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Cast: Allen Lowman, Andrew Fleming, Meghan McNicol, Chara Gannett, Jessica Fratus
Although hundreds of disturbing paranormal events occur every year, most of these chilling encounters go unreported… until now. Bear witness as hapless victims experience the unspeakable terror of confronting demonic forces, murderous poltergeists and other evil entities that are dead set on claiming their souls. Descend into an abyss of waking nightmares as these bloodthirsty, malevolent spirits seek to possess their prey and drag them—kicking and screaming—to hell.
Welcome to "The Invoking 2." A new horror anthology that uses six Short films all of which deal with the supernatural in one way or another. Before I get into details about the film, I must first clear something up. Last year the same studio released "The Invoking," I just want everyone to know that this film has nothing to do with the first film at all besides sharing the same name. The films used are as follows and are in order:
U Turn- a man driving down a dark road sees a woman on the side hitchhiking. He decides to stop and pick her up, after trying to strike up a conversation and failing he asks where she is headed but again she doesn't talk but instead points straight ahead. Next he sees an accident on the side of the road so he stops to see if he can help. What he sees next sends chills down his spine. Directed by Jamie DeWolf.
Insane- Chad, a film maker and Sarah who is showing Chad around the closed up Wavel Hills Sanitarium. He is considering it as a location for his next project. Well making their way through the hospital the story of a young nurse comes up. The young woman became pregnant while working at the hospital and had her baby there as well but the doctor there thought that the baby was a spawn of the devil so he sliced its throat right after birth. Mary became so traumatized by the event that she ended up committing suicide in the hospital. After a bit the two start hearing strange noises and seeing things, could Mary be back looking for her child? Directed by Adam O' Brien
Alone- Tells the story of Sarah who is spending the weekend alone. She is on the phone with someone, I assume it is her husband who keeps telling her to make sure she takes her meds which again lead me to believe that Sarah has some kind of mental issue. Instead of taking her meds Sarah decides to flush them down the toilet. Soon after she begins hearing strange noises in the house which leads her to believe that she is not alone, is someone else in the house with her or is it her mind playing tricks on her? Directed by Jay Holbert.
Do Not Disturb- Phillip Davenport is a serial killer that is spending the night at a local hotel. He thinks he is safe there but before long he gets a knock on the door. After looking outside he doesn't see anyone around. Calling to main desk doesn't help either because he is told that the cleaning people all went home for the night. Then he begins receiving business cards under the door with little messages on them telling Phillip that they know who he is and they know what he has done. And then a card tells him there is a gift waiting for him outside. After opening the door he finds a food cart with a tray on it. When he removes the lid things begin to get very strange. Directed by Patrick Rea.
Natal- Two couples, Chrissa and Tristan, and Jess and Derek are spending the weekend at a lake house. Chrissa has a few mental issues and is supposed to be taking medication for it. That night she begins hearing strange noises which sound like scratching inside the walls. That morning she has Derek check to see if he can find out where the noise is coming from. The only thing he finds is bats in the attic so he assumes they are what Chrissa is hearing. To make matters worse Chrissa finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with Jesse. Afterwards Derek gets in his car and leaves but before long he gets a call telling him to return because there is something wrong with Chrissa but when he arrives he cannot believe what has happened.
Directed by Corey Norman.
Melissa- Tells the story of Melissa who is on the phone with the police because she sees a hooded man standing on her lawn staring at her house. Told to stay inside and lock the doors Melissa doesn't realize that the danger is much closer than she thought. Directed by Jamie Root
"The Invoking 2" is like any other horror anthology in that it has its hits and its misses. I am not going to go into major plot details for each segment here so not to totally ruin the film but I will say that I enjoyed the film overall. My best stories were:
"Alone" for its high production values, it's creepy atmosphere, its major twists and an ending that I loved.
"Do Not Disturb" because the film is not only mysterious and engaging but it too has high production values and the acting from the film's lead is strong. Director Patrick Rea is no stranger to film making and he has continued to receive critical acclaim for everything he does. This is just one example of how good a film maker he is.
And last but not least is "Natal". This film really gets in your head and it even gets you thinking, is this young lady really hearing these strange noises or is she heading down another dark path? It keeps you guessing until the end and then it delivers in spades. I loved the film's ending. Director, Corey Norman is quickly becoming a household name among Indie fans and beyond and for good reason.
The other three shorts are not bad but none of them rise to the quality of my three favorites. "The Invoking 2" makes for a fun, entertaining evening and it also makes for a perfect Halloween treat. It may not be the best anthology out there but it is enjoyable none the less. Available on DVD, you can order it HERE.
Released by Image Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****