Can't say I was expecting much having rated the first part 5/10. This is a sequel we definitely didn't need but it's the sequel we got. I believe that audiences with little horror genre experience and/or audiences between 13 and 20 years old might get some kicks out of this, but I can't help seeing just an unimaginative horror movie here.
First part of this duology was much more of the found-footage kind, it's a genre I often have a soft spot in my heart for. This one, however, uses that style (social media, live video, YouTube) very little and for the most part is a, well, classic type of movie. I can compliment some of the camera & editing work, although a big portion of the results were jumpscares that had little to no effect on me. Aesthetically nice color grading, some cool framing, hangman masks, this and that. Acting performances were okay, nothing that'd impress a lot. Most of the characters were quite the cliches. The story feels extremely familiar, some plot turns made me reminisce about other, older horror movies that did the same or something close to that. Some things doesn't always make sense, some script and/or character moves seem far-fetched. I figured out the twist half an hour into the movie & the climax turned out to be unsurprisingly flat.
"The Gallows Act II" is the kind of horror movie that comes out a few times a year every year, a painfully familiar concept tries to appear original with the filmmakers changing and altering some parts of the whole design. I'm sure that there's effort and work behind this movie, but for a seasoned horror buff this is the kind of movie he'll likely forget after writing the review. My rating: 4/10.
First part of this duology was much more of the found-footage kind, it's a genre I often have a soft spot in my heart for. This one, however, uses that style (social media, live video, YouTube) very little and for the most part is a, well, classic type of movie. I can compliment some of the camera & editing work, although a big portion of the results were jumpscares that had little to no effect on me. Aesthetically nice color grading, some cool framing, hangman masks, this and that. Acting performances were okay, nothing that'd impress a lot. Most of the characters were quite the cliches. The story feels extremely familiar, some plot turns made me reminisce about other, older horror movies that did the same or something close to that. Some things doesn't always make sense, some script and/or character moves seem far-fetched. I figured out the twist half an hour into the movie & the climax turned out to be unsurprisingly flat.
"The Gallows Act II" is the kind of horror movie that comes out a few times a year every year, a painfully familiar concept tries to appear original with the filmmakers changing and altering some parts of the whole design. I'm sure that there's effort and work behind this movie, but for a seasoned horror buff this is the kind of movie he'll likely forget after writing the review. My rating: 4/10.