How could this happen?
The original movie was pretty good. I got to see this...sequel because it was put on the B side of the DVD I purchased. There is a scene at the beginning of the film, where the camera pulls back through the inside of a car. It was kind of interesting, almost inventive.
And that was probably the only bit of artistry or thought put into this movie. It was as if those responsible for the work put all of their creative energy into that one shot, and had nothing left.
Which somewhat begs the question: Why? It takes some work and study to be put into the position of making a movie. Directors, cinematographers, writers… all have to have something, even in Canada. Hollywood doesn’t just pull folks off the streets, give them a few million dollars and some cameras and say “go make your movie”.
So why is this work so woefully bad? At some point in the films production, I would expect someone in a position of authority to say “Hey, this is a really, really rotten piece of drek”. I’ve seen it happen where a movie is shaping up to be so bad that the film shifts gears and at least tries to capitalize on it being bad. “Hey, this is a bad movie, but if we make it out to be campy schlock, at least it might be entertaining on some level”. The Second Arrival doesn’t do that; it takes itself seriously from start to finish.
I’m not in the movie business, but I really have to wonder. I can’t honestly believe that the parties involved in the making of this film couldn’t figure out that this was a really awful piece of garbage. Can anyone out there explain to me how something like this reaches completion?
If I can say anything sympathetic about the film, I think it’s been robbed: It should be on the IMDB’s bottom 100. It’s not so bad that it’s good; it’s just so bad.