Following a police raid on they’re house, Otis B. Driftwood, (Bill Moseley) and Baby Firefly, (Sherri Moon-Zombie) manage to escape their house, while Sheriff John Wydell, (William Forsythe) captures the rest of the family. Meeting up with Captain Spaulding, (Sig Haig) at a local motel to discuss what to do, they take the motel and it’s occupants hostage. As Sheriff Wydell wades through the countryside to get to them, they take to the roads trying to evade him. When he finally catches up with them, he takes them prisoner and begins to torture them, vowing to put them through everything they put their victims through. Seeing an opportunity at escape, they make a dash for freedom, fighting for their lives to get away and back at Wydell.

The Good News: This here does have a few good things about it. One of the biggest improvements over the first one is that the film really amps up the blood and gore. The only really shocking part is where a character has nails thrust into their hands, but the fact is that it’s still a pretty bloody film. With tons of gunshots, a slit throat, innumerable amounts of bloody beatings, and some stabbing as well. With a fair amount of damage taken that doesn’t result in fatalities also bringing in some gore as well, this here is a decent enough time-waster for gore-hounds. Also quite nice was that there was one sequence that is quite inventive and torturous. Holding a family hostage, one of them bursts into the room where the face of one of the family members as a mask. Strapping it to their face, they leave it on them, who later runs out of the room screaming hysterically until a kill from a sudden, unexpected source in the film’s one true jump shock. It’s quite cruel and creative, all for the sheer amount of joy they have with the concept of it, and for the fact that it’s done in a sadistic, downbeat tone, and mostly erases a lot of the negatives of the film. There’s also a couple of really funny moments in here that were unexpectedly funny, and were pleasing to see. The opening shootout is also one of the greatest ways to open a film, with tons of gunfire and a lot of smashed up furniture from bullets causing a great mood right from the get-go. When it really wanted it, it was quite entertaining.

The Bad News: As good as it could’ve been, there’s still some things in here that need to be brought up. The most obvious and glaring problem in this one is the extremely annoying and aggravating camera movements used in this one. The camera shakes around wildly and uncontrollably during most of the scenes, often at tilted angles to begin with, rendering it nearly impossible to figure out what is going on in the scene. The fact that this goes on during the film’s money shots is quite a big let-down, as it’s for all the chasing and torture scenes that this happens during the big moments is a huge distraction. Another big headache is the way that the film occasionally uses slow-motion during non-sequitur scenes. Every now and then, for no reason, the film would slow down and just feature the scene going on in slow-motion without anything playing in the background. It’s a nice stylish choice, but it doesn’t serve any real purpose to the film for it to be so. It doesn’t help us understand the film any more, and it’s a really weird and confusing move. Surprisingly, it also wasn’t that extreme or violent as was hyped up to be. The on-screen tortures are pretty brutal and clever, but the fact that they’re all distorted with the wild and obnoxious camera movements that it’s impossible to get a sense of what’s happening, rendering all the torturing mute when you can’t see it happening. When it could be seen what was going on, it wasn’t that psychologically terrifying or upsetting either. The motel room sequence, which could’ve been terrifying, passes over without any real damage, and it’s not all that damning a sequence. The slow pace really drags this out as well. So much time is spent with the family doing random things that aren’t that important in moving the plot along, as an argument over getting ice cream or a stop-off at a chicken farm being the prime factors for this. It really could’ve been trimmed significantly and cut down, as this is a good fifteen minutes too long. Beyond these, though, this wasn’t that bad of a film.

The Final Verdict: This was way better than the first one was, but there’s still a few glaring problems with this one. It’s still very brutal and quite graphic at times, but there’s plenty to nitpick at, so this is really only recommended for those who liked the first one, Rob Zombie fans or those that might be interested in the more brutal side of the genre.