“Gladiator II” after 24 years, “The Prince of Zamunda 2” after 33 years and “Top Gun: Maverick” even after 36 years! Late sequels are not only very fashionable in Hollywood, Europe has also been increasingly jumping on the trend in recent years. In this country, “The Canoe of Manitu” became the first German IMAX production to become the second most-watched cinema release of the year – and in the Danish “Nightwatch 2” a psychopathic slasher was thawed out again just in time for the 30th anniversary of the original. In the case of “Amsterdamned II – Cursed Amsterdam” both come together – a huge screen and a murderous return: In the first Dutch IMAX film, a serial killer who was actually thought to have been eliminated reappears after 37 years from the blood-filled canals of the eponymous capital.
“Cursed Amsterdam” (as the German translation of the title) from 1988 is without question one of the absolute cult works of (European) genre cinema! After all, the film by “Elevator of Horror” mastermind Dick Maas is not an off-the-shelf slasher, but still impresses today with its very individual qualities: “Cursed Amsterdam” is not only tailored to its setting because of the killer diving through the canals. In addition, the dry, evil humor is thrilling, for example when the first corpse dangling from a bridge ends up on a tour boat with a Boy Scout troop. And then there is the unforgettable, spectacular motorboat chase through the narrow canals, which could have been used in any Bond film. “Amsterdamned II” relies a little too much on the nostalgic memory of the original – but as a tongue-in-cheek horror thriller it’s still fun.
Huub Stapel, as top investigator Eric Visser, takes on a diving serial killer again in the sequel!
After his retirement, Eric Visser (Huub Stapel) moved from the capital to the more tranquil Limburg, where he despairs of vegetarian schnitzels in the supermarket and aggressive teenagers in the parking lot. However, a return to his old homeland is imminent: in just a week he will be awarded a medal of honor for his many years of service as a police officer. But before that happens, there are two pieces of bad news:
On the one hand, a new series of murders shakes Amsterdam – and the investigator in charge, Tara Lee (Holly Mae Brood), quickly comes to the conclusion that once again a diving serial killer appears to be responsible for the crimes. But almost even worse for Visser: New DNA samples have shown that 37 years ago he apparently had the wrong perpetrator (a professional diver disfigured by chemical toxic waste who shot himself through the head with a harpoon) on the hook…
You should have part 1 as clear as possible in your head
The first ten minutes of “Cursed Amsterdam,” in which we see through the eyes of the killer as he appears in various parts of the city in search of his first victim, are among the great opening scenes of slasher cinema on a level with “Halloween” and “Scream.” “Amsterdamned II,” on the other hand, begins with a drone flight over the nighttime city that looks suspiciously like AI (or bad CGI) and has none of the rough, dirty authenticity of the original. You get scared for a moment – and not of the killer! But then “Amsterdamned II” fortunately gets things right with the introduction of the first victims: The American tourist couple wants to go straight on to Dubai the next day – also because the houses here are all so crooked and crooked.
A biting swipe at the city’s current relationship with tourism – after all, the local government doesn’t want to attract more, but fewer, visitors to Amsterdam! Of course, once again it is a canal steamer whose guests are the first to spot the corpses – and the way in which this happens is a surprising and successful variation of the corresponding scene in the original. In any case, it helps a lot to have “Cursed Amsterdam” as fresh as possible in your memory, because many other sequences from “Amsterdamned II” also work, especially in dialogue with the corresponding role model moments from the first part.
The canal killer not only assassinates his victims, he also likes to make a spectacular show of them!
Huub Stapel has hardly lost any of his charm over the past 37 years – even if the old white man punchlines about vegetarian steaks themselves no longer seem entirely fresh. At his side, Holly Mae Brood (“There were only two left”) is a convincing badass investigator, who is, however, primarily characterized by her relationship with her sister, who suffers from domestic violence. Unfortunately, the whole sister subplot has nothing to do with the rest of the plot – and Eric Visser is so busy meeting old acquaintances from the original, especially in the middle part, that the new killer plot simmers on the back burner for a while.
But don’t worry, the expected (slasher) viewing values are of course still there. Victims with their intestines hanging out are used as figureheads for a different purpose – and after it was feared that the motorboat sequence from “Amsterdamned” could no longer be re-released simply because the city authorities would no longer issue the relevant permits these days, chase fans also get their money’s worth as the film progresses. When the army even arrives in the finale, it might even be a bit more of an action spectacle, but as the first IMAX production in Dutch film history, “Amsterdamned II” simply had to step it up a bit – and the killer resolution is definitely less disappointing than in “Scream 7”.
Conclusion: Another bitter slasher fun, which, however, relies a little too much on the connections to the cult original instead of developing its own exciting serial killer case.