Besides starring Danielle Harris, See No Evil 2 (2014) has other things in common with the HalloweeN franchise and Michael Myers. As with HalloweeN II (1981), See No Evil 2 takes place on the same night as the previous film. And, as with Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, See No Evil’s killer, Jacob Goodnight, comes back to life after having been pronounced dead.
Danielle Harris plays Amy, a worker at the County Morgue. When some of the fresh cadavers from Goodnight’s killing spree are wheeled in, Amy stays to help out. This means that she won’t be able to make it to her own birthday get-together that evening.
The party’s mastermind, Amy’s friend Tamara, doesn’t let that get in the way of having a good time. Tamara and her gang show up at the coroner’s building. They have a party in the morgue without Thee Undatakerz or Kool Keith. There’s drinking, kissing and sexual intercourse.
One of the corpses that is brought in that night is that of the killer himself, Jacob Goodnight (played by WWE wrestler Kane aka Glenn Jacobs). Jacob Goodnight inexplicably returns to life. He dresses himself up in a new outfit, mask, and arms himself with some great forensic tools that were, presumably, never meant to be used as weapons.
See No Evil 2 is directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska. The scenes in the morgue itself have a sharp, stylish blue tint to them that convey isolation and bleakness. But after a power outage, the settings turn into an indistinguishable blend of dull colors.
There are also problems with the script, editing and directing that don’t hold up well against any sort of scrutiny. When Goodnight is on the loose, there’s a scene where Danielle Harris’ character Amy resorts to a map of the County Morgue. In an effort to escape, Amy, pointing at the map, explains to the rest of her friends that, “We’re here, we need to take the stairwell here.” Shouldn’t Amy know how to get to the floor above in the building where she works without referring to a map?
And why doesn’t the entire building go up in flames when Tamara uses matches to illuminate the darkened rooms? Every morgue stores chemicals that make it a fire hazard.
The film’s sloppy editing is a bothersome issue as well. There is a scene where Danielle Harris ducks down and we see some of her gorgeous tattoo on her backside. In the next shot, Danielle’s tattoo has been hastily covered up by an undershirt that has been tucked into her jeans. Another glaring mistake comes when Tamara is in the morgue. The ADR doesn’t match what is on the screen. Tamara is heard laughing, but Tamara isn’t seen laughing (she’s doing something else).
See No Evil 2‘s story is a simple one of a killer killing people. It’s a story that is so basic that it didn’t have to throw out logic and reason. A story this simple should have an airtight script and editing that are able to withstand cursory examination by the viewer, but this is not the case.
Fun Fact: Wanted a 75 year-old to play Michael Myers
Another detriment to this film is the character of Tamara. She is played by Katharine Isabelle, an actress who appeared in American Mary (also directed by the Soska sisters). In See No Evil 2, Katharine’s acting is atrocious. She whines and moans her lines, and makes awful facial expressions. It’s hard to believe that this is the same person who played Margot Verger in Season 2 of TV’s Hannibal. I’ll never look at her the same way after this.
What See No Evil 2 did right was to focus the story on Danielle Harris (unlike the previously reviewed Danielle Harris films Blood Night and Hallows’ Eve). This flick uses Danielle’s looks and talent to its benefit, rather than just using her briefly to get her name in the credits to sell a movie. Furthermore, Danielle’s character is good-natured and likable. The other characters in this film are, wisely, not as fleshed out or as visible as Danielle’s Amy.
See No Evil 2 has no inventive kills or visuals. The story barely adds anything to the mythologies of See No Evil and Jacob Goodnight. See No Evil 2 doesn’t advance the overall plot much (which makes one wonder why a direct follow-up to the original was even made after 8 years).
Additionally, you don’t need to watch the first See No Evil because key scenes and details are presented in Part 2 via flashback and exposition. See No Evil 2 is a movie that you’ve watched many times before, under other titles. But at least this has Danielle Harris at its center. If you’re a fan of hers, then that’s your reason to watch it.
