El pico 2

I recently watched the Spanish gem 🇪🇸 El Pico II (1984) on Shudder. The storyline picks up with Paco and his father moving from Bilbao to Madrid. Unfortunately, Paco's past crimes in Bilbao land him in jail, where he faces a whole new set of problems-he gets hooked back on crack and is still driven to desperate acts to score drugs. If he gets out, is there any chance for a "normal" life?

This film is directed by Eloy de la Iglesia (The Priest) and stars José Luis Manzano (Navajeros), Fernando Guillén (Don Juan in Hell), José Luis Fernández 'Pirri (The Hit), and Gracita Morales (Long-Play).

I didn't think this could be as good as the first film, but the prison element takes the series in a new direction and adds a fresh feel to some of the old problems while introducing new ones. The acting and directing are outstanding, and these two films have made me a fan of Eloy de la Iglesia. While they are more about street hoodlums and drugs than horror, the intensity of the circumstances feels "horror-like," as they seem impossible to overcome. The addiction scenes are very well executed, and the performances by José Luis Manzano and José Luis Fernández are excellent. There are many good subplots, with the father-son relationship standing out, the transvestite character catching me off guard, the attempted suicide scene being particularly powerful, and any sequence involving a needle being especially rough. There's just so much to appreciate here.

In conclusion, El Pico II is an elite drug/street hoodlum film that's entertaining and worth your time. I would score this an 8/10 and strongly recommend.