ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Sorry, this movie sucks

I'll tell you why so serious

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

On the cover of the DVD, where they usually stamp quotes and praise from various critics this one simply said "Some great kills", or something along those lines. Now when the best quote they could get for the movie is that, you're probably not going in expecting a masterpiece.Before I start taking a metaphorical dump on this movie, it should be acknowledged that it DOES have some creative kills, and the effects on that front are obviously where the bulk of the budget went - and lets face it - that's probably why you're watching it. Without spoiling anything, Chromeskull is probably in contention with American History X for best curb stomp.The writing is just shitty, no point being delicate on that one. It's obviously low budget (nothing wrong with that) except that a lot of the shots look like they were filmed on $400 handy cam.The flow of the story is in some ways similar to Final Destination, in that it introduces an uncompelling character, with one sentence worth of development, then desperately attempts to build tension by having Chromeskull hunt and kill them in elaborate ways.The characters are mostly bland and one-dimensional. You want to sympathize with JESS, who is going blind, but the character devolves into a hysterical sack of tears and screaming, but is amazingly less useless than her able-bodied male counterpart, Tommy.The ONE relationship which is actually compelling is CHROMESKULL and PRESTON'S. But the director doesn't seem to recognise this and forfeits any hope of adding another layer to the movie. Performance-wise the film is a mixed (colostomy) bag. Owain Yeoman as King (a detective) does a decent job with very little, as does Brian Austin Green as Preston (Chromeskulls right hand man).In summary, this is not by any means, a decent movie, but if your having a movie night with some friends, and cheap thrills and gory kills are your thing, this movie might appeal to you. But there is basically nothing new or original about this.

I know that I enjoyed the original Laid to Rest for its sheer enthusiasm and spectacularly OTT gore, but I can recall very little about the actual plot, despite having only seen it a year ago; perhaps that's because there wasn't much of a story to remember in the first place (the lack of strong narrative clearly didn't matter too much to me: I gave the first film a rating of 7.5/10).Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 is just as eager to please in terms of bloody mayhem, and does so brilliantly with oodles of really mean-spirited and excellently executed gore, but this time around the film-makers also try to build on Chromeskull's character, and it is here that the film comes apart quicker than one of the killer's victims. While a bit of back-story mightn't have been so bad, what we are presented with here is so overblown, convoluted, and incomprehensible that it only serves to confuse and irritate in the extreme.The film opens abruptly with no recap of previous events, immediately launching into the unnecessarily complex nonsense that passes for a plot, in which a secret organisation is revealed to be behind the work of our metal mask-wearing maniac. With a script even messier than one of Chromeskull's kills, the viewer is simply left with too many unanswered questions—Who are these characters? What is the nefarious organisation hoping to achieve? Why are the police so f•••ing inept? Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to hire Danielle Harris (she was in the extremely disappointing sequel to Hatchet too!)? It all adds up to a very frustrating and frankly rather tedious experience.If director Robert Hall proceeds with his intended third and final Laid to Rest film, I really hope that he succeeds in explaining matters in a satisfying manner; simply drenching proceedings with buckets of really nasty knife action just won't cut it next time.I rate Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 a 9/10 for the sterling work of the effects guys, but 1/10 for everything else (resulting in a disappointing average of 5/10).

I enjoyed the first, I didn't think, I would like, I really did but can't say the same about this sequelThis movie started of where last movie left off, which I liked and then movie went down hill as the movies goes on.I just didn't like where they took the story at all, as I didn't like the plot, it was hard to enjoy it, however the kills in this movie are really creative some really good gory death scenes.The acting in this movie was hit and miss from some of the cast members Not as good or as fun as the first movie but decent kills makes this good slasher movie. 5 out of 10

Its weird to think that it was a full two years ago that Robert Hall unleashed his now cult status slasher flick, Laid To Rest, to the world. The film gave the new generation of horror fans what Pieces and The Prowler gave to the older generation: an unrelenting slasher film, full of all the gore and blood one could ask for. It also introduced us to Chromeskull. With his now-iconic mask and knives, he carved his way into the hearts of horror fans everywhere. Now, in 2011, we find ourselves back for seconds with CHROMESKULL: Laid To Rest 2. At the end of the first film, our villain (thought dead) was lying on the floor of a convenience store, face ripped off, head smashed in, as out heroine made her escape. picking up where that film left off, this sequel begins by showing us a secretive agency picking up the body of our killer in an attempt to save his life. We then meet our cast of old and new characters. Thomas Dekker, the highlight of the film for me, returns in a much larger role than in the first film. Brian Austin Green appears in what is likely the biggest role in the entire film, even more-so than chromeskull. He plays an employee at what is only referred to as "the agency" that seemingly revolves around the capture, chase, and killing of people, all recorded on tape. tired of being under-appreciated, Green's character decides he is fed up with the way he has been treated, and begins to take on the task of killing people while wearing the infamous Chromeskull mask. From there we get subplots involving the police investigation, and the story of a new girl whom the agency has picked for Chromeskull to stalk and kill. As far as slasher movies go, I doubt you will find a follow-up as good as this anytime soon. the sequel improved over the original in almost every way imaginable. The acting is far tighter in this with the addition of Green, Danielle Harris, and Owain Yeoman. The script also appears far tighter, with characters making far smarter, more logical decisions than in the previous film. Most of improved of all, of course, is the gore. without giving too much away, i will say this. You have never seen anything as brutal and unrelenting as the kills in this movie, fake snuff films not included. Disemblowments, decapitations, sliced off body parts, and more. its all there in glorious detail. Director Robert Hall seems to have decided that, after viewing the first film, that it simply was not disgusting and disturbing enough, opting for nearly double the body count of the original. There are a few drawbacks, however. While the main cast may be better than the last films, the supporting cast and a few very minor characters have some acting classes to take, particularly the female and sort of "second in command" police officers. Their performances simply take a lot from the viewing experience when they are on screen. Also, as Brian Collins of Horror Movie A Day pointed out, the kills are not quite as interesting. Aside from that, the basic presentation of the movie is not stellar but is not terrible, looking like a standard DTV film shot on video. All in all, if you enjoy horror movies, specifically slashers, and lots of blood, this is surely one to check out. Solid gore, direction, and performances make this one of the top 3 DTV horror films of the year. 8.5/10