The Unnamable II (1992)

This adequate sequel follows the HALLOWEEN 2 route of being set just minutes after the events of the first one. Whereas THE UNNAMABLE was a typical "let's all go to the haunted house and get killed by the monster one-by-one" entry in the teenage slasher genre, this sequel tries to be more as it expounds on the original story and also adds in plenty of false science and mumbo-jumbo to make things sound good. In fact, this kind of ridiculous would-be science, told in a straight-faced manner, is one of the things I love to hear. Who would have realised that by injecting an evil demon with insulin, it would cause the girl's soul to separate from the monster? One thing the film does lack is the spooky atmosphere which the first film provided. This is because, after the initial set-up, the characters move from place to brightly-lit place to escape from the creature following them. The pacing isn't all that good either, with sections towards the end where nothing much happens for half an hour or so. The film covers a lot of areas with romance, violence, science fiction, and horror, but by spreading itself to cover all genres it also appears to be toned down. For instance, there's none of the brutal gore which made the first film such an eye opener. Some people get slashed apart and ripped but it's never very gruesome.Instead, we have a beautiful girl (played by B-movie regular Maria Ford) wandering around naked for much of the film (perverts beware, this is no LIFEFORCE - the girl has long, long hair in this case), plus lots of light comedy stuff to make things supposedly enjoyable. And that's the trouble, because this just isn't as enjoyable as the first. The problem is that the film falls apart after the initial setup (which is in itself good), jumping from one silly scene to another until the head-scratching climax which makes you think they couldn't think of any other way to end the film.Okay, so the budget is higher and the special effects are notably better, including lots of crackling energy and an improved rubber suit, but the creepy magic of the first film is missing. It's no fault of the actors either, as they all do an okay job. Stephenson is a lot better in his role here, he's not as irritating and he has fun with his weird mannerisms. The character of Howard returns from the first but is played by another actor; however, as he is completely identical to the first Howard you wouldn't realise. Alexandra Durrell is nowhere to be seen in the film, but bizarrely she acted as an associate producer instead. Maria Ford is pretty good as the innocent girl caught up in a world she doesn't recognise or understand, while good old David Warner cameos as the school's chancellor in one scene. Kudos goes to John Rhys-Davies, who puts in a good performance as the nice professor who unfortunately gets killed early on, which is a shame as I'd have liked to have seen more of his character.If you liked the first film, then you will probably enjoy this one, but there just isn't enough incident to propel it along. Instead it moves on like some second-rate slasher, killing off minor characters every once in a while to make things more interesting. Okay to watch, but not that good really when you think about it.

This sequel to "The Unnamable" (1988) is actually a bit more interesting, as it's much more a mixture of things than the original was (it combines two Lovecraft stories this time, 'The Unnamable' & 'The Statement of Randolph Carter'). It flirts with quantum physics and other silly theories, even adding some comedic scenes to the events (which oddly enough do work). John Rhys-Davies is amusing as always, but lasts only half the movie. The always reliable David Warner has a cameo. Being a creature feature, the creature design (worn by actress Julie Strain) lives up to the expectations. The story picks up right after the events of the first film and meanders in slightly different directions this time. Just like the first film, which was much more a slasher-orientated effort, this sequel's hardly a masterpiece. But it's got some spirited moments, a handful of nasty kills and it remains a fun, entertaining watch nonetheless. The beautiful Maria Ford steals most of the show here, as she's walking around completely nude during half of the movie's running time. Furthermore, "The Unnamable II" stays true to the spirit of Lovecraft with a lot of amusing inside references to his works. So fans should be pleased, since a lot worse Lovecraft adaptations have been made throughout the years.

Classic horror movie of the early 90's. This movie is actually one of the movies that stand out in my memory back from the early 90's when I watched it for the first time on VHS. I just had to purchase it on DVD when I had the chance.I loved the story and found it to be thrilling and good. It drew from the Lovecraft universe in a good way, and I was nailed to my chair throughout the entire movie (and it still does whenever I put it into the DVD player).I have watched this movie maybe 5 or 6 times over the years, and never gotten tired of it. Of course, a certain amount of time have to pass before you put this one in the DVD player again.When I watched this for the first time, I was fairly unfamiliar with John Rhys-Davies, but found his acting here to be believable and good. And this movie also introduced me to Maria Ford, which I must say is a plus for this movie.The atmosphere of the movie is dark and brooding, which works well throughout the entire feature. Of course the effects are sort of bad in today's standards, but back then they were great. Especially for a fairly low budget movie. I liked the make-up on the creature, and were surprised to find out that it was Julie Strain underneath it.If you like the work of Lovecraft and have a taste for the movies based on Lovecraft's work, then you should not let this movie pass you by. Even today, this movie is worth watching. Even though Jeffrey Combs is not in this Lovecraft-based movie, it is still providing good entertainment. It has a good, solid story, no real boring moments throughout the length of the movie, and I think it is a must have in any horror fan's DVD collection.

The only real problem I had with this movie was that the most obvious things were never done. Spoiler alert now.Why didn't those crazy kids seal the tomb?Also, if you had a shotgun, a pistol and your fists and you needed to break into a room with double doors that looked like a pencil could open them if tapped sufficiently hard enough, wouldn't you start with the shotgun?I could go on, but I think you get the meaning.The whole thing is rendered moot by the inability to display common sense, but then again. I suppose that comment could apply to the entire history of mankind.Doh!