BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Peppered_Productions We start with a blonde coed being stalked from pool to shower room, through school, before finally being supernaturally killed in the theater. Pretty typical horror movie stuff.Over the credits, we find Spike, our hero & sole survivor from the first movie, motoring toward the college town. He stops at a café, with a look of determination, love for diner fries, and horrible hair. He picks up a ringing payphone, which self-dials 666 & recites his horoscope. Obviously having experience with this before, he tells them off and hangs up, not falling into the trap. He is rewarded with a sign from God. He continues on his way toward Slate River.The basic back story for this flick is that there is a phone number to Evil. Those who call it, become possessed, but, in a way, get their wishes & powers granted. The cost for this service is human sacrifice, and boils deforming the damned soul's body. Like most late 80s/early 90s horror, it has gore galore and bad puns from the villain. And, this killer learns astral projection to stalk his victims (they later break the rules they set for this feat, FYI). For the time it was made, the special effects are decent. Also, having worked on films, I have a new appreciation for movies that are well-lit w/good sound. This film has both.A teacher, Mr. Grubeck, is arrested for the coed's murder, after the school's drunk janitor identifies him. As he's led away, Robin, hot daughter of the police department's psychologist passes by. Poor Mr. Grubeck actually started this damning pact because of his obsession with her. He'll do anything he can to have her. There are some creative bits in this movie. One victim is thrust into a movie that crosses between "It's a Wonderful Life" & "Night of the Living Dead", after flicking between those two movies. There is a poster at the school's auditorium that advertises a performance of Faust directed by Joe Bob Briggs. This is a 'Faustian' tale, and Joe Bob has hosted horror movies for many years. There is also a fun, yet creepy special guest appearance by Brigitte Nielsen. So, Spike joins with Robin, who's somehow gained a psychic connection to Grubeck, to try to kill Grubeck's physical body while he's distracted astrally. Oh, and, let's not forget, he still has access to his one phone call. One guess what number he dials...There were two things that just distracted me far too much to give this a higher rating. The first - our hero's hair. It's just plain awful! Seriously, I think they spent more of the movie's budget on the stylist and products than special effects. He takes off his motorcycle helmet, and it floops 3 inches over his head. It's the one element I just can't suspend my disbelief on.The second distraction? Rabbits! Yes, the director either has an obsession or inside joke with the long-eared mammals. I had started to wonder if I was imagining this placement after the first two, then BAM! A third shows up. Then fourth, fifth, and sixth. I didn't get it & spent half of the movie looking for them, and the other half wondering why in the hell they were there, and vowing to watch the first movie again to see if they were present.Two ADD elements aside, it really was a decently made & directed horror movie - definitely worth a viewing!

Dagon If you're not familiar with the first film from 1988, it starred Stephen Geoffreys (had a notable role in 1985's Fright Night) as a bullied youth who dials 976-Evil and receives supernatural powers that turn him into a demon; Splendid 80's creature horror that couldn't have been better. This remake does not maintain substantial continuity nor does Geoffreys return to reprise his role. Patrick O'Bryan does return to fulfill his role of Spike, however – the cousin to the main character of the first film. A college student by name of Robin discovers that her dean, Mr. Grubek, is accused of being the Slate River Killer – a deranged killer responsible for murdering other young females. By submitting his will to the mysterious voice over the phone, Grubek is given the power of astral projection (that is to say, he can leave his body at will and still perform certain tasks). After witnessing another girl's death at the hands of Grubek, Robin learns the secrets of the phone line with the aid of Spike - a man all-too-familiar with how powerful and dangerous it can be.Whoever said this movie was better than the first installment was a lunatic. I should have known this sequel was going to fall flat on its face. It was a straight-to-VHS release and just based on visuals alone anyone can draw that conclusion. There's no charm to be found in its weak attempt at black humor either; it's just lame all-around. I can't think of one likable thing about this film – not one! The makeup is pitiful in comparison to the first and all of the actors do a lackluster job (specifically one of the police officers who's on watch duty – I hope someone wrote him after that performance