The Pact 2

In the completely useless and unnecessary sequel to one of the best horror movies of the last decade, completely obvious things happen to completely clueless people.

The 2012 film "The Pact" by Nicholas McCarthy is a clever and scary supernatural thriller with a killer third act twist that will make the hair on your neck stand up. Well-acted and directed, the film was a calling card for one of the best horror filmmakers of the past decade.

Cut to 2014 and the studio who owns the rights to "The Pact" bangs out a sequel (lazily called "The Pact 2") that steals moments from the original film and botches up everything else along the way. The film focuses on a crime scene cleaner named June (Camilla Luddington "Greys Anatomy") who is having strange hallucinatory visions whilst drawing a graphic novel. Her live-in boyfriend (Scott Michael Foster) is a night policeman so, you know, he leaves June home alone in the dark a lot. That makes it perfect for spooky things to happen to her when no one is around. Because, you see, the Judas Killer from the first film is back -- or at least a copycat killer is. And somehow, that copycat killer is after June and only a creepy detective (Patrick Fischler) is starting to figure it out.

Directed by Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath, "The Pact 2" is so heavy-handed you know exactly who the killer is in the first five minutes of the film. While there are a handful of supernatural goings-on, there is exactly one scene that is truly creepy and frightening; yet in context it doesn't make any sense. The best moment from the original film is duplicated here for no other reason than to say "see? We did it too!" Otherwise, it's inclusion is pointless.

While Luddington is fine every week on "Grey's Anatomy," here she is saddled with bad dialogue and clunky editing that make conversations seemed stilted and awkward. Scary things happen and then in the next scene the person they happen to pretned like they never happened. It's all just lethargic and dull and Lotz (who is now on the hit TV show "Arrow") seems to be embarrassed that she had to make a cameo.

If you liked the first film, there is no reason to see the follow-up. If you haven't seen the first film, I urge you to seek it out. It's fantastic. Special features include a few trailers and a 17-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.

"The Pact 2"
Blu-ray
$29.98
www.mpihomevideo.com