Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva

Having just watched this and last night the first film, I'm beyond baffled by the recent positive reviews and can only speculate who made those. This film is dull and a total duff, just like the first one.

I've seen loads of horror films with bad reviews which I often think are undeserved, but this has made more annoyed by the bizarre positive reviews, especially those mentioning particular crew members (who on earth ever mentions the casting director? Seriously?). My standard for horror films is low, I like low budget indie films, but NOT when the reviews look blatantly not genuine. An OK film for found footage fanatics like myself.

While the plot and characters didn't pull me along to the same degree as the first, the intensity and atmosphere sure did. I see this as more of a 2nd part , instead of a sequel, if that makes sense.

While I was not as invested in Minerva (or the 2nd girl) as I was with Gary from the first film, the movie left me with that thirst to find out more of the mythology, or the "dark forces" at play.

Yes, I am confused at what the deal is with the old hermit guy, but very eager to discover more in part 3 (I was kind of expecting more to come to light in this film). I will rewatch this week as i probably missed some fine details since I had to mute the volume at times just to slow my heart rate down, bc it was pounding throughout.

Needless to say, I am immersed into this franchise. I am very hopeful that the 3rd film will give us a good balance between scares, character development, and backstory.

This was pretty decent for a sequel, however where it did some things better, it also was a tad too short and got a bit tedious at times, I liked all three of these movies but this one and "Firewatch" gave me a sense that they set out to make ONE sequel and then were like nah wait a sec. And decided to make the sequel into two movies instead.

This film also hints that whatever Gary (Gawy) found out there has a more supernatural tint instead of just inbred cannibals.

If you liked the first one you'll probably like this one as well, and if you like this one you'll probably like the "Firewatch" as well, I recommend watching them in one sitting, they're not that long and though slow paced aren't boring either.

I could've done without some slow paced scenes such as the volunteer firefighter (who is later mentioned as EMT) running around inside the abandoned mine town, they could've made that a tad bit shorter and maybe added a couple more "eyewitness accounts" or spooky stories, anyway its a good film just not as good as the first one, and even the third one is slightly better because of the pacing.

My rating for the first movie of this franchise : HITHDesert 6/10. I don't remember much about this, the thing i remember is that it took too much time before it became intense. I kinda liked it but it was not definitely a MUST WATCH for horror fans.

About MINERVA : There is a possibility i overrate it. I love FF movies. I always have a lot of fun watching movies of this genre, there were not many of them which i feel i shouldn't have watched them when they ended. So, you have to be a fan in order to watch it. It's probably not amongst the best FF movies but i have watched many worse. It kept my attention until the ending, i found it interesting and thankfully, it didn't took too long until it became intense (Unlike the first one, as i said).

Don't expect cheap jump scares and many scaring scenes. Furthermore, don't expect to get answers about HITDesert lore. Unfortunately, it's a bit messy too, kinda confusing story lines and one of the most open endings in horror movies.

Still, i liked it and i will watch the third movie soon. There is something intriguing here. It's more creepy/eerie than scary, more mystery than horror. And there were some scenes that made me feel too uneasy.

The first movie I watched just because I saw the close to 8 rating on this one and my OCD would kill me if I started a series with a sequel. Except that business with Star Wars. But that, that doesn't count.

I'm very glad I did. This isn't a spectacular horror movie, but then what even is? Worth asking. For me, the best horror is able to bring the scares without relying on kitsch like jump scares. And it isn't gratuitous with the violence, while not being afraid to use it either. But perhaps most importantly, it's gotta tell a good story. And the story established in both films is vague enough to be menacing, while pointed enough to establish itself as doing something new-while not even being very new.

HHD (someone's gotta coin the shorthand title after all) is a series that, so far, has taken the found footage and documentary narrative styles and performed them together in a remarkably smooth way. Seriously, as it starts you think, "Ah this is gonna get old." But by about midway, I found myself wondering, "Well if there was something like this in real life, wouldn't this be how it'd be delivered?" Don't get me wrong, it's not unique. But it's pulled off without it being clunky and dumb, which in this genre is itself unique enough.

What's more, often the independent productions either go too far into graphics and effects, which fail to make up for the hollowness of the rest and with they can ill afford anyways, resulting in a weird piece of uncanny valley with bad dialogue, or they sacrifice so much at the artsy fartsy altar that watching it feels like a Halloween TEDTalk by Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'd say not in a good way, but I don't think there is a good way.

In short, these folks have done a great job at just making a solid entry into a sorely unappreciated genre. And I look forward to the next entry, which is all but guaranteed following this second chapter.

Please, really please, don't sell out.