PREVIEW: BLACK CHRISTMAS
jungle. Bethany encourages Fridge and Martha to rally to Spencer’s aid.
“We played before and we won,” she reminds her buddies.
Before the teenagers can select their familiar avatars, Eddie and estranged pal Milo (Danny Glover) are sucked into the game and adopt the guises of strapping archaeologist Dr Smolder Bravestone (Johnson) and scaredy-cat zoologist Franklin Finbar (Hart) respectively.
Fridge inhabits cartographer Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black) while Martha revisits acrobatic warrior Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan).
Aided by a “small and crafty” avatar called Ming (Awkwafina), the discombobulated players must locate Spencer and Bethany then steal a priceless jewel to secure their freedom.
Jumanji: The Next Level plies the same brand of frenetic tomfoolery as its predecessor. Johnson’s innate charm is missing in action for almost the entire picture and the twin tornadoes of Black and Awkwafina blow themselves out on parallel quests for belly laughs.
A throwaway coda unapologetically tees up a special effects-heavy third instalment.
Let the sequel be game over, and out.
(15)
SOPHIA TAKAL directs a remake of the bloodthirsty 1974 Canadian horror film about a group of sorority sisters, who receive far more than tidings of comfort and joy from a deranged killer during the festive season.
As the Christmas holidays beckon, students of Hawthorne College prepare to leave campus for the safety of home.
They are blissfully unaware that a hooded figure roams the campus with murderous intentions.
This diabolical villain follows one girl, Helena (Madeleine Adams), home and stabs her with a broken icicle.
Classmates Kris (Aleyse Shannon), Lindsay (Lucy Currey), Marty (Lily Donoghue) and Riley (Imogen Poots) become concerned about Helena’s whereabouts and find themselves trapped inside their sorority with the killer.
However, the shrouded predator soon learns that the teen aren’t helpless victims.
They are valiant survivors, who are willing to mount a fight to the gore-slathered finish to see the dawn of a new term under Professor Gelson (Cary Elwes). ★★★★★
HEAVY-HANDED sequel. Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) visits doctors complaining of dizziness and insomnia, which are affecting his ability to protect US President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). Mike returns to his post, but a drone attack leaves Trumbull in a coma. When Mike regains consciousness, he is handcuffed to his hospital bed, accused of the attempted murder of the president. Desperate to uncover the truth, he soon turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name and save the country from imminent danger.
■ Download/stream from December 14 and available from January 13 on DVD/Blu-ray.