Back in my day . . . Jack-O-Lanterns didn’t scoop out your brains!
Written and Directed by: Kevin Kangas
Cast: Joe Cardamone, Ali Lukowski, Richard Cutting, Josh Davidson, Stormi Maya, George Stover, Fred Cowie, M.T. Smith
I had never heard of this anthology before, but after I watched Terrortory 2
Sometimes watching a sequel to a film is a chore, where you find yourself lost, and in the case of viewing Terrortory 2, I was pretty freaking lost. But, there was a handy guide, Aiden the Mapmaker (Cutting) who explains all the different terrors of this evil area deep in the Maryland woods and how to best each. I don’t know if the woods already held the sinister “Terrortory” label or if Kangas came up with that on his own, but it is really clever and catchy either way.
To tie all the stories of a horror anthology together can be a royal pain in the ass for the creator and the audience, we don’t appreciate some forced crap that is obviously done to have some mediocre link to each story. With this film, we get Greg (Cardamone) a guy hiking out in the woods who encounters the Mapmaker and eventually it is revealed he has a connection with the first film. Greg has an agenda of his own.
As the Mapmaker divulges each terrortory’s barriers and rules, he explains that as long as you avoid the areas and stick to the rules of each creature, you might come out unscathed.
First off, there’s “The Fountain” with Megan (Lukowski) and Tom (Geoffrey Boggs), a couple who pulls over for a quick pit stop and discovers a fountain that will grant them anything they desire. Of course, there is a horrible twist, because duh, there always is when someone grants you a wish. In the end the couple each gets their separate wishes, but there is a horrible connection that will leave them paying the ultimate price.
From there the Mapmaker takes Greg into “Smiling Jack” terrortory, and much like a tethered hell hound, Jack reminds them that they shouldn’t rely completely on Aiden’s map-making skills. Jack is Kangas’ version of Michael Myers and Jason all combined into one horrific monster with a very familiar grin. You almost feel sorry for Jack (Smith) when you realize he’s just looking to fill the empty vessel that is his head. And I found out later that Jack was a key monster in the first Terrortory, and you can bet he will part of any future sequels.
Greg is most interested in the area occupied by “The Midnight Clown” a terrifying clown that has an interesting rule that only a steel sacked survivor can possibly try to beat . . . he always leave one person alive to tell the story. So, if you go into his terrortory alone, he may just leave you alive.
This is what I most liked about Terrortory 2 and Kangas’ storytelling. There are basic horror archetypes in the woods, but he gives each one a unique edge that makes you think. I know whenever I was a kid and was afraid of monsters, I would always think about the “out” the way to beat the beast, and Kangas gives each of his monsters a real weakness and gives you hope that you might be able to best the monsters if you are cunning and clever.
The problem with these rules is that someone had to find out about them the hard way. So when you hear about the “Pumpkin Trail” and how you can follow it as long as you don’t follow it to the end, you worry about the first or thirtieth people who found that out to their own demise. And greed is their ultimate undoing.
When they get to the end, you’ll have to see who they encounter and see if you maybe recognize who Kangas was going for with this monster. While the effects might be a little cheesy in this sequence, I get the feeling this was intentional to show how something seemingly benign can still produce lethal results.
Then there’s the Wendigo sequence, which I won’t go into much here for reasons that will be obvious when you see the film.
The Mapmaker warns Greg that with each kill the monsters make, the larger their terrortories grow . . . which makes it a problem for marking out their barriers. And as they begin to encroach on each other’s area, one wonders if they will ever fight among themselves.
Now we come to the one sequence that actually did creep me out and made the whole film worth watching, if you ask me. I think the terrortory was called “Don’t Look Back” or at least that’s what I have in my notes. Greg and Aiden encounter this one by accident and how it plays out is damned freaky. Let’s just say I can relate to this one a bit more than I’d like to admit.
Finally there is a story about a husband and wife and a camping trip their daughter is taking in the Terrortory. This one was incredibly painful to watch, and it introduces the most vicious monster of the Terrortory, The Dark Lord. I seriously wanted to know more about this villain, and it’s why I immediately started watching Terrortory right after this one. Sadly, I can tell you “The Dark Lord” didn’t make any appearances in Terrortory. But, I am hoping Kangas will use him in the sequel to Terrortory 2 which I hope he definitely makes.
This film was a fun little surprise find that I highly recommend to people looking for something different this Halloween. With all the great horror films out there, I think it’s kinda cool to even know about this film, like punk even. Mention Smiling Jack and if someone knows who you are talking about, you’ll have a fiend for life . . . trust me.
In the end, you’ll wonder if you could survive in the Terrortory with or without that ever so handy map.
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