User reviews

My rating for the first movie of this franchise : HITHDesert 6/10. I don't remember much about this, the thing i remember is that it took too much time before it became intense. I kinda liked it but it was not definitely a MUST WATCH for horror fans.

About MINERVA : There is a possibility i overrate it. I love FF movies. I always have a lot of fun watching movies of this genre, there were not many of them which i feel i shouldn't have watched them when they ended. So, you have to be a fan in order to watch it. It's probably not amongst the best FF movies but i have watched many worse. It kept my attention until the ending, i found it interesting and thankfully, it didn't took too long until it became intense (Unlike the first one, as i said).

Don't expect cheap jump scares and many scaring scenes. Furthermore, don't expect to get answers about HITDesert lore. Unfortunately, it's a bit messy too, kinda confusing story lines and one of the most open endings in horror movies.

Still, i liked it and i will watch the third movie soon. There is something intriguing here. It's more creepy/eerie than scary, more mystery than horror. And there were some scenes that made me feel too uneasy.

Having just watched this and last night the first film, I'm beyond baffled by the recent positive reviews and can only speculate who made those. This film is dull and a total duff, just like the first one.

I've seen loads of horror films with bad reviews which I often think are undeserved, but this has made more annoyed by the bizarre positive reviews, especially those mentioning particular crew members (who on earth ever mentions the casting director? Seriously?). My standard for horror films is low, I like low budget indie films, but NOT when the reviews look blatantly not genuine. An OK film for found footage fanatics like myself.

Please do not waste your time. All the 9/10 reviews look dubious at best. No suspense or horror. I feel embarrassed for the fact that I wasted 1:14 minutes of my life on watching this thing.

Apparently there are at least 5 more horror in the high desert movies in the works. I mean, are we serious here? Have mercy on us and this time around actually think and try to make a decent film.

The first movie (2021) was actually creepy and I don't understand how a talent behind the original movie could have been satisfied with writing this movie and release it to the public. One of the most boring and flat movies I've ever watched in my life.

You could do better than this.

Decided to write this because I saw part one of this fine little found footage horror movie and immediately rented the sequel without much expectation but I am pleasantly surprised. It's creepy, keeps you watching and expecting what would happen on the edge of your seat. Smartly made and it gives you just enough creepy dread horror bit by bit to keep you interested and scared. Yes, scared. I don't get scared watching 99% of horror movies but this one had me anxious and not wanting to see what comes out of the shadow of the infrared camera - because I was just plain scared. It leaves room for another sequel so hoping for the same soon. Good job.

I enjoyed the first 'Horror in the high Desert'. It was a little slow but the ending sequence was well done and made the wait worth it. 'Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva' however didn't work for me. It was equally slow but I never felt like the pay-off justified it.

Found footage is always a tricky genre to get right, because it's so crucial that the audience buys in. I try and make the effort to always buy in, however it can sometimes be harder than other times. The interviews in this movie felt very fake. Camera angles and candid shots that would never be filmed or used are in almost every scene. It can be quite distracting.

I was disappointed I didn't enjoy this one. Others seem to be thoroughly enjoying it, so I can't help but wonder whether a second watch would be worth a try. It looks like there will be more sequels in the future too so I will still check those out when they come along. This one wasn't for me though. 3/10.

This was a movie that I heard about getting released earlier this year. I enjoyed the first one so I was curious to check this out. The buzz seemed to be that this wasn't as good as the original from most. I didn't hear a lot of hate though outside of that. Since I'm watching my last few movies for 2023 releases, I figured I'd give this a watch.

Synopsis: in 2018, a string of tragedies unfolded in Northeastern Nevada. A woman was found dead and another vanished along the same stretch of remote highway. Could these events be linked to the 2017 disappearance of outdoors person Gary Hinge?

Now this is like the original that we are getting a mockumentary that is exploring things that happened in the area. Gal Roberts (Suziey Block) is leading this again. She acknowledges what happened to Gary from the earlier movie. She then says that these two events that are explored here could be related. They also are just as eerie and in the same area.

