[Movie Review] “The Pact 2” packs scares among snores

Mark Stegar is the Judas Killer. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)
Mark Stegar is the Judas Killer. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? No. 

Should you watch this for free? No.

Secret ending? No.

Running time: 96 minutes (1.6 hours)

“The Pact 2” is a supernatural horror movie that serves as a sequel to 2012’s “The pact.” It follows crime scene cleaner June’s journey when she begins having visions of a dead serial cleaner, which eeriely mirror a spate of serial killings in her neighborhood. It stars Camilla Luddington (June Abbott), Scott Michael Foster (Daniel Meyer), Patrick Fishler (Agent Ballard), and Mark Stegar (the original Judas Killer). It is rated NC-16.

“The Pact 2” packs some morbid suspense in what is an otherwise difficult to classify film. It scares, no doubt, but whether it’s of the thrilling, “Scream” type horror or the classic ghost story is hard to decipher, even halfway throughout the film. The film weaves in and out of the supernatural element rather haphazardly, leading to some confusion as to what’s real and what’s not.

Camilla Luddington is June Abbott. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)
Camilla Luddington is June Abbott. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)

Highlights

Some unexpected scares

Several surprising frights await in the film, which hide in the most innocuous and boring of scenes. Unfortunately, the languid pace of the film itself is what allows these boring scene to be slipped in, unsuspected, in the first place. Still, these shocks jar you out of what would otherwise be a montonous tedium.

Strong twist

The identity of the antagonist comes out of left field, but hindsight does show that the resolution is plausible. Besides the scares, this was one other pleasant surprise in the film.

Camilla despairs. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)
Camilla despairs. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)

Letdowns

Scott Michael Foster’s bland performance as Daniel

Daniel only has one expression – dull surprise. Whether be it love, anger, fright, joy, his face will only contort in one expression. Otherwise, when he’s emoting, he looks completely stoned. It might also be plausible that he was high throughout the film, given his reactions.

Confusing editing

It takes a while for you to realize that June is having visions of the killings. Or are those flashbacks? The poor editing choices keep you guessing, and by the time you figure it out – she stops having those visions.

Plodding pace of the plot

There’s just no sense of urgency anywhere in the film. If anything, the rush comes from the actors wanting to get the scene over and done with. Otherwise, it’s just a beat after another, in the slowest possible fashion.

Agent Ballard irks for no good reason

There’s really no excuse for Ballard to be as loathsome as he is. It doesn’t make his character more interesting, nor does it give dimension to the character. He’s unpleasant for the sake of being unpleasant, and that’s the worst rationale for adding any character trait, positive or negative.

The pointless resolution

The film builds up many different explanations and beats for the killings, but the conclusion leaves much to be desired. Many plot threads are left unexplained, and a good one third of the film could have been left out, given the terrible red herrings strewn.

Camilla and the Judas Killer. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)
Camilla and the Judas Killer. (Yahoo Movies Singapore)

“The Pact 2” has some brilliant moments, augmented by the fact that everything else is lackluster. However, one good twist does not a movie make.

“The Pact 2” opens in cinemas 25 December, 2014 (Thursday).

This review was also published on Yahoo Movies Singapore.

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