‘See No Evil 2’ DVD Review
Stars: Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle, Glen Jacobs, Chelan Simmons, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Greyston Holt, Lee Majdoub, Michael Eklund, Reese Alexander, Kelly-Ruth Mercier | Written by Nathan Brookes, Bobby Lee Darby | Directed by Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
WWE Studios have some success and some failure with their releases but with See No Evil the reception was definitely mixed. One of their earliest movies it used Glen “Kane” Jacobs in the role of the psychotic killer Jacob Goodnight and I will admit to liking it, it had its flaws but it was fun a fun horror with plenty of gore. When the See No Evil 2 was announced it caught the attention of horror fans with the Soska Sisters were taking the reigns as directors and bringing scream queens Danielle Harris and Katharine Isabelle with them as part of the cast.
Following straight on from the first See No Evil, Jacob Goodnight is brought into the city morgue where Amy (Danielle Harris) decides to work through her birthday to help with the aftermath of Goodnight’s destruction. When her friends decide to hold a party in the morgue and the fun begins, it’s not long before Goodnight finds his way off the slab and returns to reap his judgement on the sinners.
See No Evil 2 is a film that is a mixture of success and failure for me. It is obvious that writers Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby have gone for an old school horror sequel feel, and who better to direct a film like this than horror fans? The one problem for me with this is that in terms of moulding Jacob Goodnight into a new iconic horror psycho, the story for See No Evil 2 feels a little lightweight, almost as if there is a rush to get to the gore (and why not? We definitely want the gore). Goodnight does have a backstory, but this needed just a little more flesh for me. When you look at Goodnight as a monster though, this is where the movie wins out.
What I really like about the build up to the slaughter in See No Evil 2 is the way the director’s focus is on just what a huge monstrous beast Goodnight is. In the WWE where a lot of the stars are larger than life Glen Jacobs in his role as appears big, but we never really get that feeling that he is huge. In See No Evil 2 though when he is laid out on a trolley in an elevator with Danielle Harris stood beside him it’s easy to see just how huge he is, and this is before he has started his killing spree. The fact we are even treated to the statistics for his weight and height are further focus on the fact that we have a monster in our midst.
Impressively the main force in See No Evil 2 isn’t the weapons Goodnight uses but the feeling that he is like a rhino trapped within the corridors of the morgue. Ripping his way through doors and blowing out windows with explosive force he is truly intimidating, especially to his victims and this creates a true feeling of a killer who is way more of a destructive force than his victims can handle. If anything he feels like a good old-fashioned killer with roots in the horror history all horror fans know and love.
What See No Evil 2 feels like is a film created by horror fans for horror fans. Jacob Goodnight is very much like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers. He is unstoppable and has one purpose and that is to kill the sinners he sees before him. With a good mix of victims ripe for the slaughter, See No Evil 2 is a fun horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously and goes full force to impress the audience.
The anticipation for See No Evil 2 has been huge, especially with the Soska Sisters directing. I would say that they have delivered a solid horror that gives fans exactly what they wanted. Yes, there are weaknesses but the good points outweigh the bad, and you can almost guarantee that there will be a See No Evil 3. Jacob Goodnight is definitely a monster that horror fans will remember and is a much better killer than in the first film.
****½ 4.5/5
See No Evil 2 is available on DVD now.
