Recovering from the trauma of being kidnapped last Halloween by the Blue Skeleton – a group who take “extreme haunt” to another level – five friends decide they must face their fears in order to move on. Heading back out on the road to visit more haunted house attractions, signs of the Blue Skeleton start appearing again and a new terror begins…
THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT 2 is the sequel to the 2014 cult hit, and marks the return of Brandy Schaefer (“coffin girl” from The Houses October Built) along with the original filmmaking team of Director and Co-Writer Bobby Roe, Producer and Co-Writer Zack Andrews , and Producer Steven Schneider (Split, Insidious, Paranormal Activity).
This sequel essentially picks up where the first ends… so (SPOILER ALERT) everyone is actually alive. Surprise! The cops come to the rescue and it has all been for publicity and extreme scares thanks to The Blue Skeleton crew. Convenient, but alright let’s roll with it. What we’re really getting with The Houses October Built 2, is The Houses October Built but with even less of a narrative. The first hour, exactly like the first film is a massive ad for all the top haunted houses across the US. The only added storyline is the fact that Brandy a.k.a. “coffin girl” is famous on Youtube and now everyone wants the group to visit their attraction and they will pay them… as long as Brandy is present. Problem being, she is understandably traumatized by her experience being kidnapped and emotionally tortured. Cajoled into a tentative travel schedule, our five experience The Zombie 5k, Zombie Pubcrawl, and a few other new Halloween fan favorites. Every once in a while we get what appears to be a snippet of plot thrown into the roughly hour and a half runtime, but basically, it doesn’t really amount to much until the final 25 minutes. Yes, it’s got a clever ending but that doesn’t save the fact that the acting is underwhelming and the guys, consistently disregarding Brandy’s feelings are kind of the only real villains in the film. If you’re looking to try out haunted houses of various kinds but don’t actually have the nerve to do it yourself, then The Houses October Built 2 might be up your alley. You can catch the trailer below for a sneak peek into the sequel and can catch it in theaters or on demand starting today.
RLJ Entertainment will release the upcoming horror film THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT
The plot seems relatively straight forward, but writers John Cairns and Michael McCartney take us on a journey with more clever twists and turns than perhaps any mystery novel on the shelf. Conleth Hill, known for his role as Lord Varys in Game of Thrones, shows a completely different side. Living life with a compulsion for the old grab and run, he is in a constant state of putting his renown on the line. It is his high. On the other end of the spectrum, Stephen Graham, who made quite the name for himself as Al Capone on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, wishes nothing more than to be lifted from his mundane obscurity and leverage power over the his victim. The chemistry between Hill and Graham is electric and unnerving. 
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Playing the convincing role of math professor and mom comes so naturally to Betsy Brandt, one might actually think this film was based on a true story. With facts and figures guiding her everyday life, she quickly learns they aren’t going to help figure out who she really married. The plot moves swiftly. There is no lag time between the opening scene and transitioning entering the mysteries. The pace and editing are such that you can feel the immediate push from the outside world on both Claire and her son to accept the fact that husband and father are not coming back. 
It is the quintessential, “You think you know someone,” piece. It lends you to wonder who your significant other is when they’re not with you. Work friends, hobbies, the gym, lunches, seemingly mundane moments impact us each day so why would they not impact your partner in the same profound way? But, the torturous unanswered questions left in the wake of any ended relationship are the ones that stick with us. Claire In Motion is a quiet and yet profound look into reaching beyond yourself and into the lives of those around us.
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