Whether I liked the movie or not, I was very hesitant about the prospect of “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2,” because I think the first movie worked perfect on its own as a standalone event. We here at Cinema Crazed love the dudes at Alter Ego, but we do not hesitate to express disdain at curious film moves and call someone on their bullshit. “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” has a great visual flair about itself and really seems to build up to something eventually explosive that I found difficult to turn away from. Remember, I was very cynical and almost unwilling to give this a chance for fear this would be just a rehash, but alas, I ended up really liking it in the end. “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” meets our previous killer and voyeur Brandon who has now moved on to yet another victim in another city. What Ryan seems to strive for with both films is to get us infatuated with these women somehow getting us to sympathize for this killer when he finds he’s infatuated with them. Michiko Jimenez was a gorgeous and innocent young girl who was surprisingly sexy and in a sense Ryan seems to idealize the character setting her up for this fall which ends as a harsh blow to the audience.
Kai Lanette is pretty much in the same vein but she’s just not as gullible. Brandon meets her on the street, he seduces and manipulates her, and lo and behold she’s not an idiot. She resists, she argues, and she surely even busts his balls when he attempts to feign sincerity. There’s a much tighter sense of narrative this time around as Ryan seems to properly build the fundamentals for characters and conflicts and then almost promises an interesting dichotomy between this snake, and this new breed of victim he simply doesn’t expect. While we venture into this new confrontation, Ryan glosses over Brandon’s past exploits with partners, vicious rapes, and a rather disturbing series of victims who were either duped or seduced. The action in Brandon’s hotel room with his newest victim makes for some great chemistry as Kai Lanette takes this role by the balls and gives is an interesting energy.
She’s almost the exact snake in sheep’s clothing Brandon is providing a keen sense of awareness to his games and adamantly either dodges his advances, or roughs him up whenever he gets grabby. The casting of Lanette is a great move on Ryan’s part as he seems intent to give his own creation a hard time with this ballsy woman. The development of Brandon’s need for control results in a rather disturbing turn of events that lead into a climax that… yes, will hurt and hurt badly leaving us to wonder if there will ever be an end to Brandon’s terror. “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” is a damn good sequel, color me tickled and surprised. What I enjoyed about the first film is that Ryan kept the lines of fact and fiction constantly blurred. In spite of the controversy it created, “APSK” was a favorite of mine because it built on this false impression of realism.
“Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” can be too self-aware, especially when Ryan opts instead for artistic visuals that instantly pulled me out of the narrative rather than keeping us in the moment. The constant changes of color, the switch backs, it all seemed curiously pointless, especially since he was carrying a camcorder and not an 8mm film camera. I found the little film tricks to be very redundant and superfluous with very little effect to the story or overall product. The montages of past victims tend to feel obligatory for the sake of obligatory with odd scenes of girl on girl and fondling that seem very disconnected to the point of the past footage. While the suggestion Brandon had accomplices is stated with clarity, the sex scenes are just too abnormal to enjoy most times and seem awfully much like padding to keep the film from a short format. This isn’t a sequel without its flaws as it’s often too self aware to enjoy, while the sex can feel obligatory, but “Amateur Porn Star Killer 2” is a very good sequel with great performances, and better direction from Ryan who seems to understand Brandon much more this time around. As for thunder striking a third time? We’ll see.