Jon Harris says his routine sequel is a “seamless continuation” of Neil Marshall’s heart-stopping “survival horror” movie, in which six female friends were attacked in an Appalachian cave system by mutant, flesh-eating monsters. Traumatised, amnesiac survivor Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is ordered back underground by a sceptical local sheriff and sets off with the lawman, his female deputy and a three-person rescue team. The first hint of what happened to the five missing women is glimpsed on a video camera’s playback; then the party is attacked by a new breed of ferocious Crawlers.

Simon Bowles’ subterranean sets and Sam McCurdy’s stygian cinematography create a suitably terrifying atmosphere, but ex-editor Harris’ direction is messy, favouring confusing set-piece scares over the all-important group dynamics. Also, the opportunistic resurrection of the (presumed) dead Juno (Natalie Mendoza) is lazy and insulting, and the abrupt, nihilistic ending is in no way earned.

Nigel Floyd

From Time Out London

Dir Jon Harris, Category III, 94 mins, Opens September 9