After being traumatized by a killer, a woman and her son try to put the pieces behind them and move on with their lives even if there are links to the killer that prevent them from moving on completely, and when it becomes evident he's returned have to put those feelings aside to stop him once and for all.
This was a pretty solid and enjoyable effort. Among the better features is the stellar setup here which comes off incredibly well with the amount of setup provided. The initial aftermath of the killer's attack on the couple and the aftermath he leaves with them as the traumatic responses are both earned and realistic that gives everything a wholly impressive starting point. Seeing how they've both tried to deal with the situation, where the mother has become an agoraphobic recluse and he's become slightly a socially awkward if managing loner who has a troubled work-life to get through. This goes a long way to making the first half quite fun as the way they still retain a sense of trauma following the interaction with the killer over the intervening years as the small-town legend he's become over the years since the first strike is generally quite fun and handled well here. It sets the stage for a series of fine stalking and slashing scenes focused on the killer's return to terrorize the community. With the opening attack on the family setting up the formula rather nicely as well as setting the trauma they both have to face over the years, it starts well and goes off into some impressive scenes later on with the enjoyable attacks that happen later on. With the ambush at the friends' house where he takes out the band member and her friend in individual sequences, the stellar scenes of the killer taking out their parents, and the fantastic finale that has some unique stalking scenes full of unexpected outcomes and reveals, this has some brutal kills mixed alongside the strong setup of the scenes throughout here which makes this one rather fun and giving the film a lot to like about it. There are some factors that hold this one down. One of the main drawbacks to be had here is the rather sedate and drama-focused storyline in the first half that, while building a fantastic storyline to work with, does happen at a glacially slow tempo. The focus is on the agoraphobia the mother has experienced after the incident which requires in-house counseling visits and attempts to overcome the issue herself despite all the negative heckling and taunting inside her head preventing it from happening that is perfectly fine storyline-wise but takes up a large part of the first half with a slow-going release. That also extends to the other characters here attending the party and getting ambushed since we spend so much time with the family we barely know or get to care about the friends, so it's all somewhat undermined by this long setup. On top of that, there's also the rather obvious low budget on display which all bring this one down slightly.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
