Most comedies don't really need sequels, not if they're good from the jump and their creators haven't somehow run out of fresh ideas. "Heavier Trip," a follow-up to the feel-good 2018 Finnish death metal comedy "Heavy Trip," doesn't exactly disprove that rule. Here, that earlier movie's lovably single-minded headbanger protagonists return, only to remind us that they were never exactly the richest characters to begin with.
This time, the members of the multihyphenate Scandinavian metal group Impaled Rektum ponder the eternal question: should you sell out if you're given the right opportunity? You probably already know the answer to this one, which doesn't change the fundamental appeal of this type of subculture-adjacent hangout comedy. The chemistry between the group's members, as well as their individual performances, remains the best reason to stick around. There's fewer surprises and less antic urgency than there was in "Heavy Trip," but if you like this sort of comedy—or really, this type of characters—you'll probably find something to enjoy in the inappropriately named "Heavier Trip."
Impaled Rektum's new movie begins in prison, where the boys kill time under the watchful eyes of the wet blanket Warden Petterssen (Mats Eldøen) and the rage case disciplinarian guard Dokken (Helén Vikstvedt). The charges against our guys aren't that significant—stealing a car and a corpse, causing an international incident with Norway, etc.—but they're enough to keep them behind bars. Dokken also doesn't want Impaled Rektum to perform their self-styled brand of (deep breath) "symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme-war-pagan Fennoscandic METAL," which we occasionally see them perform in "Heavy Trip." They're good, too, which makes their trials in both movies even funnier, especially given that their concert scenes are generally well-shot and lit, dynamically choreographed, and appropriately fast-paced.
A canned crisis demands the gang's attention: creatively blocked guitarist Kristian (Samuli Jaskio) must bail out his ailing father (Martti Syrjä), otherwise their family's slaughterhouse will be repossessed. So Impaled Rektum breaks out of jail and pursues a major opportunity working for the aptly named and very well-connected metal producer Mr. Fisto (Anatole Taubman).
Fisto charms the Rektum's anxious but talented vocalist Turo (Johannes Holopainen), who wants to accept their new patron's offer to not only record the band's first studio album, but also put the group on the bill at Wacken, a popular (100,000 attendees) outdoor German metal festival. Xytrax (Max Ovaska), the group's hilariously self-serious bassist, doesn't care for Fisto, which creates some tension within the group. At the same time, Kristian tries to figure out how he can ever be as good as his hero, Megadeth's David Mustaine, while drummer Oula (Chike Ohanwe) struggles to keep his temper in check. Dokken chases them, but only whenever the stock plot needs a kick in the pants.
"Heavier Trip" mostly ambles from one formulaic twist to the next, never really straying far from conventional situations or familiar characterizations. Impaled Rektum's schticky mannerisms are still mostly charming thanks to a committed ensemble cast. Xytrax remains the funniest character in the group though, from the comical furrow built into his ghost paint makeup's oversized brows to his antisocial repartee. This isn't surprising given that, in both movies, Xytrax serves as the band's stubborn conscience.
None of the other characters fare as consistently well as Xytrax, partly because their character-defining tics aren't so consistently well-developed into gut-busting gags and incidental laughs. Holopainen's got the most thankless role since his character-defining crisis—he really wants to trust Fisto, but knows on a gut level that he can't—gives "Heavier Trip" its greatest source of tension. Oula and Kristian often seem like after-thoughts in their own band's story, making it harder to laugh along when their signature tics are reduced to one-note jokes. At least Kristian's prayers to Mr. Moostain pay off in a funny way; Oula only gets to hulk out a couple of times.
It's also hard to get into a comedy that only takes half-hearted swipes at metalheads like Turo and Kristian, both of whom allow themselves to fall for the music industry's fetishizing of the past. Why else does it matter that Fisto offers Turo a black western hat that looks just like Lemmy's (and even has his name in its inner band)? Sometimes the movie's jokes bob along without either a memorable setup or a decent punchline, like when Fisto arranges for a photo shoot for the band, and the photographer's wannabe pompous prompts are the funniest thing in the scene. "I wanna feel your danger...your emotion...your SEXUAL rage!" Me too, man.
That all said, "Heavier Trip" does feature enough chummy quips and laugh aloud physical comedy to make it worth a look, especially if you enjoyed "Heavy Trip." That earlier movie remains fresh and funny, especially when compared to this comforting, but inessential rehash.
