Review for ‘The Houses October Built 2’

In 2014, we were treated to a surprise Halloween hit in Bobby Roe’s The Houses October Built, a found footage film about a group of filmmakers going on tour around the country to see some of the craziest and most extreme Halloween haunts. The film ended on quite a cliffhanger. This year, we finally get to find out what happened to our Halloween explorers in The Houses October Built 2. This one picks up right where part one left off. Was it as good as the first?

When we last see them at the end of the film, Brandy (Brandy Schaefer) in a coffin being buried alive. I won’t go into any spoilers, but we know Brandy did survive based on the trailer. Yet her partners in crime haven’t had enough of the haunt scene. Brandy’s burial had gone viral and the group, especially her, is now internet famous. Brandy is widely known now as “Coffin Girl.”

Many haunts around the country want the group to come out and be filmed going through their attractions. Understandably, Brandy is not on board with this. She wants nothing to do with it. The others spend a good chunk of the film trying to convince her to play along, while they check out a few attractions of their own.

After assurances from her friends that things will be okay, Brandy finally joins them. Everything starts out innocently enough and we get a look at some really exciting haunts, including Minnesota’s famous Dead End Hayride. There’s a zombie run and some other cool looking things. But does that mean it’s all just fun and games?

Hands down, one area where this film beats part one is in the cinematography. I’m usually not a huge fan of found footage films, but this one hardly ever feels like one. They use a drone for many scenes, which truly knock the production value out of the park and leads to some breathtaking images. The overall quality is so much better with zero shaky cam going on.

Another thing I really liked was Brandy’s exploration of her previous trauma, how she dealt with it and trying to move past it by facing her fears. In so many movies, we see people go through traumatic experiences and then just bounce back as if nothing happened. This film spends a lot of time getting inside Brandy’s head and it adds a nice layer to the film that many horror films lack.

Overall, The House October Built 2 is a fun and intense ride through some of the darker haunts in the country, and you barely feel like you’ve been watching a found footage film. When things take a turn for the worst, it happens fast. My only con for the movie was that the ending felt a bit confusing, perhaps trying to be too clever for its own good. That doesn’t take away from the rest of the experience. If you liked The Houses October Built, then you will love part two. Watching this only made me more excited for the Halloween season and now I want to check out all the local haunts in my area as soon as they open!

In the meantime, here is the official trailer. Are you excited to check out The Houses October Built 2? It releases September 22, 2017, so keep your eyes peeled!