Saw this sequel and while not incredibly terrible, it was inferior to 976-Evil. There are aspects of the plot here that are better, but there is a cheapness to the whole thing too. One can tell that they did not have the budget they had in the first film. There was also way too much that was established in the first film that is ignored during this one. It is a sequel, it does use the same phone service and Spike does return; however, Spike seems like a totally different character now (though he is played by the same actor) and the whole thing just seems a bit generic in a way.
The story has a Dean or a principal being arrested for a rash of killings and a kill at the beginning of the film. I say Dean or principal due to the fact the school they show seems like a high school, but they seem to infer it is a college. Lockers and nurses who yammer that you should be in class seem more out of high school to me. Well, Spike is headed for the town, determined to stop the killings and the strange 976 number...remember when they revealed the operator dude at the end of the first film was in on it? Well, if you did, you remember more than the writers of this one as this aspect is ignored completely. Instead, the dean or whatever, uses astral projection to kill those that try to persecute him.
The film misses the mark, more so than the first film. It basically needs more work than did the first one to make it better. I liked the idea behind it, but I would have preferred they followed a bit more of the story of the first film. Astral projection killer, somewhat cool. Multiple off screen deaths...not so cool. I do believe the off screen death count was higher than the on screen one. They did some good things, but this sequel seems almost rushed despite four years in between films, it does seem cheaper and to many issues with the story tying it with the first film. That "It's a Wonderful Life" meets "Night of the Living Dead" kill was pretty cool though.
The story has a Dean or a principal being arrested for a rash of killings and a kill at the beginning of the film. I say Dean or principal due to the fact the school they show seems like a high school, but they seem to infer it is a college. Lockers and nurses who yammer that you should be in class seem more out of high school to me. Well, Spike is headed for the town, determined to stop the killings and the strange 976 number...remember when they revealed the operator dude at the end of the first film was in on it? Well, if you did, you remember more than the writers of this one as this aspect is ignored completely. Instead, the dean or whatever, uses astral projection to kill those that try to persecute him.
The film misses the mark, more so than the first film. It basically needs more work than did the first one to make it better. I liked the idea behind it, but I would have preferred they followed a bit more of the story of the first film. Astral projection killer, somewhat cool. Multiple off screen deaths...not so cool. I do believe the off screen death count was higher than the on screen one. They did some good things, but this sequel seems almost rushed despite four years in between films, it does seem cheaper and to many issues with the story tying it with the first film. That "It's a Wonderful Life" meets "Night of the Living Dead" kill was pretty cool though.