There’s a distinct difference between Shane Ryan’s movie version of “APSK 2” and his snuff version. One version is a safe and pretty clear fictional mock documentary chronicling Brandon and his ever devious quest to punish women. The other version, the snuff version, has much more balls. This is Shane Ryan’s original vision and more importantly, this is the actual director’s cut that dares to be much edgier and dynamic with its premise. While I completely understand the inevitable hot water Ryan would have gotten in to if he’d continued to pull the “fact or fiction?” gimmick with his “Amateur Porn Star Killer” movies, I really think in the end, it took something away. The constant reminders that this is fiction pretty much ruin any hopes of being sucked into the narrative. Sequels are hardly ever really good and frankly, there doesn’t seem to be a need for another from the Alter Ego flagship series, but “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” is thankfully good enough where you can put your reservations aside to enjoy what Ryan puts on the table for us. And you have to love his little barbs that end up being simply Ryan voicing his frustrations: “Little? Why is it always little? Go make your little movies, go finish your little production.”

Kai Lanette is a great antithesis to Michiko Jimenez as this fierce and strong willed young girl who won’t submit to Brandon’s domination. Lanette is a force of femininity here with a unique sex appeal, and a personality that threatens Brandon every minute. When he attempts domination, she reciprocates two fold, and this is what keeps Brandon attempting to render her vulnerable in his grasp and seek his ultimate revenge in the climax. During this sequel, Ryan reveals to us that Brandon has the likelihood of never being caught. Brandon (played by director Ryan) is a clean cut, blond, shaven, and good looking young man with charisma, charm, and the capability of walking in to any woman and being able to convince them to go back home with him, regardless of the circumstances, and Ryan gives us an individual in the vein Patrick Bateman who in spite of his obvious misdeeds, has the advantage of being good looking to get him out of trouble, in the end. This version packs in much of the gore and sexual violence, while doing away with opening credits, and a score to convince us that it’s an actual snuff film, and I really did enjoy what Ryan and Alter Ego put out for us, in the end. While many will be likely to write this off, Alter Ego packs in too many strong performances, undertones, and productions values to just be ignored by high brows.

Ryan sticks true to his promise that his sequel to one of the better indies ever made would resemble a pure snuff film. Gone is the cinematic polish, out goes the score, and the opening credits are MIA. The final touch selling the Snuff angle, was that I saw it on an unmarked VHS tape. How proper.

• Read our review for "Amateur Porn Star Killer 2: The Movie Version!"
• Read our interviews with Shane Ryan here, and here!