THE GALLOWS ACT II / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: TRAVIS CLUFF, CHRIS LOFING / STARRING: EMA HORVATH, CHRIS MILLIGAN, BRITTANY FALARDEAU / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
The sequel no-one asked for to the film few people liked… The Gallows’ story of a cursed stage play and those tormented by it was hardly up there with Blumhouse’s Get Out, Sinister, Happy Death Day or even the roundly terrible Truth or Dare. Financially though, the original Gallows was a success and so the business model demands a sequel. This greatly-delayed second act (dumped unceremoniously onto VOD after spending years in a vault) reeks of obligation and embarrassment.
The events of this sequel are barely connected to 2015’s predecessor, save for its mythology. When drama student Auna (Ema Horvath) happens across the stage play ‘The Gallows’ (thanks to the intervention of a mysterious YouTube commenter), she is immediately taken by it and performs a monologue from its script for her drama class. No surer than if she’d watched the VHS from The Ring or whatever the ridiculous threat was in Truth or Dare, she unleashes a dreadful curse upon herself and her school chums.
As rote and unimaginative as VOD horror sequels get, Act II is a by-the-numbers rehash of its predecessor’s concept, adding little of value or interest along the way. 2015’s found footage gimmick is, at least, gone, but the film remains ugly and incoherent. Its preposterous twist attempts to sweep over the film’s gaps in logic, but ultimately only makes things worse. Following this misfire, The Gallows is unlikely to see a third act, but as no-one asked for this one either, we should be careful not to speak too soon.
