The Houses October Built proved to be a bit of a sleeper hit on Netflix, Redbox and pay-cable in general, so naturally, a sequel was eventually commissioned. In my review of the first film, I posited that we might follow a group of new characters, perhaps trying to follow in the footsteps of the original group and figure out what happened to them and maybe even bring them to justice for what the Blue Skeleton crew did, with the original group shown in flashbacks.
Instead, the sequel basically erases what we all thought happened, and reveals that it was all, in fact, just an elaborate extreme scare-house endeavor in which the five characters from the first film were kidnapped, terrorized and eventually let go. However, it is implied in the opening scene that this may be because the police somehow got wind of it and intervened, "forcing" the Blue Skeleton crew to let the group go, which doesn't make a lot of sense- at least early on. (We get a little more detail later on- but not nearly enough.)
We later discover that the whole thing has basically been posted online, and that may be how the cops were able to "rescue" the group- or, as I said, it really might have been an elaborate hoax and the Blue Skeleton crew simply abandoned ship and bailed before they got caught, though it would have been easy enough to leave everyone buried alive and be done with it, killing them in the process and essentially covering their tracks that way.
But I gather the filmmakers didn't want to go that route, and perhaps more importantly, those financing the whole affair didn't either, so whatever the case, the ending of the first film is glossed over and everyone is revealed to have survived the ordeal after all, even cameraman Jeff (Jeff Larson), who seemed to have been stabbed to death and have his tongue cut out in the original. All are banged up a bit, and emotionally drained and more than a little freaked out by the experience, especially Brandy (Brandy Schaefer), but still very much alive and well.
We flash forward a year, where it is revealed that all concerned, including Zack (Zack Andrews), Bobby (Bobby Roe) and Mikey (Mikey Roe), have since become Internet Famous, with an company having hired the original gang to tour the States and visit and review various scare-houses and other Halloween-related events and film them for online consumption. However, Brandy, understandably, wants none of it, and opts out of the whole endeavor.
One problem: the company wants all five of the group, and, in some cases, refuse to pay them altogether if they don't reunite everyone concerned. After doing a few haunts with three of the guys, then all four (Jeff arrives late, having had to take a bus to the proceedings, the company having balked at paying his airfare), it becomes clear that they need to get Brandy- now known as "Coffin Girl" on the internet, with a huge fanbase that dwarfs the rest- to come back or the whole deal will fall apart.
Jeff, her ex-boyfriend, manages to persuade her to come back, telling her he needs the money, as he is in financial dire straits, and promising her that she can quit at any time and that there will be no "extreme" scare-houses this time around, just run-of-the-mill stuff that is completely above-board. She begrudgingly agrees, and the company even arranges for her to meet with a psychologist, Margee Kerr (as herself, a self-proclaimed "fear sociologist" 😄) who dubiously suggests that the best way to get over her fears may be to confront them head-on.
At first, the gang is true to their word, as the scare-houses they visit are indeed pretty straightforward. One nifty one combines an escape room with what one of the gang terms a "haunted art installation," while another, more "adult" oriented one features a lot of cursing, nudity and- ahem- "laser titties." The gang also attends a Halloween festival in Anoka, Minnesota, the so-called "Halloween Capital of the World," where townspeople claim trick or treating originated (Wikipedia debunks this, as it has been around since before there WAS an United States); a "zombie pub crawl" (complete with an eating contest with the famed competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi), a typical Haunted Hayride and a super-cool "zombie 5K" race, where runners must elude "attacks" by people dressed as zombies.
Along the way, we see an outsider filming the group completely unbeknownst to them, and before long, familiar costumed faces begin to crop up in several of the haunted houses. In addition, some of the crew get wind of yet another "extreme" scare-house, this one dubbed "Hell Bent." They perhaps wisely opt to keep it from Brandy, but it doesn't really matter once a group of familiar masked people descend upon the gang's RV and gas them into unconsciousness, then drive the RV to another location altogether- the hidden location of "Hell Bent," naturally.
Needless to say, we then get a repeat of approximately the same kind of situation as in the first film- but is it for real this time? Or another elaborate hoax? I guess it all depends on how much you think the filmmakers want to turn this sucker into a full-on franchise. For the record, a third film has yet to be announced, so make of that what you will- no spoilers here. But I will say that if all of this sounds like a complete retread of the original, then you're not completely wrong.
Basically, what we have here is a soft reboot of the franchise, with a bigger budget, infinitely better cinematography, and more of a documentary vibe than a "found footage" one. The gang gets a souped-up RV, a drone camera to film things from afar, and the ability to live-stream the events they attend.
From what I can tell, those who loved the first one were a bit disappointed by this one, as it lacks the more low-key, low-budget, home-made "found footage" vibe of the original, while those who prefer it like that it looks better, there's less of the whole "shaky-cam" thing and you can basically tell what's going on at all times, rather than having to strain at times to figure it out.
Another common criticism is that a good hour-and-twenty minutes passes before anything truly "horror"-oriented happens, but that shouldn't come to a shock to anyone who saw the first one, so I can't see bitching about that aspect about this one if you were okay about it in the first film. Still, the series is already repeating itself and the formula is firmly established now, so point taken on the "it's just a bigger budgeted rehash of the original" complaint.
On my end, I didn't mind the pre-horror stuff. As I mentioned in my previous review, I love scare-houses and Halloween-related events, and I saw a lot of them here I wasn't familiar with, and probably wouldn't have the opportunity to have seen otherwise, unless it was in a straight documentary about such things. Indeed, it helps if you look at the first 3/4s of the film as an actual documentary about scare-houses and Halloween events, rather than as an actual narrative film.
