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Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld
Directed by David W. Kann
Released: 2005
Starring: Victoria Campbell, Christopher Kann, Noel Francomano, Alex Whall, and Adam Lipskey
Practitioner of black magic, (and keyboardist of "shock" rock band Rape Van) Oncilla Satana (played by Noel Francomano), wants to resurrect Anubis, Egyptian god of the dead, and place him under her control. After retrieving an ancient statuette from an antiques dealer and a book of spells from Ebay, Oncilla attempts to bring the god into physical form. She fails but discovers that she needs souls for Anubis to collect. This is where her boyfriend, Mark (Alex Whall), his loser buddy, Wheezer (Adam Lipskey), video store jockey, Paul (Christopher Kann), and his uptight girlfriend, Jen (Victoria Campbell), all come in. Oncilla convinces them that it will be fun to go out into the woods and summon Anubis to do their bidding. Unfortunately, the summoning works. Now Anubis, whose soul is twisted and made evil by assuming physical form, wants to destroy them and anyone else who gets in his way.
In his first full-length feature, director David Kann shows a great deal of promise, especially considering the small budget (apparently around ten grand) of
Ancient Evil 2. By the way, this film isn't actually a sequel to David DeCoteau's
Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy. No, Anubis: Guardian of the Underworld (as it was originally titled) was bought and then renamed by the distributors. Well, whatever title it goes under, this film is competently directed and even sports a pretty rockin' soundtrack.
First time writer, David Buscemi, has penned a quirky and tongue-in-cheek script with a mostly well-paced plot. There is a lull in the action when Oncilla tries to convince the gang to go along with her plan and the subsequent scenes of the gang walking through the woods slows things down as well. Otherwise, the film keeps a steady pace throughout. Personally, I just wish that some characters weren't killed off so quickly. I think that the final chase scene would have been helped by the presence of some of the folks who met their demise too early for my taste.
Shot entirely in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, the film is lovingly photographed, especially during the beginning as an ancient warrior battles and manages to banish Anubis, at the cost of his own life. The shots of the woods as dusk turns into night are visually appealing and give the film an unexpected sense of dread. All of the shots filmed at night are lit perfectly and I wasn't forced to squint at my TV to figure out what is going on.
Most of the cast are making their debut in this film and do a great job keeping things lively. The characters are definitely a wacky lot and it helps that they have some good comic delivery on their side. Victoria Campbell spouts the "Oh my God!" too many times while Anubis is stalking her but otherwise plays the uptight virgin character satisfactorily. Paul, the unlikely hero, is a good rock for the audience since he is the most normal character in the lot. When you have weirdos like Wheezer, Paul, and Oncilla around, there's got to be somebody with their feet on the ground.
Speaking of weirdos, Oncilla Satana is definitely my favorite part about this movie. Noel Francomano takes this already goofy character and pushes her so over the top, it's truly a pleasure to behold. Oncilla is the ultimate wannabe goth-witch and Francomano takes her cue and just runs up the flagpole with her performance. Miss Satana attempts to shock and frighten people with her offensive behavior but just manages to end up looking like an ass. Her interaction with the antiques dealer, Roland (played by Elza Minor (another great
performer)), is an especially entertaining scene. I'm going to keep an eye on the oddly engaging Noel Francomano from here on out and I hope to see another vivacious performance from her in the future.
The film's special effects aren't bad considering the budget. There is a dismembered arm, a disemboweling, and a beheading that are effective. Anubis looks very cool and despite their stiffness, his canine features are excellent. The digital effects during the spell casting are professional and aren't overdone. My only serious complaint in the special effects department is a certain "severed head" digitally pasted on the hood of a car. It would have been safer to go with a much simpler effect here.
With spirited performances from its cast, a wacked out plot, a cool monster, and some gore,
Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld is a fun watch. Despite its pacing problems in a
few scenes and an obviously tight budget, this is an enjoyable flick. I found myself laughing out loud at many of the characters quirks as well as some of the film's twisted sense of humor.
Imagine the cast of Clerks going up against The Mummy
(without Brendan Frazier).
For more information go to Darkside
Films.
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