Search - Single White Female 2 - The Psycho on DVD

A Clumsy Copy of the Original Film...

Kim Anehall | Chicago, IL USA | 10/22/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Remakes have recently faced a rather explosive trend on the movie front. Studios have remade numerous Asian films such as The Ring (2002), Dark Water (2005), and Shall We Dance (2004). All of these have had some financial success, as have many European remakes. Meanwhile, sequels try to follow up on the success of their predecessor, but most often fail to live up to the quality of the initial film. Yet, they often make enough noise to make a sure buck or two. Thus, making a sequel that almost feels like a remake while viewing it should be a sure financial success. However, whether it has any cinematic value is a completely different question. Single White Female 2: The Psycho presents a meager cinematic experience with a resounding echo, which might turn some heads due to its title.

Single White Female 2 presents another of many fruitless and unimaginative films released that blatantly uses a title that will attract some viewer's attention. The attention is all that this film seeks, as it might trap a few audience members in order to secure enough profit. Nonetheless, the story follows a concept that Fatal Attraction (1987) exposed through a bloodthirsty mistress. Later in Basic Instinct (1992), a female psychopath emerges through the combination of sex and independence while the nanny goes postal in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992). Single White Female (1992) continued this psychopathic female trend by adding the twist through the acquisition of a roommate, which caused additional fear in many viewers. Meanwhile in 2005, Single White Female 2 only refurbishes the old idea of the psychopathic feminine power with newer and younger women with an exquisiteness that many men will ogle. However, all other aspects of the film go far below the quality of the original film and many other films in the category.

The story opens with a shot of a little girl discovering a woman in a bathtub with cut wrists (I only wish it did not look like ketchup dripping from the wrist.) I assume the director, Keith Samples, tries to evoke some deeper meaning in this scene where the audience should draw inferences to a disturbing childhood. The problem with this scene is that it forgets to point the audience in a direction, which coerces the audience to retreat to previous experiences with similar themes and stories. However, the title Single White Female 2: The Psycho has already functioned as an obvious reminder to what the scene intends to suggest. The film continues to exploit trendy pop-psychology through secretive items hidden away in cellars, locked suitcases, and sadomasochistic occurrences (Barbet Schroeder, the director of the original film, directed Maîtresse (1976), which gives a far better look on the world of sadomasochism.)

Consequently, the story follows a predictable path where two competitive women in their mid-20s clash together, as the borders between the personal, professional, and sex diffuse. This conflict leads the story's red headed protagonist, Holly, to seek a new home with a friendly and understanding woman. However, Holly slowly begins to realize that there is something strange and bizarre about the woman from whom she rents a room, as the woman begins to borrow her clothes, color her hair like Holly, and have an uneven temperament. Eventually the film comes to the part that everyone is waiting for-the shinny kitchen knife and the demented woman's inability to deal with rejection and separation.

Single White Female 2: The Psycho only has one thing that might keep some men's attention - beautiful women. Besides this trite exploitation of beauty, there is not much substance that would develop much entertainment, suspense, or contemplation, as this sequel most likely feels like a clumsy copy of the original film. Unfortunately films such as this one do instigate the notion of poor filmmaking, and an opportunity wasted on potential talent."

I would never give this movie 2 thumbs up, however I do have

JGC | 02/21/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I have seen many, many abominable movies in my lifetime, but this is absolutely the very worst! This movie never should have been made, and it never should have included the title "Single White Female" because it has absolutely nothing to do with the first movie (which is the only reason why I watched it!) The actors were horrific, the script was totally substandard and the videography was beyond dismal. This movie should be burned. But, I wouldn't even waste my time setting it ablaze because this movie has already cost me nearly 2 hours which I will never get back! A word of caution: just because a movie is a remake of a very good movie does not mean that it is also in fact good! (I wish someone would have told me that before I watched this vomit-on-a-screen!) My only wish is that the real psycho who produced this atrocity is brought to justice! Perhaps he can produce the next Paris Hilton movie? I believe it was the legendary Siskel & Ebert who coined the phrase "2 thumbs up." Of course, I would never give this movie 2 thumbs up, however I do have 1 finger reserved for it!"

Of Course It Is Not a Sequel; It's a Remake, and Pretty Bad

Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 04/10/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"So Sony did it again. This time it is `Single White Female 2.' Now I want to ask you seriously. Do we really need another version of `Single White Female'? Before you answer the question, take a look at the writers' name of the film Ross Helford and Andy Hurst, both responsible for `Wild Things 2' and `Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough.'

`SWF2' is just another direct-to-video film with almost no redeeming points except as a reminder of the original `SWF' which was not a great film, but still far better a thriller than this one. Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh (especially the latter) were very good, and Barbet Schroeder almost made us forget the impossible story with his camera. No such things can be found in `Single White Female 2' in which all you can see is the similar story told in a slower and clumsier fashion.

Once again we are to meet a single white female (working for PR film in NYC) Holly (Kristen Miller) who starts to live with another single white female Tess (Alison Lange). It takes some time for the new roommate to find that she is living with a very unusual girl, who hates other people's lies but can wear someone's else dress without asking and go the seedy club named `SIN' (really). Who should she do? Live with her? Leave her? Apparently Holly doesn't know the right answer, doing stupid things one after another.

But before the film gets down to business as thriller, it has to show us so many thrill-free elements that only slow the pace: Holly's job and promotion, her unfaithful (and repentant) boyfriend; her back-biting co-worker who says `Sexual manipulation is my specialty"; and so on and on. As thriller the film fails to deliver, with the predictable path it follows, not-so-effective acting from the leads, and the poorly shot scenes that do not know how to convey the thrills even as cheap ones like gore. The film makes feeble attempt to engage our attention (here I'm talking about male audiences) with some images of the ladies in underwear in vain.

The original `SWF' was not without derivative script, but had several good moments like creepy character by Jennifer Jason Leigh and that high-heel. Though it is not terrible, everything is still bland and superficial in `SWF2.'"

Single White Female 2.........uuuhhhhhh

Michael Bolts | Superior, WI | 04/16/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Holly played by Kristen Miller (She Spies, Man of the Year) has a nice career as a journalist with her friend played by Brooke Burns (Baywatch, Death of the Supermodels). The 2 of them fight over the owner of a restaurant named Zucas (I think thats close enough) runned by actor Tod Babcock (Guard Dogs, Poor White Trash). When Holly gets pissed off at her friend because she slept with Mr. Babcock she tries to find a new place to live and low and behold she finds a new shy roommate Tess, played by Allison Lange (The Hillside Strangler, Roswell). Holly becomes close to Tess and they seem to hit it off real well, until Holly finds out some things about Tess that makes her think that maybe this wasnt such a good idea. Well, in 1992, Jennifer Jason Leigh did this to Bridget Fonda and now they make a sequel about it, wow, they must of went threw tons of scripts just to get to this one. Pretty much the young girls on screen are eye candy and the acting is pretty bad plus the twists and thrills arent that great. This can go down with Basic Instinct 2....in the trash can or the skeet shoot, one of the two. Also starring Francois Giroday (Carpool Guy, Framed), Tracey McCall (Not Another Teen Movie, Second Degree), Rif Hutton (Osmosis Jones, Halfway Decent) and Kyme (School Daze, Geppetto).
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