Fan-Favorite 80s Horror Crime Thriller Gets Sequel Almost 40 Years Later With Original Star And Director

What was the first Amsterdamned about, exactly? The film was directed by Dick Maas, and it tells the story of a killer stalking Amsterdam and using the city’s famous canals to dispose of his victims. The only man who can stop his reign of terror is a grizzled police detective who must balance life as a single dad with what will become the case of a lifetime.

As a relatively unknown Dutch film, the cast of the first Amsterdamned isn’t exactly filled with household names. Nonetheless, the cast is (ahem) killer, with Huub Stapel giving a particularly excellent performance as the detective in a race against time to stop the killer before the canal is overflowing with victims. Holding it all together is Dick Maas, the director who gives the film style and flair while helping separate it from more familiar slasher franchises like Halloween and Friday the 13th.

With that rundown of the first film out of the way, what can we expect from Amsterdamned II? Some good news for fans of the original is that this sequel will be directed by Dick Maas, meaning that it should easily channel the best of what the first film had to offer. Speaking of what the first film had to offer, this sequel will also star Huub Stapel, reprising his role as a now much older detective brought out of retirement to tackle a new threat.

So far, most of the plot details of Amsterdamned II are unknown, but what we do know sounds pretty intriguing. Stapel’s detective is apparently “brought back from retirement by a revelation that shakes him to his core.” He teams up with a younger detective, played by Tara Lee, and together, they “fight against an evil that threatens them and the city of Amsterdam.”

In addition to the intriguing (if sparse) story details, we’re excited about Amsterdamned II because it sounds like a passion project for almost everyone involved. In addition to the excitement of the original directors and stars, the CEO of Incredible Films (the distributor of the sequel) is very enthusiastic about the project. He noted how he and his company are “delighted to be representing the sequel” and claims that it will “captivate audiences once more with its gripping tale of mystery and terror.”

While Amsterdamned II doesn’t have a firm release date yet, production will begin later this year, and the goal is to release the film in 2025 to help celebrate the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam itself. That may seem a little odd, but as horror fans know, fans take tours every year to revisit the iconic locations used for the original Friday the 13th film. If fans of Jason Voorhees and his killer mom can celebrate an obscure area of New Jersey every year, then why can’t the filmmakers behind Amsterdamned celebrate the city they love so much that it became part of the movie title?

We’re still waiting for more details about Amsterdamned II to emerge, but so far, we’re cautiously optimistic. Right now, veteran horror franchises like Scream seem to be going off the rails, so this is the perfect time to cast a wider net for spooky cinema. Just keep that net out of Amsterdam’s famous canals, or you might find a disfigured body hidden beneath the surface.

Source: Variety