All Hallows' Eve 2

Anthology films are few and far between recently. This project uses the structure as a way of showcasing nine often very short vignettes independently created by a different team and shown as a collection of unsavoury tales collected on a videotape. The tape falls into the hands, or rather is left at the door, of a young woman (Andrea Monia). The purpose of the videotape forms the enveloping story-line.

I won't go into details about the instalments, because their originality is very satisfying and it would be a shame to spoil that. Sometimes, instead of any detailed story, they are simply moments, like in a dream, of surreal occurrences which are nevertheless detailed and grounded enough to satisfy on their own merits. There are moments that had me turning away due to the graphic special effects, but this is far from drenched in gore. Rather, each weird tale builds up an ambience that is deliberately uneven and unpredictable.

This is a sequel to the original 'All Hallows' Eve' (2013), which was directed and produced by a different team. According to some reviews, the original was superior to this. This excites me, because I haven't seen it, and for the most part, I found this refreshingly original and generally well made.

For sure, it could be said this entry lacks that which made the first something more special. Is it using old shorts from YouTube? Maybe. Is it the lack of a proper foreground story? Probably.

But nonetheless, it's a fine combination of horror shorts - obviously some lesser than others but that's a very subjective opinion. None of the shorts are overly gory and the ones which stand out stand out VERY well and it's quite clear why they should be featured in this movie. The cinematography and acting is surprisingly solid throughout all shorts and the effects aren't too shabby either.

All in all, it's not a terrible waste of an hour and thirty minutes of your life - but I wouldn't plan a movie night around it.

My quick rating - 4,7/10. Another horror flick in the anthology format. If you are unfamiliar, these are short stories bundled together into one film, usually bound by an underlying central theme. This one, as the first one was (and also the "VHS" movies) is centered around a mysterious videotape appearing and the contents of it. That plot is nothing more then fodder to bring the stories on. This one had a few good shorts, some average, and the rest garbage. Pretty typical of anthology flicks. Not going to break them all down, that will be up to you but the first "All Hallows Eve" was definitely better and also had a much creepier encompassing story to it. Make sure on this Halloween to save some trick or treat candy for sweet tooth ;)

In most every way this one was better than the first... except for one big part. The lack of the character Art the clown left this one as much more of a compilation of short films and not so much an anthology. While I'm sure they wanted to do something different with this one, Art was not only a wildly creepy addition but was also the connecting factor and cohesion throughout.

The actual over arching storyline between the shorts took a huge backseat and was very lacking which was unfortunate. Plus the pumpkin man severely paled in comparison to Art, but it didn't seem like they even tried tbh. In general it just felt a bit lazy.

Now, in every OTHER way this one was better than the first. The picture quality, the stories, the acting, the level of engagement and intrigue... all better. Because of this it kind of evens itself out to its predecessor landing pretty middle of the road. 5.5 rounding down to a 5. Would recommend.

Whatever happened to the art of the horror anthology? In the good old days, they would consist of a handful of terrifying tales topped off with a suitably ghoulish resolution; nowadays, anthologies seem to comprise of numerous brief creepy vignettes with no story arc, no character development, and no satisfactory conclusion. All Hallow's Eve 2: The Reaping is a prime example, not one of its many chapters making the slightest bit of sense.

In the opening part of the wraparound story, a young woman finds a VHS cassette outside her apartment and pops it into her player (as if anyone has a video machine these days); on the tape are several spooky tales...

In the first, a babysitter carves a pumpkin in record time for the boy she is looking after. She cooks the seeds in the oven for a snack, but when eaten, pumpkins rapidly grow inside their bodies. This one is fairly gory, but logic plays no part, and the result is confusion.

In the second, a group of young trick or treaters menace the residents of what appears to be a post-apocalyptic town. It's a real head-scratcher, as the kids turn into horrific versions of their costumes (a ghost, a demon, a witch, and the grim reaper), with no adequate explanation for what is happening.

The third story sees two men making an offering to an unseen creature, but forgetting the vital ingredient. This tale left me totally non-plussed.

Next up is the story of a woman who witnesses the murder of her friend, and, six months later, finds herself trapped in a lift with the killer. This episode had potential, but blows it with another weak finish.

Part five is hardly worth mentioning: a carnival sideshow allows people to take their aggression out on masochists. It's so short and inconclusive it barely qualifies as a story.

Tale number six sees a young boy (who wears huge glasses) afraid of a monster that he swears prowls his bedroom at night. His mother does her best to convince the lad that his room is free of nasty creatures, but in the film's extremely predictable ending, she realises how wrong she is.

The penultimate story sees a man decorate his lawn on Halloween, using real corpses as props. Had this been a decent anthology story, the bodies would have come back from the dead to turn the killer into one of his own decorations. The actual ending just leaves the viewer hanging.

The last story is entirely in Spanish. I didn't have a clue what was going on.

The film closes with the girl watching the video being killed by a creepy figure in a pumpkin mask who emerges from the TV.

2/10. A huge disappointment, especially considering that I really like Art the clown and I was hoping that All Hallow's Eve 2 would give me the fix I needed until Terrifier 2. But he's not there! Not even a brief glimpse.