The Stalker Part II

A killer plots revenge on a family.

The sequel to the 2020 horror feature The Stalker is a direct continuation to the story with Jared Reeder and Michelle Lewis doing the director's duties as John Giorgio did for the first film.

The events of the previous film have had very bad consequences for the Hamilton family. Wendy (Bell) was wrongfully sent to prison for murder and her husband Steve (Ayers) and two sons ( Ace Lewis and J. Gaven Wilde) miss her tremendously. Thankfully, the truth is brought to light and she is released, but under house arrest. Meanwhile, Marc (Nugent) a dangerous fiend who was thought to be dead, has returned and he is hell-bent on getting even with the Hamiltons as he believes that they wronged him in the past.

This fifty-minute-long film is successful in being a decent psychological horror story with plenty of nail-bitting moments, a lot of threatening, suspense and drama. The screenplay is basically split into two storylines, one exploring the terrible effects events from the previous story are having on the family and the other following Marc as he plans to attack them with the help of his not-so-threatening sidekick Craig (Fromin). Eventually, Marc will put his plan into action, forcing the unfortunate family to play a cat-and-mouse game with him, leading to desperate fight for survival. Although the atmosphere is dark throughout, there is also dark humour, particularly in relation to Craig's character such as a scene where he decides to grab himself a snack during a home invasion.

From some of the actors, the performances are not convincing and the acting qualities of the film are saved by Ayers, Bell and Nugent. Ayers and Bell act strongly, with Ayers being a concerned and supportive husband and parent and Bell suffering the aftermath of her ordeals (probably PTSD) as she takes medication and has hallucinations and nightmares. Nugent is the one who steals the show as the deranged stalker who is determined to destroy the Hamiltons. Constantly grinning, using sharp weapons, he is a vile individual who enjoys killing and playing with his victims.

Going to the technical side of things, the directing is good and commendations go to some beautiful aerial shots of mountains. The feature seems to rely a lot on the suspenseful, sinister and dynamic score in order to have an effect and it does. It should be noted that a reunion scene involving slow motion comes across as silly. The slow motion was obviously intended to make it dramatic, yet the result can hardly be taken seriously.

A psychological horror revenge film about a family being targeted by a dangerous and heinous man. Save for some bad acting, this feature has an intriguing and sinister plot, an interesting villain (Marc) and a lot of tension, making it a satisfying viewing for horror fans.