guns. Brigiite Kingsley, Landy Cannon, and Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang brought a lot of new found humor to the movie. 'Nug' was without a doubt the funniest character with his portrayal of 'Bulo'. Surprisingly to me, I found myself really connecting with most of the supporting characters which is always a good sign of good writing. Dark Rising 2 seems to have a more clear understanding on what it wants to be and that is a cheesy B-movie about a girl in a bikini killing demons. So, if you're into a really cheesy and violently sexy movie Dark Rising 2 is definitely for you.

Dark Rising (2007) was a dumb but fun fantasy comedy with ridiculous monsters and lots of PG T&A. With an unknown cast and WWE wrestler Christian it exceeded my expectations even though it still wasn't all that great.

I never expected a movie like that to get a sequel but here we are and it isn't half bad. Following on from the events of the previous film including most of the surviving cast we have more silly dumb fun but with a slightly higher calibre of comedy.

The sfx are still poor and it's hardly a well made effort but it makes up for it where it matters.

Shockingly Dark Rising didn't just spawn 2 movies but also 2 television series which I'm looking forward to diving into.

If you enjoyed the first movie I recommend this, otherwise it may be a bit niche.

The Good:

Great comedy character

The Bad:

No Christian, I mean yes he did die in the first movie but still

Aftereffects level sfx

Brigitte Kingsley is an unconvincing action heroine

I really couldn't give this movie more then a 5.

The writing is stilted, the characters two-dimensional (if that) and the lead actress's primary qualities are...well... her primary qualities. She looks fantastic standing still with her mouth shut. Unfortunately her acting is awful and her stage fighting looks like a 10 year old playing "batman."

The makeup is amateurish, but the animation is okay and the CG frankly is surprisingly good, mostly demonstrating just how cheap and easy basic CG has become.

Over all it plays like a film written by high-school students, acted by first year college students and a porn star, with sfx done by mildly talented upper class college students. Despite all that, or maybe because of it, it has a genuine charm and appeal on the pure camp level. Sort of like the 60s Batman TV show.

If you enjoy camp, then go for it. But otherwise give it a wide miss.

First it's a low budget sci-fi action comedy. It works well. My biggest complaint is it's just not as good as the first, I LOVED THE ORIGINAL, and apparently at the beginning Summer is getting married, but not to the person who saved her in the original. The main character and the heroine apparently broke up after the 1st movie.

That was kind of a downer and just did not make a whole lot of sense. Dark Rising is about demons, magic, sorcery, bikini babes and the movie knows it's cheeeeesy fun.

Admitting it is not as fun as the original, but still fun. It just lacks the same chemistry of the main character and his friends. Christian Cage(YES THE WRESTLER) was fantastic in the first and a shame he was not bought back. It just missed that over the top friend that typical comedies have. They did try, but I cannot believe I am saying this, Christian Cage is a good actor and great as the protagonists horny, getting laid often friend.

I will give this movie a 5 out of 10. The first one was near perfect. Keep in mind, this is a low budget, and meant to be cheeesy. You will appreciate the Dark Rising 1(Please try to watch it if you have not), and want to watch Dark Rising 2.

This makes the first one look like Citizen Kane - if there was one of low budget Science Fiction movies. The jokes are almost all missing their mark and even tipping the hat to the first one (recapping it at some point and bringing people back - quite literally) ... it is adorable to a degree but does not help elevate the movie (make it "rise).

Beautiful actors if that helps in any way shape or form - no pun intended. But nothing much in the story department. Unless you are into low budget movies - te special effects got a bit better, but that is about it. I have not seen the other offsprings this created and I doubt I will. There's too much other stuff out there to watch