Streaming on Tubi!
Directed by Jamie DeWolf, Jay Holben, Corey Norman, Adam O’Brien, Patrick Rea, Jamie Root
Written by Jesse Baget & Matt Medisch (anthology concept by), Trevor Botkin, Jamie DeWolf, Jay Holben, Julien Maisonneuve, Corey Norman, Haley Norman, Patrick Rea, Jamie Root, Dave Shepherd.
Check out the trailer here!!
THE INVOKING 2 has absolutely nothing to do with the original ghost film entitled THE INVOKING, instead it compiles a bunch of short films into one format. I’ll go through each short below and let you know my two cents on them.
The film begins with “U-Turn” from director Jamie DeWolf, which depicts an oft told ghost story about a woman hitchhiker and the unfortunate driver who picks her up. This short has a few last-minute twists to make it interesting so it doesn’t follow the expected route too closely. Still, it’s pretty low fi and I don’t know if it’s the best one to start this series out with, as the scares are at a minimum. This one has an elevated level of creepiness rather than solid scares.
“Insane” from director Adam O’Brien is a fun trip through an abandoned insane asylum as a site supervisor shows a director around the grounds. Of course, the tormented souls that used to live in the facility are not at rest, much to the visitors’ surprise, but not the viewers. Nice ambience and some cool jumps abound in this one make it watchable.
“Alone” by Jay Holden is an intimate descent into madness as a woman off her meds is haunted by inner demons. This one takes its time and really gets you comfortable before digging the talons in. The mood is dire, but this one is shot with a lot of style.
“Do Not Disturb” from NAILBITER director Patrick Rea is definitely one I’ve covered before, and it is fun every time I’ve seen it. It’s about a serial killer who just wants a good night’s sleep but knocks at the door and a food cart with a severed head under a silver plate just won’t leave him alone. I loved the general sense of creeping unease that this one has, and it’s filled with some greatly paced tension.
An experiment in body horror is the tone of “Natal” from director Corey Norman. When a woman tormented by scratches in the night tries to get comfort from her boyfriend, she finds herself alone and without friends in this well paced little slice of horror. The story is highly emotional, and the acting is top tier all around, plus the final moments are bound to churn even the most cast-iron of stomachs.
The final installment is a quick little ditty called “Melissa”. Director Jamie Root cuts to the chase and focuses on one scene that seems to be from a larger movie about a woman calling the police about a strange man in a mask staring at her from her lawn. Focusing on action rather than any type of extended narrative, this one delivers a solid chill to end this compilation.
While some of the shorts aren’t the strongest I’ve seen, I still have to applaud the makers of THE INVOKING 2 for collecting these shorts and presenting them in this way. Horror compilations of this kind give short horror filmmakers a chance to highlight their work outside of festivals and on YouTube. While it has nothing to do with the original THE INVOKING movie beyond the theme of paranormal activities, it’s still a noble effort to bring light to shorts most would not have seen otherwise.
