Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011)

Running Time: 93 minutes

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Review by: Stacey

 

Damn my need for completion, especially when it comes to movies.  Because of that I had to watch the sequel to Laid to Rest (click link for review), Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2.  While I actually ended up enjoying the first film, I can't say the same for this one.  This one will definitely be going in a pile, but it won't be the "purgatory" pile.

Once again directed by Robert Green Hall, it starts off where the first film ended, we see Tommy (Thomas Dekker) and Princess (Bobbi Sue Luther) leaving the gas station as cops pull up, or so we think they're cops.  The people turn out to be employees of Chromeskull (Nick Principe) who swoop in and take him away to be saved.  With a right-hand man (Brian Austin Green) trying to take over the serial killer's position and a brown nosing assistant (Danielle Harris), Chromeskull comes back to kill more people and take in a new lady victim (Mimi Michaels).

 

That's basically the bare bones plot, to be honest.  The story is a little bit more convoluted than it needs to be, and it doesn't help one bit.  The first movie was just about a fucked up serial killer, but Chromeskull decided to turn the killer into a man who made it a business, complete with cronies and a power struggle, and a $10,000 phone (which looked like a $20 Cricket phone, btw).  What sucks is that with all this backstory, you still don't know shit about what's going on.  Why does he have employees?  It seems like all he's doing is murdering the shit out of people and keeping women in coffins, why does Preston (90210 guy) find that job so desirable?

What the film lacked in good story, it made up for with the gore, of course.  That's kind of the only thing you can count on at this point.  There were some exceptional kills, although I was pretty fond of the scene with CS slicing a throat over and over.  Ouch.  Also, if you stick around after the credits, there's a scene that does more than hint that CS actually has (or had) a normal life with a pregnant wife who still thinks he's just gone on business for long periods of time.  If they had explored that backstory more, the film might have had a chance.

As with the first film, the acting left a lot to be desired, but it's safe to assume that most people watching this aren't in it for the award-winning performances.  My only gripe is that we didn't get to see nearly enough Danielle Harris as I had hoped.  Her character was someone I would have preferred to explore more over BAG's butthurt character.  As for the female lead, Jess, it was hard to root for her when she didn't have many redeeming qualities.  Unless you count her progressive blindness, there wasn't much to feel sorry for.  The film did leave off in a place where a third sequel could be a possibility.  If so, let's hope they give us a little more than this one.

Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 is probably best enjoyed if you're a gorehound, or like a film that lacks a real story.  I wouldn't outright suggest this to anyone unless you're like me and have to see every movie in a franchise if possible.

2/5 purely because bloooooood