I’m usually not a fan of sequels, but I find myself going to them anyway. I suppose it’s just as well … someone needs to review these things. And so I bring you the low-down on Spring II: Revenge of the Hive, the critically acclaimed sequel to Spring I.

Even before the release, fans of Spring I were complaining that Spring II was going to be something of a Disney sequel: a low-budget spin-off of the original designed to milk every available penny from unsuspecting patrons. While they were right about the low-budget part, I felt that the sequel really did add something to the overall story of the Spring series. I managed to knock out four important major classes.

I felt Spring II really helped bring some closure to the fans who wanted to go that extra mile, or who might not have made it to the action-packed prequel of the Spring series: Fall 2005. But Spring II: Return of the Hive had a very different feel to it. Spring I, set in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, had a moving overtone of “we shall overcome” woven into the whole plot, whereas the sequel was much darker.

Spring II is set in a post-apocalyptic Loyola where food is nearly impossible to come by and tensions are high due to the sub-standard living conditions of Biever Hall. The characters’ fight for survival is reminiscent of “The Jungle” or perhaps “The Lord of the Flies”.

There is also a new arch-villain in Spring II. Rather than a massive, looming storm, the heroes of SII find themselves pitted against a ravenous horde of flesh-eating fire ants, which slowly invade Biever Hall. The ants, no longer able to stomach O.R. food, must resort to eating students and, like all classic monsters, once they have tasted human flesh they will settle for nothing less. After the efforts of Res Life (the comic relief) fail to defeat the hungry swarm, the students are forced to take matters into their own hands. I won’t go into detail to avoid spoiling it for you, but let’s just say things get ugly.

Spring II was split into two parts, each made up of five weeks, though some classes were reserved for the Special Edition Director’s Cut, a 10-week session that overlapped the other two. Those who came for the five-week version described it as “intense” and even “overwhelming,” while those who came for the Director’s Cut said it had a more causal pace, with most of the action concentrated into the last 10 days.

The story ends in a climax called “exam week,” a recurring motif from Spring I and Fall 2005. As it turns out the real enemy is not the ants at all, but rather the very forces of hell itself. With less time than usual to prepare, the students are caught off-guard and eventually forced to sell their souls in exchange for passing grades (or in some cases super powers).

Luckily, in the end, most of the professors take pity on their students and sell their souls back for only half price. In the end, Spring II: Revenge of the Hive was not a particularly enjoyable experience, but I think most who attended agree that it was the necessary follow-up to Spring I and were glad for the chance to work in some extra credit hours. I hear that Fall 2006 promises to be a box office smash.