and told him to quit forever, or else).The cheapness that encompasses the production value speaks volumes. I'd only agree to watch this movie on the premise that it was background filler and I was pre-occupied with something more important. Being that it was only important for me to watch this once, I don't expect to view it ever again – but whenever I get that feeling of satisfaction within me, and I let a bad title remain in my past, it always manages to find a way creep back in. So, with that said, this probably won't be the last time I see you, 976-Evil II.In passing, it mentions Joe Bob Briggs on a wall advertisement. This was obviously intentional, as Joe Bob's Drive-in Theater was shown regularly on television at the time – a show in which Joe Bob (John Bloom) would provide trivia and humorous critiques of B-rated movies. He later expanded upon this format and shifted his focus to straight-to-VHS horror movies. It was basically like giving permission to ridicule the film on account of how terrible it was. I have no idea what to make of the ending. No idea at all. I'm all for nontraditional endings that don't have to end happily, but COME ON. Is that what you call a twist? I call that, "I tripped over something that was laying on the floor and fell against a wall, then proceeded to fall end-over-end down a long spiral staircase, rendering me unconscious upon impact." Don't waste your time with this one and heed my warning.

Paul Andrews 976-EVIL 2: The Astral Factor starts at Slate River college where the dean Mr. Grubeck (Rene Assa) has just murdered pretty blonde teenager Lori Glazier (Karen-Mayo Chandler) which brings his murder count to five girls, this time however a drunk bum named Turrell (George 'Buck' Flower) is witness to his crime & Grubeck is arrested. Grubeck is given his statutory one phone call which he uses to phone 976-EVIL a direct line to hell, Grubeck is given powers which enable him to astrally project himself while asleep & is also given the name of the drunk who meets a very sticky end that night. Meanwhile pretty blonde teenager (notice a pattern here?) Robin (Debbie James) is contacted by 976-EVIL survivor Spike (Patrick O'Bryan reprising his role from the original) who knows that Grubeck is using the Satanic hot-line to murder & generally be antisocial, by a strange coincidence Robin used to work for Grubeck who developed a crush on her & he still has it...Directed by Jim Wynorski, whose very name when attached to a film sends shivers down my spine, 976-EVIL 2: The Astral Factor is a terrible sequel to a fairly decent original. The script by Erik Anjou plays the concept far more like a standard teen slasher (as if we didn't already have enough) rather than trying to develop the demonic phone-line to hell idea as in the first, instead they take the 976-EVIL premise & simply use it to give some supernatural powers to a homicidal maniac who wants to kill lots of dumb & annoying teenagers, yawn. The whole things a bit of an embarrassment really, it's predictable, the character's really are stupid & gullible, the exploitation elements are lacking & as a film it provides little in the way of entertainment. The opening scene features a naked blonde in a shower for no reason other than show off her breasts, she is chased by Grubeck & then just lies there & waits for him to kill her which he does by pulling a rope which releases a fake stalactite to impale her! It doesn't get much better either apart from a couple of decent car chase scenes & one or two nice kills, overall there is very little to recommend here I'm afraid.Director Wynorski still had the nerve to use his real name on the credits when he made this back in '91 instead of hiding under his usual Jay Andrews pseudonym, the film is reasonably well made but it doesn't have any style or the visual look of the first film. It's pretty bland & forgettable stuff while the gore is also disappointing, someone is impaled, someone has a garden trowel stuck in them in a direct rip-off, sorry homage to Night of the Living Dead (1968), a few after the fact slit throats, & in the films best moment a guy is hit by a speeding truck & he just explodes everywhere, excellent. 976-EVIL is also one of those films where it's fun to try & spot all the continuity errors as there's plenty of them.Technically the film is OK, although I'm sure that truck at the end changes between a tanker trailer & box trailer... Now on to the best aspect of 976-EVIL, Miss USA finalist Debbie James. Frankly she is one pretty hot looking young lady & makes the film a lot easier to sit through that's for sure, she can't act but she sure looks good & nobody's perfect are they? As for everyone else the acting sucks including original cast returnee O'Bryan.976-EVIL: The Astral Factor is an awful film from the ever awful Jim Wynorski, it didn't do anything for me & I think the original 976-EVIL (1987) is a far superior film that tried to do something with the concept whereas this doesn't.

