Redwood Massacre: Annihilation review – a bigger and bloodier sequel

By Jonathon Wilson
Published: October 20, 2020 (Last updated: February 13, 2024)
0
3

Summary

Redwood Massacre: Annihilation is a bigger sequel continuing to grow the world, with plenty of bloody deaths and a horror icon.

Redwood Massacre: Annihilation is directed by David Ryan Keith who returns to bring us the second part in his slasher world, starring scream queen Danielle Harris from the Halloween and Hatchet franchises. Danielle is joined by Grimm’s Damien Puckler and All Rise star Gary Kasper.

Redwood Massacre: Annihilation looks to bring the burlap killer back into use, with the history author Tom Dempsey (Jon Campling) reporting on a series of different missing people in the area, where there is only one story of a survivor. When Max (Puckler) claims to have more information, Tom brings his daughter Laura (Harris) into the search for the truth about what happened to her sister. The team is joined by Gus (Kasper) and Jen (Tevy Poe) as they look to unlock the secrets of the serial killer, despite somebody having their own secret.

Redwood Massacre: Annihilation is a sequel to the 2014 movie Redwood Massacre, which was a slasher set on a farm, bringing us a new burlap sack-headed killer who used the farm environment to commit his murders. This time we have the same image of the killer, but we have a very different story. We get the slasher ideas with a group going in search of a story in the woods leading to a military base, meaning the killer has a selection of people he can pick off, all while creating a bigger picture that could bring plenty more for the franchise going forward, following in the footsteps of the Hatchet series, which built a world for the future.

Redwood Massacre: Annihilation does bring us the big name with Danielle Harris who has been in countless horror franchises including Halloween, Hatchet, and See No Evil to mention just a few. Now she comes to this franchise and proves herself once again in the leading role. Damien Puckler does make us feel like we are watching Mark Duplass in Creep with his role, where he is never quite right around the group and does seem to be holding in a secret, one we learn about early on. Gary Kasper, Jon Campling, and Tevy Poe surrounded by Danielle Harris do feel like a group that could have worked together for years, which is key to working together on the investigation.

Redwood Massacre: Annihilation brings us back into the slasher sub-genre of horror, with a masked killer butchering their victims. We get to mix the styles of kills up, with some slow-building moments, while others are just the quick hack and slash, and while it does build on the style of the kills on the first one, the environment away from the farm changes the overall feel of what we are seeing.

Movie Reviews