1999’s remake of House on Haunted Hill boasted an impressive cast and some good scares. It has always been one of Dark Castle’s more successful films. So it’s not surprise that they decided to make a sequel. What is surprising is the fact that it took almost a decade to do so. The casting is good, albeit less impressive. The effects are pretty decent for the most part. They definitely upped the gore factor. The set design is a bit less successful but still it’s not bad. All in all it’s a good film but it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. This is not necessarily a bad thing though.
This go round we focus on Ariel, sister of survivor Sara from part 1. My guess is they couldn’t get Ali Larter or Taye Diggs back so they just decided to focus on new characters instead. Ariel, played by Amanda Righetti (Friday the 13th ’09, The Mentalist), is a high powered magazine editor who has grown apart from her sister. This is partly due the fact that very few believe the haunting story that she told when she finally escaped from the house. Ariel has grown fond of a photographer that works with her, Tom Riley (DaVinci’s Demons). They share a fair amount of chemistry even if they don’t set the screen ablaze.
Before long Ariel receives a call telling her that her sister has killed herself. She is understandably distressed by this revelation and decides to go to her sister’s apartment to try and make sense of what’s happened. It is during this time we meet Dr. Richard Hammer, Steven Pacey (Julius Caesar). He has spent his life searching for the Baphomet idol which is thought to be in the very house Ariel’s sister escaped from. His assistant, Kyle, played by Andrew Lee Potts (Red Mist), believes the rumors of hauntings in the old mansion and while he wants to help his boss complete his life’s work, he also fears what that will entail. Also in the mix is Michelle, a bombshell student that is currently sleeping with the professor. Michelle, Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever, Tales of Halloween), is not what she seems though.
During Ariel’s visit to her sister’s place, she meets Dr. Hammer and realizes that her sister was planning to go back to the house she escaped from in order to help him find the idol he’s been searching for. In order to do so, they need to find Dr. Vannacutt’s journal. Apparently Sara had it stashed away somewhere. Dr. Hammer explains that the idol is worth a fortune to certain buyers and he wants to find it first. Ariel refuses to help and storms off.
When she gets home, however, she realizes that her sister mailed the journal to her. Just as she is about to start reading it, she and her photographer love interest are abducted by a group that plans to steal the idol and sell it for 5 million dollars. This crew is headed by Desmond, played by Erik Palladino (Dead and Breakfast, Mischief Night). The rest of the crew you don’t need to know anything about since they are frankly, just fodder. Not one of the actors in those roles has a discernable feature. They are literally generic, stock characters.
Eventually all parties involved end up at the house and before long, the lockdown begins. This is when things go crazy. We have new ghosts to contend with but luckily Jeffery Combs is back as Vannacutt. He is the one holdover from the previous film. Before we know it, faces are being cut off, people are drawn and quartered, and skulls are being sawed open. It all gets fairly nasty and the effects are actually pretty good through this portion of the film. I won’t get into any more specifics because this is actually worth a watch. While it doesn’t live up to the first film, it certainly has a flair all it’s own which makes it an enjoyable funhouse of horrors.
P.S. Stick around after the credits for a cliffhanger. It’s not that original but it definitely leaves things open for a third chapter. I doubt that will ever happen though.
The Savage Cinephile 