Not exactly subtle, is it? But then, those of you who read my review of Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy and Paul Arnone's first film in the sadistic, perverted home-invading clowns series know that they weren't softly-softly with their approach there.
So you can imagine my slightly nervous delight upon being granted the chance to be one of the first UK reviewers to get a look at the film. Why nervous? Because HM&M Films, the folks behind HoW2 claim it's even more extreme than a predecessor that I said 'punches you in the face, then kicks you in the balls'!
Fasten your seat belts, folks, I think we're gonna need them...
HOUSE OF WHORES 2: THE SECOND CUMMING (2015)
Dir: Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy
Starring: AC McCray, Montana Skylar, Cheyenne Summer, Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy, Riley Grey, Lindsey McIntyre, Vergena Fields, Linda Schrader, Peter Barnone, Craig Lemons, Tiffany Smith, Eric Reaume, Kaleigh Loemer, Frankie V, Nurse Hatchet
SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I'll try not to spoil too much here but read on at your own risk.
HoW2 opens with the return of the still disturbingly sexy Nurse Hatchet, instructing a clown-masked surgeon, Sluggo (McCray) and his nurse, Naughty Nina (Fields) to take a hapless young woman (McIntyre) and make her 'like them'. After a brief bit of genital-destroying surgery with an electric whisk, the girl is fitted with a sex-doll like mask and becomes the latest member of the sadistic home invader/entertainment team, Skanko.
The rest of the movie follows the twisted exploits of the perpetually furious Slasho (Komisar), British sleaze Shago (Murphy) and their cameraman/hulking violent psycho Smasho (Barnone), along with their new recruit.
The clowns host their own online show in which they humiliate, violate and ultimately mutilate victims for the viewing pleasure of their baying audience.
This time, the focus of their attentions is a hypocritical televangelist, Father Nelson (McCray again) and the two vapid and promiscuous girls he took in as a part of his charitable work for Teens With Abusive Tendencies: Mandy (Skylar) and Candy (Summer).
With a couple of interludes along the way featuring adult film star Riley Grey and an unfortunate young mother (Loemer), Nurse Hatchet's crew are all set to make their next body-fluid soaked masterpiece...
THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Hooooo boy... Murphy, Komisar and co have done it again. Taking all the insanity of the previous film, then building on it, House of Whores 2 ratchets up the madness with gleeful abandon.
Everything that worked in the first film is back — the sterling work of Komisar and Murphy has really found its groove now, with both slipping straight back into the skin of their twisted characters. Komisar's seething, gruff delivery is flawless, while the frenetic physical acting of Murphy is once again on point. The iconic Nurse Hatchet is also back, and this time she's given lots more to do. Revealed as the terrifying mastermind behind the clowns, she maintains her aura of mystery, yet giving her character a purpose makes her all the more frightening.
Elsewhere in the cast the new additions impress, especially the superb McCray in his dual role of Sluggo (the Q to Slasho, Shago and Smasho's 00 agents) and the seedily insincere Father Nelson. He's so good in both roles that I honestly didn't realise it was the same guy underneath that creepy clown mask, even with his distinctive physique.
HOUSE OF WHORES 2: THE SECOND CUMMING (2015)
Dir: Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy
Starring: AC McCray, Montana Skylar, Cheyenne Summer, Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy, Riley Grey, Lindsey McIntyre, Vergena Fields, Linda Schrader, Peter Barnone, Craig Lemons, Tiffany Smith, Eric Reaume, Kaleigh Loemer, Frankie V, Nurse Hatchet
SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I'll try not to spoil too much here but read on at your own risk.
HoW2 opens with the return of the still disturbingly sexy Nurse Hatchet, instructing a clown-masked surgeon, Sluggo (McCray) and his nurse, Naughty Nina (Fields) to take a hapless young woman (McIntyre) and make her 'like them'. After a brief bit of genital-destroying surgery with an electric whisk, the girl is fitted with a sex-doll like mask and becomes the latest member of the sadistic home invader/entertainment team, Skanko.
The rest of the movie follows the twisted exploits of the perpetually furious Slasho (Komisar), British sleaze Shago (Murphy) and their cameraman/hulking violent psycho Smasho (Barnone), along with their new recruit.
