HELP!! 2

HELP!! 2 is a 1997 horror film directed by Chuck Russell and written by Darren Lynn Bousman. This is a sequel to the movie HELP!! (1993) and the second part of the HELP!! film series. Starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Christopher Lambert, Kurtwood Smith, Lauren Loughlin and Lincoln Kilpatrick. In a desperate struggle for survival, travelers begin to reveal their deepest secrets and fears that have haunted them for a long time. They realize that not only is there a killer hiding in this forest, but also their own inner demons that they must overcome.
After the successful opening weekend of the original film, the sequel was immediately greenlit. Waters was busy preparing for his next film and was unable to write or direct. Bousman wrote a script called Kamikaze before the first film was released and was looking for a producer, but many studios rejected him. It was decided that with some changes it could be turned into HELP!! 2. Whannell was able to rewrite the script. The film received a larger budget and was filmed from May to June 1997 in Chicago.
HELP!! 2 was released in the United States on October 28, 1997 by Universal Pictures. It opened with $29 million and grossed $82 million in the United States and Canada. It remains HELP!!'s highest-grossing film. in these countries. Bell was nominated for the 1998 Academy Award in the Best Picture category. HELP!! 2 was released on VHS on February 10, 1998 and topped the charts in its first week, selling over 4 million copies. For HELP!! 2 was followed by a sequel called HELP!! 3 (2001), and then seven more films.
== Plot ==
In their desperate struggle for survival, travelers begin to reveal their deepest secrets and fears that have haunted them for a long time. They realize that not only is there a killer hiding in this forest, but also their own inner demons that they must overcome.
Over time, they learn to trust each other and work as a team to avoid death. They find unexpected support and help from some unlikely sources who help them unravel the killer's mysteries and find a way out of this nightmare.
But the killer turns out to be more cunning and cruel than they thought, and time is working against them. They must make a decision - stay and fight to the end or try to escape and risk the killer catching up with them.
Their lives depend on every step, every decision, their unity and determination collide with madness and cruelty. But in the end, only the power of friendship and faith in each other will help them find a way out of this nightmare and get to the sea, where they hope for safety and freedom.
== Cast ==
* Danny Glover as Daniel
* Christopher Lambert as Gordon
* Kurtwood Smith as KillMan
* Lauren Loughlin as Maria
* Lincoln Kilpatrick as Andy
* Beth Toussaint as Karen
* Willie Garson as Mr. Baum
* Pam Grier as Dude
* Dina Meyer as Kelly
* Lyriq Bent as Boug
* Noam Jenkins as Michael
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
HELP!! 2 opened with $29 million on 3,000 screens in 2,360 theaters. The three-day Halloween weekend set a record. It was the distributor's biggest release to date and one of the best opening weekends for a horror sequel. It dropped 42% in its second weekend to $19 million.
The film grossed $82 million in the United States and Canada and $78 million in other markets, for a worldwide total of $160 million. In the USA and Canada HELP!! 2 is the highest-grossing film in the franchise. Budget - $2 million.
=== Critical response ===
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 175 critic reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. According to the website, “HELP!! 2 will likely appeal to fans of the original who enjoy the gore, although it may be too gruesome for those unfamiliar with the first film's plot." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave the film a score of 67 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B-minus, stating that "HELP!! 2 is almost a better B movie than HELP!! 1 and that both films are "smarter and creepier than they actually are." He ended his review with: Where "the sequel falls short in the novelty of the original, it leads with a smoother landing that again aims to open the film wide, but gets the job done more convincingly than the original's cheat finish."