Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > House II: The Second Story (1987)

House II: The Second Story (1987) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 16 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
4.8/10   2,273 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ethan Wiley
Writer:
Ethan Wiley (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for House II: The Second Story on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 August 1987 (USA) more
Genre:
Fantasy | Horror | Comedy more
Tagline:
Doom with a View more
Plot:
The new owner of a sinister house gets involved with reanimated corpses and demons searching for an ancient Aztec skull with magic powers. | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Walas Giving Birth to Baby Zombies ?
 (From shocktillyoudrop. 16 January 2009)

Trilogy Picks Returns! In Blog Format!
 (From Icons of Fright. 7 July 2008, 6:53 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Great Sequel more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Arye Gross ... Jesse
Jonathan Stark ... Charlie
Royal Dano ... Gramps

Bill Maher ... John

John Ratzenberger ... Bill
Lar Park-Lincoln ... Kate (as Lar Park Lincoln)

Amy Yasbeck ... Jana
Gregory Walcott ... Sheriff

Dwier Brown ... Clarence

Lenora May ... Judith

Devin DeVasquez ... Virgin (as Devin Devasquez)
Jayne Modean ... Rochelle
Ronn Carroll ... Deputy
Dean Cleverdon ... Slim

Doug MacHugh ... High Priest
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
88 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When Bill the electrician first enters the house, the dolly track is clearly visible on the floor for over 30 seconds. more
Quotes:
Gramps: Don't call me sir! I ain't no politician! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Caesar and Otto's Summer Camp Massacre (2009) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
15 out of 18 people found the following comment useful:-
Great Sequel, 20 May 2004
10/10
Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse

This non-related sequel is so sweet-natured, so tame and family orientated that to assume otherwise is completely ludicrous. There is nothing in this movie that could possibly rate it above a PG, max. I wouldn't even have reservations letting younger children watch House 2.

A new house has a 20-something yuppie called Jesse (Arye Gross) move in with his girlfriend Kate (Lar Park-Lincoln). His friend Charlie (Jonathan Stark), a music agent, arrives with his new diva discovery Jana (Amy Yasbeck) to help him thru the unfamiliar first few days. The house is where Jesse's parents were killed when he was just a baby and it full of many curiosities.

Crafted in a bizarre Gothic-Aztec style the house itself is a marvellous set and the many rooms and passages are as mysterious to us as they are to Jesse. Sitting on one of his many mantelpieces is a crystal skull that fascinates him for some reason. He even misses his housewarming party while studying the skull's history.

His studies lead him to dig up the grave of his great, great grandfather, or Gramps (Royal Dano), where he discovers the old coot isn't dead just in limbo. The person who possesses the skull is granted eternal youth but it also warps the space-time continuum within the House.

Gramps comes home with Jesse, is more enthralled by Kleenex boxes and TV than the mysteries around him and ducks for cover whenever someone from another time comes to steal the skull. Just like the first movie different rooms lead into different time zones. Jesse and Charlie have many hilarious adventures battling caveman, dinosaurs, Aztecs an evil cowboy called Slim. The one that killed Jesse's parents and betrayed Gramps over a century ago.

House 2 has so much careless abandon and zany plot twists that it is totally impossible not to love this movie. The huge success of the first movie meant that this one was put into production literally and hour later and Ethan Wiley was given the budget and green light to do whatever he wanted. How often does happen today? Usually it would make for a bad movie considering this was the first movie Wiley directed. But it makes for an unusually cute and light-hearted supernatural romp.

One of the weaker aspects of this sequel is that it has more SFX and animation by Phil Tippet's stop-motion workshop and less by Dreamquest. The matte paintings are gorgeous but the dated dinosaurs look hokey in a few shots. If you can just squint during these moments you won't notice.

Bill Maher from TV's "Politically Incorrect" even manages to show up as a music producer who is interested in Yasbeck and mighty suspicious of Jesse's antics. John Ratzenberger (this makes both movies star one of the "Cheers" barflies) appears as a repairman/adventurer who assists Jesse and Charlie battle some Aztecs. Look out for Kane Hodder (Jason) in an ape costume. Jesse adopts a fluffy, little baby pterodactyl and a strange creature called a Caterpuppy, a cross between...well you know. You need an open mind and a suspension of disbelief to swallow the outrageous goings on in this movie.

The commentary is better than the one on the first movie. Ethan Wiley and Cunningham get on well and have no quibbles pointing out how crazy the film is. They discuss the budget, tell tales of the late Royal Dano and explain how many of the effects were pulled off within the constraints of the budget. One of the most interesting things they mention is that even tho the movie was stuck in between The Color Purple and Beverly Hills Cop II the kids still preferred House 2 as their fave movie of the summer. But because the movie didn't have it's own opening weekend, unlike the original, it wasn't as successful. Didn't stop 2 more sequels being made. A theatrical trailer is also included.

Much like the first film the picture has been brilliantly transferred onto DVD. The 1.85:1 anamorphic picture looks super with very few glitches. Colors are rendered with pleasant accuracy and you wouldn't believe the low-budget origins when judging this picture. There is some grain during darker scenes but other than this the movie is looking great.

The Mono soundtrack is not terribly engaging and most of the film's sound is centre-channel biased. But there's no hiss or pop to worry about. It may be Mono but it's clean and fresh sounding to me.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for House II: The Second Story (1987)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
can't remember the quote howlingforever
What was the name of Jana's (Amy Yasbeck) band in the movie? polturgyst
Who loved this Movie? fromhaddonfield
Films like house II? ethelwulf-1
The Ending Master_Shake_02
New Interview with director Ethan Wiley Filmrob
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Doctor Mordrid House Super Mario Bros. The Mummy Returns The People That Time Forgot
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Fantasy section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.