I think this in fact better than the original, but it's still an awful movie. The worst thing about it might actually be its strongest point! Not only does this sequel once again have nothing to do with the games, but it has nothing to do with the original movie! Well, that might be a good thing? At least we didn't get to see that awful CGI in this film...as much. There also wasn't any use of that terrible slow motion. That being said, it's still stupid. I mean, you seriously couldn't make a movie based on either the actual source material or the original film? How lame is that? This movie's plot features characters that are looking for a witch who has a dagger and uh, that's about it. I guess it's not that stupid of a plot, but it's unbelievably dull. This movie wasn't that unpleasant to watch, mostly because there wasn't much going on screen! I found myself relaxing more watching this movie just seeing as how nothing was going on. The acting is still really bad. Like "The Mummy" it looks like there's going to be a big climax but it turns out to be very dull. Don't really expect anything good from an Uwe Boll movie.I've actually done more research on him and found out that he actually has made a few movies that aren't that bad. Whether he really tried harder or was just mocking us with this is open to interpretation. I couldn't remember any characters' names or even any actors in this movie. I guess I'm glad it wasn't a continuation of the original film. The bar for these movies is so phenomenally low I'm willing to look for any improvement at all. This is still a waste of time and hasn't made Video Game Month any easier for me. *

Uwe Boll's original video game adaptation of ALONE IN THE DARK was bad enough, but this sequel reaches new levels of low. Gone are Christian Slater and Tara Reid from the original film, jettisoned in favour of an entirely cheaper cast and an even more nonsensical storyline involving the hunt for a magical dagger and an evil witch.Bizarrely, the central character of Edward Carnby has changed race, now being played by the Chinese-American actor Rick Yune. Carnby's very soul is in peril thanks to a sinister infection that causes some dodgy-looking veins to stick out of his chest, so a crack team must infiltrate a haunted manor and lay to rest the spirit of an evil witch who's causing all kinds of trouble.This is a poorly-directed, poorly-written mess through and through, reliant on sub-par CGI and bad acting from beginning to end. All it can offer the viewer is a string of celebrity cameos from various personalities, so we get the likes of Bill Moseley, Jason Connery, former CONAN Ralf Moeller, and CARRIE's P.J. Soles. Even Danny Trejo shows up for just a single scene. Best of the lot is Lance Henriksen, who bags something of a meatier exposition-spouting role, but even he's on autopilot, and nothing about ALONE IN THE DARK 2 is good.

A group of highly armed investigators end up somewhere in park escaping into a restroom. One of them suffers from some condition that makes his veins pop out. They are being chased by some smoke that also materializes into a woman. We find out that she's a witch. Some dagger is of importance, a dagger that has a piece of the witch's heart in it. Some guy ends up witnessing the massacre of this group by the smoke.Later he's stumbling through New York as he suffers from the same vein-popping condition. He finds an expert in occult matters who perhaps can help him, named Edward. But the investigator ends up infected himself. Another group of investigators comes to their rescue and takes them to the country. This group involves the leader, played by Bill Moseley, his daughter played by the delicious Rachel Specter, Danny Trejo, and the giant Ralf Moeller. They are trying to capture the witch but are somewhat overwhelmed so they seek the help of someone who has faced the witch before, a retired expert in the occult played by Lance Henriksen, who reluctantly agrees to help.It all turns into a race to kill the with before Edward dies. We learn the witch is after the Rachel's character. In flashbacks we learn that a relative of hers confronted the witch before.There's a lot of story in this movie that gets somewhat confusing. The dagger is important, the piece of heart in it, the witches heart itself, the flashbacks of Rachel's relatives, and so on. One gets the impression that the story doesn't work out quite well. But we're dealing with witches, ghosts, and the supernatural, so perhaps it's pointless to expect realism and logic. The special effects are very good. The menacing smoke looks very neat. Rachel Specter is so gorgeous, she steals the show. She has a great body, not just skin and bones. And while her acting is iffy, Lance Henriksen's acting makes up for it, and then some. His acting is just superb. This movie has its moments and highlights but also its weaknesses.

I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY MADE A 2nd FILM until I seen it on the supermarket shelf... Plotwise it actually has one. And one that is reasonably well fleshed out. Characters are given good reasons for their actions and are developed quite well, given the constraints of the budget. The effects, though looking a little poor in some scenes, never dominate the movie anyhow and are there purely to further the story. Acting-wise, there are a few less than stellar performances and when you can say, with complete certainty that Lance Henriksen gives the most convincing performance of the cast. The fact is, I never expect much with sequels so I was pleasantly surprised by this one. While it is not the best movie I've ever seen, it is no slouch and far better than the last horror movie I saw, Boogeyman. No comparison whatsoever.