In 2009, I came across a film that had an excellent trailer. Normally I never judge a film by how great the trailer is, and as I’ve learned recently, by how bad one can be. Laid to Rest, had an amazing trailer and it turned out that the film was not half bad either, despite a storyline that was cliché in terms of horror films.
Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 is the sequel to the 2009 film. However, if you saw the way the first film ended, you would think that it is almost impossible for Chrome Skull to return. Yet, despite the acid on his face that ate thought to his skull, somehow he survives and his buddies in the killing business help fix him up with a new face and new weapons. He takes a few months to recover then goes back out into the world to seek revenge on those who hurt him and kill anyone who gets in the way.
My thoughts about this film are mixed. I enjoyed the story and the way it was presented but my problem lies in the casting and the style of the film. The first film had this clean look while using POV shots of the killer’s camera. The same applied here but the film had less of that glossy feel than the original film did. The acting in this film is alright, however I cannot buy Brian Austin Green as a bad guy. Sorry, he’s not bad guy material in my mind, his role just did not work for me. He has a face that still represents youth, even if he is well into late thirties. The film did have some good make-up effect and there is plenty of gore and blood to satisfy all you gore hounds out there. There is just certain area in this film that work, and some that do not.
The Blu-ray disc has plenty of special features such as audio commentary with Director Robert Hall, Co-writer Kevin Bocarde and actor Brian Austin Green. There is also a behind the scenes featurettes about creating Chrome skull titled A Cut Above. There is also a Jump to the Kill Features as well as Bloopers, Deleted Scenes and the films trailer.
Overall, Chrome Skull: Laid to Rest 2 is a decent sequel, there are things in the film that work and some that don’t but for a sequel to an independent horror film that had a cult following; it is better than most sequels that are out there. If you enjoyed the first film, you will most likely agree with me that it’s worth watching even if the way Chromeskull comes back to life is a bit unrealistic just as much as Brian Austin Green is as a bad guy. His wife I can buy as a killer, but Brian just looks like to nice of a guy to be the bad guy.
– Horror Bob
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