The Barn Part II (2022) User Reviews

Having Never Seen Part I, I Sill Enjoyed This

[rebeltaz-18705 · 6/10 · 13 February 2023]

I've never see the original,. So I don't have anything with which to compare this. You get enough of the backstory to know what's going on, though, so you can watch this as a standalone flick and still be good.

This isn't winning any awards, but in current year, that's a positive. No agenda. No message. Just plain, good, clean fun. Well, not clean - there's a bit of nudity thrown in - so still fun :)

Everybody looks way too old to be in college, but for the most part, they're decent enough actresses. The plot is about what you would expect from a B movie, and there is the required amount of "wrongness." One such example is when the pumpkin head guy - who has a flame going in his head - gets lighter fluid squirted on him and, predictably, it ignites. Later, though, that same guy gets sprayed with some flammable liquid and yet, even though he's still flaming, now the script requires a lighter to be thrown at him to get the liquid ignited. ¯\_(* *)_/¯

Anyway, it's a fun movie that you can watch without having to endure preaching or browbeating. Pop some popcorn, turn down the lights, sit back and just enjoy.

Better than part I, but...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 7 February 2023]

While I can't claim that the 2016 movie "The Barn" was a movie that overly impressed or entertained me, then I still opted to sit down and watch the 2022 sequel "The Barn Part II", on the off chance that this movie might be a step in the right direction.

I can't say that I harbored much of any high hopes for this movie from writer and director Justin M. Seaman, as it had the likes of Lloyd Kaufman, John Bloom and Ari Lehman on the cast list. But I figured, I would still give it a chance, when it also had Doug Bradley and Jason Brooks on the cast list.

While the "The Barn Part II" was definitely a step up from the 2016 predecessor, then it was by no means a grand horror experience. The storyline was pretty vague, if not actually downright weak. It felt erratic and as if there was no real continuation to a scene once someone had been killed.

Visually, then "The Barn Part II" was a step up from the predecessor as well. There were some fair enough effects in the movie, though you will not be bedazzled or blown away.

"The Barn Part II" is a movie that is semi-suitable for a single viewing, but that is about it.

My rating of "The Barn Part II" lands on a four out of ten stars.

If you like horror you may be into this

[golonwes · 6/10 · 3 February 2024]

This movie kills children!

And it's awesome!!

Personally, I think more kids should be brutally killed by crazed psycho demon killers. So, if you like that sort of horror you will like this. There is, of course, some very bad acting and other hallmarks of B horror, but there are also a slew of horror scene people in this too.

I cannot stress enough that this movie requires you to like horror as your favorite genre and enjoy watching B horror movies for fun if you are to enjoy this or the first Barn movie.

As far as horror movie sequels go, there are absolutely more nonsensical horror movie sequels out there.

Blah

[saint_brett · 3/10 · 8 November 2023]

'The Barn 2' starts off on Halloween night, and I'm up against it with this movie.

Severely handicapped, I tells ya. For starters, the library's link won't let me save it to USB.

It keeps buffering as the library's connection speed must have the alacrity of a senior citizen club. And it'll only be a matter of time before some junkie comes, sits next to me, and starts yacking at the gills without invitation. And to make matters worse, I'm using headphones from the 80s with only one earpiece that functions properly. And every time I pause the movie, all these pop-up windows keep appearing. I have to click them off every time the movie is haulted. It's annoying. At an hour and 35 minutes, I'm only allotted 2 hours at the library, I'm cutting this fine with all the annoying pause breaks. So continuity flow is a problem also.

Having been told to skip part one, I'm going into this one blind. Did I miss something though, as the start of part two retells a bit of the last one, and that pumpkin character with the fire eyes looks pretty decent.

And so, a bunch of boy scouts are snuffed out in gruesome fashion, as there's obviously a mole in their ranks. From part one, I take it.

At the 6-minute mark, there's a massive double chin on display from the uneducated chick balancing a pencil on her nose. She says that the boys only come out for two things, implying her boobs, but everyone knows she's really referring to her double neck.

Another sorority house movie? Gamma Tell Si. It's not the 80s anymore. This movie's falling into the deadly trap of past horror movies; most of these birds look thirty and over. Wouldn't they be more suited to pole dancing in mature nightclubs for tips and tricks? That'd be a great name for an X-rated movie, 'Tips or Tricks.'

