After the success of their previous documentary, the team behind the original sightings are called in to check on the whereabouts of a missing couple that disappeared trying to partake in a special challenge set up from the film and get caught in a series of events with the original creature.
This was a massively enjoyable follow-up. One of the strongest elements of this one is the great backstory that connects the films together while setting up the original footage being showcased. Letting the first one stand as its own piece of lore and turning it into a type of social media experiment full of call-backs, homages, and other ripoffs that we get to see play out in the years since as the new footage of the supposed creature out in the wilds that came about because people were attempting what the original was all about in the name of social media glory is a fun storyline here. This allows for everything to feel connected and as a part of the same intervening universe as the way it provides the launching pad to get the group back into the series of woods they originally encountered the creature by trying to track down a group of missing influencers during one of the challenges. That allows the series of encounters here to come off quite nicely overall. The first attacks here involving the series of encounters shown as part of the social media challenges they've inspired are the kind of short, easily-impressive attack that would be found in this kind of setup, while the recovered footage of the encounter that spurs them into action is quite fun being a chilling enough setup involving the sounds around them and the dawning realization that they're in over their heads. With the later scenes of the two out in the wilderness trying to find the creature being filmed with the close-quarters cameras, it creates a more up-close style that goes nicely with these scenes featuring the guys trying to get out of the way of the hunters as well as the creature attacking the compound which all make for a rather fun time throughout here. There's really only one flaw here as it does have a drawback. The main source for that is the decision to introduce the gang of hunters at the end of the second half which is completely unnecessary and brings about a wholly underwhelming feeling. What had been a fantastic half found-footage/half-mockumentary approach to the type of concept employed here, instead brings a twist for no real reason other than to have a more human antagonist at this point in the film as it serves no real purpose. They're not built up or even mentioned previously so their appearance comes out of nowhere, most of what they do is just lame, and they're disposed of like an afterthought, leaving it to feel introduced for little reason. It's really the only issue to be had with this one.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.
