The Scorch Trials, sequel to The Maze Runner, was released in theaters on September 18, 2015. The series follows a group of children–all boys–who were, in the last movie, trapped in a maze with dangerous creatures and struggling to survive.

  Every month, a new boy and supplies for the group are sent into the maze by the people who put them there. In the previous movie, a boy named Thomas and the first and only girl are sent into the maze, along with the last of the supplies. By the end of the last movie, Thomas, the girl, and some of the boys had fought their way out of the maze to discover the company–WCKD–that put them there. The company was destroyed and the researchers were all killed–at least that’s what they thought.

  In the sequel, the group discovers that WCKD, the World Catastrophe Kill zone Experiment Department, is not destroyed and yet again has them in their grasp to harvest their blood for a cure to a global-wide virus. The group escapes and is put out in the Scorch, the deserted, sandy, remains of the city, to survive. The group fights against exposure and heat, and most surprisingly, the undead. The audience sees what the global virus, the Flare, does when someone is infected. It starts with a raging fever and once someone infected dies, they come back–undead. The group goes looking for a resistance team called the Right Arm, in hopes that they’ll keep them safe from WCKD.

  The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time, waiting for danger at every corner. There was even some tragedy and humor put into the mix. Throughout the movie, I was always waiting for another zombie to jump out and scare me. The tragedy of the film adds to the drama and emotion of it all and makes the audience feel what the characters are feeling; this makes the movie more relatable and it pulls at everyone’s heartstrings. The humor added to movie makes the dramatic plot a bit more fun. The movie makes the audience feel a wide spectrum of emotions: happiness, sadness, terror, and excitement.

  Overall, the Scorch trials was an action packed, exciting sequel to the Maze Runner, which rottentomatoes.com gave a 68% on audience rating. However, the zombies in the movie made it predictable and somewhat cliche, ultimately lowering its rating. Although it was a little predictable, it still kept me hooked throughout the entire movie, waiting for the next scare–definitely worth the time to see.

Caitlyn Tsukamoto, Staff Reporter