The horror comedy CarousHELL is a much loved film among horror fans and a lot of us clamored for a sequel.
Well the day has come for all us CarousHELL-maniacs to group together, eat candy floss and celebrate the return of Duke the unicorn in CarousHELL The 2ND.
Directed by Steve Rudzinski and Written by Aleen Isley & Steve Rudzinski, who also both are Producers on the film along with Rebecca Rinehart. The film stars:
Steve Rimpici (War of the Worlds, Star Trek-Henglaar, M.D., Easter Casket) who returns to his role of Duke the unicorn.
B. Barnabei (A Meowy Christmas, The Survivors, Final Fantasy IX FanDub) will be lending a voice to Robbie, Duke’s unicorn-human hybrid son.
Scream Queen Rebecca Rinehart (Slumber Party Slaughter Party, Faces of the Dead, and the upcoming project The Embalmers) will be joining us as social media-driven villain Katrina.
CarousHELL co-writer Aleen Isley (Everyone Must Die! Captain Z and the Terror of Leviathan, Meowy Christmas) will be hopping on screen as the sadistic Ilsa.
Judy Kirby reprises her role as Ms. Laurence, the mother of Lunchbox and Laurie in the first CarousHELL.
Terence Cover will be bringing life to the role of Otto, Ilsa’s longtime servant and head henchman.
Mark McConnell Jr. will portray the man of many disguises, Klaus. CarousHELL: The Second will mark his first appearance in a feature film.
Synopsis:
Duke has always wondered about his purpose in life. Who he was, what he was, what he was meant to do.
He just found out he is a father. He needs to meet his son, he needs to find out. Is fatherhood his answer?
At the same time, those who created Duke years ago have finally found him. The Nazis who created Duke as a weapon want him back. Duke needs to confront them. Is being a weapon his answer?
Now Duke has to deal with being a dad AND Nazis using dark magic.
Check out Director Steve Rudzinski statement about the film below:
CarousHELL the 2nd is a hilarious, heartwarming, and bloody edition to the Slasher film genre that I truly believe both horror fans and general audiences are going to love and never forget.
A lot of people really enjoyed CarousHELL 1. Horror fans and non-Horror fans alike united over the film’s wacky premise, well-done kills, and its humor. It had been years of people asking for a sequel so we felt it was finally time to deliver. But Aleen and I agreed on something before we even started writing; we did not want this to just be the same movie again.
As a Horror fan I have seen far too many Horror sequels that are just the same story but with different characters. It would have been so easy for someone new to insult Duke and that lead to Duke killing another party of young adults. Instead what we wanted to do was make this truly a “Part 2,” an actual continuation of the story and Duke’s character arc. Through the events of the film, Duke would learn new information, question himself, and grow as a person (or I suppose as a unicorn).
During CarousHELL 1, Aleen and I already knew the second film would be about the child born in the mid-credit scene in some way. Aleen was the one to first suggest that a significant portion of this entry should be closer to a wholesome family comedy than a Horror, which I completely agreed with. I wanted to see Duke do more than only quip and kill, I wanted to show more layers within this homicidal carousel unicorn. I wanted to see him be a father. This writing was at times hard for me personally, growing up without a consistent father figure in my life. Duke ended up being an amalgamation of the fathers of other people I spoke to as well as the father I wish I had.
Of course we had to balance this with the kills and gore, so what would the villain be? This was far easier for Aleen and I to work out, knowing from day one that Duke was a Nazi experiment. Who else feels better to kill in a Horror film than Nazis? Thus CarousHELL the 2nd became a mash up of a wholesome story of learning what being a father is as well as a brutal battle against disgusting Nazis. Duke’s past caught up with him in more than only one way.
Of course in terms of production we kicked everything up as well. More time was spent on setting up shots, setting up more interesting lighting, planning out edits a lot more, the work with the full Robbie puppet, and putting a lot of emphasis on delivering the amazing kills people loved from the first film.
Looking at the final product, I have to say without question this is the greatest movie I have ever made. The story means a lot to me from an emotional stand point as well. One reason is due to the emotional aspect of the fatherhood themes, as well as the great pacing and storytelling with every other character. The other reason is this being the first time I’ve made a movie that was actually anticipated by fans; this is the first movie I’ve made with expectations from audiences.
They’re going to be pleased with this. CarousHELL: the 2nd gives people everything they loved about the first and delivers on so much more to make it stand out. Somehow we succeeded in making a unique and hilarious take on the Slasher genre that will make this entry stand out even MORE than the original did. This isn’t the first killer carousel unicorn movie anymore, but it’s going to stand out without needing to be that. If CarousHELL 1 kept finding new fans half a decade later, there is no doubt CarousHELL 2 will out perform that. I hope you agree.
CarousHELL The 2ND is available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray (along with other titles) direct from the filmmakers at: