Skip to main content

Curse of Crom 2: Crom's Fury

T and I waited for autumn to drop before watching this sequel. The first film is a cute, lovable Halloween monster movie. The characters are sweet and likable. The monster - Crom - looks like a hanging Halloween decoration, and that's a big part of its appeal. So when the Kickstarter for the sequel popped up I wasted no time in securing my part in the film.

My copy arrived with a poster, and a small floating skull-spirit from the film in his own little Wings Chinese carton! Rob York, the director and producer, even included a time-stamped card when "your" ghost pops up.

We ordered sweet and sour chicken w/white rice, watched the film and waited for the credits to roll and for my name to appear. It was a lot of fun, and I am stoked to play some (very) small part in bringing it to life.

The movie itself... The movie is interesting. In a good way. The sequel has a much more serious tone than the first. It's missing that charm and earnestness that the first movie had, which may be impossible to capture again. For one, the lead in the first, Mary (played by Chelsea Jurkiewicz, is absent in the sequel, played by actress Ryann Bailey. She works very well, but she isn't Chelsea, so it just feels like a completely new character. Apparently Chelsea no longer wished to act, at least in film, from what I've heard. She was missed in this sequel.

No big deal, the show must go on. Larry Bagby (Ice, from Hocus Pocus) is in the film, for all of a disappointing 2 minutes. I really wanted to see his character actually act in the film, instead he's (spoilers)... killed off as quickly as we meet him. It would have been nice to see Larry and his funny in the movie. So that was a disappointment.

While there are still plenty of humorous moments, the film has an overall more serious tension to it. Where the first film felt like an homage to Goosebumps, this one ratcheted up the stakes a bit more.

One of the cool things I liked about Crom's Fury is that the Pooka is included as Crom's lil henchman. The pooka is the Irish legend of the brownie, or goblin. I've included my own variation of the pooka in my Trick or Treat Mart story. Though my pooka may as well have been completely different lore altogether. Here, they are portrayed as hairy little assholes, something akin to the Munchies or Ghoulies.

Uncle Dwight - or Dwayne - is new to the cast, Steve's uncle and owner of the movie theater a melee takes place in where our heroes and Crom and his minions do battle. Once again, Steve and Georgia are a really likable couple, and Steve (Halem Medina) just reminds me of a young Rock. The characters really make Crom quite enjoyable.

Mary's dad Greg (Colin Cunningham) was a standout in the first film, but he wasn't in as much as the main cast. So it was nice to see Greg and Harvey team-up for this follow-up. Colin Cunningham is a very skilled actor who has been in some big shows. He anchored the film down, and you can see that he brought out the best in this young cast. He has been in episodes of The X-Files to Smallville and played a recurring role on Stargate SG-1. He's got the chops. Since seeing Colin in the first Crom I've been seeing him all over the place, as it usually happens, and I have to admit - I'm a fan.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Small History on Halloween in the States

Here's a link . This is a quick little read about Halloween and its development in the "New World". I've been a stanch believer that Halloween in America today is well and truly crafted here, though very much of traditions from the "Old World". But the conglomeration of the holiday is well and formed here in the States, from the carving of the first jack-o'-lanterns to trick or treating as a homegrown manifestation. A lot of these Halloween traditions were simultaneously developed up north with our Canadian cousins too, I'm sure. But with the bigger population Halloween became larger here in the States. And this story gives us some insight into the idea that while Halloween has some traditions that date back to pre-Christ times, what we celebrate here today in America is very much a melting pot of our own construction. This is important to me as this holiday is very much a part of the American experience and identity. If I have to say it aloud, I hav...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jack-o'-lanterns in November!

Today most of America seems to have forgotten that the venerable jack-o'-lantern is not only an important symbol of Halloween, but also of Thanksgiving. As a kid this icon of Thanksgiving was a decoration you would see in people's yards throughout October and November; through most of autumn. Today you don't see it as much, with folks settling for simple uncarved pumpkins on the steps on the porch, or on bales of hay. I bring this up only because I'd like to see a return to the pumpkin-headed scarecrows staying around for more than one holiday. I'm keeping my jack-o'-lanterns out in the yard and on the porch until the day after Thanksgiving. It's time we keep the pumpkin-head scarecrow around all fall. This is a perfect way to repurpose your jacks into November, instead of letting them get tossed by some teenagers post-All Hollows Eve! However, there is something to be said for rotting jack-o'-lanterns after Halloween that just screams cool. Aging jacks ...
Post a Comment
Read more