For most critics, John McNaughton is best known for his 1990 controversial debut Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, a grim and uncompromising study of serial murder. However, for the ordinary viewer, McNaughton's biggest success was undoubtedly the 1998 film Wild Things, a sleazy and unintentionally humorous erotic thriller that became a massive commercial hit. The movie's popularity was largely driven by the relatively rare sight of two big-name actresses, Denise Richards and Neve Campbell, sharing the screen in a steamy threeway scene that captivated audiences and cemented the film's status as a guilty pleasure of the late 90s. This success guaranteed that some sort of sequel would be made, and in fact, three sequels were eventually produced, all released direct-to-video with almost no clear connection to their predecessors. The first of these was Wild Things 2, directed by Jack Perez and released in 2004.
The only genuine connection between Wild Things 2 and its predecessor is its setting: Blue Bay, an idyllic beach town in South Florida. The protagonist, played by Susan Ward, is Britney Havers, a local high school senior and stepdaughter of the wealthy Niels Dunlap, played by Tony Denison. Despite her privileged lifestyle, Britney has been traumatised by the mysterious disappearance of her mother, who is presumed dead, having been eaten by alligators in the nearby swamps. When her stepfather dies in a private plane crash, Britney, much to her surprise, discovers that his will left her with a pittance, with much of the $70 million worth of wealth bequeathed to a local country club. The situation is further complicated when the will is contested by Maya King (Leila Arceri), a brash, unrefined schoolmate from the "wrong side of the tracks" who claims to be Niels' biological daughter. The DNA test confirms her claims, but it turns out that the test was falsified by Dr. Julian Haynes (Joe Michael Burke), who was in cahoots with both Maya and Britney. All three were involved in a scheme sealed by them having sex, a plot that is endangered by Terence Bridge, played by Isaiah Washington, an insurance investigator who suspects that the plane crash wasn't actually an accident.
Directed by Jack Perez, a filmmaker whose best-known work would later become the 2010 cult film Megashark vs Giant Octopus, Wild Things 2 represents less of a sequel and more of a remake of the previous film. The script, written by Andy Hurst and Ross Helfort, more or less repeats the exact formula established by McNaughton: a crime mystery revolving around beautiful but extremely immoral people doing some ugly things to each other, and including a plot so convoluted and full of twists that it would, like the previous one, require explanatory scenes in the end credits. The plot is, more or less, a copy of the original, only with slightly different types of characters ending on top and a slightly different event serving as the catalyst for the elaborate criminal scheme.
Whether someone will like Wild Things 2 depends very much on whether they actually liked Wild Things. If the answer is positive, the film is rather serviceable and easily digestible piece of "guilty pleasure," though inevitable comparisons point towards a much less impressive cast made up of mostly unknown actors. While 1980s television star Tony Denison and highly respectable Isaiah Washington are exceptions, the actresses in the two main female roles—Susan Ward and Leila Arceri—are hardly replacements for Denise Richards and Neve Campbell. Although they too dutifully take part in the threeway scene, including one of them being topless, the impact is underwhelming. This is partly because the novelty of such a scene had worn off by the time of the sequel, and partly because Leila Arceri in the aforementioned scene obviously uses a body double, a fact that is painfully noticeable to the viewer.
Nevertheless, director Perez does try to compensate for this lack of star power with the next best thing: having Ward and Arceri use every opportunity to appear in skimpy clothes or bikinis. There is also an entertaining beach volleyball scene near the beginning of the film, which serves as a gratuitous excuse to get the characters into bikinis and bouncing around for the camera. In the end, Wild Things 2 doesn't try to reinvent the wheel; instead, it works very well as unintentional comedy, serving as a sleazy southern-noir tale of treachery, sex, and debauchery that is content to simply recycle the successful elements of its predecessor rather than strive for originality.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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