The first event is the mysterious death of Minerva Sound (Solveig Helene). She came to Nevada for a college course on geology. Her friend is interviewed, Cathy Wald (Sami Sallaway), to provide more background information. Cathy is important to this investigation because the police didn't investigate items from Minerva's trailer as thoroughly as they should and they were claimed by Cathy. She turned them over to Gal and her crew. There are also videos that her and Cathy sent to each other that help to paint the picture of events leading to the day of her death.

There is then the other story about the disappearance of Ameliana Brasher (Brooke Bradshaw). She was in Las Vegas and was returning home to her family. There is an interesting backstory here about her mother having a terrifying encounter along a desolate stretch of highway. There was a plan in place just in case this happened to anyone in her family. Ameliana had a dash camera that helped to show what happened to her before she disappeared. What is also intriguing here is that an EMT has terrifying footage as he searched for this young woman.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that this does well capturing the creepy vibe that the first one had. I do think part of that is these things happening are in the desert. This is already a barren place, but then you compound on the fact that it is pitch black out and there aren't people around if things go bad. Then you add in this odd looking individual that we catch glimpses of in different footage presented here.

Where I then want to start is the plausibility here. An issue with found-footage that comes up is why people are still filming. There is also the realism of the fact that if a crime happened, we wouldn't be seeing the footage. This is even more difficult when you're using the framing of a mockumentary. What works here is that this is an unsolved crime and they don't necessarily think that people were murdered. They disappeared so the consensus from the authorities are that they're just lost. I could see footage being released to see if anyone out there might know something more. That helps bring in that eerie vibe. I'll admit, I was uncomfortable while watching this and trying to see if I could see someone or something is out there.

Sticking with the idea of realism, this could just as easily be an episode of Unsolved Mysteries or a similar show. Minerva died. The police don't necessarily think that it is murder. I do believe that suicide is what they'd consider it if anything. She was inside a locked house. I love seeing the footage from her cellphone along with Cathy's. They also interview her neighbor of Lenny Douglas (C. R. Brough) who also had odd things happening around him. There is also this feel of a coverup as well. The other story is similar as well. Ameliana called her mother when her car broke down. Her father was on the way to help her. She then disappeared before he arrived. They searched for her but found nothing. There is a logical explanation here as well that she got lost in the desert. We see a figure though from her left behind camera.

I do have a negative here though. It captures that creepy vibe which pulled me in. We see footage that is found in a mysterious canvas bag from Minerva's trailer. We don't know who filmed it. It is from inside her trailer before she took it over. There is also all this artwork found that looks like the mysterious person from the first movie and we get glimpses of them here. We also see scenes with people who disappeared from the area. My problem is that this goes nowhere. They introduced it that this person could be working here for longer than we realize. Even Ameliana's mother, Patricia (Christine Martin), might have had a chance meeting with them in the past. What this does is feel like they're setting up for a third. That is fine and if it explains more there, I'm for it. That diminishes this movie though as it asks more questions without answering enough. That does knock this down for me.

Let me then shift over to the acting. Now for a mockumentary like this, I just expect the acting to be fine. I want them to feel like normal people to me. Block is solid as this investigative reporter who is leading the documentary. If anything, I'd like to see her to be the focus for the third movie if that happens. Like things happening to her since she's been the constant individual now in both. Helene is good as Minerva. It is eerie to see the old footage knowing that the character is dead at the time of making the mockumentary. I like Sallaway as her friend. I'd also say the same for Bradshaw, Laurie Felix Bass, Brough, Martin, David Nichols Jr. And the rest of the cast to round this out for what was needed. They feel like the characters they're taking on.

All that is left then is filmmaking. The documentary stuff felt real enough to me. There is an undertone of music, but we are seeing the edited footage so it works. This does well with its framing. The found footage aspect makes this creepy to me. I was uncomfortable so I'll give credit there. I don't necessarily question why things are being filmed as it is a combination of characters not being able to see in the dark without it or a camera that is mounted. I can buy why the cameras are on. It doesn't feel like they're doing it just for the sake of this style of movie. There was care put into the why for me. The sound design was also good in building that atmosphere. I'd say that this was well-made overall.

