Grave Encounters 2 (2012)
Brief review: After 2011's "Grave Encounters", The Vicious Brothers join forces with first-time director John Poliquin to deliver a sequel, that complements the original. Or does it? Sadly, Poliquin fails to take things to another level due to his and his writer's lack of creativity, as "Grave Encounters 2" rests entirely on the concept, plot and setting of first film, and therefore feels contrived and, ironically, uninspired. Furthermore, both the filmmakers and the obsessed protagonist try hard to constantly convince us, that the first film is actually a real footage, but that never seems to work. Since the action takes place in the exact same location as the original, it often feels like you're watching the same movie, but on the other hand, the eerily abandoned psychiatric hospital continues to be one of the most terrifying places ever put on film. The movie is filled with jump scares and sudden shocks, and though cheap, those are fairly effective. It also offers loads of ghastly (and ghostly) images that might give you nightmares, and even dares to rip-off the creature from "[REC]" to a certain extent. The director demonstrates different variety of camera techniques, such as shaky handy-cam, black-and-white hidden cameras, static security cameras, etc, and that versatility prevents the viewer from getting bored by the very limited POV shooting style. The acting is pretty forgettable, with Richard Harmon taking most of the screen time.
Overall summary: The setting is still creepy, and the scares work for the most part, but "Grave Encounters 2" feels too familiar and repetitive, and relies too much on the success of its predecessor, plus, it's further let down by its messy, boring and often nonsensical third act.
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