PopHorror Let's Get Scared
How many times have you heard it? “My new indie feature is a lovingly crafted throwback to classic 80’s slasher films!” A million or so, right? How many times have filmmakers actually achieved that lofty goal convincingly? Very damned few. However, with Sequel: Cruel Summer – Part 2 (a direct sequel to 2021’s Cruel Summer), writer/director/producer/actor Scott Tepperman (Nightblade – our review) and company have done just that.
Synopsis:
Heeding the advice of medical professionals, the traumatized survivors of a deadly vacation house massacre try to confront their own personal demons by organizing a stage production of their harrowing experience. But a familiar face is back for revenge – and determined to make sure these unsuspecting actors fade to black before their time.
The opening sequence has survivors Felissa (Bridget Linda Froemming; The Hell Gate) and Heather (Ashlyn McCain: Black Dove) being rescued by Good Samaritan David (Tom Komisar: Hell’s Bells). We see, through flashbacks (and a great shout out to Lustig’s Maniac), that they’re among the few “boozers, whores and lowlifes” that managed to escape the clan of murderous hillbillies from the first film (disclaimer: I have not seen Cruel Summer).
Fast forward two years, and fellow survivor Barbara (H. Marie: Cut Off), who was recently released from a mental hospital, is writing a play about the group’s experiences. She tries to rope in blind Doug (Jimmy Maguire), Felissa, the seemingly well adjusted Heather, and her co-worker, Leigh (the impossibly cute Suzanne Bratton) to put on the full production. Soon, our plucky final girls (and guys) are being stalked and murdered one-by-one by the assumed-dead Gunnar (Tepperman), with local cop Officer Fasano (Jason Schneider: Hollywood Werewolf) one step behind the killer. But is Gunnar acting alone? Or did the whole killer family survive?
With some excellent cinematography from Elijah Light and Tepperman’s great editing, accomplished writing, and truly surprising twist ending, along with a talented ensemble cast, Sequel: Cruel Summer – Part 2 is exactly how you recreate an ’80s slasher flick! With plenty of winks to the audience like Halloween-inspired opening credits and characters named after genre legends and final girls, and comic relief bit players (a pawn shop owner who thinks he’s Tony Montana), cameos by other indie horror journeymen like Jim O’Rear (Volumes of Blood – our review) and Cameron Scott (Blood Moon River – our review), inept police, and a perfect addition of some grungy original rock songs by Smoke Mountain, Sequel: Cruel Summer – Part 2 checks almost all of the boxes.
Most of the pratfalls of a feature at this price point are avoided: the sound design is level; the practical effects work well about 70% of the time; and the film itself, on DVD as reviewed, looked sharp on a large, 4K TV. Even the end credits, with a soundtrack that could have been lifted from any 80’s slasher flick, work extremely well.
Putting out an effective ’80’s style slasher flick that’s set in modern times is usually something that carpetbagging indie filmmakers spout off as a marketing tool, but with all of the above, coupled with inventive kills, a quick pace, and a strong final girl character, Sequel: Cruel Summer – Part 2 is definitely an achievement, a testament to a group of talented people who love the genre and get it. A creepy, effective, action packed, little gem of a film for fans of the red stuff.
Sequel: Cruel Summer – Part 2 is available now, in multiple formats, from Scream Team Releasing.
