In the film industry making a sequel is no easy task. Just from going down the rabbit hole of looking up films that were almost made it is plain to see that a successful movie doesn’t even guarantee a sequel. With such an uphill battle in getting a sequel to a movie made, it can be surprising when a poorly made and received movie gets one. So it was downright shocking that a paint by numbers slasher with no original ideas like Redwood Massacre would get a sequel, Redwood Massacre: Annihilation, and that it would be better than the original in every way.

After years spent searching for his daughter who disappeared at the hands of the infamous Burlap Killer and the publication of his book on all his findings, Tom Dempsey felt like he would never capture the man responsible. That was until the mysterious Max bought him undeniable proof that the killer has been spotted nearby, his mask and his blade. Gathering up his original search party, Tom and Max trek deep into the wilderness before stumbling upon an abandoned compound. While it seems like a dead-end at first, they soon find the compound is hiding many horrible secrets underground.

The biggest improvement to Redwood Massacre: Annihilation over the original, is having a surprisingly mysterious plot with a captivating tone. While there are moments in the first half that are outrageous and lack anything resembling subtly, there is a genuine tension that hangs in the air. From the search party wandering around the dense forest to them finding the compound, the tone captures an uncertainty that the characters and the audience have no idea what it coming. Its moments like this that show growth compared to the original, which was just an unmemorable camp slasher that bragged about using 100 pints of fake blood.

Where the bad habits of the original being to seep into Redwood Massacre: Annihilation is in the latter half when the search party journey into the underground compound. The first Redwood Massacre suffers from a tedious cat and mouse game of a finale and while there are moments of mystery and the hints at something more sinister in this sequel, it is just characters hiding and someone dying, rinse and repeat. This is improved with a variety of characters but if they have nothing to do but be frightened, that doesn’t make for good entertainment.

If there was something that Redwood Massacre: Annihilation could wear as a badge of success over its many flaws, it is a sequel better than its original that has the same director/writer. While this may sound like shallow praise the whole point of being a filmmaker is to make entertaining and provoking media and that is a difficult job to do if you never improve. Where Redwood Massacre is a painful slog through a plot we have experienced hundreds of times since the slasher boom of the 80s, Redwood Massacre: Annihilation still has those moments but incorporates it with a tension that enhances the experience greatly.

6 out of 10