En tierra de nadie: El amanecer de Reeker

Here's the film in a nutshell: If you saw the first one, skip it. If you haven't, then you might enjoy it a little bit.

The movie is basically a carbon copy of the original Reeker, except with new characters thrown in and a little bit of background on the Reeker character so that they could create a new film. I normally have no problem enjoying films that aren't completely original, but No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker adds very little to what the first film brought to the table.

You will find yourself EXTREMELY bored as there are no characters to root for and you'll just want them all to die anyway. Even though some people might believe otherwise, this film DOES rely heavily on its final twist. And if you've seen Reeker, surprise! It's the same thing all over again. That is what makes the film so dull. You know what is going to happen at the end of your 88 minutes that you're going to waste.

The movie does try to shed some light on the Reeker's origin's, but that aspect of the film turns out to be a tiny portion of the film's running time. If tacking on the same old ending isn't insulting enough, the final scene of the film (after all is said and done) will make you cringe with just how awfully cliché it is.

If you've seen Reeker, avoid this one by all costs. It's a lazy attempt for the studio to capitalize on a decent first film. And if you haven't seen the original you might enjoy this one, but I'd definitely recommend checking out the previous installment before seeing this cough*remake*cough.

Having caught this at a screening, I can say that No Man's Land is kind of a prequel to Reeker. It gives some insight into the birth of the Reeker. As you might imagine, it's pretty twisted. Once again, Dave Payne serves up a killer opening sequence (pun intended) and the effects are pretty cool and creative, especially considering this is an indie.

If you enjoyed the first Reeker, you should like this one, too. Yeah, we have a group of people who will get picked off one by one, but that's to be expected in the genre. And hey - by now we know one thing the Reeker definitely does not do - and that's babysit. The trick in horror is to keep us guessing, which No Man's Land does and also manages some original kills in the process.

Reeker is back with his tool kit and the prequel retains the same tongue-in-cheek humor as the first, with some choice dialog and gory silliness. (Watch out for further cranial exploitation and the best bird fly-by on screen to date!) Desmond Askew (Turistas) stands out as the inept Binky and it's good to see veteran Robert Pine as the local Sheriff. All in all a fun, schlocky addition to the franchise.

In 1978, Sheriff Reed (David Stanbra) captures the deranged serial killer known as The Death Valley Drifter (Michael Robert Brandon) in the desert and the criminal is sentenced to death. On the present days, Sheriff Reed (Robert Pine) is near the retirement and will be replaced by his son; while they are having a meal in a diner in a rest stop in the middle of the desert, a runaway car with three thieves of a casino stops in the spot for refueling. One of the robbers is the former boyfriend of the waitress Maya (Mircea Monroe) and another criminal is wounded in the backseat. There is a shootout among the thieves and the sheriffs and their car explodes. However, the body of the wounded criminal vanishes and the survivors discover that they are stranded in the place; further they are stalked and chased by a fiend with stench known as The Reeker.

"Reeker" is a good low budget horror movie that in some moments recall "Identity" and "Jacob's Ladder" and with a great surprising conclusion. Unfortunately this supposed sequel in nothing more than a messy and unoriginal remake, using the same storyline in a different situation associated to a confused and boring screenplay; better off watching the original good movie again. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Pânico no Deserto 2" ("Panic in the Desert 2")

I saw RISE OF REEKER at the weekend, and this is a really boring film, the first one was OK, but this is kind of a prequel and a remake all in one.

It starts off well, some nice gore to start off with, but then for about an hour nothing really happens. A lot of talking, some half-arsed CGI Reeker smoke effects, and not much else.

Then the end comes and and there are some really loud explosions, more crappy CGI effects and a lame ending. Im not gonna explain the story to much (you can get that from the Main Page), but people who liked the first will no doubt watch this.

The main problem I had was, it was more or less a remake of the first one...but not as good!

But Im telling ya, it's not very good...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

The other reviewers have pointed to this being a 'kind of/sort of' prequel to "Reeker", which I did not see. The other reviewers also said that if you saw "Reeker" then "No Man's Land" will be kind of a letdown.

Without having seen the 'Main Event', I think I agree. But if this is your First view, then by all means, it will be entertaining.

Without giving away any plot-- a assemblage of characters, including the obligatory 'Fleeing criminals' are holed up at an isolated desert gas station/motel to find they are trapped and being stalked by something Hideous.

Starts as a simple, time-worn horror/slasher premise, which can prove to be limp and boring except for either creative laughs or extra buckets of splatter. You know-- a "Jason" in the Desert sort of thing.

Except-- this movie takes a vague left turn. It isn't about the Splatter-- though there is a bit of that. It's about some strange, unexplained supernatural rules: Rules that must be adhered to. . .or enforced.

Think about it that way as you watch and begin to scratch your head-- then when the end comes, it will all try to snap together. Yeah-- with gaps and loose pieces, but still. That's why I gave it a 7. That plus the notion of a 'Reeker' as a supernatural creature seemed more corny than scary at first glance-- so you think it will be cornball fun and yucks might be disappointed when it doesn't deliver.

Instead, I came away from this movie thinking of an episode out of Neil Gaiman's Sandman universe. So to me, this movie was more Supernatural Thriller than Horror. Not the BEST-- but nicely entertaining. Give it a try.