slayrrr666 `976-Evil II: The Astral Factor' is the kind of movie that you see on late-night TV with your friends and get drunk watching it.**SPOILERS**A local killer, Mr. Grubeck (René Assa), murders a young woman (Karen Mayo-Chandler) on a college campus. The townspeople are shocked that he would such a thing, as Mr. Grubeck is one of the towns' more outstanding citizens. While the police are investigating the situation, Spike (Patrick O'Bryan) wanders into town. A police psychologist's daughter, Robin (Debbie James) stumbles upon the scene and blacks out after seeing Grubeck in handcuffs. While being interrogated by the police captain, (Rod McCary) Grubeck asks for a phone call and calls 976-Evil. The line tells him that he will be granted a favor for serving the dark side and recieves a special power that makes him transparent, yet solid and can walk through walls. That evening, Grubeck stalks Robin on a date with her friends, until Spike shows up. He spills the truth about the phone number to Robin, who semi-believes him. Grubeck appears in the hotel room of the witness to his murder, Turrell (George ‘Buck' Flower) and kills him. When Spike searches Grubeck's house for evidence, the house attacks him, and he barely makes it out alive. He shows Robin Grubeck's phone bill, which contains more than 100 calls to 976-Evil. Believing Spike, Robin breaks into Grubeck's office to find more information, but suffers another flash and faints. When the lawyer for the police (Monique Gabrielle) lives out her flash, Robin becomes even more worried. When no one believes her, Robin and Spike team up to defeat Grubeck themselves.The Good News: For a movie that shouldn't have been made, as the original was creative, but probably was made to never have a sequel, this one is actually quite interesting. It allows the viewer to become involved in the story, as it appears before their eyes. The storyline is the best part of the movie, as it is still similar to the original but different enough to never play like a true sequel, where the plot can be guessed 99% accurately within the first ten minutes or before. The film still gives a few shocks here and there, and the ending is still one of the best I have ever seen. It has a spooky quality to it that completely turns the point of the story around and looks like it took the longest to make, as it threw out the events of the movie and gave it a new direction. The last twenty minutes also gives the film a new twist, as it becomes a straightforward action film. The chase was really inventive and exciting, as it was undoubtedly the highlight. The part where the character became a member in the movie on TV was also interesting to watch, as it integrated flawlessly with the `reel' footage from the movie. The gore is top-notch, and never intrusive, only highlighting the killing scenes' scares. The Bad News: As the sequel to a film that never needed one, this film suffers a lot from bad cameras, bad dialogue, and pretty bad scenarios for most of the movie. Only the last twenty minutes are of real importance and interest, with the movie-within scene being of viewing interest before then. It was also influenced by the late-80's horror scene, so this movie contains love-struck teenagers in dopey situations, a ton of bad jokes, and typical stereotyped performances. Spike is routine as the bad boy biker, Robin the innocent virgin, and the police are useless as the teens fight off and kill the enemy. It also takes an incredible amount of time for police to believe the situation, which is getting more and more boring to watch. If Sam Loomis took over hour to convince Haddonfield Police that Michael Myers was back in the ton is shown in three movies during this time, another one to do that is simply unnecessary to watch. How about some more creativity in movies?The Final Verdict: despite the fact that this movie shouldn't have been made, it is still a good way to speed 90 minutes with friends. It should be a worthwhile effort to seek it out, as it does have tons of redeeming factor to it. Gore aficionados should find it more so than others should.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Nudity.