I know this Frank Zappa character. He's here broadcasting on a home TV network for outdated MTV junkies. This TV storyline goes nowhere.

It must be known that I endured 12 minutes of 'Galaxina' and only 10 minutes of 'A Name for Evil' last night and couldn't finish my term paper for either. It was beyond painful.

Doc Brown cameos for a brief period as the character Hairy Tolstoy, or something. He tells another campfire story of a myth that will no doubt materialize in this movie later on. I don't find urban legends creepy or intriguing at all. Generally, someone will jump out after he finishes telling his tale. It's old hat.

A weirdo holding a box of plastic junk from Ollie's pops out, and there's your punctuation mark on the urban legend.

A throwback to the 80s sees a montage of nostalgia accompanied by a Def Leopard or Slayer song. The year 2023 cannot recreate the past with a simple soundtrack from a different era. It doesn't make it authentic.

Some of these actors are concealing British accents.

This chick in the Bengals Halloween costume has absolutely nothing on that melting piece of pulchritude in 2018's 'Halloween.' That chick was divine, and I'd ask for seconds with her. It was a shame she never returned in 'Halloween Kills' or 'Halloween Ends.'

Other than the pumpkin killer with the candle eyes, the other baddie costumes are of cheap design. The actors employed for this movie are not likeable either. I can't find anyone to cheer for. Probably the mature 40s math teacher wearing the glasses. She reminds me of Miss Davis from 'Varsity Blues.'

"Wow, girls, you like my scaring techniques?" How'd modern-day actors portraying nerds become pretty boys?

A town hall meeting is held to pass legislation on the banning of Halloween, but not much devotion is paid to this storyline as the director is more interested in bopping off characters who weren't even introduced earlier. There's no emotional investment in any of the characters, although that nameless naked chick with the 8/10 body who was just killed will be missed. That corn on the cobb character looks like it has a bad case of acne.

Here in the library, surrounded by seniors and library sharks - I mean staff - and one lady eating a beef pastry to my left, I have to be mindful of any nudity, so I'm using my Word document to censor anything mature that pops up, like the double-chin chick's death scene. A few points are warranted for the hot wax and pumpkin seeds spat on the other girl. Wax sure is hot on the skin.

The killer from 'Pledge Night' was a better killer than any of these, and Young Sid didn't even use any prosthetics or Spirit Halloween masks.

The modern-day era, with its cancel culture and woke attitude, has no right to portray the past. This movie and the recent 'Billy the Kid' don't truly represent the past.

Sadly, Miss Davis is about to be killed by the trio of Spirit Halloween baddies. She's well endowed, but her kill, like most in this, goes for the neck or decapitation, and it doesn't look good. A lot of work must have been devoted to the make-up room, but it's poorly executed on the final print. It's fan-made B-movie stuff.

On the flip side, 'The Barn 2' suddenly turns into 'Shaun of the Dead,' and it's poorly done and rushed to boot. How'd it go from Hammer-style monsters to a zombie flick? That whole walking dead crap is past its use by date.

I think this movie is more reserved for high school kids, not the 18+ crowd. I'm too mature for this movie and could be watching something better, like, I dunno, 'Small Soldiers.'

If you're an F-grade student, then this will appeal to you. I've got more class than this and feel offended. It looks like it was filmed by friends and family, and the only people who will rate this over a 5 on IMDb are the cast, crew, and associates. It's almost like the Christian or Nickelodeon Channel daring to be a bit different and upping their family-friendly G-rated material to PG-13 stuff.

Anyone who could survive a shotgun propane tank blast must be superhuman. Of course, the baddy was defeated, but the humans survived. Remember Bruce Willis surviving the C4 blast in his apartment where everyone else died? This movie's intentionally trying to provoke me into losing my composure. I'm not going to be baited.

At times, it's like watching a Peter Jackson 'Feebles' movie. The baddies could pass as 'The Masked Singer' contestants. After being killed by the propane blast back at the diner, the baddies formulate into one giant monster like that recent 'Evil Dead Rise' end boss, and it only kills brain cells.

To the movie makers of today, stop trying to recreate the past. Make something for today's entitled generation to be proud of.

Us old-school late 70s and 80s mob had our time.

We're never going to get it back so give it up already.

It's 2023 - the future. Make something for the 2023 crowd.

