BLOODY MURDER 2

The set-up: a summer camp staffed by young, randy camp counselors.  No actually campers in sight (they’re closing up for the summer).   A masked killer inexplicably terrorizes the camp.  Yes, you’ve got it, this is the movie that features that infamous killer…Trevor Moorehouse?  But of course, who were you thinking about?   If it strikes you that BLOODY MURDER 2 is a rip-off of another well-known horror series, you’re not wrong. In fact, it’s so blatant a rip-off at one point I expected the filmmakers to acknowledge it by having a character to say, “You know, that Trevor Moorehouse reminds me of Jason in the FRIDAY THE 13th movies.” They never go quite that far, but there is certainly plenty to keep your attention.

In case you’re worried that you can’t read this review because you haven’t seen the first BLOODY MURDER, well…you’re an idiot.  There is essentially no plot, and we don’t need any back-story for teenage camp counselors to get slaughtered.  Nevertheless, this sequel starts with its lame attempt at one: Tracy Hathaway awakes from a nightmare imagining her brother getting killed by Trevor Moorehouse. Five years earlier, he disappeared at Camp Placid Pines and Tracy is pretty sure Trevor was responsible. So she did what every concerned sister would do: go work at the EXACT SAME PLACE WHERE HER BROTHER DIED. Sorry for the screaming, but my b*llsh*t detector practically exploded when I saw that, and no attempt was ever made by the filmmakers to justify her um…odd decision.

After the 20 seconds of exposition in the intro, we get right into the action of camp counselors shutting down their camp for the summer.   They are the standard stereotypes – the innocent lead teen, her nice boyfriend, the black guy, the slutty girl, etc.   The filmmakers even try to do the old SCREAM self-aware thing when the black guy says, “I’m in trouble, the black guy always gets killed first in horror movies.”  Yes, but who ever told you that you were in a horror movie?   Let the SCREAM thing die – even Wes Craven pushed his luck making it a trilogy. It’s over. 

Soon enough the murders begin – and they’re reasonably gory and entertaining.  Along the way we get the requisite fake “boo” scares where it turns out to be a friend or a cat, the requisite guy who wants to play a scary game around a campfire, and the requisite gratuitous nudity.  Allow me to expand upon the last point.  The film smartly features the contemporary scream queen Tiffany Shepis, a woman who looks so much like the pop singer Pink, I thought she might be using a pseudonym. But as dirty as Pink is, Shepis takes us to the Temple of Dirtiness, shedding her clothes and getting her groove on at every opportunity. Tiffany, thank you for salvaging this film with your glorious wonderments.

The movie is a classic example of straight-to-video shlock.  It’s bad and knows it, but fills in the void with gore and plenty of nudity (you probably aren’t even waiting for the rating to rent this one).   The one thing it’s not is scary.  In fact, most of the scares were sapped when the filmmakers named their killer after a gay British tailor.  Trevor Moorehouse just isn’t scary guys.   But who needs scares when you have Tiffany Shepis showing us the goods at every turn? BLOODY MURDER 2 won’t be on before 11:30 P.M. on Cinemax, but if you’re an insomniac, stay up for it.

RATING: *** (out of four)

Comments

[Matt Mosley]

BM2 delivers in every place that the original failed . . . . . which is EVERYWHERE!

Don't worry if you haven't seen the first movie, you don't need it to enjoy this.

Roll on Bloody Murder 3, 4, 5 and 6!