A young, struggling female documentarian with an unpopular web series where she showcases disturbed shut-ins, receives an invitation to meet up with a stranger in a posh cabin in the woods. Feeling she has nothing to lose and is desperate for an intriguing subject for her failing show, she accepts the offer and - who does it turn out to be? Why, Joseph from the previous movie - now going by the name Aaron (name presumably stolen from the former victim). He proceeds to nonchalantly admit to being a prolific serial killer and - because she doesn't seem to totally believe him and is getting higher quality footage - she continues hanging with him and they develop a weird, non-sexual, freak-o friendship. However, shit starts getting a little too 'real' for the film-maker when her 'star' begins goading her into murdering him and he eventually makes it clear that he has some devious plans in store for her.
Of course, with this one - if you've seen the first one - you pretty much know what's going on from the start and what the outcome will be, more or less, so the 'creep's' intentions are never a mystery. That said, this follow-up works well as far as pacing and establishing an interesting dynamic between these two characters - such as having the female co-lead see her demented subject with sympathetic eyes instead of presenting her as another dubious sap. And, once again, Mark Duplass as the 'creep' pulls his role off incredibly well. He's the same guy but is just different enough this time around for his character to work and make you feel pretty uncomfortable with his unpredictable antics and often subtle delivery. Like I said in my review for the first movie - he's the driving force behind these, though I think too many future sequels may make his character, as well as the format and theme of these movies, get a bit stale. I'm interested to see what they do with the third installment.
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