In 2015 writing and directing team Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing created supernatural found-footage horror, The Gallows. The film saw a group of teens tormented by a malevolent being, known as The Hangman, after breaking into school to mess with the set of the production of The Gallows. The play itself had a dark history after student Charlie Grimille died on opening night twenty years before. Now the duo has been hard at work, in secret, on the follow-up – The Gallows: Act II. This new film takes the story of Charlie online, and our directors move away from the found-footage gimmick in favour of a more traditional narrative camera style.
Lionsgate UK
Frustrated vlogger Auna (Ema Horvath) has just moved to a prestigious art school where she hopes to fulfil her dreams of being an actor. After her first scene in her new class tanks, she finds herself in dire need of fresh material; her search leads her to stumble across a copy of the ill-fated The Gallows stage play. Deciding to film her practices and upload them online, Auna conjures up more than just new followers, finding herself terrorised by the sinister Charlie. Can Auna and her new beau Cade (Chris Milligan) find a way to break the curse once and for all?
The smartest decision that Cluff and Lofing make with The Gallows: Act II is to switch the format away from tired found footage. It’s a decision that might have helped the predecessor too, as by the time The Gallows was released, audiences had pretty much fell out of love with the found footage style. By switching to the typical standard camera set-up, the film is instantly more accessible to audiences because the narrative structure is easier to follow. That being said, there isn’t a whole heap of plot to follow, with the story falling heavily into the all-too-familiar and formulaic beats.
Where The Gallows: Act II really falters though is in both the choice of setting and cast. The High School setting has been done to death and it makes some of the casting choices ill advised. Ema Horvath fits the bill in the age bracket fine, but her love interest Chris Milligan, is clearly well out of education. The pairing jars on the screen, and when coupled with Milligan’s questionable American accent, it causes the film to descend into mediocrity early on.
Eagle-eyed viewers with recognise Chris Milligan from playing Kyle Canning on Australia’s finest export, Neighbours. Said viewers will know that the actor recently returned to the soap after a couple of years away. Several ex-Neighbours stars have tried to crack the US market, and whilst many have made it, the likes of Margot Robbie and Guy Pearce being brilliant examples, sadly it seems that Milligan hasn’t achieved the same level of success. In fact, it’s entirely possible that shortly after making this film, he decided to flee back to the safety of Ramsey Street.
In terms on DVD extras, The Gallows: Act II is packed with deleted scenes and an in-depth Making Of. The Making Of features interviews with several cast and crew members, and over the course of its thirty minute run time, talks through the journey from script to screen. The deleted scenes seem to almost total the same run time as the feature itself, and cover all manner of things from flashbacks to more fully-fleshed out side-characters. There’s even an alternate ending…well it’s more of an extended ending that sets up a direction for a potential third outing.
Whether or not a third film happens remains to be seen. But given the significant lack of originality, misplaced setting and questionable acting prowess, it appears that we may have already arrived at the final curtain.
Lionsgate UK
The Gallows: Act II arrives on DVD 6 January via Lionsgate.
