6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A woman who is plagued by nightmares involving a serial killer learns her dreams have a horrifying connection to the real world.
Starring: Camilla Luddington, Caity Lotz, Scott Michael Foster, Patrick Fischler, Haley HudsonHorror | 100% |
Mystery | 15% |
Thriller | 6% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
If you don't already know the modestly successful horror film The Pact, then you shouldn't be reading this review of the sequel. Writer/director Nicholas McCarthy's (At the Devil's Door) 2012 low-budget shocker succeeded by artfully misdirecting the viewer. What started as a haunted-house story gradually morphed into something else, and McCarthy used the narrative uncertainty to amplify the film's creeping sense of dread. Casey Broadwater's Blu-ray review aptly captured the flavor of The Pact without revealing any of its surprises. No such restraint is possible in reviewing the sequel, which I will tell you upfront isn't worth your time. Continue at your own risk of spoiling the first, and much superior, film. McCarthy's The Pact did well enough that its producers were inspired to hire someone else to dream up a sequel. There being no shortage of hungry genre filmmakers, the writing/directing team of Dallas Richard Hallam and Richard Horvath leapt at the chance. McCarthy had dropped a hint at the end of The Pact that the spirit of the so-called "Judas Killer" remained an active presence; so Hallam and Horvath began imagining how that spirit of the late serial killer might manifest itself. The sequel's credibility appeared to be enhanced, and its connection to the original film strengthened, when The Pact's star, Caity Lotz, agreed to reprise her role as Annie Barlow.
According to the behind-the-scenes featurette in the extras, The Pact 2 lost its original cinematographer just before shooting and hired DP Carmen Cabana (Bullet) at the last minute. Shooting on Red (judging by the on-set footage in the EPK), Cabana and her crew plunged in and saved the film. MPI Media's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray has presumably been sourced directly from the digital colorist's post-production output. The image of The Pact 2 has the same low-budget DV aesthetic as the original film, but thanks to both DP Cabana's lighting and the broader canvas on which the story is told, the image is often brighter and the colors more varied. This may not be advantageous for the story, but it makes for more interesting visuals, especially in the various crime scenes where June's work takes her and in an unusual locale like the one depicted in screenshot #4, which June finds while investigating her visions. The Pact made a virtue out of darkness, but the sequel relies more on visual oddity (where the film is strong) and narrative logic (where it isn't). Within the limits of the film's tiny budget, the Blu-ray image is sharply detailed, with solid blacks and a chilly palette that makes even the reds of blood seem drained of life. Video noise, banding and artifacts were wholly absent, and the average bitrate of 21.97 Mbps is adequate for digitally acquired material, especially in a film with such deliberate pacing and minimal action. The only negative is an occasional softening of the image that appears to be the product of post-processing, although it is difficult to tell whether or not this was intentional.
The 5.1 soundtrack for The Pact 2, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, follows in the footsteps of the original film by keeping the main action in the front and using the rear channels for atmosphere and the occasional directional effect. Because the sequel involves a more varied selection of locales, the environmental ambiance is also more varied and interesting, but the sound mix remains low-key, especially since the sequel is less of a ghost story than the first film. Carl Sondrol provided the score. As is typical on MPI releases, an alternate PCM 2.0 soundtrack is available.
One cannot blame two aspiring horror writer/directors for accepting the opportunity to make the best they could out of a bad idea. As the late John Frankenheimer used to say, a filmmaker learns more from making a movie than from not making a movie. It was the producers of The Pact who were responsible for the questionable decision to build a franchise on such shaky foundations. As The Pact's creator showed in his follow-up venture, At the Devil's Door, his favorite approach is to mash up horror genres in an effort to manipulate audience expectations. It's an interesting technique but not one that establishes a repeatable template. If you liked The Pact, I very much doubt you'll find the sequel satisfying. If you've never seen The Pact, the sequel will make little sense while spoiling whatever pleasure the original has to offer. In either case, not recommended.
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