"Welcome, contestants, to the world's most dangerous game."
Criminally dull Saw variation, Are You Scared 2?, a sequel of sorts to a film that didn't deserve one to begin with, has Tony Todd stuck inside a little room watching screens, monitoring four backpacking college students participating in a game in the hopes of attaining money they can spend in Miami. The four young adults are in for a surprise as Todd has sadistic killers carving up those unfortunate victims who happen to follow a map to his large building in the middle of nowhere (a former Wildlife Reserve Headquarters, now abandoned, the perfect kill factory for sick puppies like Todd and his partners-in-slay).
What this film has going for it (the only thing, really) is Tony Todd who can convey menace in his sleep, with effortless ease and the director shoots him up close often (if you ever wanted to see lots of cigarette smoke steam from out of Todd's mouth, this film is for you). The photography is ugly and claustrophobic, at times the camera is shaky and most often in the faces or just below their chins looking up at them, the characters follow a type of GPS tracker (provided by Todd along with flashlights), leading them to their destination, but they need to hurry because the killers are on their tail. They are the "blue dots" on the tracker, their pursuers are the "red dots". The tracker will signify how close the killers are in proximity of them. The building is booby-trapped, murky, with lots of doors and rooms, easy to get lost in as Todd fools with the lights often to disorient the contestants. Add the killers to the mix and the contestants are up against it. While it might seem according to the synopsis to be a rather taut, exciting "hunting humans" thriller, it isn't really. Todd spends almost all of his screen time (well, not almost, all) in a little room with his screens, wine, cigarettes, and camera controls, sometimes amused, sometimes rather troubled, most times studiously watching his rats in a maze trying to get out. There's a ton of traveling throughout a building, going from one room to another, looking for the much coveted exit. The GPS tracker, though, seemingly a helpful device is actually a hindrance. When you see giraffes turn up as the hunted kids run around on the outside hoping to find their vehicles, a religious nutso who feels compelled to kill, a giant in a skull mask with a penchant for cutting into the flesh of lovelies, and Todd chatting with his pet turtle, you kind of know what you are in for. Not as entertaining as all that, however, as my description is deceiving. This has bad quick editing, a camera that wants to make us disoriented but just causes aggravation and nausea, and plenty of a couple's syrupy romance tested and enduring all of the nightmarish events transpiring. Worse yet, it takes quite a while before the four get to the damn building and even then, there's precious lacking of thrills. While the directors love to shoot bloody wounds, the camera rarely stays still long enough to have any sort of impact on the viewer. Skip it and do yourself a favor.
Criminally dull Saw variation, Are You Scared 2?, a sequel of sorts to a film that didn't deserve one to begin with, has Tony Todd stuck inside a little room watching screens, monitoring four backpacking college students participating in a game in the hopes of attaining money they can spend in Miami. The four young adults are in for a surprise as Todd has sadistic killers carving up those unfortunate victims who happen to follow a map to his large building in the middle of nowhere (a former Wildlife Reserve Headquarters, now abandoned, the perfect kill factory for sick puppies like Todd and his partners-in-slay).
What this film has going for it (the only thing, really) is Tony Todd who can convey menace in his sleep, with effortless ease and the director shoots him up close often (if you ever wanted to see lots of cigarette smoke steam from out of Todd's mouth, this film is for you). The photography is ugly and claustrophobic, at times the camera is shaky and most often in the faces or just below their chins looking up at them, the characters follow a type of GPS tracker (provided by Todd along with flashlights), leading them to their destination, but they need to hurry because the killers are on their tail. They are the "blue dots" on the tracker, their pursuers are the "red dots". The tracker will signify how close the killers are in proximity of them. The building is booby-trapped, murky, with lots of doors and rooms, easy to get lost in as Todd fools with the lights often to disorient the contestants. Add the killers to the mix and the contestants are up against it. While it might seem according to the synopsis to be a rather taut, exciting "hunting humans" thriller, it isn't really. Todd spends almost all of his screen time (well, not almost, all) in a little room with his screens, wine, cigarettes, and camera controls, sometimes amused, sometimes rather troubled, most times studiously watching his rats in a maze trying to get out. There's a ton of traveling throughout a building, going from one room to another, looking for the much coveted exit. The GPS tracker, though, seemingly a helpful device is actually a hindrance. When you see giraffes turn up as the hunted kids run around on the outside hoping to find their vehicles, a religious nutso who feels compelled to kill, a giant in a skull mask with a penchant for cutting into the flesh of lovelies, and Todd chatting with his pet turtle, you kind of know what you are in for. Not as entertaining as all that, however, as my description is deceiving. This has bad quick editing, a camera that wants to make us disoriented but just causes aggravation and nausea, and plenty of a couple's syrupy romance tested and enduring all of the nightmarish events transpiring. Worse yet, it takes quite a while before the four get to the damn building and even then, there's precious lacking of thrills. While the directors love to shoot bloody wounds, the camera rarely stays still long enough to have any sort of impact on the viewer. Skip it and do yourself a favor.