The Pact 2

Last updated
The Pact 2
The Pact 2 2014 film poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byDallas Richard Hallam
Patrick Horvath
Written byDallas Richard Hallam
Patrick Horvath
Produced byRoss M. Dinerstein
Starring Camilla Luddington
Scott Michael Foster
Mark Steger
Amy Pietz
Nicki Micheaux
Patrick Fischler
Caity Lotz
CinematographyCarmen Cabana
Edited bySaul Herckis
Music byCarl Sondrol
Production
companies
Campfire
Preferred Film & TV
Distributed by IFC Midnight
Release date
  • September 5, 2014 (2014-09-05)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Pact 2 (also stylized as The Pact II) is a 2014 American horror film that was directed by Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath. It was released as a VOD release on September 5, 2014 and was given a limited theatrical release on October 10, 2014. [1] The movie is a sequel to Nicolas McCarthy's 2012 film The Pact and has Caity Lotz returning to reprise the character Annie Barlow, who must once again deal with a bloodthirsty murderer. [1]

Contents

Plot

June Abbott (Camilla Luddington), a crime scene cleaner, finds an order to clean the residence of Ellie Ford, a woman murdered by a serial killer that mimics the modus operandi of the "Judas Killer". She receives a ring from her boyfriend, Officer Daniel Meyer (Scott Michael Foster). June, who has a troubled relationship with her alcoholic and smoker mother, Maggie (Amy Pietz), whom Daniel blames for burdening June, is questioned by the demanding FBI agent Terrence Ballard (Patrick Fischler) about Ellie Ford. Ballard reveals that June is adopted by Maggie; her birth mother was Jennifer Glick, Maggie's sister and the first victim of the Judas Killer. Ballard gives June the personal effects from Jennifer Glick before he leaves, which includes a Bible. The Bible has photos of Jennifer Glick, the "Judas Killer" (Charles Barlow), and Charles' sister. June has a heated argument with Maggie, who refuses to disclose anything. After cleaning Ford's apartment, June is haunted by a silhouette of Judas and has a vision where Maggie is killed by a woman. She races to Maggie's house to find her dead body.

Ballard becomes suspicious of June, especially when he learns that she had an argument with Maggie before. June sneaks to Maggie's house and finds a Bible page, almost getting caught by Ballard in the process. The page highlights a quotation about Judas Iscariot and was torn from Jennifer Glick's Bible. After reading articles about Charles' niece and killer, Annie Barlow, whom Daniel had researched, June contacts Annie (Caity Lotz). The two try to ask the assistance of Annie's psychic friend, Stevie (Haley Hudson), but the latter states that she cannot help and that she and her brother, Giles, will move out of town. Though the two decide to end the search, Annie agrees to cooperate further when she realizes that June's father might have been her uncle, Charles. Going back to June's house, the two are greeted by Daniel.

June and Annie conduct a séance in the attic and call out Ellie's and Maggie's spirits, who whisper about the "Pink Room" to Annie. Seeing June injured after the contact, Annie decides to go to Ellie's apartment by herself. She manages to take several photos, but is mortally wounded by someone. Before she dies, Annie manages to send the photos to June. From the photos, June heads to the "Pink Room", an erotic photo studio. She learns that Ellie was a model there, though the photographer is unknown. Going back home, June is confronted by Ballard, but is later contacted by Daniel who tells her that Ballard is the killer. She manages to tie him up until Daniel arrives, despite his protests. Opening up Daniel's closet, June finds Ellie's ring and photos, realizing that he is her photographer and thus her killer.

