Laid to Rest (2009) & ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011)

Laid to Rest (2009)

Not a horror classic by any means, but it’s a fun enough low budget slasher flick.

A girl (Bobbi Sue Luther) wakes up in a casket with no memory of how she got there and is soon on the run from a terrifying serial killer, ChromeSkull (Nick Principle), who slaughters anyone that gets in his way.

The main flaw of this flick is that it’s not that well written. The characters are kind of dumb and do a lot of dumb things just to keep the plot moving. It’s something to expect from a slasher film, but here it feels repetitive. Besides that, the acting is okay and there are a few faces you might recognize such as Thomas Dekker and Lena Headey. What really makes the film are the brutal kills and ChromeSkull himself being quite the deranged killer. He films his murders with a camcorder he has attached to his shoulder, remind you of the influential horror film Peeping Tom (1960) at all?

While it may feel amateurish and unoriginal, I recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of the slasher genre.

ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011)

A solid sequel that’s more gory and better made on a technical level. Like with the first, it’s no classic, but a ton of fun regardless.

It picks up right where the first film left off with ChromeSkull (Nick Principle) being rescued and tended to by his minions. After the girl he was after is murdered by his disgruntled second in command, Preston (Brian Austin Green), he goes after a new girl, Jess (Mimi Michaels), a girl who is legally blind.

What’s good about the film is that it doesn’t feel like a complete retread of its predecessor. They give ChromeSkull backstory and it’s a surprising and disturbing twist to discover that he’s part of a larger organization involved with his “activities”. The jealous and disgruntled second in command dynamic works well thanks to a solid performance by Brian Austin Green as Preston. Thomas Dekker also returns from the first film as Tommy, a young guy who gets thrown deeper into the chaos. The lovely Danielle Harris is a welcome addition as Spann, a member of the organization who manipulates ChromeSkull and exposes Preston as a threat. When Preston begins to imitate ChromeSkull, that’s when things really heat up. The only major flaw is that there are a lot of throwaway police characters. Their only purpose in the film is to be brutally killed off. It’s just a convention you have to get used to when you watch a slasher film, however.

Overall, it’s a solid sequel. I again recommend it to slasher fans, but make sure you watch the first before it for obvious reasons. The ending leaves open the possibility of a third film in the series which may or may not happen. I’d personally love to see ChromeSkull take on Hollywood!