DVD REVIEW: Alone in the Dark II

[JessHorsley]

More spooky, supernatural action hits home video...

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When I first heard about the original 2005 film Alone in the Dark, I was excited. A classic video game franchise brought to life on the big screen, what's not to love? Then I heard Uwe Boll was responsible...

For video game fans, there's nothing worse than to finding out Uwe Boll is connected to your favorite franchise and to many, he's the epitome of evil. In fact, all you have to do is Google "Uwe Boll" to see just how much gamers hate this filmmaker. There are numerous websites - see HERE and HERE - set up by hateful fans showing their disdain for this movie maker...and it's understandable.

These fans are angry as Boll has made movies that are down right terrible out of really good - and one might say even great - franchises. Be it BloodRayne, House of the Dead or even In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, each film takes for granted the original source material. It's almost like Boll has taken up working with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and thinks to himself, "Wow...what new material can I poop on?"

Sadly, Alone in the Dark 2 isn't much better.

This new direct to video movie once again features fan-favorite paranormal detective Edward Carnby. However, Christian Slater - who played Carnby in the original - is nowhere to be found and is instead replaced by Rick Yune (The Fast and the Furious). Honestly, if one didn't know Ed Carnby or his tie to the Alone in the Dark series, one might mistake Alone in the Dark 2 for any old SyFy "movie of the week"...and many of the "movies of the week" on SyFy are better than this.

In Alone in the Dark 2, we finds Ed helping a group of witch hunters remedy their witch problem. Like roaches, witches are a pesky bunch and this particular witch has been haunting and hunting one particular family for centuries.

While Boll isn't handling the writing and directing in this one, he's handed it over to Peter Scheerer and Michael Roesch, two guys who've worked with Boll extensively. This - for fans - is a bad thing. A bad script and bad acting don't make it simple, but Alone in the Dark 2 makes even the first Alone in the Dark film look good...which it wasn't.

Even with fan-favorite genre actors like Lance Henriksen and Danny Trejo (yup, he's in it! Did you miss his appearance? Me too!) involved, Alone in the Dark 2 still can't deliver. Granted, it does a decent job of establishing setting (yes, I actually jumped a few times!), but there's little pay out to be had here.

Special features on the DVD include audio commentary with Roesch, Scheerer, and actor Bill Moseley, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a few cast interviews.

While the real question here is "How does Boll keep making movies?" one must ask oneself, should I watch Alone in the Dark 2 or not?

I did...but not because I had to...because I wanted to. For those who loved the first film (I liked the premise, does that count? And how many of us are there, really??), you might want to consider picking this up as a renter. For the rest of you, avoid this film like a witch with dirty teeth and fingernails that wants to rip and claw and scratch out your eyes and eat your intestines (Don't know that witch? Watch this movie and you'll meet her!)

Alone in the Dark 2 is rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, and brief drug content and is available on DVD and Blu-ray wherever fine home video is sold.

- Jess C. Horsley