Review of A Haunted House 2 (2014) by Randy C — 21 Apr 2014

Parody, as ridiculous as it is (more often than not), has embedded itself into our culture as a full-blown art of entertainment. Stand-up comedians, late night talk show hosts, and Saturday Night Live make their living by literally poking fun at what others accomplish - a practice that is so unbelievably outlandish that you can't help but look down on it with pity. Regardless, it's impossible to deny that the Wayans brothers (Shawn and Marlon) are responsible for revitalizing the parody genre, beginning in 2000 with the success of Scary Movie - followed by several sequels (though, they departed the franchise after Scary Movie 2). Now, Maron Wayans is continuing the family trend with the success of the A Haunted House franchise.

Written by Maron Wayans and Rick Alvarez, and directed by Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House), Maron Wayans reprises his role as Malcolm Johnson in comedy-parody, A Haunted House 2. Presumably, the story picks up directly following the conclusion of the first film, in which Malcolm's girlfriend, Kisha (Essence Atkins), is still possessed by a demon. However, Malcolm decides she's not worth it and decides to move on - settling with his new girlfriend, Megan (Jamie Pressly), and her children.

Although Malcolm is starting a new life in a new house with a new girlfriend, it doesn't take long for the strange, supernatural disturbances to start again - evident in the death of yet another one of Malcolm's pets. He eventually has an "affair" (sigh) with a cryptic doll that quickly becomes a stalker. Between the aggressive doll and the bothersome behavior from Megan's two kids, Malcolm is forced to turn to outside assistance from a drug-dealing professor (Rick Overon), and the religiously crazed Father Doug Williams (Cedric the Entertainer).

There is absolutely nothing positive to take away from this film - and I mean nothing. You might be able to make a minor case for the acting ability of Marlon Wayans, since he provides an average comedic performance. Unfortunately, he is only as funny as the jokes he and co-writer Rick Alvarez have conspired - and therein lay the major flaw of the film. The abundance of stupidity that's running rampant isn't even enough to fill the standard amount of time for a movie (running under 90 minutes). A movie as embarrassing as this not only lacks direction, comedy, and acting - it's asking moviegoers to contribute their hard earned money to a silly film that will barely justify using the gas necessary to get to the movie theater.

Just a few of the gags that swing-and-miss throughout the film include several explicit sex scenes (one of which is with the doll from The Conjuring), a safe falling on top of a dog (followed by an attempt to re-inflate it), and a downright preposterous one-on-one kitchen brawl with a chicken (that might as well be straight out of a Family Guy episode). Needless to say, the jokes are anything but noteworthy and will not leave a lasting impression. And, surprisingly, the most memorable jokes are politically charged, including an Obamacare crack and a comment about how much longer it will take for Republicans to slip-up and call President Obama the "N-word." Who would have imagined you'd find political jargon in a scary movie parody?

Overall, there's little else to say about films like A Haunted House 2, other than you'll probably either love it, hate it, or completely ignore it. Naturally, your choice will undoubtedly depend on your brand of humor (and if it tends to be dirty and raunchy, you might enjoy this flick). It's blatantly obvious that the first film was enough of a success ($59 million grossed on a $2.5 million budget) that the studio streamlined a sequel to cash in even more - at the expense of successful horror films, including Mama, The Conjuring, and Insidious. Never the less, Marlon Wayans has proven in the past that he's comical enough to sell movie tickets (mostly to the younger generation) - but again, making money and "entertaining" is the name of the game, so I guess you could say that's what makes these embarrassing pictures a commercial success.

GRADE: D.