Following the critical and commercial success of the first May the Devil Take You, director Timo Tjahjanto brings several costars back this go-round for a second thrilling chapter in the series of Alfie confronting terrifying ghostly beings. Despite a few minor miscalculations from time-to-time, this is a spectacular and rewarding sequel now available to stream on Shudder.
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Believing she has survived the ordeal, Alfie (Chelsea Islan) and Nara (Hadijah Shahab) try to get by with their lives only to be suddenly attacked and kidnapped by a group of intruders one evening. Revealing themselves as Budi, (Baskara Mahendra) Marta, (Karina Salim), Leo (Arya Vasco), Gadis (Widika Sidmore) and Kristi (Lutesha) who under the guise of Jenar (Shareefa Daanish) bring her back to the orphanage in order to help them deal with a spirit haunting the group. Realizing the spirit they've encounter is similar in appearance and intensity to the one they battled before, Alfie and Nara agree to help the group combat the deranged spirit haunting the orphanage, but when they also discover the dark secret involved in the resurrection, they race to save the souls of their newfound friends.
For the most part, “May the Devil Take You 2” is just a notch below the original. This works best when writer/director Tjahjanto focuses on delivering on the atmospheric touches that result around the orphanage. Taking full advantage of the location with the long hallways, tight corridors and overall dark and gloomy presence are best. It allows for an endless succession of jolting jump-scares or chilling imagery that comes off quite well. With the initial scenes of the figure rising up behind a victim and getting closer every time they close the light, seeing figures climb upstairs rapidly or showing something lingering just behind a victim unaware of it, are the tactics used to create a chilling atmosphere.
It works rather nicely once that turns into physical interactions where the spirits are able to interact with the children, generating a slew of standout confrontations that are wholly impressive. The communication ceremony in the bereavement is the primary one. It ends up going from a seance to having the released spirit manipulate the furniture against them and finally showing the spirit possesses one of the other members and instigate a massive chase around the building. The various dreams Alfie has documenting the ghosts tormenting her for being at the house are as a whole terrifying, and the finale is an absolute blast getting the various demons involved and focused on stopping each of the demons which is full of blazing action.
Moreover, Tjahjanto enhances the spectacular gore and bloodshed with fantastic results. The ghosts and demons are far more brutal and relentless in this one, breaking fingers or throwing victims into the furniture quite easily. The taunting and tormenting reach a stage where they're easily able to attack and kill the others in graphic fashion, resulting in heads getting ripped open and being smashed repeatedly against the floor, resulting in a huge pool of blood in the area or even getting lit on fire. The demonic abilities of the possessed individuals manage to add to the brutality, much like the stand-out practical effects here on the possessed individuals. The misshapen faces and deformed features provide a truly uncomfortable look and offer a rather impressive addition to the atmosphere of the film.
Overall, there isn't much really wrong with “May the Devil Take You 2.” One of its only issues is the overlong running time, as this has no need for running near two hours in length. There are several things that account for this, from the flashbacks to explain Alfie and Nara's past encounter with the demon world or changing the arc of events that have already happened in order to promote an admittedly-fine twist. Moreover, the finale is way too long, typified by useless speechifying and grandiose brags from the villain which seem out of the ordinary and just there to pad the running time. Finally, although the concept of the twist works, how it comes about in the story makes no sense. It's just dropped in the middle of the movie to add a new villain but nothing else about it has any context. It's a minor nitpick though and doesn't detract much from the film overall.
A slight notch below the stellar original, “May the Devil Take You 2” is still every bit as brutal, frenetic and enjoyable as its counterpart which sets up the possibilities of part three very well. Obviously, fans of the original or Timo's past work will enjoy this one as well as those who enjoy Asian horror in general while only those who don't appreciate the style at all will want to heed caution.