Don't tell me in 50 years from now they're still going to be filming 80s themed movies.

Fun Follow Up to the Original, Builds on the Mythology

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 7/10 · 3 January 2023]

This is a movie that I was excited to check out. I enjoyed the original one which I hadn't seen until watching in prep for this sequel that was being shown at the Nightmares Film Festival. It was the Midwest premiere for the film as well.

Synopsis: the Halloween ban is now lifted in Helen's Valley and the sorority girls of Gamma Tau Psi place Michelle (Lexi Dripps) in charge of their annual haunted house. Unfortunately, some uninvited trick or treaters from her past come knocking...

For this sequel, it takes place a few years after the original one. Michelle is now attending a local college as the synopsis said and is part of a sorority. They use their Halloween haunted house to fund their yearly activities. The problem is that some of the sisters have ruined it so they can't do it on campus. Heather (Sable Griedel) is placed in charge and Michelle steps up to help her. They need to find a new location for it though.

The two ladies go to the local video rental store to get some ideas for their haunt. Heather knows Charlie (Chad Bruns) who works behind the counter. She introduces him to Michelle. They hit it off. He also recommends a local guy who knows of a barn that they can rent. It turns out to be the barn from the original movie. The price is right and they go about setting up the haunt.

There is the issue that could stop them. There is the ban on Halloween after what happened the night that Sam Daniels (Mitchell Musolino) and Josh Harper (Will Stout) disappeared as well as the killing spree. The mayor, Lloyd Kaufman, has decided to lift it. This is much to the chagrin of Sara Barnhart (Linnea Quigley). There is a town meeting about getting an emergency injunction for the ban getting restored that night.

The sorority doesn't realize the location they're using. To start their haunt, the guests must knock and say trick or treat. They don't realize that this awakens the evil spirits below. This brings back The Boogeyman (Justin M. Seaman), The Candycorn Scarecrow (Jedediah Giacchino) and Hallowed Jack (Caden Holmes) among other demons. They're back to collect those that woke them up and more. They're not the only ones who come back though either. Can everyone survive this Halloween night?

That is where I'll leave this recap as well as introduce you to some of the characters that we get here. Where I want to start is that I like that this one expands on the first one did. We bring back familiar characters, add some new ones and build on the mythology. That is what I like with a sequel. This also amps up the body count which helps as well. These are all things I appreciate as it feels like the original, while also doing its own thing.

Where I officially want to start then is with the story and the changes made. In the original, it was a slasher that felt like a side-scroller video game. This one has a similar vibe as each set piece inside the haunted house is different. We get the original trio of demons in The Boogeyman, The Candycorn Scarecrow and Hallowed Jack back. They also bring in others like one that is dressed as a crow and there's another that is a pig. I do like this. The only issue is that we don't get as much from the original ones which I wanted just a bit more of. Not enough to ruin this though. I wanted to establish that. What is interesting there is that we learn the history of The Boogeyman and how this started. Walter Daniels (Doug Bradley) even tells the story which I loved that. It feels real.

Sticking with the slasher aspects, I want to go to the effects. They are great here. They went practical with everything that they could. That is something that I appreciate. The different set pieces are interesting and they do some fun things with character deaths. On top of that, we have a large cast of characters as cannon fodder. They don't all get fleshed out, but they don't necessarily need to either. There is enough personality though where I could recognize them. Not by name, but what they looked like. I give them credit here for not going CGI heavy. Only using it when needed.

Now I did need to shift over to an issue I had. This one incorporates zombies. It feels out of place since that wasn't in the original one. It seems to me that this as included to raise the stakes and make it more difficult for our characters. I don't like it since that feels like why it was done and wasn't in the original. I'm fine with introducing new things, but it also should work in the same confines that were set up previously. There is also the issue of Michelle not knowing this is the same barn from before. She has some sly facial expressions where I do think she did this on purpose, which is messed up if true.

Where I want to go next would be with the acting. I was glad to see Dripps, Musolino and Stout back, even if the latter two are on a more limited basis for obvious reasons. I did like introducing new characters like Griedel and Bruns. These performances fit for what was needed. The rest of the cast around them are good. I also liked cameos by the likes of Diana Prince, Bradley, Quigley, Ari Lehman, Kaufman and John Bloom aka Joe-Bob Briggs. They are fun for what they give to the movie.

