Horror Movie Review: R.I.P. Van Winkle Part 2 (2023)

Released in 2022, R.I.P. Winkle was a bad film. Coming from Polonia Bros. Entertainment and written/directed by Frank Durant, it was barely a horror film, and not worth anyone’s time. You can read our review here.

So, of course, a year later we got a sequel and because I enjoy punishing myself, I decided to watch it. The good news is that it’s not worse than the first film. The bad news is that it’s no better.

Directed by Jeff Kirkendall and Mark Polonia with Frank Durant serving as writer, R.I.P. Winkle Part 2 takes place directly after the events of the first film. One day after the events of the first film. Remember Leira Turner’s Judith? Well, she has decided to run the guest house that was left to her, even though she’s not much of a people person.

She has come to terms with her family history now, embracing her links to the infamous Rip Van Winkle. However, her more recent past is about to come back and haunt her, and all while a whole new set of guests arrive, one of whom has their own secrets.

One of my biggest complaints about the original was how it spent more time talking about perceived threats or potential horror then actually showing any. Something that also ends up being a valid complaint here too. Even with the random monster scenes in the woods. It’s a very messy film, yet there is a story being told here, it just doesn’t happen to be an interesting one.

I’m not going to be too harsh on the cast here. I think Leira Turner is decent, and she has some good scenes with Anna Dainton, who plays the mysterious Waitt. They hold the story together but aren’t given enough oomph to make anything they say or do matter. So many scenes feel like filler, and that’s not including the ones that are clearly filler.

R.I.P. Winkle was a chore to get through, and R.I.P. Winkle Part 2 is no different. It’s just not a good film and I’ll never understand why the direction focuses so much on lacklustre drama and a desperate attempt to be surreal. Instead, it’s just confusing and boring. I dread to think what we’ll get with R.I.P. Winkle Part 3.