Along the way, we get just enough narrative elements to keep things on track, and while I will say that the characters are slightly less likable this time around- like I said, they kind of browbeat the still obviously traumatized Brandy into coming along, and most of the guys seem to have gotten a bit full of themselves in light of their newfound mild celebrity- it also makes sense within the established narrative. Fame does affect people in adverse ways: some embrace it and crave for more, while others are completely freaked out by it.
I also found the much-improved camerawork to be a welcome development, as I am not a huge fan of the whole "shaky cam" thing myself. Some of the drone shots are awe-inducing and even breathtakingly beautiful, as we see all the landscapes of the various places the gang travel. (The one above in the middle is particularly Shining-esque.)
I especially enjoyed the overview of the "Zombie 5K,' which is pretty impressive in its level of detail, with a faux crashed, zombie-infested MARTA- that's the Atlanta version of a subway, for those uninitiated- and cool abandoned buildings. Also, it's in Georgia, my old stomping grounds, and not too far from where I am in Birmingham, Alabama, so going there isn't out of the question, which is cool.
Kudos to the crew for taking advantage of already-existing locations, which is often half the battle in making a low-budget film. One of the first things they teach you in film school is to use the things you have at your disposal, and it's a smart move to incorporate already-existing locales and to film them the way they did. Most of these places do actually exist, and were not fabricated for the film, with the notable exception of "Hell Bent," of course. (Check out the map below for the actual locations of the scare-houses and the like- click "open image in new tab" to make it bigger.")
All of that said, I do think that more should have been done with the overarching plot. I mean, after retconning the ending of the original, showing everything we thought we knew to be a lie, it's hard not to wonder if we're not in for more of the same at the end of this film, which is to say, another elaborate hoax. It's certainly a fair criticism to say that, for the most part, this is a complete retread of the original, only with a bigger budget and better visuals.
That leaves the ending, which is basically the biggest thing the film has going for it. Yet, rather than shed light on the Blue Skeleton crew, it only serves to muddy the waters further. Are they, in fact, a group of killers? Or are they just a group of con men/women truly looking to scare the bejesus out of people, but not really hurt them? By the end of the film, we're still not sure- after all, they could do the same thing they did this time and simply tell us that everything we see here is just a lie, too. Hell, I'm not even sure the Blue Skeleton crew was really involved in this at all. (You'll see why I was confused once you see for yourself.)
Be all that as it may, I basically enjoyed the film. As a fan of scare-houses and the like, I dug seeing the documentary-style footage of the events, so I wasn't bored by that. The cinematography was markedly improved, which I also appreciated. And the acting was fine, and Brandy Schaefer remains a likable heroine, who might just have a solid career in horror moving forward.
I'll allow that the ending was muddled, and the way it was shot was botched, especially the way they revealed the big twists. It's not that it wasn't a decent idea, so much as they fumbled how they told it. We never stop feeling detached from the proceedings, which is a problem in a horror film, especially one in which we're supposed to be rooting for the characters. This is where the whole "found footage" thing can often go awry, as it does here.
We never stop feeling like we're watching an internet video or a documentary, instead of something more intimate, like in Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity. Say what you will about those films and their sequels, they do a good job of establishing characters, and making us feel like we're a part of their journey. Here, like I said, we always feel detached from the proceedings, which would be fine if it were a straightforward narrative film, but this is supposed to be a "you are part of the action" "found footage" flick, and I rarely felt that way.
If the series does end up continuing, I would suggest exploring the mythos of the Blue Skeleton crew more the next time around. How did they come together? What was the original plan? Are they really psychos, or were they just looking to take scare-houses to the next, extreme level? Now that the formula has been firmly established, the filmmakers should shake things up the next time around, if there is one, by doing something different and challenging our expectations.
I'm not saying they should explain things to death, which is a big problem with a lot of the newer horror films, which dwell too much on mythology rather than scares, i.e. Rob Zombie's Halloween, the remake of Pet Sematary, etc. Just maybe think about a different approach. Say, maybe shooting things primarily from the perspective of the Blue Skeleton crew, so that we get a better idea of how they work and choose who to go after. We could still get some stuff from their chosen victims, just maybe even it out by including more from the villains as well, instead of the brief glimpses we get here.
Also, the filmmakers shouldn't be afraid to take their time with the ending. After all that build-up in the two films, we only get around fifteen minutes of genuine horror-related stuff. Maybe you could show the Blue Skeleton group go after one crew for part of the film, then another for the second half, so that the scares are more consistent throughout. And then, for the grand finale, take your time and do it right, instead of it feeling rushed.
Somewhat ironically, everything happens so fast once things get going that it robs the film of some of its inherent suspense. It's as if the filmmakers were trying to replicate the go-for-broke, fast-chills-and-thrills of a scare-house itself, but forgot that they were a movie. We get plenty of that sort of thing in the footage of the actual scare-houses. They move quickly, just like they do IRL. But the ending should be more evenly paced, not rushed, so that the tension has time to build. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.
I enjoyed the sequel overall, and I think the series has promise moving forward, if they choose to pursue it further. Maybe just take your time with plotting and planning any further installments the next time around, so that you can really nail it next time- the same way that the masterminds behind actual scare-houses do. The Blue Skeleton crew wouldn't have it any other way, right?
So, check it out, especially if you're a fan of the original, but remember that it's basically just more of the same, only with a bigger budget, and keep your expectations in check. It's not a total shitshow, but neither is it anything ground-breaking... but it could be if they plot out the next one carefully and really pay attention to detail. Like a great scare-house, this could really be something special, if they plan wisely. Until such a time, we have The Houses October Built 2. 🎃👻💀
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