Occultic; Nine is about a group of individuals who stumble across a conspiracy involving a secret order, ghosts and a mass suicide. This collection brings together the second half of the series, spanning from Episode 7 to Episode 12.

The plot of may centre on elements of the occult, such as ghosts, but the tone and details of that plot are those of a political thriller. This is true of everything from the nature of the antagonists, to the way in which big plot twists are handled. The one element about the conspiracy surrounding our characters that would be out of place in a political thriller is what the villains are actually setting out to accomplish, which blends horror with pseudo-science in a very typical way. There is a subplot involving a killer that is more akin to slasher horror, but this is forgotten quickly and is an exception rather than a genuine diversion of tone.

The first volume set up the mysteries of the series. This second volume provides the answers to those questions. There are a couple of innocuous details from the first half of the show that actually turn out to be important to the story, enough so that any re-watch will be enhanced by the way they are handled.

Having so much of the revelations come at this point in the show inevitably means that the six episodes compiled within this boxset contain a fair amount of exposition. How this comes across usually depends on the scene. The main characters are pretty good are talking to each other in a way that gets across crucial plot points in a natural way, but the same can’t be said of the antagonists. They aren’t entirely unintimidating but there is no getting away from the fact that most of their scenes just involve them in a dark room talking about their evil plan. It was menacing the first couple of times but the novelty wears off eventually, and as characters, they never materialise into more than moustache twirling plot point engines. Thankfully, the show’s main characters are sympathetic and provide solid footing for its more emotional moments.

Occultic; Nine is a solid thriller that deftly combines elements of a political thriller with the occult and pseudo-science to create something full of tension and atmosphere. Volume 2 builds on everything that was good about its predecessor while also quickly jettisoning the parts that didn’t quite work. The result is intriguing, suspenseful and worth checking out.

OCCULTIC; NINE – VOLUME 2 / CERT: 15/ DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: ERIK KIMERER, FAYE MATA, ROBBIE DAYMOND, CRISTINA VEE, ERICA LINDBECK, MICHELLE RUFF, KAYLI MILLS, GREG CHUN, MAX MITTELMAN / RELEASE DATE: JULY 2ND