REVIEW: "Glenville 2" (2000) 111 minutes. Starring Rebecca Lynne, Robert Baker, Michael Kubovcik, Eric Simpson, Christopher Ward, Karen King, Chris Haskins, Haley Williams, Ben Johnson, Jonathan Jones.
Though at 111 minutes, it is the exact same running time as its predecessor, "Glenville 2" is a completely different film. A slasher gorefest in every aspect of the word, it is obvious that Spadaccini set out to make a more interesting film and to gross out the audience. And he succeeded.
This is by far one of the goriest movies I have ever seen in my life. I do admit I got a little queasy myself at some of the deaths (one guy gets a hockey stick in the chest, followed by the most realistic pitchfork in head death I can ever remember seeing...while another guy gets stabbed in the eye, followed by a knife in the back, followed by a butcher knife in the side, THEN followed by a particularly gruesome shot detailing how the guy gets his face crushed). According to the commentary, this movie had a lower budget than the original, which is surprising since the deaths look so incredibly real.
I mentioned the gore/blood factor so early in this review because that's basically the entire film: a series of disgusting deaths. Even the pizza deliveryman gets it.
Sadly, so does our beloved Katie Brandon (Lynne), whose participation in this movie is limited to one 11-minute scene, leading up to her tragic death in the basement (While not going into any details, we are treated to an unbroken shot of Katie suffering from her wounds, then falling to the floor as the life is sucked out of her. Truly sick!).
The film takes place one year after "Glenville." Shawn Ellison (Kubovcik) is dealing with the disappearance of his best friend Russell (they never found his body, though we as the audience already know he is dead). Shawn blames newly appointed sheriff Wesley Johnson for the murders (and rightfully so). Wesley is on vacation, driving around like a bad-ass in his pickup truck (the film makes a point several times to let us know that he is a bad-ass).
Actually, the film's humor is derived from the hysterical misadventures of Wesley as the killer toys with him during the entire day that the film takes place. This poor guy can't seem to catch a break and Spadaccini used this (and actor Robert Baker's temper tantrums) as a way to allow the audience to relax. Sadly, Wesley disappears in the film's 2nd half (much like Katie Brandon did in part 1) leaving the audience to care about a character (Shawn) that we know nothing about.
For some reason that neither films are able to explain, the killer is after Shawn. He develops a theory on who the killer might be (Russell's cousin, child killer Tommy Sinclair) but that theory is never explored and instead Shawn decides to have a sexual encounter with now-deceased Katie's best friend Allison Graham (Karen King), by far the most annoying character in the film. She is loud and obnoxious, has a hysterical confrontation with Wesley in her first scene, and ends up being the scream queen of the film.
The film's climax is a little scarier than it has any right being. The film's music score, by Spadaccini and Kubovcik, is frightening in its own right. The killer is unmasked. He toys with Shawn. Wesley comes to save the day. But more screams are heard. The killer is gone. And we're onto "Glenville 3." Rating: 7 out of 10.
Though at 111 minutes, it is the exact same running time as its predecessor, "Glenville 2" is a completely different film. A slasher gorefest in every aspect of the word, it is obvious that Spadaccini set out to make a more interesting film and to gross out the audience. And he succeeded.
This is by far one of the goriest movies I have ever seen in my life. I do admit I got a little queasy myself at some of the deaths (one guy gets a hockey stick in the chest, followed by the most realistic pitchfork in head death I can ever remember seeing...while another guy gets stabbed in the eye, followed by a knife in the back, followed by a butcher knife in the side, THEN followed by a particularly gruesome shot detailing how the guy gets his face crushed). According to the commentary, this movie had a lower budget than the original, which is surprising since the deaths look so incredibly real.
I mentioned the gore/blood factor so early in this review because that's basically the entire film: a series of disgusting deaths. Even the pizza deliveryman gets it.
Sadly, so does our beloved Katie Brandon (Lynne), whose participation in this movie is limited to one 11-minute scene, leading up to her tragic death in the basement (While not going into any details, we are treated to an unbroken shot of Katie suffering from her wounds, then falling to the floor as the life is sucked out of her. Truly sick!).
The film takes place one year after "Glenville." Shawn Ellison (Kubovcik) is dealing with the disappearance of his best friend Russell (they never found his body, though we as the audience already know he is dead). Shawn blames newly appointed sheriff Wesley Johnson for the murders (and rightfully so). Wesley is on vacation, driving around like a bad-ass in his pickup truck (the film makes a point several times to let us know that he is a bad-ass).
Actually, the film's humor is derived from the hysterical misadventures of Wesley as the killer toys with him during the entire day that the film takes place. This poor guy can't seem to catch a break and Spadaccini used this (and actor Robert Baker's temper tantrums) as a way to allow the audience to relax. Sadly, Wesley disappears in the film's 2nd half (much like Katie Brandon did in part 1) leaving the audience to care about a character (Shawn) that we know nothing about.
For some reason that neither films are able to explain, the killer is after Shawn. He develops a theory on who the killer might be (Russell's cousin, child killer Tommy Sinclair) but that theory is never explored and instead Shawn decides to have a sexual encounter with now-deceased Katie's best friend Allison Graham (Karen King), by far the most annoying character in the film. She is loud and obnoxious, has a hysterical confrontation with Wesley in her first scene, and ends up being the scream queen of the film.
The film's climax is a little scarier than it has any right being. The film's music score, by Spadaccini and Kubovcik, is frightening in its own right. The killer is unmasked. He toys with Shawn. Wesley comes to save the day. But more screams are heard. The killer is gone. And we're onto "Glenville 3." Rating: 7 out of 10.