Daniel admits that he is the copycat killer and that Charles speaks to him, telling him that June should continue the Judas legacy. June and Daniel have a cat-and-mouse chase across the house. While searching for June, Daniel admits that he gave her Ellie's ring to propose, but was too nervous. Daniel tries to kill June by shooting through a closed door, but she bludgeons him with a bat instead. She heads downstairs to deal the final blow to Daniel before he is able to shoot Ballard, finally killing him. Ballard is taken to the hospital while June is freed from suspicion. She receives a call from Stevie, the latter panicky telling her that Annie left her a message: "it is starting again". The camera pans to the mirror in front of June, showing Charles standing behind her.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception for The Pact 2 has been negative, [2] and the film holds a rating of 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews. [3] Much of the film's criticism stemmed from it not improving on the 2012 film, [4] [5] and Andy Webster of The New York Times also criticized the film's Judas Killer for not having a memorable "gimmick" along the lines of Freddy Krueger's blade-fingers or Leatherface's leathery face. [6] The Village Voice panned the film, writing "The Pact, the original, makes this guy (embodied by Mark Steger) seem monstrous, a thoughtless grub-man nightmare hatched in some grim nook of your home you never bothered to clean up. The Pact 2 never lets you forget he's an actor on a set, maybe drinking some tea between shots. He's probably really nice". [7] Variety was somewhat more positive in their review, commenting that the "Performances are okay, though this is one of those movies in which somebody thought it was a good idea to have most of the characters forever rattling each others" nerves - a tactic that only makes their interactions more annoying, not more suspenseful. Indeed, tension is pretty tepid throughout, despite decent-enough assembly that includes some nice work from composer Carl Sondrol and d.p. Carmen Cabana." [8]

Related Research Articles

Amy Pietz is an American actress, known for her roles on television. She received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for her role as Annie Spadaro in the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City (1995-1999). She later had starring roles in the short-lived sitcoms Cursed, Rodney, and Aliens in America.

<i>Runaway Bride</i> (film) 1999 American film

Runaway Bride is a 1999 American screwball romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. The screenplay, written by Sara Parriott and Josann McGibbon, is about a reporter (Gere) that is assigned to write a story about a woman (Roberts) who has left a string of fiancés at the altar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Barlow</span> Fictional character from Coronation Street

Amy Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Elle Mulvaney. She was born on screen during the episode broadcast on 9 February 2004. To date, the character has been portrayed by eight child actors; Holly Bowyer, Rebecca Pike, Louisa Morris, Rachel and Sarah Corker, Madison Hampson, Amber Chadwick and Elle Mulvaney, making her the most recast character in Coronation Street. Although Amy's surname has stayed Barlow, Chadwick was credited as Amy McDonald for three episodes from 2009 to 2010.

<i>River City</i> Glasgow-based soap opera

River City is a Scottish television soap opera that was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 24 September 2002. River City follows the lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch. In November 2017, a short crossover episode of the show was made for Children in Need and featured several of the show's characters meeting characters from Scottish sitcom Scot Squad. In March 2020, production of River City was halted due to the COVID–19 pandemic, and filming recommenced in August 2020. In place of new episodes, a select number of "classic" episodes were aired. In February 2022, it was announced the cast were back filming another series. In March of the same year the show returned to its original broadcast pattern of two half-hour episodes a week.

Maggie Q American actress (born 1979)

Margaret Denise Quigley, professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress, activist and model.

<i>Salems Lot</i> (2004 miniseries)

Salem's Lot is a 2004 American two-part television miniseries which first aired on TNT on June 20 and ended its run on June 21, 2004. It is the second television adaptation of Stephen King's 1975 vampire novel of the same name and a remake to the first version.

Nadirah X Jamaican musician

Nadirah X aka Nadz born Nadirah Sabreen Seid, April 19, is a Jamaican rap/hip hop poet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Graham Lotz</span> American evangelist (born 1948)

Anne McCue Graham Lotz is an American Protestant evangelist. She is the second daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and his wife Ruth Graham. She founded AnGeL Ministries, and is the author of 11 books, of which her best known is Just Give Me Jesus.

<i>Sorority Row</i> 2009 American film

Sorority Row is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Stewart Hendler and starring Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, and Carrie Fisher. It is a re-imagining of the 1982 slasher The House on Sorority Row by Mark Rosman. The film focuses on a group of sorority sisters who are stalked and murdered on the night of their graduation, 8 months after covering up the accidental death of a fellow sister.

