Nerdly » ‘Conjuring the Genie 2’ VOD Review

01st Dec2022

‘Conjuring the Genie 2’ VOD Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Ella Starbuck, Dan Robins, Bar Ties, Lucinda Nicole, Elspeth Foster, Lewis Sycamore, Stephen Staley, Alex Quinn | Written by Craig McLearie | Directed by Ian David Diaz

The first thing you notice about Conjuring the Genie 2 is the opening credits. Now that might sound like a weird thing to say but a lot of these direct to AVOD releases from Proportion Productions/Jagged Edge Productions – who co-produced this film (even though both are owned and operated by Scott Jeffrey) – feature what look to be temp credits… plain fonts on black screen(s) and often times have a totally different on-screen title to what the film is listed under on places like Amazon Prime Video and even YouTube! So to see a film that has clearly had some thought put into the appearance and the stylistics, of the credits is – hopefully – a sign of good things to come.

Unlike the last film, which followed a formula Scott Jeffrey has been using for quite some time – a bunch of teens/students get tangled up in the supernatural and pay the price – Conjuring the Genie 2 follows Gabby, an author struggling to get her next book published. You see she wants to write one thing, her publishers want something else, the second book in a possible trilogy AND they also would like her to follow up a previous book that covered urban myths… Hence Gabby ends up crossing paths with the titular genie!

Well, I say this film is a different formula but… writer Craig McLearie (Hatched, Jack Frost, The Killing Tree) still sets up a group of people for the genie to take on here – if they are a little older than usual (though how much older given how these films always feature performers that don’t look like teenagers!), but they still act the same: horny, bitchy and oh-so-stupid when it comes to getting away from their attacker! The characters in this film are also a bunch of vain buggers – one wishes for everyone to admire them and becomes an artist painting SELF portraits(!), another gets bigger breasts. It’s almost as if McLearie created the most unlikeable cast he possibly could in order for the audience to cheer on the genie (because we can’t call it a djinn, as modern audiences won’t know what a djinn is… yes, the film DOES say that!) as it takes its vengeance out on everyone!

Speaking of vengeance, the way the character’s wishes are perversely interpreted by the genie is the real highlight of Conjuring the Genie 2, with some real thought put into how the wording of a seemingly innocent wish can be twisted and turned, ultimately leading to each characters gruesome, yet somehow delightful, demise.

Much like the first film, the djinn of this film looks unlike any genie you’ve seen outside of this franchise. More like a grotesque human/bat hybrid than a cheerful singing and dancing blue marvel… If there’s one thing I’ll say about this genie, and it’s something that can be said about a lot of Scott Jeffrey’s productions, I do wish they could figure out how to have their monstrous characters Abel to move their mouths as they talk – rather than relying on full face masks. Surprisingly we also get actual digital effects in Conjuring the Genie 2 – something that isn’t normally the case outside of blood splatter effects in these types of low-budget productions – as one wish turns into a character having their soul taken from them by the genie – appearing as a floating ball of light at it leaves their body!

Also in a total surprise, our selfish heroine Gabby manages to defeat the genie without a major battle, without a ridiculous cat and mouse, final girl-style chase, and without the book used in the first film… Plus we don’t get a shock scare at the end, a final appearance of the titular character, to let us know the genie hasn’t really been taken care of! It’s a big change from what you’d expect from ANY genre film let alone from a sequel that’s undoubtedly going to lead to more in the series (because let’s face it, the distributor, ITN, is probably going to milk this character as much as they did the tooth fairy!).

Much like I concluded my review of the first Conjuring the Genie, let me say this; I’m a fan of Scott Jeffrey’s work – even if I’m in the minority – and Conjuring the Genie 2 is another winner for me, the way the wishes are twisted is a lot of fun and leads to some great “aha!” moments. It’s just a shame this, like the original film, is a little bloodless for a horror movie!