2 Jennifer (2016)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Hunter Johnson, David Coupe, Lara Jean Mummert
Directed by Hunter Johnson
When director James Cullen Bressack’s found-footage horror/comedy To Jennifer was released back in 2013, the opinions were cut down the middle, and while I’m abhorrent towards the first-person format (as if you couldn’t tell), the film was fairly entertaining in essence. So here we are, speed-racing through 2016, and the inevitable sequel-bomb has dropped upon us with 2 Jennifer – this time both starring and directed by Hunter Johnson (with Bressack on executive producing duty).
The film, shot on an iPhone (god help us all) displays the raw look and feel of a man named Spencer (Johnson), who was such a colossal fan of the first movie that he’s decided to springboard his hopefully blooming career as a filmmaker by lensing the sequel. His search for the perfect “Jennifer” upsets a few names (Felissa Rose in a funny cameo) and generally starts to crumble from its foundation before the real concrete is even poured. His assistant Mack (Coupe) tries to keep Spencer’s eye on the prize, but it’s clear that his mind is slowly detaching from reality (if it was ever there to begin with), and impeding circumstances are met with violent results. Lara Jean Mummert portrays the young lass chosen to play Jennifer, and while her performance is solid, she gets buried in a sea of stale dialogue and slow pacing.
As for the rest of the film, if you’ve got the stomach to sit through yet ANOTHER severely shaky-cam presentation, by all means, have at it. I found myself not only getting my guts twisted by the never-ending herky-jerkiness of the view and ultimately annoyed by the thought process – will someone who’s getting his ass handed to him at a party keep the phone up and shooting footage? I’m thinking probably not; yet, it’s on display here, and we’ve got a front row seat for it. The film swiftly turns from what tries to be a black comedy/horror blend to downright disturbing, with Spencer displaying more than a few “Buffalo Bill” type instances – aah, no thanks.
Fans of bargain-basement snuff will eat this one right up, but for this lad, I prefer to keep my eyesight on level ground… solid, stable, non-shaky ground.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
