House II: The Second Story (1987) - Archive
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May 9|2006
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"Charlie, there's a jungle in there."
This has garnered a cult following over the years but back around 2005 I tried to get through it and it was not an easy task. I decided to give it another chance. Some of the jokes did give me a few giggles, but "House II: The Second Story" just doesn't win me over as others. It is a nostalgia trip for some fans, I believe, remembering with fondness scenes like when our heroes lose a crystal skull with jewel eyes to a baby pterodactyl, or having to deal with doors that lead to alternate times/universes, having to overcome an undead gunslinger looking for said skull (which grants eternal life), and other characters who escape into the house to nap the skull for their own specific purposes (one mute Neanderthal who looks like a steroid freak, grabs the skull, taking it back to his prehistoric time which has creatures that look a bit off-the-wall such as a green "worm dog" or the aforementioned baby dino-bird who flies its way into the house, complicating matters for our heroes). Arye Gross is the lead and he has one of those recognizable faces you have seen on shows like Law & Order and CSI, while his hard-partying buddy Charlie is played by Jonathan Stark (known to many as Chris Sarandon's "casket guard" in Fright Night), and the two of them give all they can (the cast as a whole is game, working their asses off to make the material as humorous as possible) to this movie. Ethan Wiley had to have been grateful that despite the movie's many failings, his cast pressed hard to make this entertaining. The film's heart and soul is Royal Dano. Dano, as the zombie great grandfather of Gross' Jessie, who had a falling out with an ex partner over the skull (responsible for killing Jessie's parents twenty-five years ago when he was a baby), returning from the grave trying to protect it, has a good-old-koot likability that is infectious and lovable. You can't help but embrace Dano the moment his undead carcass comes back to life, popping out his casket ready to have a grand old time. Lots of familiar faces show up in small parts such as Bill Mahr as a wiseass big-shot record producer, Lar Park Lincoln (as the telekinetic adversary of Jason Voorhies in Friday the 13th VII) as Jessie's girlfriend (who Mahr eyes, using sneaky tactics to win her from Jessie), Amy Yasbeck (Problem Child; the widow of the late, great John Ritter) as Charlie's wannabe singer/star (and girlfriend), and John Ratzenberger (Cheers) as a sword-wielding electrician (!) who finds a dimensional door by making an accidental hole in the wall. The film has this "aiming to please" energy about it, with kitchen sink approach that throws a little bit of everything at the viewer, so I could see why many find it enjoyable. I don't think it's very good, if I'm honest, and there were times I just rolled my eyes, but this viewing experience was better than the painful previous sit-down. Best suited, I think, for late night viewing with a beer/drink, popcorn, and time to kill. Doesn't hold a patch on the first film, but does have a unique looking house (it is designed in an "Aztec style", clearly the influence shows; it is as appropriately over-the-top as the film's content and approach).
This has garnered a cult following over the years but back around 2005 I tried to get through it and it was not an easy task. I decided to give it another chance. Some of the jokes did give me a few giggles, but "House II: The Second Story" just doesn't win me over as others. It is a nostalgia trip for some fans, I believe, remembering with fondness scenes like when our heroes lose a crystal skull with jewel eyes to a baby pterodactyl, or having to deal with doors that lead to alternate times/universes, having to overcome an undead gunslinger looking for said skull (which grants eternal life), and other characters who escape into the house to nap the skull for their own specific purposes (one mute Neanderthal who looks like a steroid freak, grabs the skull, taking it back to his prehistoric time which has creatures that look a bit off-the-wall such as a green "worm dog" or the aforementioned baby dino-bird who flies its way into the house, complicating matters for our heroes). Arye Gross is the lead and he has one of those recognizable faces you have seen on shows like Law & Order and CSI, while his hard-partying buddy Charlie is played by Jonathan Stark (known to many as Chris Sarandon's "casket guard" in Fright Night), and the two of them give all they can (the cast as a whole is game, working their asses off to make the material as humorous as possible) to this movie. Ethan Wiley had to have been grateful that despite the movie's many failings, his cast pressed hard to make this entertaining. The film's heart and soul is Royal Dano. Dano, as the zombie great grandfather of Gross' Jessie, who had a falling out with an ex partner over the skull (responsible for killing Jessie's parents twenty-five years ago when he was a baby), returning from the grave trying to protect it, has a good-old-koot likability that is infectious and lovable. You can't help but embrace Dano the moment his undead carcass comes back to life, popping out his casket ready to have a grand old time. Lots of familiar faces show up in small parts such as Bill Mahr as a wiseass big-shot record producer, Lar Park Lincoln (as the telekinetic adversary of Jason Voorhies in Friday the 13th VII) as Jessie's girlfriend (who Mahr eyes, using sneaky tactics to win her from Jessie), Amy Yasbeck (Problem Child; the widow of the late, great John Ritter) as Charlie's wannabe singer/star (and girlfriend), and John Ratzenberger (Cheers) as a sword-wielding electrician (!) who finds a dimensional door by making an accidental hole in the wall. The film has this "aiming to please" energy about it, with kitchen sink approach that throws a little bit of everything at the viewer, so I could see why many find it enjoyable. I don't think it's very good, if I'm honest, and there were times I just rolled my eyes, but this viewing experience was better than the painful previous sit-down. Best suited, I think, for late night viewing with a beer/drink, popcorn, and time to kill. Doesn't hold a patch on the first film, but does have a unique looking house (it is designed in an "Aztec style", clearly the influence shows; it is as appropriately over-the-top as the film's content and approach).
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