As a horror fan, it hurts me to see a good and effective film like All Hallows' Eve followed up with a truly lame sequel like this one. The anthology of stories in the first film were all linked together by the character of Art the Clown, a bad guy who was tailor-made for Halloween. All Hallows' Eve 2 is just a lame excuse to string together a bunch of forgettable short films that were about as frightening as wet noodles.

So, yeah, in both movies, someone gets an unlabeled VHS tape on Halloween night and decides to watch it, but that's where the similarities end. In the first movie, the stories on the tape looked as if they could be real, but there's no mistaking the artificiality of the dull entries on this second movie's tape. Where the first movie's stories all featured Art the Clown and basically brought Art to life, none of the stories in the sequel have anything to do with the pumpkin-faced weirdo who leaves the tape at the doorstep of the designated viewer. There's no buildup to anything, just a totally predictable ending that lacks any intensity or interest.

I won't go in to any of the boring details of the eight short films included in this anthology because none of them are worth the effort. With each one coming from a different director, it's little surprise that the film as a whole has no continuity. Frankly, I expect I would get more enjoyment out of watching eight random fan-made horror shorts on YouTube.

Even Art the Clown could have done little to save this sequel -- but he darn well should have had the chance. Dropping his character entirely from the story makes absolutely no sense to me. Seriously, All Hallows' Eve 2 is one of the most disappointing horror sequels I have ever seen. And the more you liked the first film, the more you'll hate this terrible successor.