Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Vacation of Terror 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 2, 2023

Just when you thought it was safe to play with antique dolls, here comes 1990’s “Vacation of Terror II,” which returns viewers to the ways of demonic toys, finding hero Julio back on the case when evil returns to Mexico, armed with magic, attitude, and a most powerful mullet. Director Pedro Galindo III takes command of the sequel, which offers a tenuous connection to the original offering, going full-steam-ahead as a monster movie, with the central source of hellraising trying to destroy a Halloween birthday party on a movie studio lot. While “Vacation of Terror” was a haunted house experience trying to give viewers a case of the creeps, “Vacation of Terror II” is more of a supernatural actioner, keeping Galindo III busy as he cooks up some very strange events for the film, which isn’t about making sense, simply out to provide a thrill ride of bizarre, magical sequences, and a performance from pop star Tatiana.

Julio (Pedro Fernandez) is now the owner of an antique shop, trying to hustle customers to make some money. Walking into his establishment one day is Mayra (Tatiana), a young singer looking for a present for her little sister, Tanya (Renata del Rio). Julio hits on Mayra, and receives an invitation to Tanya’s birthday party instead, which is being held at Central Studios, owned by Mayra’s father, movie mogul Roberto (Joaquin Cordero). As the Halloween festivities begin, Tanya has a special guest in a cursed doll Julio recognizes from his previous encounter with evil, and he begins a hunt for the toy when he arrives. However, he’s too late to prevent horror from breaking out, with the doll transforming into a demon, and one determined to collect souls as mayhem erupts, capturing Tanya in a special coin she’s received from her father. Julio, armed with magic seals to disrupt demonic activity, sets out to save the day, only to realize he’s up against a powerful, tricky enemy.

The doll isn’t a doll for very long in “Vacation of Terror II,” with the toy quickly breaking out of its cloth prison. Sucking on some blood from a knife cut on Tanya’s finger, the creature sheds its skin, becoming a hideous, human-sized demon on the loose in the movie studio, trying to collect victims using its way with dark magic. It’s a surprising upgrade in villainy for the sequel (and completely unexplained), but it soon become apparent that the production is merely looking for a way to create opportunities for special effect sequences, giving the follow-up a fighting chance to compete with “Vacation of Terror.” Julio also returns from the first picture, and while he remains interested in antiques and women, he’s more of a heroic figure in the endeavor, armed with special seals and awareness of the doll’s abilities, visiting the birthday party ready to fight.

“Vacation of Terror II” has a simple storyline, creating a celebration to help gather innocent souls in one place, using the emptiness of the movie studio as a battle zone between good and evil. However, there’s business to attend to, with Mayra permitted a chance to wow viewers with a song, giving Tatiana time to showcase her pop performance skills. And Roberto is present to gift his youngest daughter seven silver coins to mark her age and new responsibilities. The coins play something of a part in the crisis, as the demon manages to trap Tanya inside one, inspiring Julio to work with his knowledge of magic to defeat the menace. He’s not especially good at this quest, which is part of the fun of “Vacation of Terror II,” watching the macho man fumble his efforts and scramble to save others, including Mayra, who’s briefly turned into a birthday cake decoration.

Halloween happenings are mostly limited to decorations, which the demon uses to destroy the partygoers, transforming pumpkins into flaming orbs of doom. Galindo III puts in a full workout for his cast, ordering Fernandez to flop all over the place as Julio narrowly avoids death multiple times in the feature, and Tatiana is subjected to a spinning room gag, only here room items aren’t bolted down, making one genuinely fear for the actress as she’s battered by furniture, clearly looking to protect herself in a way that’s not entirely acting. “Vacation of Fear II” isn’t always so physical, and a few technical efforts leave much to be desired, including a drowning situation for Julio as he finds himself in a room filling with water. Unfortunately, it’s pretty clear the filmmakers are using a crude-looking doll in the panicky moment, skipping steps when trying to sell the imagery of sudden flooding facing the main character. It looks awful, but such corner-cutting might add some B-movie flavoring to the viewing experience for some, as Galindo III is more interested in generating momentum with the endeavor, not always paying attention to the fine details.

Vacation of Terror 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a "35mm archival positive." Detail does as well as possible here, supplying a textured look at demon activity, with goopy, rubbery particulars. Human appearances are also appreciable, with a sense of skin and hair, along with decent fibrousness on costuming. Studio chases are suitably dimensional, and decorative additions are open for inspection, exploring Halloween additions and cake displays. Colors are lively, handling party decorations with crisp oranges and reds, while demon appearance registers as intended. Period outfits are defined, and skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is heavy and film-like. Source is in decent condition, encountering scratches along the way.

Vacation of Terror 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix shows signs of age, carrying a little shrillness at times, especially when screen activity flares up. Dialogue exchanges are intelligible. Scoring is limited, but supports passably, with a milder sense of instrumentation, and pop music is acceptable with vocals and period beats. Sound effects are blunt but appreciable.

Vacation of Terror 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A Trailer isn't included on this release.

Vacation of Terror 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Vacation of Terror" was after a specific mood with its take on haunted house events, keeping the experience contained to a single location, filling it with all sorts of horror details and spooky encounters. It wasn't a fantastic movie, but it connected on a genre level, showing some care with its vision of supernatural torment. "Vacation of Terror II" isn't as refined, providing more of a shotgun blast of action with a trickster demon, who uses everything it can find to bruise and batter the characters as they search for some level of safety. The film becomes a family affair in the second half, with Roberto joining the hunt, and Galindo III slowly backs away from making sense of it all, preferring to go crazy with seals and coins, placing focus on sheer physical madness. "Vacation of Terror II" isn't a crisply considered feature, but it does a fine job trying to be its own thing, moving away from the original endeavor's creep to provide more warfare between the demon and the kids looking to make it out of a birthday party alive.