While I have indeed watched the 2018 movie "Zong Xie" (aka "The Rope Curse"), I must admit that I cannot remember anything from that movie, aside from the title and something about nooses. So when I sat down to watch the 2020 Taiwanese sequel "Zong Xie 2" (aka "The Rope Curse 2"), I wasn't really harboring any expectations. And that essentially left writer Tzu-Ming Ma with every opportunity to entertain, bedazzle and impress me with this sequel.
The storyline in "Zong Xie 2" was a rather mundane and boring one, and it was quite a struggle to sit through it, especially since I didn't really fully understand the concept and idea of the storyline. I suppose you need some insight into Taiwanese folklore and susperstition to appreciate the storyline here. And as a casual viewer, I must say that writer Tzu-Ming Ma failed to deliver an interesting script.
And the character gallery in the movie wasn't particularly thrilling or interesting either. It was difficult to actually say where one character ended and the next one started. The characters were lacking distinctive traits and feats to differentiate them from one another.
Given my limited exposure to the Taiwanese cinema, then I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. However, it should be noted that the acting performances were fair enough, despite the fact that the script and storyline was rubbish.
Visually then you're not in for anything grand here, as the movie doesn't really make use of special effects in an abundance.
For a horror movie, then "Zong Xie 2" was a swing and a miss, especially for a casual viewer such as myself. There was nothing scary about the storyline, unless you consider general confusion and a lack of red thread throughout the narrative as being scary.
My rating of "Zong Xie 2", from director Shih-Han Liao, lands on a mere two out of ten stars.