In conclusion, this is a solid film overall. I thought that the mockumentary aspect was good. It feels like an episode of a show I'd watch growing up. The acting was good enough to bring the characters to life. Expanding on how odd this area was good for me. I like that this shows that Gary isn't the only person to have something unexplainable happening. My issue here is that this feels like a movie that is bridging to a third. More questions are asked without enough answers for me. This doesn't ruin it as it still made me uncomfortable, which is what I want from this filming style. Won't be for everyone, but I'd still recommend this to found footage fans. I still prefer the original as that felt like a contained story that worked.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Having enjoyed the first film well enough and being aware that this one came out recently i finally gave it a shot, and I'm glad i did because it was really exciting! This movie expands on the mystery of the first in a pretty organic way, tying in other incidents that may or may not be connected to the tragedy of the first movie. I found this one more engaging than the first due to the abundance of in universe material to look at, though this does come at a price which is that the film's narrative is much less focused and controlled, which may be a downside if you don't enjoy storytelling that is slightly scatterbrained. Regardless this entry has taken me from ambivalent about the first to actively excited for the next. I'm totally hooked!

There are some negatives though, such as the film's overuse and abuse of musical stings and cues. This movie is slightly less scary than the first, though it has more scary material overall. I say watch if you liked the first one. 7/10.

Acting was brutal but the writing was even worse. The Minerva part of the story is hardly touched, left wide open, with no resolution. The "EMT" all of a sudden was involved in another woman's disappearance call that pops out of no where and he's all of a sudden a volunteer fireman. And he's not a cop so why would he have had a camera on him while he was on his "search". I just don't understand how these writers get movies made that have so many holes and the story is so unfinished. The evidence in the bag mysteriously left unchecked is not believable especially containing the girl's unchecked cell phone. But it didn't matter in the end because the writer just abandons that part of the story. Movie actually had promise. Writing was not good.

The first movie I watched just because I saw the close to 8 rating on this one and my OCD would kill me if I started a series with a sequel. Except that business with Star Wars. But that, that doesn't count.

I'm very glad I did. This isn't a spectacular horror movie, but then what even is? Worth asking. For me, the best horror is able to bring the scares without relying on kitsch like jump scares. And it isn't gratuitous with the violence, while not being afraid to use it either. But perhaps most importantly, it's gotta tell a good story. And the story established in both films is vague enough to be menacing, while pointed enough to establish itself as doing something new-while not even being very new.

HHD (someone's gotta coin the shorthand title after all) is a series that, so far, has taken the found footage and documentary narrative styles and performed them together in a remarkably smooth way. Seriously, as it starts you think, "Ah this is gonna get old." But by about midway, I found myself wondering, "Well if there was something like this in real life, wouldn't this be how it'd be delivered?" Don't get me wrong, it's not unique. But it's pulled off without it being clunky and dumb, which in this genre is itself unique enough.

What's more, often the independent productions either go too far into graphics and effects, which fail to make up for the hollowness of the rest and with they can ill afford anyways, resulting in a weird piece of uncanny valley with bad dialogue, or they sacrifice so much at the artsy fartsy altar that watching it feels like a Halloween TEDTalk by Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'd say not in a good way, but I don't think there is a good way.

In short, these folks have done a great job at just making a solid entry into a sorely unappreciated genre. And I look forward to the next entry, which is all but guaranteed following this second chapter.

Please, really please, don't sell out.

The first one was a slow boring drag until right near the end. This one starts off interesting and kept me interested the whole time. It's really a 5/10 but I gave it a 7 to offset the stupidly negative reviews.

The acting is for the most part good. Lighting is good. Never had a problem seeing anything except when I wasn't supposed to. Sound was good as well.

I would also like to say that the actress playing Minerva is absolutely stunning.

There really should have been some kind of transition between them talking and Minerva and the other girl. Instead it just jumps right into it. And then jumps right back to Minerva's friend and the reporter from the first one.

Also, what kind of idiot would tell their child to get out of their car and go hide on the side of the road if they were to break down? In the car you may be seen and have nowhere to run but you still have something between you and whatever might be outside. You would be completely exposed if you get out.

