CarousHELL the 2nd (Review)

Director – Steve Rudzinski (Red Christmas, A Meowy Halloween)
Starring – Steve Rimpici (Easter Casket, CarousHELL), Aleen Isley (Super Task Force One, Captain Z & The Terror of Leviathan), and Terence Lee Cover (Feaster Sunday, Guardia de Male 2)
Release Date – 2021
Rating – 3.5/5

A few years ago director Steve Rudzinski released the slasher CarousHELL and it was one of my favorite films of the year. Hell, it’s a movie I still recommend to genre fans to this day. I love Steve’s imagination and the movies he releases always work regardless of what kind of genre he’s aiming for. When Steve announced a sequel I was all about it. I couldn’t wait to see where he was going to take us but when he hit me up to review it you can bet your sweet ass and half a tit that I was ready to dive into it. Thanks Steve for always supporting Horror Society!

**Spoiler Alert** The film follows Duke the carousel unicorn who is roaming town to town looking for answers when he discovers that he is the father to a little unicorn named Robbie. The Nazis responsible for his creation hear about Robbie as well and put a plan in motion to kidnap Robbie and use him as bait to capture Duke forcing him to come face to face with the evil forces that created him and others like him. *Spoiler Alert**

CarousHELL is one of Rudzinski’s more popular horror titles so there was a lot riding on a follow up. I have to say that the film was a lot of fun and one I was not expecting. This was a huge fucking gamble on Rudzinski’s part and he did a fantastic job with a story that I believe was penned by actress Aleen Isley.

The acting in this one is great. The voice acting is top notch. I love the voice of Duke and how Rimpici was able to deliver such an emotional range by just using his voice. I couldn’t imagine someone else voicing this character. I also enjoyed seeing Isley as Isla along with Terence Cover as the love torn nazi. This is probably my favorite performance from Cover to date. His “sex” scene had me laughing so hard I thought I was going to pass out. (look, I didn’t forget you this time!). The characters are a lot more memorable and the cast does a fantastic job bringing them to life.

The story for this one does dive deeper into the backstory of Duke while bringing us even more characters to enjoy. I liked the story for what it’s worth and how it’s so much different than the first film but a little part of me was looking forward to the slasher film I thought I was getting. Regardless, I liked this new direction it went and look forward to where it is going to take us.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a sequel to a killer unicorn film without the unicorn killing people. The deaths we get look absolutely fantastic with some great practical effects. The kills do come at the hooves of Duke which adds a little humor to the already impressive effects. Overall, CarousHELL the 2nd is not the follow up I was expecting but holy fuck did I enjoy it. It was a lot of fun and I found myself laughing at this more than I expected. Rudzinski is such a versatile filmmaker and I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.