I was thinking about casting and how it can help a film immeasurably. Gross and Stark in House II (1987) bring an energy and timing that a film longing to entertain needs desperately. The ludicrous nature of the plot would sure have been a lot to sell as it's bill of goods depends on quite a fantastic series of events, including a Neanderthal from prehistoric times intruding upon a 1987 Halloween party to take a crystal skull from its mantle above a fireplace, a tribe complete with masks, spears, and leafy skirts attacking Mummy Gramps (Royal Dano) for the crystal skull, and Slim, a Mummy gun-slinging rival of Gramps, emerging from a dinner table meal prepared by Jesse (Gross) for his "new family" (consisting of the cater-puppy, kid pterodactyl, Gramps, Jesse, Charlie, and a lovely tribal princess rescued during ritual sacrifice by Jesse, Charlie, and electrician Bill from an Aztec warrior tribe in headdress in a swordfight!). So Gross and Stark take the material given and posit likable guys caught in an inexplicably surreal situation. That they make it out of this film without a hitch is a testament to their resilience. Gross, the leading man here, with Stark his lovable oaf buddy, anchors this film surprisingly well. He loses a lot, but manages to outlast Slim, a determined zombie wanting that damned skull. And I'll be damned if I don't get a bit weepy-eyed when Jesse hugs a dying Gramps (how he actually dies when already dead, I just throw up my hands) in quite the farewell.
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