"Axe 2" begins exactly the same second that the first part ends - in a boat, in the middle of swamps, with Marybeth fighting for her life. A little action - and a sequel to the budget, but extremely entertaining slasher, undertakes to immerse the viewer in the lore of his schizophrenic world with an immortal killer, significantly expanding the origin story of Victor Crowley.
'Axe 2', although still a good slasher, which is fully aware of its genre affiliation, still looks a little secondary against the background of the first film. Same swamps, same axe, except that Victor himself became much less susceptible to damage. But the bloodlust of the returnee still knows no bounds - juicy deaths here are more than enough. Although, again, in the first tape, the murders were more impressive.
So are the characters, by the way. The second “Axe” scored a bunch of heroes, which Crowley will systematically cut, but the quality of the script has fallen. The characters of the first tape were memorable, they were all unique, with their own characters. And here are the morons, too boring to be liked.
But there are also positives. First, the role of Marybeth this time got the real Queen of low-budget horror Daniel Harris. I don’t know what didn’t grow up with the actress of the original film, but perhaps such a replacement even went into hand. Secondly, no less legendary Tony Todd, who is also not a beginner in horror, got a much more significant role than a simple cameo in the first film.
What in general? “Axe 2” in my opinion was weaker than the first picture. Weaker yet still, it's a fitting slasher who doesn't hesitate to be what he should be - a defiantly stupid, bloody and shameless exploitative movie.
Group fillet: The Amusements of Victor Crowley. Part 2.
Victor Crowley's crimson pilgrimage continues!
The waters of the Louisiana swamps have painted the body of the bastard Victor with remarkable force, he is angry, fast, and ready to carry the old, good, eternal into the mine! But, smitten by the horrors of running through the swamps, the heroine of the first part goes out to the greedy owner of a voodoo diner. Teaming up with a gang of similar freaks, the girl prepares a crushing revenge for Crowley, because the goal of the hunters is one – to send this walking misunderstanding directly into the rectum of Lucifer, from where he got out.
Non-stop story: The second film begins where the first part ends. Except that instead of the heroine of the first film is now kosher Danielle Harris, who is rightfully a horror diva, and do not argue with this fact. A spherical cabbage of B-class directors in second roles led by the pathetic Tony Todd. Todd has more screen time, and more space for a rampage of creative testosterone, plus, and this is a pure lure for the horror base, Adam Green invited a bunch of industry figures to the sequel, for the second roles of eccentric hunters.
Here for you: Lloyd Kaufman, head of Troma Studios, R. J. Mthyloff - Leatherface from the Third Chainsaw Massacre, suddenly Nick Princip, aka Chrome Skull, and a couple of guys who I saw in old horrors, but forgot the names. In general, Green again tries to kill Victor Crowley with the hands and ambitions of pretty Harris, and naturally it turns into a rampage of blood and violence!
The level of special effects has grown on its head, Victor Crowley himself has transformed, it has become more mobile in facial expressions, and the level of qualification for dividing the shrieking public by zero has soared to heaven. You will not be bored, in the arsenal of Victor new, beautiful tools from the countryside, and their own callosum hands. Therefore, the pleasure of plucked hands, broken heads, etc. I experienced constantly. Well, humor, in the second part it is more specific, understandable again fan base. Greene does not cheat on himself, shooting a movie exclusively for his own.
The sequel to the first "Appor" expanded the universe of Victor Crowley, the degree is inadequate and thrash has increased, so you can happily savor the deeds of Victor, for the third part promises to please with an even greater flow of liquid red, and the visual beauty of murder.
The viewers were divided (well, sometimes). I decided to defend the sequel. Yes, it is slightly (just a drop) inferior to the original of 2006, but here skipped really juicy sketches.
I loved it! As you remember, your humble servant - praised the original for film lover and humor (along with meat). As for the first point, it is hard to believe, but the director Adam Green has expanded the cinematic layer.
Freddy Kruger (Robert Englund) is missing. From the original, Candyman (Tony Todd), Voorhees (Kane Hodder) and John Karl Buchler (by the way, either I thought or Buchler played very well).
In addition to them, Green called the following comrades - Tom Holland! Yes, yes, the same Holland who directed the first Chucky and Night of Fear. R.E. Mikhailov! Played Literface in TRP 3. Colorful uncle.