The clowns host their own online show in which they humiliate, violate and ultimately mutilate victims for the viewing pleasure of their baying audience.
This time, the focus of their attentions is a hypocritical televangelist, Father Nelson (McCray again) and the two vapid and promiscuous girls he took in as a part of his charitable work for Teens With Abusive Tendencies: Mandy (Skylar) and Candy (Summer).
With a couple of interludes along the way featuring adult film star Riley Grey and an unfortunate young mother (Loemer), Nurse Hatchet's crew are all set to make their next body-fluid soaked masterpiece...
THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Hooooo boy... Murphy, Komisar and co have done it again. Taking all the insanity of the previous film, then building on it, House of Whores 2 ratchets up the madness with gleeful abandon.
Everything that worked in the first film is back — the sterling work of Komisar and Murphy has really found its groove now, with both slipping straight back into the skin of their twisted characters. Komisar's seething, gruff delivery is flawless, while the frenetic physical acting of Murphy is once again on point. The iconic Nurse Hatchet is also back, and this time she's given lots more to do. Revealed as the terrifying mastermind behind the clowns, she maintains her aura of mystery, yet giving her character a purpose makes her all the more frightening.
Elsewhere in the cast the new additions impress, especially the superb McCray in his dual role of Sluggo (the Q to Slasho, Shago and Smasho's 00 agents) and the seedily insincere Father Nelson. He's so good in both roles that I honestly didn't realise it was the same guy underneath that creepy clown mask, even with his distinctive physique.
The very attractive Summer and Skylar also deliver the goods, playing the young (and decidedly slutty) objects of the clowns' (and Father Nelson's) attention with a tongue-in-cheek charm. The pair also bravely hold their own during a couple of more gruelling scenes late on. Credit must also go to Grey and Loemer for how gamely they go along for this deeply disturbing ride too.
Another welcome return for this film is the kick-ass music of Mixtress Demonatrix that runs throughout. From the sleazy, saxy theme to the pounding dance track used during Nurse Hatchet's gory, raunchy Blood Dance and Necromance, the score is absolutely awesome.
However, the best and brightest thing to return for HoW2 is the sick, black sense of humour that runs throughout the film. Little touches that worked so well last time, such as the clown-penned subtitles, wacky 'boink'-style sound effects to accompany a claw-hammer to the skull and the brilliant flickering silent-movie interlude, are back, but there's also a lot more humour in the writing. There's no way anybody should be able to find something to laugh at in a scene in which a young mother pushing a pram is abducted and violated before her screaming baby is shot and her breast milk expressed for Shago to savour, but the HoW boys manage it. Heaven help me, I actually laughed out loud at what was happening on screen.
There's a real talent in taking the most deplorable and reprehensible acts and making them entertaining — Komisar and the jolly nice Murphy have this talent in spades.
Much like the original film, this is a micro-budget flick (the IMDB estimates it was made for just $1000!), but this is something that the filmmakers use to their advantage. The rough-around-the-edges look just adds to the realism of the footage, as if it's some horrifying Dark Web show created for (and by) the most depraved of browsers. The violence and gore effects never seem to suffer as a result of what must have been some pretty tough budgetary constraints, while the remarkably swift time in which this film was produced since the first instalment doesn't indicate a drop in quality in the script or plot.
Another welcome return for this film is the kick-ass music of Mixtress Demonatrix that runs throughout. From the sleazy, saxy theme to the pounding dance track used during Nurse Hatchet's gory, raunchy Blood Dance and Necromance, the score is absolutely awesome.
However, the best and brightest thing to return for HoW2 is the sick, black sense of humour that runs throughout the film. Little touches that worked so well last time, such as the clown-penned subtitles, wacky 'boink'-style sound effects to accompany a claw-hammer to the skull and the brilliant flickering silent-movie interlude, are back, but there's also a lot more humour in the writing. There's no way anybody should be able to find something to laugh at in a scene in which a young mother pushing a pram is abducted and violated before her screaming baby is shot and her breast milk expressed for Shago to savour, but the HoW boys manage it. Heaven help me, I actually laughed out loud at what was happening on screen.
There's a real talent in taking the most deplorable and reprehensible acts and making them entertaining — Komisar and the jolly nice Murphy have this talent in spades.
