Alone in the Dark 2: O Retorno do Mal

I did not know what to do last night, as it was unexpectedly raining in Dubai. I stopped by the Grand Cinemas at the Mercato Mall and for some unknown reason, decided to spend...sorry waste 30 dirhams to see that movie.

Yes, i found myself alone in the dark too ! The only guy in that movie theatre. At first i thought i was early, which actually was the case, then as the movie started, i realized that i was still alone in the dark.

Then after half an hour watching that movie, i did understand why...But never did understand the story of that movie, if any. Anyway, arriving early was also good in itself, as i did at least enjoyed the commercials and movies preview.

But Alone in the Dark 2, was absolutely crap ! Bad acting, with newbie actors staring from time to time at the camera ( Damned ! they told me already it is not a prop ! ), the worst special effects i have ever seen so far, the worst CG, the worst story and i still wonder how they managed to make a sequel.

The veins appearing on that Chinese guy are amazing !!! You can even see the glue to stick them to the skin !!!! 1 (awful) out of 10, but honestly it deserves a 0 or minus something...

ALONE IN THE DARK 2 is a sequel that has virtually nothing in common with the first film except for the main character this time played by DIE ANOTHER DAY's Rick Yune but it is in a way better than the first one because it has a well put together storyline that is well fleshed out and the direction is very nicely handled, the best part is Uwe Boll didn't even direct this one.

The acting is a case of hit and miss, some of cast hit their mark such as Bill Moseley and Lance Henriksen that both play their parts convincingly, the one cast member that misses the most is Rick Yune, I also saw him in a film called THE 5TH COMMANDMENT and between this one and that one, the ideal leading man he is not because he doesn't bring any energy to his character which results in him failing to carry the film.

The fact that this film is better shows that the writers and directors Peter Scheers and Micheal Roesch put in more effort with this film than Uwe Boll did with the first, so take notes Mr. Boll you might learn something.

Didn't hope for much when I sat down to watch this but, as said, it was a better than expected. I found this sequel to be a competent little B-movie in its own right. Expect low budget, but not too bad - i've seen much worse in special effects and overall production. However, on its own terms it's a successful movie. It is much smaller in scale due to the lower budget, and is basically a retreat of the "group of people trapped" formula. There can't be any doubt that the movie could have been made better with more time and money its still however a considerate addition to a storyline with vast potential. The new cast is very good, possibly better than the cast in the first movie. Not the best movie I've ever seen, but it's definitely a keeper.

So this film was like a B-Movie that didn't know it was a B-Movie. So it's playing everything really straight, and serious when the script is kind of ridiculous.

The special effects are awful, if some of them would have spent time alone in the dark. Then maybe they could have hid some of the bad CGI. They were so bad I was shocked by how late the film is, because the overall quality also seems like it was filmed years ago.

I think if you like terrible films, you might find it a little entertaining. Some moments do seem really over the top, and the music choices are often over dramatic as well. I don't think it was a complete waste of time, but I do wish I would have been drunk with friends whilst watching it.

Okay. Well, while the first "Alone in the Dark" movie, you know, the one with Christian Slater and Tara Reid, was hardly a masterpiece, then I had expected the sequel to at least be equally 'good', if not better.

That was not the case.

"Alone in the Dark II" was even less interesting in story and plot than its predecessor, however unlikely that was. But alas, it was.

I will say that they had an interesting cast, which included Bill Moseley and Lance Henriksen! Two of the more iconic names and faces in the horror genre. But even their appearances did little to lift up the train wreck that is known as "Alone in the Dark II".

It should be said, though, that the movie had rather good special effects, which at least added some element of enjoyment to it.

The evil force that was supposed to be threatening the world in the movie, was just simply not interesting enough to even present anything even remotely worthwhile to the story.

"Alone in the Dark II" is simply just not worth it. And if you are a fan of the game franchise, do yourself an immense favor and stay well clear of this one.