Where's Julian Sands when you need him?

In this mostly unrelated sequel, college student Ashley Laurence finds out she's inherited an old house from a relative she didn't know about and heads-off for a weekend there with her friends to collect any items she may want from in it. Well along comes our nasty warlock Bruce Payne who wants Laurence for his bride in order to bring Satan to Earth and will stop at nothing but killing everyone who gets in the way.

While competent in direction anyway; this is one passable and silly sequel. Not only does Payne seem unsuited from his first appearance this is loaded with plenty of horror cliches (like a car not starting in a thunderstorm), Gen-X characters that get very tiring after a while (and are given extremely thin character development) and many scenes that just seem unnecessary (the biggest violator being the bondage angle).

Yes, Laurence is looking way foxier a decade after starring in Hellraiser and co-star Angel Boris is nice to look at; but it doesn't take away from the fact this is just your typical haunted house flick with some throat rips and poor deaths thrown-in. This one gives more proof (as also documented in The Beyond) that workmen and old abandoned houses don't mix.

At least we get to groan at a lame dialogue exchange about "witches", the fact the talisman that scares the warlock is a doll and one sloppy werewolf-like monster in the finale. Yawn.

Directed By: Eric Freiser.
Written By: Bruce David Eisen, Eric Freiser.

Starring: Bruce Payne, Ashley Laurence, Boti Ann Bliss, Angel Boris.