Hotel Transylvania 2

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : 6th November, 2015
Time : 89 minutes
Director : Genndy Tartakovsky; Writers : Robert Smigel, Adam Sandler; Music : Mark Mothersbaugh;
Starring : Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Asher Blinkoff, Dana Carvey, Fran Drescher, Molly Shannon, Mel Brooks




One of the worst things that can happen to you, as a movie-goer, is the realization that the trailer was the best part. A ghoulishly unimaginative script, scarily stale jokes and monstrously mournful music ensure that the laugh quotient versus the first one is guillotined into less than half.

The Count marries off his daughter, Mavis, to the human, Johnny, and is delighted when she bears a son, Dennis, thrilled that the Dracula bloodline will continue. However, Mavis, a classic over-protective mom, gently points out that there is a high probability that the baby could be human too. And when a couple of years pass by, without any of the vampire signs (fangs, for instance), Dracula decides to take Dennis to his old haunts, after sending the parents away, in the hope that it will tilt him to the other side…

One of the jokes involves Dracula’s inability to do anything with his new smartphone, thanks to his long nails. The first time you chuckle but by the time the same joke is repeated a third time, you’re ready to set the phone ablaze. It’s mildly amusing, and you share Dracula’s angst, as he observes how all his old haunts (like a campsite) have become tamer, more human (cost of insurance, as the gay campsite manager informs him) but there is nothing which actually makes you laugh out loud.

This may work for kids but unlikely to for any adults. A trailer is supposed to be representative of what lies in the film, so when you find it actually contained the best bits, you almost feel cheated, lied to. It’s tantamount to fraud, isn’t it, and you want your money back…