Review of House II: The Second Story (1987) by Raziel T — 13 Feb 2012

I love this movie. The first time I saw this movie was a random rental when I was young. I watched it, at the time not knowing anything about it or its predecessor, and thought it was hilarious. Its a great mix of comedy and horror that you dont see these days.

The cast is great; Arye Gross is a better actor than people give him credit for, and Johnathon Stark was great as the "wacky sidekick" with all his perfectly delivered comeback and goofy lines. Royal Dano was wonderful as Gramps, he really brought a humanity to the role and to the film overall. I remember really getting into his characer and being sad when he died. The pterodactyl and beer-drinking caterpillar dog were a bit over the top, but adorable. John Ratzenberger makes a great appearance as handyman/adventurer when they seem to find another portal (into the Mayan sacrificial chamber), and him acting like its a totally normal "this happens all the time" thing almost playing the straightman is just classic.

Frank Welker (of course) was great as the voice of Slim Razor, and the character overall was terrifying but intriguing, and of course riding out on a zombie horse was awesome. The girlfriends seemed kind of like throwaways, theyre not in the film enough to really care when they leave less than halfway through the film. Kane Hodder makes a cool little cameo, but this of course was before he was famous for playing Jason and he was more of just a simple extra, as a patygoer who takes a fall off a balcony.

Overall its an enjoyable film, especially if you overlook the concept that its a "sequel" and the suspension of reality, and is a great addition to any movie library and perfect for a movie marathon.