All the good things from the first movie don't continue here.

Bad script, bad effects, bad actors, bad production, a boring movie.

Definitely a disappointing sequel.

Every minute that the film progresses, it is declining in terms of horror and in terms of that mockumentary, which worked so well in "Horror in the high desert 1".

Speaking of "Horror in the high desert 1", the protagonist's story resembled an investigative show on TV.

Sadly, the director got everything wrong.

I give it 1/10 because I was expecting something similar to "Horror in the high desert 1" and ended up seeing mediocre found footage, without the same horror as the first.

I watched this movie after checking IMDB rating and reviews. I was quite excited that my time will be spent good. All this expectation shattered within few first minutes of the movie because it literally seems some bunch of people got out to nevada for site seeing and there upon looking at the few ruined shacks and trailer they decided then and there to film a movie. Zero story, Zero build-up, Zero scenes.

Just shot in dark with not-so-scary voices and cherry on the top .... some kids made horror paintings appearing on the screen.

Simply NOTHING there to watch.

Such a non-sense. I don't know the answer to the IMDB question here; Does this review contains spoilers?

I mean when there is no story what spoilers a review can bear.

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME.!!!!!!!!

The images that this movie conjured in my own mind actually gave me nightmares. When the woman tells her story and says that she overheard her father saying to her mother at night while the were looking out the window at strangers on their ranch "I DON'T THINK THOSE ARE PEOPLE" I got literal goosebumps and I don't think that has ever happened. The way in which these movies show just enough without showing too much is brilliant. It doesn't seem to work for everyone judging by some of the other reviews on here but for the rest of us this stuff haunts my sleep. I do wish they would have shown the woman telling those stories but maybe that is part of the next one.

Wonderfully unique scary moments from a found footage movie, which is hard to come by these days. The movie does an absolutely masterful job of the show burn and makes us genuinely afraid of the dark. The acting and editing is so believable, you could honestly trick folks into believing it's a documentary. The only thing is the lack of an ending, just really left us hanging there with little to no conclusion. Not even a cliff hanger; just lost the plot entirely. I assume the last clip is to lead into the next film, but feels like they ran out of budget, or time, or something and had to wrap up quickly. Poor way to treat the audience after all that effort.

Honestly, this is pure garbage. The first was bad and now this is even worse. Slow, boring long scenes of people mooching about with zero tension. No resolution and they have the cheek to set up a sequel, like this dreck deserves its own universe. It's so wants to be the Blair witch but has zero atmosphere or any decent protag or character/law hook. Such arrogance from such poor story writers and film makers.

I have a lot of patience for found footage films, normally come away with something but this just made me miserable. Honestly.

Abysmal and not worth watching for free.

Avoid this, the prequel and if by some miracle they acquire the 200 dollars needed then avoid the sequels sequel too.

This was pretty decent for a sequel, however where it did some things better, it also was a tad too short and got a bit tedious at times, I liked all three of these movies but this one and "Firewatch" gave me a sense that they set out to make ONE sequel and then were like nah wait a sec. And decided to make the sequel into two movies instead.

This film also hints that whatever Gary (Gawy) found out there has a more supernatural tint instead of just inbred cannibals.

If you liked the first one you'll probably like this one as well, and if you like this one you'll probably like the "Firewatch" as well, I recommend watching them in one sitting, they're not that long and though slow paced aren't boring either.

I could've done without some slow paced scenes such as the volunteer firefighter (who is later mentioned as EMT) running around inside the abandoned mine town, they could've made that a tad bit shorter and maybe added a couple more "eyewitness accounts" or spooky stories, anyway its a good film just not as good as the first one, and even the third one is slightly better because of the pacing.

A horror film setup as a low budget documentary? Really?

Wow, where to start ... or maybe just don't. Let me start off with a simple suggestion. Next time try having even your friends publish REAL reviews. A bunch of 9 and 10 stars just tick people off (like me) and instead of just ignoring the movie and moving on I am going to take the time to write a REAL review that will not be flattering.

