|
The original film--well it was far from original--I'll say
the first film, was quite possibly one of the most
ludicrous slasher films I've ever seen. One thing is for sure, I've
never seen a slasher movie so intent on being taken seriously, and I've
never seen a slasher film so intent on posing as a murder mystery, but
it was so filled with lapses in logic, that I could have gone on for
pages on its sheer stupidity. I recall hearing one person who liked it
saying that it could have been shown at criminology classes as an
example. Yes, and I recall laughing. A lot. Because they were serious.
If "Ripper" was the closest thing to reality to them, well, "Ripper 2"
just fucked up their theory. Here's a film that further widens the gap
between fantasy and reality adding a "digital twist" to its story. Are
these studios so dumb they use the digital angle as a fail safe? Need a
sequel to "Mangler"? Add a digital twist. Need a sequel to the
"Nightmare on Elm Street" series? Add a digital twist. It can happen.
"Ripper 2" is a sequel that completely strays from its original premise
and rather shamelessly rips off "The Cell" and "Altered States", both
freaky but sub-par films. How desperate are you to rip off films that
aren't that good? Pretty damn. Pretty damn. It took three screenwriters
and two directors to complete this. So you know they ran out of ideas at
some point. And in any case, I must reward the makers of "Ripper 2" for
giving us possibly the stupidest title I've ever read that rivals titles
like "Pooty Tang" and "Surf Ninjas". Letter from Within? Can someone
tell me what in the scat rapping Moses that even means? Regardless of
the fact though, the title is really a moot point when you take in to
consideration the actual plot that is unfolded before us. Molly, the
girl from the first who may or may not have been a killer, or Jack the
Ripper, or his incarnation, or his daughter, descendant, you get the
general idea, now returns for some reason and is released from jail to
endure testing by two doctors attempting to do--something
to her mind.
So, she and a standard group of equally troubled individuals--it's funny
how they consider her "troubled", a girl who murdered and mutilated a
group of people being lumped in with an arsonist, and sexual addict--all
whom engage in your typical plot. And the song goes: a mismatched group
of people/friends/strangers, one with a
psychotic/traumatic/dark/troubled past, gather at a
castle/house/cabin/condo/ski lodge, to engage in a study/party/field
trip, and one of them is offing the other. Except this one has a digital
twist. The scenario is happening in Molly's mind, even when she's not
asleep. How? Why? You think they'd explain it to us? No. They don't owe
us an explanation. But the buck doesn't stop there. Now Molly is less of
a psycho and now more of a tortured hero seeking redemption. How can a
person who was deemed insane in the first film seek redemption for
something she has no recollection of? Why turn Molly from a surprise
killer to a heroine?
It's almost as sloppy and inconsistent as when Damien went from "evil
and loving it" in "Omen", to "I'm evil? Since when?" in "Omen 2". But
what's most amusing is "Ripper 2" goes from a slasher to a
pseudo-existential and utterly nonsensical story about dreams, the
subconscious, and psychology. I won't go in to real specifics, but
basically Molly's brain was sapped of its evil mojo, she's watching
people she barely knows be killed, overacts like she's known them for
years, and then it ends on a very ridiculous note that had me in tears.
"Ha ha" tears, not "Dear god what a piece of shit" tears. I'm saving
that for later. Erin Karpluk gives a horrible performance taking over
for the scrumptious AJ Cook as Molly
and sadly has zero talent. My only thought for the logic behind casting
a horrible actress as she is that she kinda, sorta, maybe looks like
Cook if you look out of the corner of your eye while half asleep.
She gives a terrible performance lacking any charisma or appeal that
Cook brought to her role, and really just phones it in, screaming at the
top of her lungs half the time and failing to add any dimensions to
Molly. Richard Bremmer channels Rutger Hauer, Angus Scrimm,
and Gene Wilder from "Young Frankenstein" giving quite possibly the most
over the top performance I've seen in years. This man does nothing but
gaze wide-eyed and speak in stilted Romanian accents while attempting to
do something with Molly involving her brain. This plot makes no fucking
sense! Regardless, "Ripper 2" is unnecessary, ridiculous, and just
criminal.
To watch "Ripper 2" is like being in a doctor's waiting room. It's loud,
drawn out, pointless, you lose patience quickly, you begin to read
anything at some point, you wonder if the people behind the scenes are
asleep at the wheel, and you just want the people in your general scope
of vision to die so it can end. That last one was kind of
disturbing. Anyway, "Ripper 2" is a bad movie because its derivative,
horribly acted, and has one of the most nonsensical stories I've ever
seen in a film.
|
