Amsterdamned 2 (2025)
Plot: who or what is prowling and killing in the Amsterdam canals?
How do you follow up your most successful movie? How do you even approach such a venture after nigh on 40 years? Do you do a sequel or a remake now that people only vaguely remember the name? Amsterdamned II is, as the Roman numeral so astutely indicates, the long protracted (and, apparently, much overdue) sequel to Amsterdamned (1988). It’s the movie that Dick Maas always wanted to make. It is historic not only for being the follow-up to an uncontested Nederhorror classic, but also for being the first horror sequel that Maas has ever done in a long and storied career spanning four decades and as many ups and downs. While legacy sequels are generally frowned upon and despised with good reason, this one is different. It respects the original, brings back beloved characters, and makes the known format feel fresh.
How else to describe director/producer/writer Dick Maas than a fearless pioneer? He made Nederhorror the juggernaut it is today – and his contributions to genre cinema are indelible. Maas was not afraid to think big and beyond the borders of home. He debuted with De Lift (1983) and that put him on the international genre cinema map. He filmed music videos (and a 1984 concert film) for the rock band The Golden Earring and in the early 2000s he did the same for popular crooner Marco Borsato. The crude comedy Flodder (1986) consolidated his reputation as a man who knew his audience and what the unwashed masses wanted. He somewhat unconventionally followed that up with Amsterdamned (1988). Almost immediately there were talks of a potential sequel that was provisionally dubbed Rotterdoom. Yet nothing materialized as Flodder (1986) sequels were more commercially viable at the time. Do Not Disturb (1999) didn’t do much of anything whereas Down (2001) was the ill-fated American remake of De Lift (1983). Moordwijven (2007) (or Killer Babes) was a hit domestically but Maas’ next big hit would probably be Sint (2010). Ten years later there was the Jeffrey De Vore documentary The Dick Maas Method (2020). Now, fifteen years removed from Sint (2010) Maas is back and reliving his glory days. 37 years on, and here we are, the legacy sequel Amsterdamned II. This is everything that Prey (2016) wasn’t.
When a vacationing American couple (Lesley Grant and Vaughn Johseph) and later an aging drag queen (Patrick Stoof) are brutally and bloodily slain at the Reguliersgracht and the VOC ship at the Oudezijds Achterburgwal, respectively, in two consecutive nights hard-nosed workaholic detective Tara Lee (Holly Mae Brood) is put on the case. To crack the case discreetly and efficiently Lee takes along her partner Dickie van Dongen (Ruben Brinkman) and thus commences the preliminary investigation. When two socialites are victimized Lee is duly expected by her chief to expedite a viable suspect. While there’s no DNA evidence to substantiate his suspicions the pattern of the killings is unmistakable of an old case. This forces chief Koos van Amstel (Pieter van der Sman) to summon retired detective Eric Visser (Huub Stapel) to Amsterdam. 37 years prior Visser had put away Armand Sluiter (Door van Boeckel) and he’s now strictly involved as an external consultant. While he’s in Amsterdam Eric spends time with his daughter Anneke (Tatum Dagelet). He and Tara are relentlessly hounded by journalist Mick van den Berg (Steef Cuijpers). Two persons of interest emerge from the databases. Initial evidence points to the vagrant Jozef Visbeen (Bas Keijzer), an old associate of Sluiter, with a checkered criminal past and history of mental illness. A clandestine search of Visbeen’s warehouse/workshop leads to an extended chase through the canals and his eventual self-immolation. Another is Czech immigrant Dragana Jankovic (Pieternel Bollmann). Van Dongen puts his stock in a disgraced professor (Pierre Bokma) who has his own theories about what lives in the canals. Eventually the mayor (Mirjam van der Veen) deploys the military to aid in apprehending the suspect resulting in an immediate curfew and effective lockdown of the city until further notice. As Lee and Visser rush to quell the terror that has gripped the city one question remains: who’s prowling the canals and what’s their motivation?
Huub Stapel is a living monument and one of the pillars of Dutch cinema for 4 decades. He has worked with Maas frequently over the years starring in his biggest hits starting with De Lift (1983), Flodder (1986) (and its sequels), Amsterdamned (1988), and Sint (2010). Stapel has aged gracefully and, as of this writing, shows no signs of slowing down. Holly Mae Brood is the adopted daughter of legendary singer (pianist, painter, actor, and author) Herman Brood. She’s the younger half-sister of Lola Pop Brood. Making their return from the 1988 original are Tatum Dagelet, Serge-Henri Valcke, and Tanneke Hartzuiker. Curiously absent is Monique van de Ven. A pleasant surprise is Dunya Khayame as medical examiner/forensic pathologist Helga Liebermann. Early on subplots concerning Lee’s junkie sister Roos (Stephanie Louwrier) and one of Visser’s old paramours (Cynthia Abma) threaten to emerge, but they are forgotten about as soon as they’re introduced. Abma is the only holdover from Sint (2010). As for the Dutch babes here we have Stephanie van Eer and Florence Vos Weeda. Time will tell whether Dutch Instagram influencers Joann van den Herik, Viviane Liliane Bron, or Samantha Boon will ever work with Dick Maas. Hey, let’s not forget Belgian curvy wonder Sharon Grobben either. A muse is what Maas always abided by.
Talk of consistency. Amsterdamned II is structurally identical to the 1988 original. Perhaps we’re over-analyzing this a bit but we detect faint echoes and some tangential contours of Aliens (1986) (the hero of the original joins forces with a new team, the environment is different but the threat the same, there’s increased military presence, the journalist stands in for the corrupt company man, etc). Maas’ usual throughline of environmentalism, government corruption, and corporate conspiracy is ubiquitous and this time it’s spiced up with a newfound progressive and socially conscious values of egalitarianism, tolerance, and equality. There’s a bit of subtext decrying the moral decay of the present age and decline of the city, although it’s not as pronounced. Has Maas become a social justice warrior (a pejorative to some) in his old age? No, he always was one to begin with. Greater focus is put upon the irrevocable and inexorable passage of time, the wear and tear of senior age (and how that affects the characters, both old and new), and to a lesser degree, the generation gap, and the futility of good intentions. The former is manifest in a small number of grandpa jokes and the latter is limited to a few throwaway lines. Plus, there’s a bit of nautical and maritime wordplay because this is Dick Maas and that’s the kind of funny man he is. As always with Maas Amsterdamned II is beautifully shot and it retains the greyish color palette of the original but reimagines it in pristine digital form. There’s a plethora of atmospheric aerial drone shots and the special – and visual effects are exemplar on the budget.
Dick Maas has emerged as the ultimate survivalist and somehow, some way even evolved with the times. Amsterdamned II is classic Maas doing a bonus lap and sees him basking in reliving past glories and reclaiming old victories. If Amsterdamned II does become the box office/streaming hit it ought to be it might very well usher in a late-career revival for Nederhorror’s most iconic and persistent purveyor. Unlike many others Maas has weathered the storm and navigated the perilous tides. He relentlessly has not ceded ground in an ever-changing industry that seldom truly appreciated him and survived the treacherous whims of popular tastes as genres went in and out of fashion. Amsterdamned II proves that there’s still life to the old Nederhorror corpse, and that it shouldn’t be discounted as the relic of a bygone past. You just can’t keep a good man down. Will that belated sequel to Sint (2010) at long last happen?
