The Obsessive Viewer

Release Date: March 28, 2014

Director: Michael Tiddes

Written By: Rick Alvarez & Marlon Wayans

Stars: Jaime Pressly, Marlon Wayans, Dave Sheridan, Gabriel Iglesias

4 days ago Open Road Films released a trailer for A Haunted House 2, a sequel to January’s A Haunted House.

Despite how Rotten Tomatoes felt about A Haunted House (10% rotten) I found it to be a surprise and a return to form for the Wayans’ brand of horror parody. Clearly the movie had enough of an audience to warrant a sequel, and I must say that I’m at least mildly excited.

The trailer begins with an unnecessary recap of the events of the first film. I find it cheap. It’s unfair that a trailer should get laughs from old content. One joke is fine to set the tone, but two is unnecessary.

I’m also unimpressed with the rehash of the dog dying joke from the first movie. One of the things that aged the Scary Movie franchise so quickly was the movies’ reliance on old jokes. It’s cheap humor, and the A Haunted House 2 trailer comes out of the gate with it.

When the trailer finally gets going, however, it looks promising. Marlon Wayans plays Malcom again. Malcolm is moving in with his new girlfriend (played by Jaime Pressly) and her two kids. This time around Wayans and Co. are spoofing Sinister and The Conjuring. This makes sense; those two movies represent the first few steps away from found footage horror that was so popular at the end of the 2000s and into the ‘10s. (I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few Insidious jokes as well, as it was the first first step.)

I’m also intrigued to see Essence Atkins as Kisha, Malcolm’s ex-girlfriend from the first movie, returning briefly in the trailer.

Make no mistake, A Haunted House 2 won’t be a good movie, but it will be funny. Expect several race-based jokes, bathroom humor and no fewer than three over-actors, but it will definitely be a step up from the depths into which the Scary Movie franchise has plunged. The Wayans are funny again…for now.

OBSESSIVE NOTE:

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– Matt (@ObsessiveViewer)