Movie Review

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues sequel prioritizes music over laughs

Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.

Photo by Bleecker Street/Kyle Kaplan

Just over 40 years ago, the mockumentary This is Spinal Tap chronicled the journey of the fictional English rock band Spinal Tap as they tried to mount a tour in the United States. What made the film so funny was not the band’s musical talents, but the way it made fun of egotistical and oblivious rock stars who are convinced that they should be way bigger than they actually are.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues brings the band back together after a long separation for a reunion concert. David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) have all moved on to small-time stuff; one sells cheese and another runs a glue museum. But the prospect of money and the regaining of relevance convinces them to commit to the concert.

A film crew led by director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) once again follows them every step of the way as they attempt to get back in sync with one another, recruit a new drummer (a notoriously dangerous position), and plan out all the details for the concert. While aging has changed each of them in different ways, it becomes clear that they still face many of the same issues they had in the original film.

Directed by Reiner and written by Reiner, McKean, Guest, and Shearer, the short film (83 minutes) is most notable for its concentration on the musical talent of the group. The first film didn’t discount their abilities, but it mostly focused on everything around them instead of the performances. This film seems to want to make the case that they’re actually good, featuring a few nicely-harmonized sequences, as well as cameos from music royalty like Paul McCartney and Elton John, who pay homage to the legacy of Spinal Tap’s songs.

What the film doesn’t have, at least not on first watch, is the instantly memorable funny moments that made the original a cult classic (and made the sequel worth making in the first place). Showing the members’ off-the-wall non-music jobs is good for a few chuckles, and Tufnel’s ever-expanding wah-wah pedal board makes for a funny visual. But too often it feels like the group is trying to force bits that either don’t work or are a bit too close to jokes from the first film.

Like recent mockumentary-style TV shows, characters in the film occasionally acknowledge the presence of the film crew, making the camera more than just a fly on the wall. However, there are not enough of those types of scenes in the film to make much of an impact. The side characters are similarly underwhelming, with only a ghost tour guide (Don Lake) and a Jack LaLanne-esque fitness instructor (John Michael Higgins) standing out.

McKean, Guest, and Shearer - each close to or older than 80 - may have lost a step physically, but each of them still knows how to deliver a good line or a deadpan look. While the overall story isn’t strong, it’s still a pleasure to see them inhabit their characters again. Reiner has never been a great actor, but he completes the nostalgic feeling of the film.

It was always going to be a long shot for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues to be anywhere near as good as the original, and the final result proves that hypothesis correct. But fans will likely come away with some good feelings watching it; if nothing else, McCartney, John, and other famous cameos are a validation for anyone who’s long loved the first film.

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Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is now playing in theaters.

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Movie Review

Podcaster lets creepy noises get under her skin in Undertone

Photo courtsy of A24

Nina Kiri in Undertone.

While the horror genre is still capable of producing some innovative filmmaking, most of the output tends to fall back on jump scares and other tropes to deliver their terror. So when a film like the new Undertone tries something different, it should be applauded for the effort, even if it’s not as successful in its execution.

Evy (Nina Kiri) is a podcaster who co-hosts a show called Undertone, which focuses on paranormal videos and sounds they find on the internet. Her co-host, Justin (Adam DiMarco), lives in London, so - for kind of contrived reasons - in order to make the time difference between them work, Evy records at around 3 am her time. Evy - who lives at home with her bedridden, dying mother - is the skeptic of the two, consistently debunking clips that Justin presents to her.

Her doubts are tested when Justin brings in a series of 10 audio clips that purport to be about a boyfriend recording his girlfriend as she talks in her sleep. The audio begins in a lighthearted manner and quickly turns creepy and then sinister as unexplained things start happening. Evy senses that what she’s hearing is bleeding into her own world, especially when inexplicable actions take place in her mother’s bedroom.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Ian Tuason, the film is effective early on when it introduces the story concept. Making great use of sound design, Tuason essentially puts the audience inside Evy’s head, where every little sound is heightened. Setting the podcast sessions in the middle of the night ups the anxiety level for both her and the audience.

However, as the film goes along it gets a little tedious watching Evy listen to the audio, even as Tuason attempts to keep the film dynamic by moving the camera around her. The premise of the story - progressively going through 10 clips - and Tuason’s framing of shots that focus as much on the background as they do on Evy seem to promise more interesting results than actually transpire.

What ultimately holds the film down more than anything is its lack of different viewpoints. The only other person who’s actually seen is Evy’s mother, who is unable to speak. Evy speaks to Justin, another friend, and a doctor over the course of the story, and while each broadens our understanding of Evy somewhat, none of them make her a truly three-dimensional person. Getting a little more information about her history might have helped the story work better.

Kiri does her level best to vary her acting in the various podcast scenes, and even when they start to get repetitive, she remains compelling and watchable. It’s difficult to judge the other actors based on audio alone, but knowing that DiMarco also starred in season 2 of The White Lotus helps to visualize him and his acting style.

Undertone does well in creating a spine-chilling mood, but it needed something beyond that to become a truly great horror movie. Tuason shows some promise as a filmmaker, especially in the way he uses the camera to create tension, but a more complete story will serve him better the next time around.

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Undertone is now playing in theaters,

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