<i>The Killer Inside Me</i> (2010 film) 2010 US crime drama film by Michael Winterbottom

The Killer Inside Me is a 2010 American crime drama and an adaptation of the 1952 novel of the same name by Jim Thompson. The film is directed by Michael Winterbottom and stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, and Kate Hudson. It is the second film adaptation of Thompson's novel, the first being 1976's The Killer Inside Me, directed by Burt Kennedy.

Rae Wilson UK soap opera character, created 2009

Rae Wilson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Alice Barlow. She appeared in the series from 5 October 2009 until 13 September 2011. Actress Helen Russell-Clark – who went on to play Jem Costello – originally auditioned for the role, but the part was awarded to Barlow. Producer Lucy Allan said Barlow was her favourite addition to the cast during 2009. She made her final appearance on 13 September 2011. Rae was murded by Silas Blissett.

Jennifer Cody is an American actress and dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Upton</span> American model

Katherine Elizabeth Upton is an American model. She first appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2011, and was the cover model for the 2012, 2013 and 2017 issues. In addition, she was the subject of the 100th-anniversary Vanity Fair cover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camilla Luddington</span> British actress (born 1983)

Camilla Anne Luddington is a British actress, best known for her role as Dr. Josephine “Jo” Wilson in the ABC medical drama series, Grey's Anatomy. She is also known for voicing Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider video games, for which she provided the motion capture.

<i>Blood and Lace</i> 1971 film by Philip Gilbert

Blood and Lace is a 1971 American slasher film directed by Philip S. Gilbert, written by Gil Lasky and starring Gloria Grahame, Melody Patterson, Len Lesser, and Milton Selzer. The film follows an orphaned teenager (Patterson) who arrives at a remote orphanage run by a madwoman (Grahame) and her handyman, both sadists and child murderers.

<i>Hollyoaks Later</i> (series 4) Season of television series

The fourth series of Hollyoaks Later is a British television series and late night spin-off of Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. The series aired in September 2011 at 10pm. The series revolved around Silas Blissett's search for another murder victim which culminated in the death of Rae Wilson, the stag do of Riley Costello, the hen party of Mercedes McQueen and Ricky Campbell and Duncan Button's trip to fat camp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caity Lotz</span> American actress (b. 1986)

Caitlin Marie Lotz is an American actress, dancer and singer. She has portrayed Stephanie Horton in Mad Men, Officer Kirsten Landry in the MTV mockumentary series Death Valley (2011), Annie in The Pact (2013), and Sara Lance/The Canary/White Canary in The CW's Arrowverse television series, where she has appeared in Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Batwoman. She is also a co-founder of SheThority, a women's empowerment organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Jubilee Concert</span> 2012 British music concert commemorating Queen Elizabeth IIs diamond jubilee

The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow and was part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

<i>The Pact</i> (2012 film) 2012 American film

The Pact is a 2012 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Nicholas McCarthy and starring Caity Lotz and Casper Van Dien. The film was made following the success of McCarthy's short film of the same name which showed at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film follows Annie, whose mother has recently died, as she tries to discover what caused her sister Nicole and her cousin Liz to disappear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Baird</span> American actress

Maggie May Baird is an American actress, screenwriter, and former theater troupe teacher. Baird grew up in Colorado performing music, and studied theater and dance at the University of Utah, before moving to New York City, where she performed on Broadway. She made her television debut in 1981 in the soap opera Another World and her film debut in the 1989 feature An Innocent Man.

References

  1. 1 2 Barton, Steve. "Exclusive Clip from The Pact 2 Found Upstairs". Dread Central. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  2. Cooper, Patrick. "[Review] "The Pact 2" Lacks the Punch of First; Still Creepy As Hell". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  3. "The Pact II". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  4. Abele, Robert. "Review "The Pact 2" doesn't hold much promise". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  5. Lowe, Justin. ""The Pact 2": Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  6. Webster, Andy. "Monster Without a Gimmick". New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  7. Scherstuhl, Alan. "Pact 2, Horror 1: The Sequel Pales Before the Original". Village Voice. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  8. Harvey, Dennis. "Film Review: "The Pact 2"". Variety. Retrieved 16 November 2014.