By Jeremy
 | Jeremy checks out The Pact II the sequel of the highly praised 2012 film The Pact. |
When I finally sat down last week and popped in 2012s The Pact I was curious about what I missed. The film was one that was often talked about at the end of 2012-2013 because the film was trying to attempt to do something different with the supernatural sub-genre of horror. It is easy to say that doing something original in the genre in 2012 was a difficult task, but director Nicholas McCarthy was able to achieve this and create an overall positive experience for the audience. Why did the film succeed then? Well, the film could blend together two sub-genres of horror in a way that worked skillfully; supernatural and slasher. By adding elements from both sub-genres McCarthy was able to achieve an overall creepy but intriguing story with likeable characters and fantastic mood. When the film reached its conclusion, I was very satisfied with the way the film ended. All the storylines seemed to be wrapped up, and the characters seemed to be moving forward with their lives after this dramatic experience.
So when I read in 2014 that a sequel to the film was being made, I was extremely cautious. Not only because I thought that a sequel would not work but also because McCarthy did not return to helm production. Instead, we have sophomore directors Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath taking the ropes this time around. The two’s directorial debut film Entrance was a pretty solid film, so I was hoping that the two would give the same kind of love towards the sequel that McCarthy gave. I am sad to report that this was not the case with The Pact II as the film unfortunately does not hold true to the first film. Now it is known sequels to horror films are usually never as good as the original, and I understand that, but there are a few problems which plague The Pact II from the start. I just want to say now that the film is far from being terrible, heck it is not even bad, but there are some problems.
The film picks up a few weeks after the original film ends, instead of following Annie the protagonist from the first film, we are introduced to a new character; June Abbott. June has the strange occupation of being a cleanup worker of crime scenes after murders occur. One day during one of her typical cleanups, she comes across a scene with holes in the walls similar to the ones that were shown in the previous film. At this point, either two scenarios can be expected; either Jonas the serial killer from the previous film is still on the loose or a copycat killer has entered the scene. We soon learn that multiple murders are occurring throughout the city and indeed a copycat murder of Jonas is committing these crimes. As the film continues June starts having nightmares of victims getting murdered by this “copycat” killer, it is from this point that June like Annie tries to solve what is really happening.
The narrative is one of the main issues that I have with the film. After seeing such an original story come out of the first film, I was hoping Hallam and Horvath would be able to do the same. Unfortunately, we are presented with a generic storyline that is extremely predictable and follows many tropes from films that came before it. I am not saying it is a bad thing that films are influenced by previous films but I just wish that something new was added to the mix to make this sequel stand out.
Another issue that I had with the film was that they really did not incorporate many aspects from the original story into the film. Sure, it follows the previous film with having Jonas as the returning villain but besides that few things return. Annie and one other character from the first film do make an appearance, but it seemed rushed and only there to add something to the film to connect it to the first film. I wish that Annie and the other character were incorporated just a little more into the narrative because I think their presence could have added another level to the film that could have pushed the film above averageness.
Overall,The Pact II is an average sequel which could have done just a tad more to make the film more exciting. I have to give Hallam and Horvath credit for trying to continue a storyline from a film that was so well-received by many fans in the horror community. The film does look really nice and overall had the potential to be more than average but unfortunately the few shortcomings that was discussed above held the film back.
5.0/10
Release Review:
Picture Quality:
The picture quality on the IFC Midnight Bluray release of The Pact II is truly fantastic. You can see that the film was shot on HD equipment that was truly able to pick up colors even in scenes that were lit darker. Overall I was extremely impressed with the picture quality on this release and if you have the chance to pick the film up on Bluray over the DVD I think it is worth the extra money to get the film in HD because it truly looks nice
5/5
Sound Quality:
Just like the picture quality the sound here is really well-done. Alot of the sounds come in crystal clear and the bass that is located lower down in the track really comes out and makes the film feel extremely eerie at times.
5/5
Bonus Features:
There is not many bonus features included on this Bluray set I have to say, all we are presented with is a quick making of featurette and a trailer. I think a commentary here from the directors would have been nice because it would have allowed me to enter their mindsets of the changes they wanted to make to the franchise.
3.5/5
So when I read in 2014 that a sequel to the film was being made, I was extremely cautious. Not only because I thought that a sequel would not work but also because McCarthy did not return to helm production. Instead, we have sophomore directors Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath taking the ropes this time around. The two’s directorial debut film Entrance was a pretty solid film, so I was hoping that the two would give the same kind of love towards the sequel that McCarthy gave. I am sad to report that this was not the case with The Pact II as the film unfortunately does not hold true to the first film. Now it is known sequels to horror films are usually never as good as the original, and I understand that, but there are a few problems which plague The Pact II from the start. I just want to say now that the film is far from being terrible, heck it is not even bad, but there are some problems.
The film picks up a few weeks after the original film ends, instead of following Annie the protagonist from the first film, we are introduced to a new character; June Abbott. June has the strange occupation of being a cleanup worker of crime scenes after murders occur. One day during one of her typical cleanups, she comes across a scene with holes in the walls similar to the ones that were shown in the previous film. At this point, either two scenarios can be expected; either Jonas the serial killer from the previous film is still on the loose or a copycat killer has entered the scene. We soon learn that multiple murders are occurring throughout the city and indeed a copycat murder of Jonas is committing these crimes. As the film continues June starts having nightmares of victims getting murdered by this “copycat” killer, it is from this point that June like Annie tries to solve what is really happening.
The narrative is one of the main issues that I have with the film. After seeing such an original story come out of the first film, I was hoping Hallam and Horvath would be able to do the same. Unfortunately, we are presented with a generic storyline that is extremely predictable and follows many tropes from films that came before it. I am not saying it is a bad thing that films are influenced by previous films but I just wish that something new was added to the mix to make this sequel stand out.
Another issue that I had with the film was that they really did not incorporate many aspects from the original story into the film. Sure, it follows the previous film with having Jonas as the returning villain but besides that few things return. Annie and one other character from the first film do make an appearance, but it seemed rushed and only there to add something to the film to connect it to the first film. I wish that Annie and the other character were incorporated just a little more into the narrative because I think their presence could have added another level to the film that could have pushed the film above averageness.
Overall,The Pact II is an average sequel which could have done just a tad more to make the film more exciting. I have to give Hallam and Horvath credit for trying to continue a storyline from a film that was so well-received by many fans in the horror community. The film does look really nice and overall had the potential to be more than average but unfortunately the few shortcomings that was discussed above held the film back.
5.0/10
Release Review:
Picture Quality:
The picture quality on the IFC Midnight Bluray release of The Pact II is truly fantastic. You can see that the film was shot on HD equipment that was truly able to pick up colors even in scenes that were lit darker. Overall I was extremely impressed with the picture quality on this release and if you have the chance to pick the film up on Bluray over the DVD I think it is worth the extra money to get the film in HD because it truly looks nice
5/5
Sound Quality:
Just like the picture quality the sound here is really well-done. Alot of the sounds come in crystal clear and the bass that is located lower down in the track really comes out and makes the film feel extremely eerie at times.
5/5
Bonus Features:
There is not many bonus features included on this Bluray set I have to say, all we are presented with is a quick making of featurette and a trailer. I think a commentary here from the directors would have been nice because it would have allowed me to enter their mindsets of the changes they wanted to make to the franchise.
3.5/5
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