976-Evil II – This is Why You Don't Call 976-Numbers

Runtime: 93 minutes

Release Date: April 22, 1992

Rating: R

Director: Jim Wynorski

Remember Spike from "976-Evil"? He was the guy who basically set off a string of murders because he called the number 976-EVIL. Ah ha! I bet you didn't see where that one was going. Well, Spike is now back for this pretty terrible sequel that lacks the originality and downright fun of the first one.

Part of this is because Spike basically turns over the film to Robin, who is the same pretty generic blond heroine of many 1980s films. That's not to say that she appeared in them, but the same character usually popped up in the sequels. Robin's dad is a police officer, who believes that Spike is responsible for a series of killings in their home town. He locks him up, leaving Robin as the main figure.

Robin eventually discovers that her former professor is the one behind the actual killings. Even after he dies, he still gets to come back and kill a few people because they make the mistake of calling the 976 number. Robin also learns that he uses astral projection to reach his victims, meaning that no one knows how to catch him or what to do. When she asks her dad for help and he refuses, because hey, your main suspect is dead, she decides to enlist Spike and bring down the real killer.

"976-Evil" is one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies from the 1980s. While the film is pretty bad at times, I still find it entertaining enough to watch every year or so. Not everyone feels the same way though. My best friend hated it so much that he wouldn't even give the sequel a chance. After finally seeing it, I kind of wish that I skipped it too.

It's not that "976-Evil II" is really such a bad film, but it lacks all of the fun elements of the first one. The original wasn't filmed on a large budget, but this seems like someone took that budget, slashed it in half, slashed it in half again, and handed over the few dollars that were left. The acting, save for Patrick O'Bryan, was pretty dull, and most actors seemed like they didn't know what they were supposed to do. By the time I reached the end, I deleted it from my Netflix queue and vowed to forget it existed.