This is not all, in the episode lit up – the legendary Lloyd Kaufman (sitting on the chair of the hero Todd, a-hee-hee). And most importantly, Green gave the central role to Danielle Harris (now she plays Marybeth). The girl from the Halloween franchise.
Look, for horror fans, it's just a balm. The only thing missing was some Doug Bradley (or Bruce Campbell), ahee-hee, to explode from the high.
On the second point. Humor in the sequel is dosed, but for a moment with a long intestine (Hi Machete) and sex in the woods, Green can be forgiven a few boring scenes with chatter. The plot (for such slashers) is predictable. Marybeth returns (with another group) to the swamps with Victor Crowley.
To sum up, the film went well for me. Tony Todd, of course, is handsome. There are plenty of meat scenes here. Crowley even grabs a chainsaw (making homage towards the Tobe Hooper franchise). Mikhailov, again. In short, a tolerable sequel, I will do half a point.
How difficult it is for maniacs to scare their viewers when films with them begin to come out as if on the assembly line, and everyone knows in front of the screen when it is necessary to prepare for the inevitable and thereby protect themselves from unnecessary stress. But there was once a time when Jason Voorhees and his other colleagues in the bloody shop managed to keep the audience in shape and actually frighten, being a real nightmare, which literally blows danger. But the more times we return to Crystal Lake or Elm Street, the less we fear those who consider these places their original habitat. Over the years, immortal maniacs with disfigured appearances have turned into objects of popular culture, with which even children are familiar, and it must be admitted that this state of affairs did not benefit the slasher, who began to degenerate banally. Several corrected the unfunny situation of the paintings of the series “Hostel” and “Saw”, which showed the world more believable and uncompromising sadists, creating their reprisals with a special animal grace, but still the audience wanted to return to the time when Jason and Freddy Kruger shone on the screens and gathered around their images hordes of inspired fans, one of whom was one Adam Green. And unlike most viewers, endlessly reviewing the good old slashers, decided to sing them a kind of ode, created by their own hands and entitled as “Axe”. Inexpensive, but terribly charming film with the participation of Kane Hodder, Robert Englund and Tony Todd failed to break into wide distribution, but turned out to be incredibly popular on home video, reminding viewers of the past wonderful days spent near Crystal Lake and other creepy places where once lived the most famous monsters of cinema 80s. And since the "Axe" gradually turned from an ironic slasher into an object of genuine adoration, Adam Green decided to abandon all existing affairs and release a continuation of the story, which was to continue his successful endeavors and at the same time expand the biography of the sinister maniac who came close to the positions of Voorhees and Kruger.
So, the plot of the film begins immediately after the end of the last part and again refers to Meribeth Dunsten (Daniel Harris), a pretty young girl who managed to escape the axe of the immortal maniac Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder) and finally reach civilization. Unable to leave the nearby swamps under the further supervision of a killer who refuses to die, Meribeth heads straight to the abode of a mysterious con artist, the Reverend Zombie (Kane Hodder), with his help to assemble a squad of fearless fighters ready to go to the lairs of Crowley in order to deal with him once and for all. Gradually, the company of caring people begins to recruit the most courageous fighters into its ranks and Meribet is not going to lag behind them at all, since the girl knows something terrible from the past of the maniac and is able to resist him properly. However, along with the heroine, Crowley himself did not sleep, angered at the whole world by the fact that one of the victims escaped from his clutches, and therefore he did not waste time, replenishing the arsenal of weapons with numerous copies that directly ask to be planted in someone’s fresh flesh. And when Meribet’s squad finally reaches the forbidden swampy jungle, Crowley will not wait long and begin to do what he does best. To the left and to the right, tearing to shreds those who wanted to kill him, the maniac knows no mercy. But contrary to expectations, in his ugly head there is a perfectly understandable and even logical plan, the implementation of which should calm the madness of Crowley once and for all. Thus, the swamps continue to be painted in crimson blood bodies, Meribeth gets involved in the next round of the struggle for survival, and the immortal maniac does not tire of demonstrating his demonic superiority over people, leaving them almost no chance.
