A Haunted House 2

MPAA/Content  R (AC, SL, N, V)

Distributor Open Road [2014]

Technical  HD 1.85:1

Genres  COM HOR

Runtime  87 mins.

Cntry./Lang.  USA [English]

Budget  $4M

 

CAST

Marlon Wayans, Jaime Pressly, Essence Atkins, Gabriel Iglesias, Missi Pyle, Ashley Rickards, Affion Crockett, Steele Stebbins, Rick Overton, Hayes MacArthur, Dave Sheridan & Cedric the Entertainer

 

CREDITS

Director: Michael Tiddes; Screenwriters/Producers: Marlon Wayans & Rick Alvarez; Director Of Photography: David Ortkiese; Production Designer: Ermanno Di Fabio-Orsini; Editor: Tim Mirkovich; Costume Designer: Ariyela Wald-Cohain; Music Composer: Jesse Voccia

 

THE SYNOPSIS

One year after the terrifying incidents at the home he shared with his possessed girlfriend Kisha (Atkins), Malcolm (Wayans) has moved on—and in—with the lovely Megan, a single mother with daughter, Becky (Rickards) and son, Wyatt (Stebbins)—who has an invisible hoodlum friend named Tony…

Their new home comes complete with a friendly Chicano neighbor & landscaper, Miguel (Iglesias)—who becomes fast friends with Malcolm. So do the demons and ghosts that follow him from Part 1. Sure enough, Malcolm is afflicted by an evil doll named Ashley—whom he sodomizes; Tony and his ghost buddies amp up the paranormal activities while the video cameras roll; the here-to-fore dead Kisha returns (!) and Malcolm finds old film cans in the attic—which reveal some scary stuff. What to do?

Calls to his friend Professor Wilde (Overton) are a waste of time, as the learned man is continually thrown in jail for “Breaking Bad” during constant partying, orgies and drug binges. Desperate, Malcolm enlists the help of his friend, Father Doug (Cedric The Entertainer) and ghost mediums Ned (MacArthur) & Noreen (Pyle) to save Malcolm and his new family. Even his gangbanger cousin Ray-Ray (Crockett) swings on by with his posse—until the paranormal goo hits the fan!

 

THE CRITIQUE

As if 2013’s A Haunted House proved that the “Paranormal Activity” parodies already hit a nadir, then its ill-gotten sequel A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 thumbs its low-rent nose at the movie masses—by being really (really) bad—AND actually getting a theatrical release before heading to that late-night CINEMAX graveyard.

You have to hand it to co-writer/producer/star Marlon Wayans: the guy has some brass cojones for keeping the shtick going and for his willingness to do whatever it takes to wring out a laugh or two. As one of the writing team—the other being producer/scribe Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House)—the movie’s premise is a dull retread of A Haunted House’s dull retread of better horror movies including: the Paranormal Activity series (2009-present), The Possession (2012), Sinister (2012), The Conjuring (2013) and a few others thrown in for good measure.

The third instigator in this motley endeavor is director Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) who allows his star to run around in shrill histrionic mode without applying the tranquilizer dart guns. While he gets mileage from a game cast (including Jaime Pressly, Hayes MacArthur, Missi Pyle, the amusing Gabriel Iglesias, Cedric The Entertainer and returning Affion Crockett—funny in a stereotypical “gangbanger” way), Tiddes is smart enough to not over-direct a project that relies more on the naturalism of modern, digital cinéma vérité—without actually being cinéma vérité.

Still, even with a game cast—and don’t forget the cameo by a frightened chicken (don’t ask)—A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 is already doomed to failure thanks to a pedestrian screenplay, shameless mugging by its star, a found footage horror sub-genre beaten to death by legitimate ventures and a low budget veneer. It’s sad to see how far these movies have fallen—even more so when you realize that Marlon Wayans was part of the movie series that kicked this whole horror parody cycle: Scary Movie (2000).

If you recall, that one was co-written, directed and produced by Marlon’s older brother Keenan—and the movie is a masterpiece of comedy-horror. In fact, that one and the lesser-but-still decent Scary Movie 2 (2001) were Wayans family affairs that showcased humor, good production values and the common sense when to call it a day (they stopped after Part 2, but others carried on the name in three successfully worsening sequels). What’s missing here is the steady hand of the other Wayanses (and how many of them are there…900?) to balance Marlon out creatively and actor-wise.

Shot in Los Angeles, production values on this tight $4 million (boxofficemojo.com) insult are at least decent. The HD-lensing (via the Sony CineAlta PMW-F55 camera system) was performed by TV cinematographer David Ortkiese—whose small-screen lensing style works well for the subject matter. He is abetted by a smooth cutting schema by rising editor Tim Mirkovich (The Messengers, The Devil Inside) and surprisingly good VFX by company unknown. Nice technical facts for a really dumb movie!

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 proves that stupid movies can still get made even in today’s recession. The tired humor is amplified by writer/producer/star Marlon Wayans’ shrill histrionics—but I do admit that he can be funny…sometimes. This one gives up the ghost quickly, but a game cast goes along with the tomfoolery—so does a crazed chicken. Don’t ask.

 

 

IMDB:                    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2828996/

Wikipedia:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Haunted_House_2

Official Site:          http://ahauntedhouse2film.com