Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents

Single White Female 2: The Psycho (2005)

"Jealousy is so not sexy."- Holly Parker (Kristen Miller)

Stars: Kristen Miller, Allison Lange, Brooke Burns
Other Stars: Todd Babcock, Francois Giroday, Rif Hutton
Director: Keith Samples

MPAA Rating: R for (violence, sexuality, language)
Run Time: 01h:31m:24s
Release Date: 2005-10-25
Genre: suspense thriller

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
D	D	B+	B+	D-

 

DVD Review

I've completely lost track of how many mindless, low-budget, direct-to-video sequels have been made from relatively successful theatrical films. One such film that seemed primed for such treatment was 1992's Single White Female. The tense thriller starred Bridget Fonda as a twenty-something looking for a roommate, and finding just that and then some in the form of Jennifer Jason Leigh's obsessive maniac. The film took in nearly $50 million at the box office and put the actresses on the mainstream map.

For some reason, it took 15 years for Single White Female 2: The Psycho to be unleashed upon us, and it's too bad it didn't take longer. This isn't even really a sequel; it's more like an ultra-cheap remake of the first film, only without any semblance of the entertainment value that buoyed that picture. The only plus is that the producers didn't try and release this junk in theaters, opting instead to dump it on those of us who dig a good direct-to-video Z-movie every now and then.

This time Holly Parker, (Kristen Miller), who has just moved into a new apartment, finds a roommate in Tess Kositch (Allison Lange). At first, the new pair really hit it off, living in a sort of sorority girl bliss, but Holly soon discovers that Tess tends to take her extra-curricular activities to the extreme. Tess isn't exactly right in the head, seeing herself as a sort of angel of mercy, killing those who she believes are suffering. Of course, these people don't want to be killed, but that doesn't stop Tess from carrying out her psychopathic tendencies.

Holly's personal life is beginning to unravel, with a co-worker going behind her back to keep her from promotion, and her boyfriend taking the word infidelity to the extreme. Tess takes it upon herself to help her friend out and use her "special talents" to put Holly's enemies in their place—a cold, permanently stationary one.

This flick is a mess from beginning to end. The main problem is that it's impossible to shake that haven't we seen this exact thing before? feeling, as the story is almost identical to the first film. If you can get past that, it doesn't get any better, as these actors are atrocious. There really isn't a bright spot as far as acting talent goes, and Brooke Burns (Shallow Hal) is especially awful. No one comes close to the campy work that Jennifer Jason Leigh brought to the original movie, and such an effort is sorely missed. Still, this material clearly isn't calling for any Shakespearean performances, but a bit more of a professional effort might have helped this junk along the road to respectability.

Just about the only thing SWF 2 has going for it is the difficulty the male audience will have in trying to look away from Kristen Miller and Allison Lange. These ladies are drop-dead (pun intended) gorgeous, and director Keith Samples doesn't shy away from nudity and sex in his feature film debut. That alone might be enough for people to give this a look, but just be forewarned that if you're looking for more than some pointless T&A, then you're watching the wrong film.

Rating for Style: D
Rating for Substance: D

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and the transfer is actually pretty solid, especially for a direct-to-video film. While not an overall theatrical look, the images are crisp and detailed enough to put this well above most of these sorts of efforts. Colors are striking and black levels are well handled for such a dark film, and grain and dirt are never a glaring problem either.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is surprisingly strong, especially during sequence with heavy music playing. Bass cooperates with some good directionality to provide a nice, enveloping audio experience that also benefits from clear, well-blended dialogue.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring Single White Female, Wild Things: Diamonds In the Rough, The Deal, Murder at the Presidio
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extras Review: There are previews for other DVD releases, but other than that, extras are nonexistent.

Extras Grade: D-
 

Final Comments

Single White Female 2: The Psycho is definitely a sequel in name only, but it still uses the typical direct-to-video-sequel tactic of using a nearly identical story and throwing some unknown, cheap actors into roles that mirror those of the original project. Aside from impressive audio and video, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's DVD is rather low-key, featuring no extras at all.

Chuck Aliaga 2005-10-26