Giving the audience a true extravaganza of thrash in the original film “Axe”, Adam Green somewhat lost his former fervor, focusing on working with the sequel mainly on the repetition of successfully passed material. Of course, this does not mean that there will be less spectacular murders and various naturalistic nastiness in Topor 2, just a sense of novelty, freshness and relevance in the sequel was several orders of magnitude lower, from which it will not be possible to perceive the story of Victor Crowley with former enthusiasm. Having spent precious screen time for a long introduction and the so-called rocking, Adam Green seemed not to know what exactly he would cling to and how to continue his story, from which he fills the timekeeping with spatial dialogues and optional scenes. And yet at the end of faded artistic throwing, which did not go to the future either to the audience or the heroes of the film, Adam Green begins to do what everyone has gathered for and it comes out as always animally magnificent. Having waited for the necessary pause, the director seems to open Pandora's Box and releases all the misfortunes that could only happen in the swamps under the leadership of Victor Crowley. Taking advantage of the moment allotted to him, the disfigured maniac uses not only his favorite axe, but also a chainsaw in honor of the unforgettable Leather Face, a Bulgarian, and with his own hands the nightmarish ruler of the swamps is also not averse to use, since they are no less terrible than his nightmarish tools. With sophistication, building scenes with murders, Adam Green deftly covers all the shortcomings of the dramaturgy and tries to do everything possible so that the viewer watched with some perverse delight what is happening on the screen. But it’s worth noting that Axe 2 isn’t just a collection of sadistic episodes, empty dialogues, and pathologically stupid acts by people who have come to the swamps in order to give up their spirits. Like any of the parts of the cycle “Friday the 13th”, “Axe 2” delves into the mythology of its villain, letting the semantic expansion of the story necessary for development time.
The director connects the long-suffering Meribet, Victor Crowley and even the Reverend Zombie, whose role in this story was much greater than it seemed before. All incidents have quite understandable causal relationships, and what is frustrating in this situation is that Adam Greene failed to build a concentrated dramatic tension, often distracted by what does not deserve special attention. In addition, unlike the original film, “Axe 2” is a much more serious and gloomy picture, which also does not benefit the perception of the narrative. After all, the bloody carnival of Victor Crowley was conceived by the creators as an ironic parody of the classic slashers of the 80s, which did not imply unnecessary thickening of colors. So when viewing this crazy meat grinder, unfortunately, really smile will come out extremely rarely and there will be a feeling that we have slipped a high-quality, but still a replica of “Appor”, which deserves attention, but not admiration.
It would seem that the continuation could not wait, but the creators of the first part preferred to remove the continuation of the bloody thrash of 2006, what to do, a marketing move.
It turns out that Marybeth, who by the will of blind providence escaped alive from the deadly trap of Victor Crowley’s hands, decided to continue what she had started and take revenge on the murderer of her family. However, Marybeth plays a different actress than in the first part, even more plain and not capable. So, Marybeth, without even thinking about putting himself in order after a nightmare, finds a shop in which the reverend zombie lives (it was nice to see Tony Todd as one of the main characters, in the first part his appearance was fleeting). Marybeth asks him to help with a plan of revenge, and he, in turn, pursuing marketing goals, agrees to help her and assembles a team of hunters with whom they go to the cursed swamp.
Despite the fact that the director remained the same, the atmosphere in the film is different from the atmosphere of the first part, and if in the first part the narrative was still going anywhere, then in the second part this moment sags strongly and in some places infuriates. The creators did not sit over the script for a long time, it is raw. The performance of the actors leaves much to be desired, except for Tony Todd (his episodic role in Destination Points is not forgotten). The murder scenes have tried to diversify but have gone too far, making some deaths seem unlikely, especially the last one at the end. Especially infuriating, as it happens in this kind of second-rate horror, scenes where “here’s Crowley – shoot him” so no, you have to shoot once, miss, and all, believe in yourself and start fighting with bare hands. Or even not to shoot at all, having the opportunity, Crowley is an ordinary punk with whom you can start a street brawl. In general, there were many stupid and meaningless moments that could not be explained.
It is worth paying tribute to the makeup artists, in the second part of Crowley the appearance was more terrible than in the first part, and at the same time strongly resembled the “Predator”.
Those who have seen the first part, the second can watch at least for comparison, to understand that the continuation of this kind was superfluous.
3 out of 10
Before us is the continuation of the story of Victor Crowley, who continues his bloody procession through the swamps not far from New Orleans. The sequel of the acclaimed hit was obvious thanks to the end of the first film, where it was clear that Crowley did not die.
