A Haunted House 2 Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray release of "A Haunted House 2" offers an impressively robust 1080p, 1.85:1-framed HD transfer that is sure to please videophiles despite the film's varying content quality. The movie opens with a less-than-ideal sequence in a darkly lit car interior, showing imperfections such as noise and compromised black levels. However, once the narrative moves to the brightly lit suburban setting, the transfer truly shines. Colors burst with vibrancy and natural vitality, while whites maintain a crisp yet natural brightness. Intricate details like facial lines, stubble, clothing seams, and materials are rendered with remarkable clarity, offering a near-pristine visual experience.

Additionally, "A Haunted House 2" benefits from being shot on the Sony CineAlta 4K camera system. This enhances the Blu-ray’s clarity and sharpness across nearly every scene, making even the tiniest objects in the distance crystal clear and individual threads in clothing distinctly visible. The natural lifelike textures reveal every pore and wrinkle on the actors' faces, contributing to an image with excellent dimensionality. Despite some minor setbacks, such as occasional blooming in highlights and a slight digital soap-opera appearance, the high-definition transfer features rich contrast levels and deep, solid blacks that add appreciable depth to both daytime and nighttime sequences. Overall, Universal delivers an exceptional visual presentation that greatly complements the film's vibrant palette and sharp detail.

Universal delivers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack for "A Haunted House 2." The presentation is robust across the board, with music enjoying vibrant details, effective spacing, and light surround support. Ambient effects are well-integrated yet unobtrusive, bringing minor details of suburbia into the stage to support primary dialogue and key sound effects. Directional effects are noteworthy, such as an inflated dog zipping from speaker to speaker, providing an engaging auditory experience. The track also delivers substantial bass at various moments, including deep knocks on a door that send powerful jolts into the listening area. Background music-based bass during a party scene is defined, although mildly muddy. Crashes and slams, particularly during the chicken fight scene, are detailed and naturally placed, while dialogue remains well-defined and focused centrally.

Remarkably, this low-brow comedy spoof surprises with its DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, which complements the picture perfectly and offers some unexpected highlights. The design is intentionally front-heavy, with crisp, precise vocals centered to ensure every absurd utterance is heard with crystal clarity. Imaging is expansive with excellent channel separation and convincing off-screen effects that keep the film lively and entertainingly eerie. The dynamic range impresses with superb clarity in the highs and excellent acoustic details, providing precision in every moment of excited, high-pitched action. The powerful, highly-responsive bass resonates throughout the room, lending scary scenes a palpable low-end weight. While rear activity could be utilized more frequently, the surrounds, when employed, are effective and satisfying, making this lossless mix delightfully more engaging than the movie itself.

The extras on the Blu-ray disc of "A Haunted House 2" provide fans with a comprehensive behind-the-scenes experience, albeit with varying degrees of engagement. The audio commentary features Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, and Michael Tiddes, delivering an energetic, scene-specific dialogue filled with technical insights and humorous anecdotes from the set. The deleted and extended scenes, presented in 1080p HD, offer additional footage that, while not particularly adding to the humor, cater to viewers seeking a fuller picture of production decisions. Additionally, the disc includes previews for other films like "A Haunted House," "Sabotage," "Machete Kills," "Hit & Run," "Silent Hill: Revelation," and "Silent House," allowing fans to explore similar cinematic themes.

Extras included in this disc:

• Audio Commentary: Scene-specific insights and anecdotes from Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, and Michael Tiddes.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes: Additional footage in 1080p HD.
• Previews: Trailers for various films such as "A Haunted House," "Sabotage," and more.

A Haunted House 2, directed by Michael Tiddes and starring Marlon Wayans, is inescapably dreadful, aiming to spoof found-footage horror but falling flat with a barrage of crude sex humor and tired gags. The narrative follows Malcolm (Wayans) and his new wife Megan (Jaime Pressly) as they move into a haunted house with her children. The supposed comedy stems from Malcolm's interactions with a racist-obsessed neighbor and a sexually aggressive doll named Abigail. However, the film quickly devolves into a ceaseless repetition of vulgar jokes and pointless antics, lacking any coherent storytelling or ingenuity.

Despite sparse moments of humor courtesy of Gabriel Iglesias and a brief cameo by Mark Henry, the movie fails to maintain any semblance of comedic rhythm or purpose. The humor is predominantly crass and overly explicit, featuring scenes like drug consumption off bare breasts and tedious sexual encounters, which contribute nothing meaningful or amusing. Furthermore, Marlon Wayans' performance is marred by his reliance on excessive rear-end exposure and a painfully prolonged intimate scene with a doll—moments that encapsulate the film's desperate attempt to shock rather than entertain.

The overarching issue with A Haunted House 2 is its inability to respect the audience's time and intelligence. Its directionless narrative and overdone gags render it a laborious 86-minute experience, often feeling like an eternity. Despite some isolated chuckles from secondary characters like Cedric the Entertainer and Affion Crockett, the movie remains a vile piece of work, failing to provide any significant amusement or redeeming qualities. This sequel is a stark reminder of how low cinema can fall when it relies solely on shock value without any creative or comedic substance.

"A Haunted House 2" continues the unfortunate legacy of its predecessor with a barely coherent plot, juvenile humor, and a barrage of offensive vulgarities. The film fails spectacularly in its efforts to be worse than the original, offering little more than a series of tasteless gags and moronic cultural references. Despite the abysmal content of the film itself, Universal's Blu-ray release salvages some respect with impressive technical qualities. The video presentation is pristinely rendered, capturing every detail with high clarity and vivid color reproduction. Similarly, the audio track is robust, providing an immersive experience that far surpasses the quality of the cinematic content.

Technically, the Blu-ray excels in areas where the film does not. The high-definition transfer is commendable, providing sharp images and well-balanced contrasts. The sound design, while supporting subpar dialogue and uninspired sound effects, is clear and dynamic. Supplements are minimal but offer some respite from the visual and narrative torture of the main feature. Deleted scenes and a commentary track provide additional content, albeit with little redeeming value beyond their inherent curiosity.

In conclusion, "A Haunted House 2" proves that the franchise is intent on descending into further mediocrity and tastelessness. Belittling the film may be easy, but it will neither win the battle nor the war against such mind-numbing cinema. The technical strengths of Universal's Blu-ray release are noteworthy, but they serve as mere decorations on an otherwise dismal foundation. Moviegoers are advised to tread carefully, or perhaps avoid this path altogether to prevent future installments. Should you choose to face this terror, do so with caution and perhaps an appreciation for technical excellence – but little else.