Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred

Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred
Genre:	Teen movie
Creator:	Lucas Cruikshank

Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred is a 2011 independent comedy film. The film is the sequel to the 2010 film Fred: The Movie, based on the adventures of Fred Figglehorn, a character created and played by Lucas Cruikshank for Cruikshank's YouTube channel. It is a Halloween themed sequel. Jennette McCurdy, who played Bertha in the original Fred, did not return and is replaced by Daniella Monet. John Cena returns as Mr. Figglehorn (Fred's imaginary father), and Jake Weary returns to play Kevin. Supah Ninjas star Carlos Knight co-stars as Kevin's friend and partner. Pixie Lott, who played Judy in the first film, did not return and therefore her character was written out of the plot; it is revealed by Fred that they broke up and she was the one to break up with him, proving they went out following the events of the previous film.

Plot

Fred arrives home screaming and shares his flashback with the audience. The day prior, Fred went to music class to play Fur Elise, and his favorite music teacher Mrs. Felson, who has trouble hearing, told him that he plays beautifully. The next day he comes in to play, expecting Mrs. Felson, but finds out that she has been replaced by a Mr. Devlin. He then sees Mr. Devlin cleaning up and throwing away a hearing aide, which makes Fred suspicious. Later he is walking home with Bertha and sees a girl named Talia following them. Believing that he is being stalked, he runs home screaming.

The next day at school, Devlin encourages students to "Join the World of Music," a music appreciation club. However, Fred thinks that Devlin is trying to turn students into vampires, and to his horror everyone takes the lessons. That night Fred spies on Devlin and sees him burying something, which Fred suspects is a body, possibly Mrs. Felson. Fred then talks to Talia, who suddenly vanishes, causing him to think she is a Ghost. Fred imagines Talia as a Ghost in his house, and falls down the stairs reaching for her. There's a knock on the front door and Fred's mother answers it, its Kevin's mother with an invitation to a party. Both Fred and his mother attend the party, where Fred's mother falls for Mr. Devlin (to Fred's horror) and Fred also discovers that Talia is Kevin's sister (also to Fred's horror). The next day Mr. Devlin takes Fred's mother on a date, making Fred extremely uneasy.

Fred then enlists the help of Bertha to lend a hand in getting proof that Devlin is a vampire. Incognito, they spy on Devlin and Fred's mother during their date, which Fred and Bertha nearly bungle. Later that night, Fred attempts to spy on Devlin more, but he falls from his window. Suddenly Fred's "dad" pulls him up and brings him to a wrestling arena, where they tag team against Mr. Devlin and Kevin. Fred's dad beats up Mr. Devlin and Fred eventually pins Kevin. At this point, Fred wakes up, suggesting it was all a dream.

The next day Fred is horrified to discover Mr. Devlin running a blood drive at school. He's even more disturbed to discover Bertha taking personal music lessons from Devlin. Fred runs around gathering items to use as weapons against vampires, including a street sign with a cross on it and a bucket of garlic sauce he gets from a Chinese food restaurant. He plans to take it all to the piano recital the next day, where Mr. Devlin will be performing.

Fred fills up squirt guns with the garlic sauce and arms himself with various other tools he's gathered up for the big vampire eradication. He then goes on a shooting spree at the recital, soaking everyone as he enters, including Talia. But to Fred's horror, Mr. Devlin invites him into his house for dinner after the fiasco, so that they can bury the hatchet. Fred sets up a live video streaming from his telephone so he can prove that Devlin is a vampire, and enters Devlin's house., Fred discovers a secret butchers' room behind a wall filled with meat and bones. As Fred investigates, Devlin creeps in with a long knife and a tall head-dress, scaring Fred; Fred then drops his telephone into a pot of boiling liquid. The video freezes on Devlin, and the frozen image of Devlin in his headdress causes everyone watching the video to think that he is a vampire. But after Devlin explains every weird hobby he has, Fred starts to relate to him, and he comes to realize Devlin is not a vampire, just a very eccentric and interesting guy.

At school he realizes that everyone has seen his video, which makes everyone believe that Devlin is a vampire. He runs to Devlin's house to apologize but Devlin is too depressed to answer. When Fred sees Mr. Devlin get fired, and put up a sign for his house, saying that he is moving, he feels guilty and tries to fix it all by making them think he is the vampire. Bertha and Talia both help, as Talia reveals how much she dislikes her brother. Kevin and his friends go up to Devlin's house because they think he has Talia. Devlin tells them that vampires are not real, but Bertha comes out and says, "Vampires are real, but it's not Devlin. It's him!" Then, Fred walks out of the garage carrying Talia, threatening to turn her into a vampire too. Bertha makes Kevin stab Fred, and he gets sprayed with fake blood. Devlin sees Fred and accepts his apology, revealing that he quit his job and sold his house of his own choice, but still sees Fred as his one true friend. In the end, as Fred's mother and Devlin go out for dinner and go out the door, Fred looks at the mirror in his house and sees that Mr. Devlin has no reflection, revealing that he was a vampire after all, and Fred screams in terror as the film ends.

Cast

Lucas Cruikshank as Fred Figglehorn/Derf: Fred is a socially awkward and extremely hyperactive sixteen year old living with his mother. Derf is a mysterious stranger who resembles the opposite of Fred. Seth Morris as Mr. Jake Devlin, the new music teacher and Fred's new neighbor. Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Hilda Figglehorn, Fred's mother. Daniella Monet as Bertha, Fred's best friend who wears bizarre clothing, but cares little for what others think. Jake Weary as Kevin, who lives across the street from Fred. He constantly bullies Fred. Ariel Winter as Talia, the new girl in school and Kevin's sister. Stephanie Courtney as Kevin's mother. John Cena as Mr. Figglehorn, Fred's imaginary dad who appears almost out of nowhere to offer Fred advice and support throughout the film. He lives in the family's refrigerator. Carlos Knight as Diesel, Kevin's friend and partner. Matthew Scott Montgomery as Teen Manager Talon Reid as Kevin's Friend Haji Nasir Khushnawa as Khushnawa in cameo rule Jay Jay Warren as Younger Kevin Pixie Lott as Judy (archive footage only and singing voice heard)

Reception

Television broadcast

The initial American television premiere on the channel Nickelodeon drew 5.7 million viewers, down from the previous film's premiere of 7.6 million. However it ranked sixth in the most watched for overall weekly cable programming. The second showing, the following Sunday at 11:00 AM, drew 3.7 million viewers. Enough to rank it as the fourteenth most watched weekly cable programming. The final primetime broadcasting on October 30 drew in 3.2 million views, which ranked the program within the top 20 of cable programming for the night.

Critical reception

The film received mostly negative reviews, however, it was not as negative as the previous Fred film. IMDb gave the film a 3/10 based on 6 reviews. Common Sense Media gave the film 2 out of 5 stars based on 23 reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 38% based on 2 reviews.