Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: The Jester is back again to terrorize people on Halloween except now he needs the assistance of an amateur magician.
Review: The first movie was essentially an edgy episode of "Are You Afraid of the Dark" as it were, and part 2 is more of the same. Seriously, you tone down on the gore and profanity and this quickly enters PG territory fast. You'd think a sequel would go balls to wall, but this felt more contradictory to part one rather than complementary. I can get behind that if you have great ideas, however, this was not the "Terrifier 2" equivalent I'd imagine others would want.
What did actually work for me was the origin of the Jester. As it turns out, the Jester, when human, somehow tricked the devil and, as a reward/consequence, was granted his supernatural abilities and immortality as long as he sends 4 souls to hell every Halloween. The catch...the Jester must trick his victims with his antics before he kills them in order to complete the ritual fully. Yes, it doesn't make sense given the antics we saw in part 1, but we can imagine he performed this ritual off screen perhaps. Otherwise, the Jester is free to wreak havoc in whatever ways he wants. I think this is an admirable explanation if we even needed one. I also want to add that the Jester does at least look significantly better with a proper makeup effect rather than that shit-tier mask from part 1.
This backstory isn't just to fill in the gaps--it serves as the primary point of the story. A high school girl, named Max, who is an aspiring magician, accidentally foils the tricks of the Jester and takes on his mantle for the night. Big shock, she sends the Jester to hell instead of him getting his 4 souls. Sorry, but this ain't "Halloween 4" here. Are we seriously plotting "The Jester 3" with this chick as the antagonist? Speaking of Max, her being like--what--15 I think, only accentuates the kid's movie vibe. And no wonder her mom is concerned--every person this chick is hanging out with is an adult man. Hmm. And talk about the weakest reaction ever to finding out your mom was killed. OH NO! So, anyway...
If--and that's a big IF--this gets a part 3, for the love of God, commit to either making a kid's movie or actually earning that R-rating. As it stands, this franchise is middling; there's nothing of note one way or another going on here. I actually think the Jester himself is a cool design--his chaotic nature mixed with Halloween hi-jinks should be fun. Overall, if you liked part 1 then this is more of the same except a tad better story. If part 1 wasn't doing it for you, then part 2 is going to feel as equally bland but with worse pacing.
Notable Moment: When Max just happens to get a ride from a random pedophile. I mean, the movie is already coded this way so why not fully embrace it, right?!
Final Rating: 5/10
