Antisocial 2 Movie Review

After “Antisocial” made its world premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival in 2013, it was only logical that its sequel, “Antisocial 2”, made another world premiere at the same festival. However, contrary to its predecessor, the follow-up film failed to impress and entertain me.

“Antisocial 2” takes place a few months after the events of the first part of the series. The Red Room website has infected, or “connected” is the term used in the movie, most of the world, making it a typical post-apocalyptic one. We discovered that Sam (Michelle Mylett) was pregnant during the previous film, and only 4 months later, she gives birth to her baby boy, only to have him ripped from her grasp by a stranger before fainting from the pain. Two years later, Sam is desperately searching for her kidnapped son while the Red Room has a mysterious “update” progressing to 100%, and no one knows what will happen when it reaches completion. People who have not been “connected” fear “defects: people who, like Sam, have conducted a DIY surgery to remove any chance of becoming one of the crazies. Defects have the virus in them, yet it has not engaged in its process, but there are still chances that it could, despite the neurosurgery. Our protagonist is then kidnapped by a scientist who wants to experiment on Sam to find a cure, while also being the one who is detaining Sam’s son; son who has some special, peculiar powers connected to the Red Room.

The sequel to the hit “Antisocial” focuses much more on the scientific aspect of the virus and the technical connection it gives “users” of the Red Room. Do not go into the movie expecting ravaging, rabid maniacs constantly roaming the scenery and being a constant, worrying threat. You seldom see them, mostly at the beginning of the film. I understand that the point of the director, Cody Calahan, was to focus on the Red Room’s connection aspect and the medical facet of the “infection”, but there are some really long and tedious scenes and a tremendous lull in the middle of the movie.

The CGI in the movie is rather obvious, and personally, that’s always a letdown when you can point out that certain aspects were clearly computer-animated. Michelle Mylett still plays her role of Sam very well, however, in addition to Stephen Bogaert (“American Psycho”) who interprets Max, the desperate scientist.

Numerous details of the storyline, in addition to its conclusion, left me scratching my head as to why certain things occurred. I won’t mention them as to not give any detail away and let you discover (and perhaps understand, more than myself) on your own.

All in all, “Antisocial 2” is far inferior than its preceding chapter and merits only 3 stars out of 5.