The plot of the film continues the story of the first literally from the moment it ended. Marybeth survives and returns to the city, where he collects help in the form of local fishermen, hooligans, hunters, bikers and others. All thanks to a shop owner and a voodoo priest. And here this team goes to the infamous swamps, where with the arrival of night they are waiting for a bloody massacre.
There are non-standard twists and surprises in the film, so that it would not seem second-rate and finally straightforward here also attached some notes of drama and, of course, humor, the latter is a lot and so black that if you develop the topic, I will be considered a racist.
Famous names in the film enough, and every fan of the horror genre without any problems will find this or that guy whose name once sounded in horror or thriller. Here you and Daniel Harris as Marybeth, Tony Todd as the priest of Voodoo, Tom Holland (director "Night of Fear", "Children's Games"), R. E. Michaeloff, who once played Leatherface in the third "Texas massacre", in general, there are many personalities.
The resourcefulness of sending people to their forefathers is the strongest and at the same time the weakest side of the film. Victor kills his victims in ways that can envy the same Jason Voorhees. Everything is exceptionally bloody, but it looks so bad that it seems that the film was not conceived for distribution at all. And in some places, even completely overstepped the stick.
The film has lost its old-school spirit. There is pressure and other techniques, but they do not work. Everything spoils some of the end of the stupid actions of the characters and too much with second-rate jokes.
Marybeth is the only person to survive the massacre of the vengeful monster Victor Crowley. But the girl is not going to get away with it and enlisting the support of drunks-poachers, some man whom she calls an uncle, but who is not such, as well as the sorcerer and charlatan “Reverend Zombie” returns to the swamps to run for an hour from an unkillable maniac and commit a bunch of stupid deeds. Yes, yes, you heard it, this is “Axe 2”.
Some people don’t know when to stop in time. And I'm not talking about Victor Crowley, but about the director of this picture - Adam Greene, who in his entire life has not shot a single truly worthwhile picture, and is unlikely to remove if he continues at this pace. Why is that? And all because the first film was so “good” that the director, and part-time writer of the picture decided not to change anything in the sequel. I wish this guy had bought a gun and put a bullet in his head. In any case, then there would be one less talented director. But enough to dream about the impossible and let me pass to the culprit of the celebration.
And the story first. It is foolish to count on something original or interesting when there is a sharp object in the title designed to pick firewood, but this does not mean that you need to give a story that even Lloyd Kaufman will cry. For the first forty minutes of the film, nothing really happens and the only thing we learn in such a long period of time is that Marybeth's father was one of the people who killed Victor Crowley. In other words, Adam Greene stretched out a forty-minute moment that could have been five? Yeah, that's right. After all, if it had met in five minutes, the viewer would have a short film, and therefore the film would not be able to work out its “multimillion” budget. Oh, come on. After forty minutes of trampling on the spot, armed heroes arrive in the swamp, and you expect that the action is about to begin. The drunkards and idiots are about to give a decent rebuff to the ridiculous maniac, but another minute passes after her and nothing happens. Crowley continues to kill all the counter and cross, professional hunters smear with guns or are going to arrange a hand-to-hand with an armed maniac. And it seems that not teenagers, but quite adult uncles and aunts, but behave like a bunch of imbiciles. This is how the swelling works.
What about the actors? Oh, how could I forget these highly talented people? One Marybeth is worth it. Her subtle facial expressions of the face, which will be dreamed by the viewer in nightmares, her graceful gait, reminiscent of a drunken Tyrannosaurus, and her genuine emotions are able to touch the viewer to the depths of his soul to wish the heroine Daniel Harris a speedy death. Unfortunately, the rest of the actor is far from talented Harris and even Tony Todd, who has loved me since the days of Candyman, is not in a position to surpass such a talented actress.
Well, maybe the perpetrator of the celebration and his ingenuity in terms of murder can please the viewer? Unfortunately, no, he can't. Victor Crowley doesn’t really look like the creepy creature his heroes represent. And frankly, many of the “positive” characters look much more creepy than the makeup of Kane Hodder. As for ingenuity in terms of murder, as usual, they contradict the laws of physics, logic and common sense. But when did this stop the creators of such works? So get ready to watch two people sawing a chainsaw at the same time and using a wooden table as a guillotine. "Admirable" sight, yes.
