★★★½
“KPop sold very separately.”
This falls into the category of unexpected surprise. It was over eight years ago that I reviewed Demon Hunter, and concluded “I’m looking forward to seeing where [Zoe Kavanagh] and Niamh Hogan might go from here.” After such a long lay-off, I’d largely given up hope. But, wait! For there is indeed more! The titular heroine, Taryn Barker (Hogan) is back: a little older, a little more weary of the world, but still as snarky and enthusiastically violent as ever. By this point, she’s like Lady Macbeth: “I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.” Only, y’know, with swearing in place of the iambic pentameter.
I wouldn’t worry if you haven’t seen its predecessor. This one is self-contained enough. Still part supernatural action, but it’s also a love letter to eighties cinema – in particular, the decade’s horror movies. If you know my non-GWG tastes, you’ll know I am more than fine with this. The Macguffin for which Taryn is hunting here ia a medallion known as the Necrux, which has been split into two pieces. She needs to stop them from falling into the hands of Elysia Cronika (Wilcox), the CEO of Illumini Industries, who are apparently a subsidiary of EvilCorp, Inc. Taryn’s interference eventually makes Elysia so peeved, she carries out a ritual which sends the huntress, along with a few others as collateral damage, back in time. They all arrive in the year 1986 at Camp Beaver, the site of an infamous bloody massacre.
There is, as a result, a lot going on, between Taryn’s struggle to survive in the decade (complete with a nifty faux-eighties soundtrack), and trusty sidekick Ethan (O’Malley), who is trying to fix things in the present day. I likely preferred the former, simply because the film engaged an extra gear whenever Taryn was on screen – it was faster, funner and feistier. Wilcox plays a fine villain: of course, there’s bonus cultural resonance from her being part of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, one of most iconic of horror series. Things build to a battle between Elysia and Taryn, during which our heroine is hurled into different eras, over the last millennium and more. This is rather awesome, having strayed in from a far larger film.
Elsewhere, it’s not quite as universally successful: there are a couple of scenes where the editor from Taken 3 seems to have been in charge, and there’s a palpable gap between the impressive lead performances and some of the supporting ones. But this is the kind of production where you should expect a few rough edges – and I’d argue, they made me root for this scrappy little film a little bit more. Anyone mourning the cancellation of the Buffy reboot, might well find solace in the combination of quips and cracking heads to be found here. Let’s just hope it’s not another eight years before Taryn straps on her weapons and bad attitude once more.
Dir: Zoe Kavanagh
Star: Niamh Hogan, Lisa Wilcox, Kevin O’Malley, Angel Nichole Bradford