Good morning, House of Madness tenants:
We've touched on the subject of sequels before, but just how many have lived up to, or even surpassed the quality of their predecessor? "Terminator 2", and "Evil Dead 2" are fine examples of sequels that managed to surpass the original in just about every aspect, but the feat is rare, and should be admired whenever it transpires. It certainly wouldn't take much to surpass the boredom endured while watching "Horror in the High Desert" (2021), as the film presented absolutely nothing until the final few minutes, and as soon as it got interesting, it was over. "Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva" definitely doesn't suffer from being boring, but it does suffer from being monotonous.
The film begins where the last one left off, which starts as a good thing as we're thrown right into the action. More backstory is given on the seemingly haunted stretch of highway where Gary Hinge went missing in 2017, except now the story is focused on a woman named Minerva (Solveig Helene) who has also gone missing, and there are few clues to help police locate her whereabouts. What starts off as an intense mocumentary, quickly spirals into a drawn out mess of trying to see things in the darkness happening to people we're just introduced to, hence not giving a shit what happens to them. Not only that, but some scenes just go on for far too long - at one point a man breaks his flashlight, and we're forced to watch him blindly navigate in the dark for what felt like twenty minutes, and the worst part is there's no payoff for your patience. "Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva" may be superior to the original, but keep in mind thats like saying that bad case of poison oak you contracted on your shins was way more tolerable than the poison ivy that ravaged your crotch in the eighth grade. By the time the credits rolled, I had no idea what the point of any of what I had just seen was, and then we're presented with the definite suggestion of a third installment. Yippee, i havent been this excited about a sequel since the announcement of "Critters 4" in 1992. Lets hope the next one has a plot and some redeeming qualities, otherwise the horror lies in the camera lens, and not in the desert.
Madness Meter: 4.2/10
NB