Much like the original film, this is a micro-budget flick (the IMDB estimates it was made for just $1000!), but this is something that the filmmakers use to their advantage. The rough-around-the-edges look just adds to the realism of the footage, as if it's some horrifying Dark Web show created for (and by) the most depraved of browsers. The violence and gore effects never seem to suffer as a result of what must have been some pretty tough budgetary constraints, while the remarkably swift time in which this film was produced since the first instalment doesn't indicate a drop in quality in the script or plot.
The film boasts more of the same — but more, more, more! It features some hideously vile set pieces, a larger cast and even more laughs and a whole new level of nudity (you thought Nurse Hatchet's bloody striptease was a bit strong in the first movie? Just WAIT until you see what she does this time!)
My kudos gentlemen, for what is a legitimately impressive (and repulsive) achievement.
THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Just as everything that worked in House of Whores is back in this sequel, so too are the areas that I found less impressive.
Much like the first, I feel it's entirely necessary to warn potential viewers that this is an EXTREME film. It willfully pushes the envelope — we have plenty of sordid and sadistic events here and if you're the type of casual horror fan that enjoys sitting down at the cinema with the latest Lionsgate or Blumhouse big budget teen horror flick, House of Whores 2: The Second Cumming is going to smash you over the head with a beer bottle and piss all over any squeamish qualms you may have. Rape, necrophilia and any number of body excretions are present here — you have been warned.
Also, if you are used to more polished fare, the decidedly low-budget look may be a negative factor for some of you. Ok, so it's not a Michael Bay blockbuster — but you get a gun that squirts shit down a man's gullet, that seems like a fair trade-off to me!
Once again, the film is a little on the short side — it clocks in at significantly longer than its predecessor but I watched the Limited Edition extended cut of the film and it's still under 90 minutes. What's more, just like last time, an extended section of that runtime consists of Nurse Hatchet's interlude. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching this very sexy dance (and, erm, other things) but this runs for over quarter of an hour and seems to be made up of only about five minutes worth of footage edited, looped and repeated.
Just like the first film, the story is once again ludicrously simple. Sure, there are lots more characters (including a welcome expansion to our troup of villains) but once again the film consists of a series of events and set-pieces rather than any real arc. Obviously that isn't what the House of Whores series is about, but if you aren't familiar with the previous movie you should know not to expect too much in the way of compelling characterisation and intricate, thought-provoking storytelling.
Instead HoW2 is a visceral experience, built around provoking a series of physical responses: laughter; disgust and even arousal. On this front it certainly delivers.
Finally (and I can't believe I'm saying this about a film in which a teenage girl is smothered with a plunger before her corpse is raped), but I actually think House of Whores 2 is a little less gruelling and mean-spirited than the first film. To be fair, I'm not sure I could have handled much more than the first movie threw my way, but by focusing more on the humour and less on the suffering of the clowns' victims, it feels a little less hard-hitting. I'm not saying this is a weakness per se, as I'm sure some viewers will be relieved to hear this, but the Guinea Pig fans may wish this was a little more sadistic. It's all a matter of taste.
THE VERDICT: House of Whores 2 is a vulgar and vicious work of depravity — and I loved every side-splitting second of it. I don't know how the supremely talented Murphy, Komisar et al do it, but once again they've taken something that nobody outside of a mental institution should like and made it HUGELY entertaining.
If you've seen House of Whores (and if you haven't you can buy it direct from the folks at HM&M Films and Average At Best Films right here) and you dug it, you should need very little encouragement to pick up this more than worthy sequel. If you saw the first and weren't too keen, I'd still recommend giving the sequel a whirl — this time the guys ensure that we're in on their sick joke from the outset.
To conclude, those of you who stick around right to the very end of the credits will see a hint that Slasho, Shago, Smasho, Skanko, Sluggo, Swallo, Nina and Nurse Hatchet will return again. And God help me, I'll be one of the very first in line, eagerly anticipating even more boundary-blurring violation when they do.
If you want to buy House of Whores 2: The Second Cumming, you can preorder the DVD direct from HM&M Films and Average At Best Films here.
In the meantime, check out the film's official Facebook page here. Give it a Like while you're there, show some love!
If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook pagearound the web
Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment