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Film: Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva
Year: 2023
Director: Dutch Marich
Writer: Dutch Marich
Starring: Suziey Block, Sami Sallaway and Solveig Helene
Review:
This was a movie that I heard about getting released earlier this year. I enjoyed the first one so I was curious to check this out. The buzz seemed to be that this wasn’t as good as the original from most. I didn’t hear a lot of hate though outside of that. Since I’m watching my last few movies for 2023 releases, I figured I’d give this a watch.
Synopsis: in 2018, a string of tragedies unfolded in Northeastern Nevada. A woman was found dead and another vanished along the same stretch of remote highway. Could these events be linked to the 2017 disappearance of outdoors person Gary Hinge?
Now this is like the original that we are getting a mockumentary that is exploring things that happened in the area. Gal Roberts (Suziey Block) is leading this again. She acknowledges what happened to Gary from the earlier movie. She then says that these two events that are explored here could be related. They also are just as eerie and in the same area.
The first event is the mysterious death of Minerva Sound (Solveig Helene). She came to Nevada for a college course on geology. Her friend is interviewed, Cathy Wald (Sami Sallaway), to provide more background information. Cathy is important to this investigation because the police didn’t investigate items from Minerva’s trailer as thoroughly as they should and they were claimed by Cathy. She turned them over to Gal and her crew. There are also videos that her and Cathy sent to each other that help to paint the picture of events leading to the day of her death.
There is then the other story about the disappearance of Ameliana Brasher (Brooke Bradshaw). She was in Las Vegas and was returning home to her family. There is an interesting backstory here about her mother having a terrifying encounter along a desolate stretch of highway. There was a plan in place just in case this happened to anyone in her family. Ameliana had a dash camera that helped to show what happened to her before she disappeared. What is also intriguing here is that an EMT has terrifying footage as he searched for this young woman.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is that this does well capturing the creepy vibe that the first one had. I do think part of that is these things happening are in the desert. This is already a barren place, but then you compound on the fact that it is pitch black out and there aren’t people around if things go bad. Then you add in this odd looking individual that we catch glimpses of in different footage presented here.
Where I then want to start is the plausibility here. An issue with found-footage that comes up is why people are still filming. There is also the realism of the fact that if a crime happened, we wouldn’t be seeing the footage. This is even more difficult when you’re using the framing of a mockumentary. What works here is that this is an unsolved crime and they don’t necessarily think that people were murdered. They disappeared so the consensus from the authorities are that they’re just lost. I could see footage being released to see if anyone out there might know something more. That helps bring in that eerie vibe. I’ll admit, I was uncomfortable while watching this and trying to see if I could see someone or something is out there.
Sticking with the idea of realism, this could just as easily be an episode of Unsolved Mysteries or a similar show. Minerva died. The police don’t necessarily think that it is murder. I do believe that suicide is what they’d consider it if anything. She was inside a locked house. I love seeing the footage from her cellphone along with Cathy’s. They also interview her neighbor of Lenny Douglas (C.R. Brough) who also had odd things happening around him. There is also this feel of a coverup as well. The other story is similar as well. Ameliana called her mother when her car broke down. Her father was on the way to help her. She then disappeared before he arrived. They searched for her but found nothing. There is a logical explanation here as well that she got lost in the desert. We see a figure though from her left behind camera.
I do have a negative here though. It captures that creepy vibe which pulled me in. We see footage that is found in a mysterious canvas bag from Minerva’s trailer. We don’t know who filmed it. It is from inside her trailer before she took it over. There is also all this artwork found that looks like the mysterious person from the first movie and we get glimpses of them here. We also see scenes with people who disappeared from the area. My problem is that this goes nowhere. They introduced it that this person could be working here for longer than we realize. Even Ameliana’s mother, Patricia (Christine Martin), might have had a chance meeting with them in the past. What this does is feel like they’re setting up for a third. That is fine and if it explains more there, I’m for it. That diminishes this movie though as it asks more questions without answering enough. That does knock this down for me.
Let me then shift over to the acting. Now for a mockumentary like this, I just expect the acting to be fine. I want them to feel like normal people to me. Block is solid as this investigative reporter who is leading the documentary. If anything, I’d like to see her to be the focus for the third movie if that happens. Like things happening to her since she’s been the constant individual now in both. Helene is good as Minerva. It is eerie to see the old footage knowing that the character is dead at the time of making the mockumentary. I like Sallaway as her friend. I’d also say the same for Bradshaw, Laurie Felix Bass, Brough, Martin, David Nichols Jr. and the rest of the cast to round this out for what was needed. They feel like the characters they’re taking on.
All that is left then is filmmaking. The documentary stuff felt real enough to me. There is an undertone of music, but we are seeing the edited footage so it works. This does well with its framing. The found footage aspect makes this creepy to me. I was uncomfortable so I’ll give credit there. I don’t necessarily question why things are being filmed as it is a combination of characters not being able to see in the dark without it or a camera that is mounted. I can buy why the cameras are on. It doesn’t feel like they’re doing it just for the sake of this style of movie. There was care put into the why for me. The sound design was also good in building that atmosphere. I’d say that this was well-made overall.
In conclusion, this is a solid film overall. I thought that the mockumentary aspect was good. It feels like an episode of a show I’d watch growing up. The acting was good enough to bring the characters to life. Expanding on how odd this area was good for me. I like that this shows that Gary isn’t the only person to have something unexplainable happening. My issue here is that this feels like a movie that is bridging to a third. More questions are asked without enough answers for me. This doesn’t ruin it as it still made me uncomfortable, which is what I want from this filming style. Won’t be for everyone, but I’d still recommend this to found footage fans. I still prefer the original as that felt like a contained story that worked.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10