Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Ken Wiederhorn

Writer:

Ken Wiederhorn (writer)

Release Date:

15 January 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Just when you thought it was safe to be dead.

Plot:

Curious kids unearth the barrels that helped revive the dead of the first film, which proves the second time's an undead charm.

Plot Keywords:

Army | Sequel | Living Dead | Electrocution | Suburb

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Michael Kenworthy	...	Jesse Wilson
Thor Van Lingen	...	Billy Crowley
Jason Hogan	...	Johnny
James Karen	...	Ed
Thom Mathews	...	Joey
Suzanne Snyder	...	Brenda
Marsha Dietlein	...	Lucy Wilson
Suzan Stadner	...	Aerobics Instructor
Jonathan Terry	...	Col. Glover
Dana Ashbrook	...	Tom Essex
Sally Smythe	...	Mildred Crowley (Billy's Mom)
Allan Trautman	...	Tarman
Don Maxwell	...	George Crowley (Billy's Dad)
Reynold Cindrich	...	Soldier
Philip Bruns	...	Doc Mandel

Also Known As:

Revenge of the Living Dead (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Denmark:16 | Italy:T (VHS rating) | Italy:VM14 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | France:U | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 (heavily cut) | Mexico:C | UK:15 (video rating) | Iceland:16 | Germany:18 | Finland:K-15 (2005)

Filming Locations:

Newhall, California, USA

Company:

Greenfox

Trivia:

The script was not originally written as a sequel in the "Living Dead" franchise. Producer Tom Fox was interested in Wiederhorn's story, but would only finance it if he agreed to make it a part of the series.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The Zombie shot in half had lost his hand in the car window in the previous scene. When he lifts his torso by his hands to attack the gang in the hospital cellar, his hand reappears for one shot. In the commentary, however, the director mentions that this actor was one of several used for multiple scenes. His description suggests that this wasn't supposed to be the same zombie from earlier.

Quotes:

Lucy Wilson: Look, they're ugly and they're dirty and they're dumb, and I don't even care if they are dead. I hate 'em, there's no way they're touching me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Husk lige tandbørsten: Thailand eller Tylstrup (#1.5)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

High Priest of Love

Stinks worse than a fresh cadaver!

This sequel to one of the most entertaining, hilarious and engaging horror-comedies of all time is a staggering disappointment. Gone is the tension, the sly humour, the wonderfully camp performances and cracking dialogue. Instead, we have a relentlessly tiresome chase movie that offers absolutely no horror at all, only incompetent bufoonery, shrill acting and no atmosphere.

Those nasty tanks filled with zombies are let loose again, this time by a wasted truck driver who doesn't realise that the supplies he's carrying in the back of his vehicle have flown off and into a nearby sewer. Three kids, two of whom are odious bullies, the other a weakling who gets forced to tag along, discover the stray tank and accidentally release another of those ghastly 'tar-men', not to mention a potent spree of toxic gas, which results in yet another cemetery's worth of dead bodies coming back to life. The wimpy child, his older sister and some cable-repair kid must escape from the undead menace, and as a result bump into a couple of gravediggers who have accidentally inhaled the toxic gas and are slowly turning into zombies. The only interesting thing about this sequel is that these two grave diggers are played by James Karen and Thom Matthews, who played those similarly ill-fated characters Frank and Freddy in the first film. Despite the fact that neither character made it to the end of the original, both actors are back in new roles.

This is a pretty cheap production, with the special effects failing to impress and looking pretty poor next to the original. Director Ken Weiderhorn clearly doesn't know what to do with actors except let them run around screaming: Thom Matthews, who gave an amusingly dorky performance in the first film, is really wooden second time around, while his girlfriend character has to be one of the most annoying actresses I've seen in a film for a long time! Only James Karen's reliably traumatised performance guarantees amusement, a scene where he's attacked by a decapitated head is pretty funny.

So, overall, no suspense, no laughs (except for the aforementioned 'head' scene), no terror, no plot, no point. One of the worst films I've seen in ages, this is a shameful follow-up to a magnificent cult classic.