The last thing to go into would be with the filmmaking. I think that this sequel fixed an issue I had. What I didn't have a problem with in either was the cinematography. This looks great. It is shot better than its budget so I give them credit there. The soundtrack wasn't as good as the original one as it didn't stand out to me necessarily. It also didn't take me out. What I'm glad though was that they fixed with the issues with the sound quality of the dialogue of the characters. That made me happy.

In conclusion, this is a worthy sequel. It takes what the first one did and builds on that. We get a large cast of characters to kill off by our demons. I like that we brought back familiar characters as well. There isn't a bad performance and the cameos we get here are great. The effects were good. The filmmaking techniques were as well. I had no issues there. If I did have an issue, I like that they built on the mythology from the original one, but they add different things that don't work for me. Not enough to ruin this though. It was a fun take on a supernatural slasher.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Sleazy Tricks & outrageously gory Treats!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 3 November 2023]

I don't remember a lot about my 2016 viewing of the original "The Barn" in terms of content, but I do vividly recall having a good time and admiring what writer/director Justin M. Seaman accomplished without much of a budget but with plenty of enthusiasm & dedication for the splatter genre!

Seven years later, the sequel still looks (deliberately?) cheap and amateurish, while the tongue-in-cheek laughs and crazy make-up effects even got more extreme. Moreover, and this is always a good sign, famous names from the B-movie industry are apparently standing in line to play a small role or make a cameo appearance. Not many young and aspiring horror directors are able to say their film stars Doug Bradley, Linnea Quigley, Lloyd Kaufman, and Joe Bob Briggs. Like its predecessor, "The Barn part II" is a pleasantly deranged and outrageously gore. The ideal "Halloween" treat.

The year is 1992, and Halloween celebrations are still banned in the small town of Helen's Valley, following the bloody massacre three years earlier. The local girls' sorority Gamma Tau Psi organizes a secret Halloween event as a fundraiser, though, and can you guess where? In the exact same barn where bloodthirsty demons and creatures crawled out of the old mining well in 1989 already!

There isn't much else to write about "The Barn Part II", except that it's a deliciously entertaining throwback to old-fashioned low-budgeted splatter horror from the 1980s. It's a non-stop spitfire of extreme (but fantastic) handmade DIY gore effects, tasteless humor, and gratuitous nudity provided by girls that are way too old to be in a sorority! The Boogeyman miner, Hallowed Jack-o-Lantern and Candycorn Scarecrow make their glorious comeback, and this time there are also an admirably grim Black Crow monster and a man-sized squealing pig. The mayhem and slaughter they unleash together is unspeakable. Horror icon Linnea Quigley stars as an old hag who hates Halloween, Doug Bradley gets to say stuff like "Raise some Hell" with an evil grin on his face, and Diana Prince still plays a seductive sorority girl even though she's a 45-year-old retired porn actress. If you have a heart for horror, you cannot dislike this film; - it's as simple as that.

Retro Halloween Awesomeness

[ArkhamQuinn · 10/10 · 28 January 2023]

This movie was EXACTLY what I wanted it to be

A fun horror movie with a fun story, likable characters, and creative kills, all set to an awesome retro Halloween vibe with a matching aesthetic and plenty of practical effects

As big fan of the original film, The Barn, I was incredibly excited to see the follow up The Barn II and had a premiere night with some friends

Once the Blu-Ray arrived, we cleared our calendars, bought some pumpkin ales and candy, all to add to the Halloween atmosphere

I'm not going to get into spoiler territory but let's just say there's a few welcome surprises in store :)

Okay, wait.

[eli_sab · 8/10 · 2 October 2023]

At first I was like, "what in the low budget attempt at horror" is this?! But as I got deeper into the movie, I was like "no, scratch that. THIS IS AWESOME!!!". It's just so, I don't know, nostalgic. It's brings back way too many good feels, it made me giddy with happiness, I didn't even care much about the "horror", I just honestly enjoyed it.

It's like Are You Afraid of the Dark x Goosebumps x Night of the Crazies x Trick r Treat x Return of the Living Dead. It's just so freakin' fun! I didn't even have to watch the prequel to enjoy the movie. It pretty much can stand on its own. I am, however, gonna watch it now.

This belongs to every Halloween Movie Marathon list. I can't believe it's a movie from 2022. Glad to know there are creators out there who could still produce great material.