This adequate sequel follows the HALLOWEEN 2 route of being set just minutes after the events of the first one. Whereas THE UNNAMABLE was a typical "let's all go to the haunted house and get killed by the monster one-by-one" entry in the teenage slasher genre, this sequel tries to be more as it expounds on the original story and also adds in plenty of false science and mumbo-jumbo to make things sound good. In fact, this kind of ridiculous would-be science, told in a straight-faced manner, is one of the things I love to hear. Who would have realised that by injecting an evil demon with insulin, it would cause the girl's soul to separate from the monster?
One thing the film does lack is the spooky atmosphere which the first film provided. This is because, after the initial set-up, the characters move from place to brightly-lit place to escape from the creature following them. The pacing isn't all that good either, with sections towards the end where nothing much happens for half an hour or so. The film covers a lot of areas with romance, violence, science fiction, and horror, but by spreading itself to cover all genres it also appears to be toned down. For instance, there's none of the brutal gore which made the first film such an eye opener. Some people get slashed apart and ripped but it's never very gruesome.
Instead, we have a beautiful girl (played by B-movie regular Maria Ford) wandering around naked for much of the film (perverts beware, this is no LIFEFORCE - the girl has long, long hair in this case), plus lots of light comedy stuff to make things supposedly enjoyable. And that's the trouble, because this just isn't as enjoyable as the first. The problem is that the film falls apart after the initial setup (which is in itself good), jumping from one silly scene to another until the head-scratching climax which makes you think they couldn't think of any other way to end the film.
Okay, so the budget is higher and the special effects are notably better, including lots of crackling energy and an improved rubber suit, but the creepy magic of the first film is missing. It's no fault of the actors either, as they all do an okay job. Stephenson is a lot better in his role here, he's not as irritating and he has fun with his weird mannerisms. The character of Howard returns from the first but is played by another actor; however, as he is completely identical to the first Howard you wouldn't realise. Alexandra Durrell is nowhere to be seen in the film, but bizarrely she acted as an associate producer instead. Maria Ford is pretty good as the innocent girl caught up in a world she doesn't recognise or understand, while good old David Warner cameos as the school's chancellor in one scene. Kudos goes to John Rhys-Davies, who puts in a good performance as the nice professor who unfortunately gets killed early on, which is a shame as I'd have liked to have seen more of his character.
If you liked the first film, then you will probably enjoy this one, but there just isn't enough incident to propel it along. Instead it moves on like some second-rate slasher, killing off minor characters every once in a while to make things more interesting. Okay to watch, but not that good really when you think about it.
One thing the film does lack is the spooky atmosphere which the first film provided. This is because, after the initial set-up, the characters move from place to brightly-lit place to escape from the creature following them. The pacing isn't all that good either, with sections towards the end where nothing much happens for half an hour or so. The film covers a lot of areas with romance, violence, science fiction, and horror, but by spreading itself to cover all genres it also appears to be toned down. For instance, there's none of the brutal gore which made the first film such an eye opener. Some people get slashed apart and ripped but it's never very gruesome.
Instead, we have a beautiful girl (played by B-movie regular Maria Ford) wandering around naked for much of the film (perverts beware, this is no LIFEFORCE - the girl has long, long hair in this case), plus lots of light comedy stuff to make things supposedly enjoyable. And that's the trouble, because this just isn't as enjoyable as the first. The problem is that the film falls apart after the initial setup (which is in itself good), jumping from one silly scene to another until the head-scratching climax which makes you think they couldn't think of any other way to end the film.
Okay, so the budget is higher and the special effects are notably better, including lots of crackling energy and an improved rubber suit, but the creepy magic of the first film is missing. It's no fault of the actors either, as they all do an okay job. Stephenson is a lot better in his role here, he's not as irritating and he has fun with his weird mannerisms. The character of Howard returns from the first but is played by another actor; however, as he is completely identical to the first Howard you wouldn't realise. Alexandra Durrell is nowhere to be seen in the film, but bizarrely she acted as an associate producer instead. Maria Ford is pretty good as the innocent girl caught up in a world she doesn't recognise or understand, while good old David Warner cameos as the school's chancellor in one scene. Kudos goes to John Rhys-Davies, who puts in a good performance as the nice professor who unfortunately gets killed early on, which is a shame as I'd have liked to have seen more of his character.
If you liked the first film, then you will probably enjoy this one, but there just isn't enough incident to propel it along. Instead it moves on like some second-rate slasher, killing off minor characters every once in a while to make things more interesting. Okay to watch, but not that good really when you think about it.