Grave Encounters 2 is a 2012 Canadian found footage supernatural horror film written by the Vicious Brothers and directed by John Poliquin. The sequel to Grave Encounters (2011), it stars Richard Harmon, Leanne Lapp, Dylan Playfair, Stephanie Bennett, and Howard Lai as a group of fans of the original Grave Encounters film who break into the same psychiatric hospital where the film took place to investigate whether its events were real and find themselves terrorized by the hospital's malevolent entities. The film utilizes metafictional and film within a film elements as Sean Rogerson plays a fictional version of himself who reprises his role as Lance Preston from the original film.
Grave Encounters 2 was released on iTunes on October 2, 2012, with a limited theatrical release in the United States, on October 12, 2012. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $8.2 million against a $1.4 million budget, but unlike its predecessor, it was largely panned by critics.
Contents
Plot
Film student Alex Wright is a fan of Grave Encounters, a found footage supernatural horror film which the entire public aside from him believes to be fictional. He posts an online plea for information about the film and receives a message from someone named "DeathAwaits6". The message leads Alex to the mother of Sean Rogerson, the actor who played Lance Preston in Grave Encounters. She believes that Sean is still alive but Alex discovers that she has dementia and does not realize that her son is dead.
Alex realizes the cast and crew from Grave Encounters are all missing or have died, except for the directors, the Vicious Brothers, who are actually interns of the first film's producer Jerry Hartfield and were not directly involved. Alex meets Hartfield, who confesses that the film was actual found footage. Discovering that the Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital is actually an abandoned asylum in British Columbia, Canada, Alex and his friends—Trevor Thomspon, Jennifer Parker, Tessa Hamill, and Jared Lee—travel there to meet DeathAwaits6 and discover a Ouija board. The group use it to communicate with the spirits, realizing that their online contact is not a person, but a paranormal entity, which turns violent and attacks them.
The group make their way out before being stopped by a security guard. As they argue, the guard goes inside the asylum to investigate a noise. The group hear gun shots and go back inside to check what happened, finding that the guard has disappeared. They are attacked by the spirits and become separated; Jared gets lost and is violently hurled out of a window while Tessa has her head crushed by an invisible force. Alex, Trevor, and Jennifer regroup and witness as the guard is fatally electrocuted in an operation table. They manage to escape the asylum and return to their hotel room, but the elevator leads them right back to the tunnels beneath the asylum.
Alex, Trevor, and Jennifer meet a lobotomized Sean and discover that he has been trapped inside the asylum, surviving on toilet water and rats for over nine years. Sean explains that the reason the asylum is haunted is due to Dr. Arthur Friedkin's satanic experiments and rituals which merged the spirit world and the physical world. He shows them a red door and reveals it is the only way out, but is wrapped in chains. Sean also provides them a map he created explaining how bigger the asylum is and how its layout constantly changes. While the group sleeps for the night, Sean, compelled by Dr. Friedkin, strangles Trevor to death and steals Alex's equipment to cut the chains on the door.
Cast
Richard Harmon as Alex Wright
Sean Rogerson as Lance Preston / Himself
Dylan Playfair as Trevor Thompson
Leanne Lapp as Jennifer Parker
Stephanie Bennett as Tessa Hamill
Howard Lai as Jared Lee
Sean Tyson as the asylum's security guard
Ben Wilkinson as Jerry Hartfield
Arthur Corber as Dr. Arthur Friedkin
Brenda McDonald as Mrs. Rogerson
The Vicious Brothers as themselves
Dalila Bela as Kaitlin, a former patient at Collingwood
Roy Campsall as the emaciated demon
Melissa Valvok and Brenda Anderson as nurse demons
Dale Hall as an operated patient
Maddox Valvok as an infant
Merwin Mondesir (uncredited cameo) as T. C. Gibson / Himself
Mackenzie Gray (uncredited cameo) as Houston Grey / Himself
Juan Riedinger (uncredited cameo) as Matt White / Himself
Ashleigh Gryzcko (uncredited cameo) as Sasha Parker / Herself
Production
Grave Encounters 2 began production in late 2011 and was released on October 12, 2012. Early in production it was revealed that the film would be directed by John Poliquin, and only written by the Vicious Brothers. The film's budget was $1,400,000. It was released on October 12, 2012 in a limited theatrical run, but released earlier in the month on iTunes for download.
Reception
Critical response
Grave Encounters 2 was largely panned by critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 9% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9 out of 10. Although it was panned, some critics praised the acting, especially Sean Rogerson's performance.
Future
Cancelled sequel
In May 2015, the Vicious Brothers announced plans for a third installment, entitled Grave Encounters 3: The Beginning, but it never went into production.
Reboot
On September 18, 2025, it was announced that an American reboot is in development, with Justin Long set to star, as well as produce alongside Kate Bosworth and the Vicious Brothers. The reboot aims to "modernize the concept into a cinematic experience, heightening the dread, claustrophobia, and psychological terror that made the original a fan favorite".
