House II: The Second Story (1987)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

If the Shockwaves podcast didn't make me interested in what "Part III" had to offer and rave so much about "the final chapter" or Part IV, I would've stopped here in the series.While the first entry was definitely a Rated-R movie without being Hard- R, this is its Hard-G version. Fine, PG, but still for 8-12 year-olds. (Yes, they rated it PG-13, but seriously, this movie was for kids.)Some of the things I appreciate most here, was an 80s horror sequel that did NOT retread the original. That probably happened 80% of the time and it was refreshing to see a part II of a soon-to-be franchise that took a different route. Also, like the first one with TV's George Wendt, his Cheers co-star, John Ratzenberger was the real star of the movie, despite his very small appearance. House II is the goofy story of a baby sent away from a castle, er, "house," only to return decades later and discover the legendary Crystal Skull that would eventually derail the Indiana Jones franchise. Along the way, he loses it constantly, but must gain it back to keep his Great-Great-Grandfather's zombified body alive. Oh, and there's a random Halloween party, bad-FX time travelling dimensions and story lines that vanish faster than the audience.Admittedly, when Ratzenberger was on screen, I had a blast and I loved seeing my Friday the 13th "Carrie" in what appeared to be a lead role up front, but turned out to be one of the many abandoned subplots. Also, everyone seemed to be having a good time making this, despite how bad it was. That's always nice to see.That all said, it's thoroughly not recommended for anyone above 12 and those younger better be from an Amish community to accept such bad graphics in this day and age. Can't even recommend it to lovers of the first House since this has absolutely nothing to do with that movie.So, I guess, skip this House and go onto the next one.***Final thoughts: When doing a breezy research for this, I happened to click upon Lar Park-Lincoln's IMDb page. Here, she played "Kate," love interest in our hero, but also "Tina" from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. Never before have I seen an IMDb page shout so much. Here's what it had, as of 7/29/17, at least:"Lar Park Lincoln has 38 years in the industry! Her book, "Get Started Not Scammed" guides Hollywood hopefuls to Stardom! Her specialties are TV and film, on-camera training, auditions, and career guidance. She has written her own method of on-camera training, "The Autograph", which super-speeds the training and booking rates of actors!..."

The original "House" with William Katt, is a grossly underrated mid- 1980's horror/comedy gem. Even though I do not really watch horror films anymore, I will always fondly remember "House", and it's dry sense of humor, but also fairly serious plot threads of overcoming the demons of your past, it is a movie that is serious while having a very dark sense of humor, that rises far above the low-brow humor of most horror comedies. This sequel "House II" is not a direct sequel, but rather a thematic sequel, it has an entirely new cast of characters, and a different house all-together, and it does not rehash the same story, but it is very much in the same spirit as the original house, although far less serious, if that is possible.The acting is surprisingly well-done, campy, and over-the-top, why yes it is! However, if you're coming to this movie with expectations of a serious film, you are sorely mistaken. This is a very goofy movie, with an even goofier plot, but the creativity is boundless, which makes for a fun and inventive viewing experience. Unlike some, I do not find the tone to be uneven, even though it starts with a fairly ominous beginning, and seems to "drop" this plot thread, it definitely doesn't, it is percolating in the background the entire film, and gave me an overall sense of dread, wondering when things were going to come back full circle. Everything ties together, and all of the plot threads due tie up by the end of the film, in a very goofy over-the-top fashion. The conclusion actually makes logical sense within the continuity of the film, and unlike more horror themed films, your not left thinking, "Yeah, but they just committed a ton of crimes in the process and getting away and will likely go to jail."The effects are better than in the original "House" and extremely well-done for the time it was made. Many of the effects still stand up today, though some of the stop-motion does look fairly dated. The caterpuppy is so adorable, and very uniquely 1980's creation which would fit right into the film "Labyrinth". While many questions are left unanswered by the end, I don't think of it as a bad thing, there just wasn't enough time to answer them all. The film is non-stop entertaining, from beginning to end, and yes, John Ratzenberger's cameo is hands-down, the best moment of the film, but Royal Dano is also endlessly entertaining as the great, great, great, grandfather. Some might be annoyed by Jonathan Stark's character, but his acting is always appropriately over-the- top, and Arye Gross, plays things mostly straight, and mostly anchors the film on his own as he deals with one ludicrous scenario after the next. A film worth watching if you love 1980's effects and fantasy films that have very outlandish plots, no offense to Ridley Scott, but this film is on the whole, a lot more entertaining than the straight-up fantasy film "Legend", which is often bogged down by a in-your-face moralistic message, a stilted love story, and stilted dialog, while "Legend" really would have benefited from some of the fun and adventurous tone of "House II", it obviously came out 2yrs before "House II". "House II" is watchable not because of a coherent plot, though it is more coherent than it should be, or because of deep character studies, there is none to be had, it is entertaining because that is what it seeks to do, be a fun entertaining popcorn movie, and it does well at that.Have the proper expectations and you'll be pleasantly surprised.God Bless ~Amy

Arye Gross, Jonathan Stark, Royal Dano, Lar Park-Lincoln, Amy Yasbeck, Bill Maher and John Ratzenberger star in this 1987 horror comedy. This chapter focuses on 25-year old guy, Jesse McLaughlin (Gross) who inherits his ancestors home. Soon, Jesse learns about his great-great grandfather, Jesse aka Gramps (Dano) who was a cowboy in the old west and possessed an ancient crystal skull. Stark (Fright Night) plays Jesse's goofy pal, Charlie who helps him dig up Gramps to see if the skull is with him. Jesse and Charlie get a surprise when Gramps is basically a 170 year-old zombie brought back to life by the skull and take him home with them. He reveals about his days as a gunslinger, the powers of the skull and the house's mysterious secrets. Jesse and Charlie also meet Gramps' old partner turned enemy, Slim, now an evil zombie trying get his hands on the skull. Park-Lincoln (Friday the 13th VII) plays Jesse's girlfriend, Kate, Yasbeck (Problem Child) plays Charlie's girlfriend, Lana, Maher plays Kate's boss, John who is a record producer and Ratzenberger (Cheers) plays electrician, Bill. I've always enjoyed this film and like the original, it has bizarre, creepy and campy moments plus a bit of dramatic ones as well. The cast, make-up effects and Harry Manfredini's score are great. I recommend this good, underrated 80's flick.

For a movie that has almost no "names" attached, this is surprisingly good. The actors are well cast, their characters are charming, and the jokes are well paced. It takes itself just seriously enough that you don't feel insulted by the storytelling. You can't have the wrong expectations. I think if you've seen the first and are expecting something similar you will be disappointed. I do however think this is a very well put together film. The pacing is solid, the comedy is more well done than a lot of big budget comedy from around the same time, and there are some well done quirky moments that really elevate the experience.The main area that it falls down is the lack of depth. There is maybe one moment that really touches something real, but it's brief. The rest is straight adventure. But it's well done. Given the choice between seeing this again or re-watching the new Indie movie about crystal skulls, I'd choose this since it's at least as entertaining but doesn't let you down like Indie did.The last criticism is perhaps the most damning. This is not a must see movie. If you live your entire life without seeing it, you'll be fine. I don't really even recommend it. But if you do watch it, I recommend you enjoy it for what it is and don't lament that it isn't better. I would recommend it for kids 9-12. It's perfect for that age. Kind of scary, plenty of snicker and giggle moments. Plenty of cute. Plenty of weird. There may be some language but it's situation appropriate and pretty tame. No nudity, a little cleavage, nothing you won't see on a visit to the mall.