La ligne du diable II

The possessing 976-EVIL phone line is back. This time, murderer Teacher must finish what he started.. whatever it is.

With visions, astral projection, a helpful out-of-town biker "romance" and more.. or less.

Sadly, this isn't gory or interesting enough to be something worth recommending. There's basically no plot aside from the crazy teacher killing people and being weirdly in love with the main actress. But nothing he does or happens further his agenda in that direction. So it feels very underwritten. Yet the ending wasn't at all what I expected, which was a nice surprise.

Debbie James is quite a charming actress, and it has more than a few very interesting visual effects and ideas. So it is not a total loss.

This sequel has the survivor from the first tracking down a serial killer who is apparently using the 976-evil line to gain demonic powers. The thing is with this story is he isn't really becoming demonic as the character in the first film was. Yeah he shows signs of it but it isn't the same kind of way. More or less he uses astral projection. Almost a different story with the 976-Evil name on it. For straight to video it isn't bad really. Its true claim to fame for horror fans is one scene that steals the movie.That being one of the characters is zapped into the TV and is put into a situation that begins as Its a Wonderful Life and turns into Night of the Living Dead. Such a clever combination and it works so well. Its an idea that's good and executed well but belongs in a better movie. Other than that you have a few car explosions and people being ran over and a few death scenes. Also has a fairly interesting ending which especially at that time you didn't see a lot. Acting wise its your standard low budget actors and nobody is really "phoning " it in. There are also a couple of cameos and a sign to a play that most horror fans will get and understand. So its not great but its not bad either. The wonder life/living dead scene is a show stealer but the movie is average at best.

976-Evil 2 (1991) is a far better film than the first movie. The film-makers didn't try to be serious with the subject matter and the players seem to be enjoying themselves. Shot on the cheap, the sequel follows Spike and his attempts to stop the evil behind that darn 976-EVIL. He's still tooling around on his motorcycle looking like a rebel without a clue. But this time around he has one. It's up to him to stop the madness. A little worse for wear (Spike's sporting a five o'clock shadow that comes and goes) but he's all clad in black leather and looking to kick some demonic butt!

Like I said, a very entertaining movie. Unlike the first film the black humor works. The villain in this movie is real creepy and funny as well. The film's direction flows along at a reasonable pace (thanks to the ever reliable Jim Wynorski) and the blood flows. I'm glad they stopped after this one. I probably couldn't take another sequel.

Recommended.

B

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I have to say this movie surprised me in that it was very well produced and directed. This movie is much better than the original 976-evil movie, the acting is better, the script is better and the characters are more believeable. Now let me talk a little bit about the main character in the movie, her name is Debbie James and wow what a hottie! She is a former Miss Teen USA and a former Miss USA finalist. She is also a former Miss Colorado. Her acting isn't bad either in this movie and she is the main character. I wish Debbie james would appear in more movies (she only has had minor roles in a few subsequent movies) but at least we get to see her as the main character in this interesting movie, which is certainly worth renting and even buying. I give this movie 8 out of 10 stars!

Slightly better sequel finds that evil telephone line still in business. It seduces a teacher at first and then turns him into a full blooded killer. Lots of grisly memorable death scenes and a wicked twist of an ending are what make this entry better. Sure it is rather poorly done, but this film is a lot of fun and moves along at a nice pace. Rated R.