In terms of music, progress has been made. She now plays when Victor Crowley appears in the frame and does something with hapless hunters. Yes, the music is dull and sometimes annoying, but you see, for the film the twentieth creators will find a sane composer. Do they have to get lucky in the end?
Summing up, I would like to say that before us there is a worthy continuation of the first part, namely the disgusting slasher in which everything is so bad that I just want to laugh sadly and turn off the film in the twentieth minute of viewing. Therefore, if you want to see a good thrash, then turn your eyes to the films of the studio "Troma", and this movie is bypassed, thank you.
2 out of 10
Mary-Bat, who managed to stay alive after meeting the bloodthirsty Victor Crowley, returns to the swamps of New Orleans, accompanied by a whole squad with the firm intention to take revenge on Crowley, forever ridding the city of his deeds.
In 2006, through the efforts of the young American director Adam Green, a long list of sadistic maniacs, the main heroes of various slashers, was replenished with another one - cute Victor Crowley, whose external wild ugliness is balanced by a huge axe at the top, with which he gloriously chops his victims into cabbage. The first “Axe” with ambiguity of reviews still left the impression of a slasher shot in the spirit of classic paintings of this genre; besides, the reigning irony in it gave the picture of 2006 a special flavor. In 2010, Adam Green presented to the public “Axe 2”, which logically continued the storyline of the first picture, having lost a lot of excellent humor in the course of the case and becoming in fact a slasher without embellishment, because “Axe 2” offered the viewer nothing but to plunge for 85 minutes into the real realm of sadistic violence, because the sequel with extreme periodicity will occur the bloody massacre, which will fully satisfy the tastes of connoisseurs of such meat attractions. Memorable deaths in the film a lot and the cameraman Will Barrett no doubt in all its glory shows the audience this impressive massacre. It is not necessary to expect unexpected turns from the plot, it is simple and simple, like a log, but the film is surprisingly easy to look and feel.
Of the cast of the picture, I remember most of all Daniel Harris as Mary-Beth, of course Kane Hodder as Victor Crowley and Tony Todd as Reverend Zombie. Also in the picture in the background and as a cameo, you can see memorable for horror fans Tom Holland, John Karl Buchler, Lloyd Kaufman, Mike Mendez and Marcus Dunstan.
The soundtrack from the composer Andy Garfield was not particularly annoying during the viewing, sometimes creating the necessary atmosphere for a picture of this kind.
To all fans of bloody and hard slashers, I recommend this film and I think you will not be too disappointed.
6 out of 10
Four years after the release of the first part of “Appor”, by the way, a very good slasher, a sequel comes out, also from under the hand of Adam Green.
The previous “Axe” ended ineptly, dullly and unexpectedly, but in fact, what I considered tasteless turned out to be just the phrase “Continue to...”. The plot goes on, which is quite unexpected, usually in this kind of movies just launches a new crowd of idiotic suicides to tell everything in the second round with little change.
Survivor Marybeth returns to the city to assemble a new expedition and return for revenge. Well, isn't she an idiot? Reverend Zombie is taken to help her, pursuing his motives and driven by a thirst for profit. Now his mystical and mysterious personality has received much more screen time, which can not but rejoice. You can also highlight uncle Marybeth and the brother of the deceased in the last part of the Chinese.
The story of Victor Crowley has expanded a bit. Expanded not much, and the plot, the knowledge gained will not be useful absolutely. But, nevertheless, a couple of plot twists in the script are reserved, so it is interesting to watch. The annoying thing is that gathering a team and going to the swamps lasts an unimaginably long time. And the massacre itself does not leave much time, because of which the heroes are killed too quickly. We have not yet remembered the hero, we have not understood his personality and character, and he has already been masked. What the hell with him! The murders, by the way, are very beautiful, cruel, bloody and unusual.
The main face of the Axe can be called Tony Todd, who pleases with every appearance on the screen along with R. E. Mikhailoff. A couple that will decorate any horror movie.
Strangely enough, the positioning of the franchise has changed. The first “Axe” was replete with humor, jokes and banter over the genre. The second one lost everything, became more serious, that's not worse. You either need to laugh or be afraid.
“Axe” is a good slasher in the spirit of Friday 13, with blood, running in the fresh air and a charismatic villain. Who knows, maybe Victor Crowley will one day become a legend.
6 out of 10