To start with how did they think they were going to pull off a 'horror' movie when half the movie is a documentary shot in the template of Instagram. What junk. The other half of the movie is walking around at night with a flash light ... SPOOOOKY!

I am no fan of the 'Instagram/Tiktok' type of movie. Oh its great for college classes and to impress your fans, but don't push this to the general public an expect much.

...suffering through this ordeal, that is.

Right, well I haven't even seen the first movie or documentary here, as I sat down to watch the 2023 "Horror in the High Desert 2 Minerva". So I didn't know what I was in for. I believed it was a horror movie, and thus I opted to watch it, even without having seen the first movie.

And I have to say I am rather confused whether "Horror in the High Desert 2 Minerva" is supposed to be a documentary or a movie shot to look like a documentary. But truth be told, the contents that unfolded on the screen were so boring and pointless that it hardly matter, because I simply didn't care about what was going on. I was expecting to watch a horror movie, and instead I am served a documentary of sorts.

This was a swing and a miss, and it is not something I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on.

My rating of "Horror in the High Desert 2 Minerva", from writer and director Dutch Marich, lands on a one out of ten star, as it was nothing at all what I was lead to believe.

I've watched them all; blockbuster, high budget, low budget, indie, and I can still count on one hand the number of films that have actually scared me and gave that deep, unsettled feeling... this, and the first one, are in that count! Nothing about this film feels inauthentic, from the beginning you are immersed in the mystery, the cast are all fantastic and deliver their role with authenticity, it feels 100% real! My husband and I always say less is more when it comes to the climax of a film, particularly found footage, and Dutch Marich strikes that balance absolutely perfectly. You see enough to make you glad you didn't see more, as what you see is enough to terrify you and feel for what these poor characters went through. There's no over the top lengthy scenes of screaming, camera shaking and glitching (which as a found footage fanatic I hate!), it's deep, unsettling, to the bone horror, where every scene is meaningful and makes you on edge for the next instalment to find out more. We'll be buying this on Blu ray when it comes out, thank you Dutch Marich, and we cannot wait for the next one!

The movie is a real cheap disaster.

Whoever intends to watch this film hoping for the horror genre, will actually waste their time listening to boring and endless monologues.

So you better skip watching this movie and don't trust the current 6.1 star rating at all.

I hope this is just amateur work, because I can't believe anyone would pay to see this movie.

The best thing about this movie is its short duration of one hour and 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, many of us often get addicted to the initial high ratings, however, as time passes and people become more actively involved in comments and ratings, I hope that the rating will become realistic, i.e. Something above 1.

For a found footage type film, it's got a pretty clever format.

However, it's not quite as exciting as other examples of the genre.

For such a low budget film, though, you have to give the creators props for providing a rather engaging experience.

Unfortunately, the story gets a bit muddled in the second half.

Before ending too abruptly...with too little payoff.

Full disclosure: I never saw the first installation of this series...so I am, perhaps lacking a bit of context on that front.

But I don't think it changes much in regards to how much I enjoyed the film...which wasn't that much.

And I'm not sure how inclined I am to stay tuned for the third film...which they clearly set themselves up for with this.

After the first bit of the film, I really thought I was going to like this alot more than I did.

So I can't help but feel that I left disappointed.

But I will give them credit for establishing a decent model, consisting of an intriguing pastiche of horror tropes.

Even if that is all that it has going for it.

2 out of 10.

The found footage genre has been done to death and it's the typical trope of a whole lot of nothing until the last ten minutes where still nothing really happens.

I watched the first one a while back and I managed to sit through it but felt the same in the way in the structure of how these films are done, it's just boring and offers nothing new and the ending to this one gave away less clues than the last one and hints at a third which in all honesty must be a cash grab as these films cost little to nothing to make but make a decent profit from it so I can't knock the hustle.

The only ones I can say have been generally impressive over the last couple of years are dead stream, the incantation and host. This really isn't worth your time and unless you're willing to watch the next five films to piece together what's actually happening (just as paranormal activity did and even that was tripe) it's better left unanswered.

I gave it three stars as generosity, I don't mind a bad movie as long as it's not boring, I was bored throughout and a boring movie is worse than a bad one.