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105 reviews in total

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11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Zombie massacre!, 27 August 2006

Author: insomniac_rod from Noctropolis

I still remember how I got into this movie. The VHS cover was very cheesy but at the same time it was intriguing. I remember avoiding this one until it was the last VHS on my local video store Horror shelf. When I rented it in the early 90's, I wasn't a bit disappointed but I forgot about it pretty soon.

Years after, I watched it on DVD and the memories are still fresh! This movie isn't better than the original but still has it's own good moments. Thom Matthews reprises his lead role and delivers a great performance. The direction is pretty good for the movie's standards and I must admit that this is a visually stunning low budgeter.

The ending is among the best of any zombie flicks for it's unique cheesiness and non-stop action.

Watch this sequel only for fun purposes, do not watch it as a straight Horror movie because it might disappoint you.

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15 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
'Return of the Living Dead Part II', 23 April 2004

Author: rah604 from Canada

In this sequel to 'The Return of the Living Dead', three neighborhood kids stumble upon one of those army drums and accidently release the gas that revives the dead. What follows is basically the same horror mayhem as its predecessor. Zombies rise from the graveyard and remarkably manage to eat the brains of everyone except for the few people within which the movie revolves around. The two movies are pretty much similar in terms of content, but what is lacking this time around is freshness.

The first movie took a satirical approach to George Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead', and it worked in terms of humor and creepy fun. In this film, which is basically a carbon copy of the first, it is not quite as much fun. Rather, it seems to be more silly than funny. The script strains for humor throughout the movie, particularly in a scene in which the movie mocks Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video. But its flaws don't really matter because this is not the kind of movie to be taken seriously. I guess that it can be a decent movie to watch on a Halloween night.

Rating: (5/10)

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
More of a comedy this time around., 25 March 2003

Author: Aaron1375

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This was an ok sequel to the original. Though I liked the first one much better. This time around one of those drums from the first one falls off a truck and these kids open it, once again awakening the living dead. This time around though, it is definitely more of a comedy than a horror. The first one had quite a bit of comedy in it, but in the end I would say it was more horror...this one has very little horror in it. A kid, his sister, and I think a TV or cable repairman must try to escape the living dead. There is also an old guy who was a doctor. There are also two grave robbers who are the exact two guys who released the chemicals in the first one and a girlfriend of the younger guy. Once again the zombies are seemingly indestructible, but this time a weakness is found in the form of electricity. So the conclusion to this one occurs at an electrical plant. The kid must face down the bully who released the chemical too. Would have been a better movie if it was more horror oriented, but it is still worth a look. The slimey zombie from the first one also makes a brief appearance.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
probably least favorite among the 'Return of' movies; not without some laughs and zombie thrills, 16 July 2006
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

Return of the Living Dead Part 2 is too cheesy, self-referential, inane, and almost tries for so much (with more money and more locations/zombies) it falls flat on its face. There are some very good moments though underneath the very broad strokes from the script. The make-up and effects almost try to one-up the first film, even if that too sometimes lacks a certain demented sense of humor not tapped well. The simple story this time follows the same set of cannisters that let out the cork of the story, and once an 'egg hatches', as in the film film, it lets out a wrath via acid-rain and smoke that rises the dead and infects our heroes from the last film (played in performances not as hysterically spot-on as in the first entry by James Karen and Thom Matthews). This time there's also the heroic kid, a couple of screamingly hectic girls, and an odd-ball doctor (among the living that is). There's even a paper-thin sub-plot involving the boy and his soon zombified brother. And, in the end, it all leads to the power station where electricity now comes into play.

The soundtrack to the movie actually is one of the better parts of the movie (the original 80's soundtrack that is, not the new one on DVD)- some songs of course very dated, though still quite appropriate in their frozen 80s metal state of mind. There's also quite a good laugh hearing an unexpected Robert Palmer 'Doctor Doctor' song involving the soon-to-be-undead. And sometimes the little gags and puns thrown in, either through dialog of an obvious satirical jab (i.e. zombies stop everything that they do to watch a TV), do work enough to watch it from start to finish without having some good times. But there are downsides that do come with, almost, being too much like a goofy story than delivering genuine scares. The writer/director, Ken Wiederhorn, lacks the real skill of balancing more delirious and crazy moments that build on some laughs based on practically lampooning zombie movies, and doesn't have the same measured control as Dan O'Bannon did with Part 1. Little gags like driving zombies don't work as well as just simple insane looks from the actors- which for the most part is just average and banal (aside from the odd doctor who is just, well, odd).

I wouldn't rush to see Return of the Living Dead part 2, unless you're really a zombie-movie fan, or have seen the other 2 (discounting the direct to video sequels), OR want a couple of dumb tongue-in-cheek references to Michael Jackson's Thriller video. Good enough as a very standard zombie movie, but with potential that goes to waste. C+

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12 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Stinks worse than a fresh cadaver!, 18 September 2005

Author: cupidandpsyche85 from United Kingdom

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.

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17 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
Disappointing, 23 July 2004
Author: Gafke from United States

This lame sequel has nothing to do with the first film except for the presence of the chemical 245 Trioxin which, at films beginning, rolls off of an army truck and lands in a ditch outside of a planned suburban community. Soon, obnoxious children are munching on their mommy's brains and the military is evacuating the neighborhood. Except they forgot about an annoying, aerobics obsessed teenage girl, her little brother and her potential boyfriend. Or maybe they didn't forget, and just wanted to see them all die as much as I did. James Karen and Thom Mathews are back, but they're given little to do and end up trying to reprise their witty roles from the first film, an attempt which falls sadly flat.

I was terribly disappointed in this sequel to the hilarious and innovative first film. Not even the presence of Brian Peck ("Scuz" from the first film) dressed up as a Michael Jackson zombie, could save this film for me. It's slow, it's dull, the acting is awful, the characters are unlikable and the premise is weak. It could have been so much better. Stick with the first film and skip this flop.

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7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Not much here, pretty stupid actually..., 9 April 2002
Author: ehosh2494 (ehosh2494@wowmail.com) from Michigan

...I hate to say it, but this movie is nothing compared to the original, seriously. Thom Mathews and James Karen are back, playing different roles of course, as grave robbers, and there are also a bunch of young middle school kids, a teenage girl and another guy fleeing in terror from more brain-munching zombies, resurrected from their peaceful slumber yet again by the weird chemical from the original. This is missing the great punk/rock/metal soundtrack, humor, punk rock characters, and gore from the original, so basically it falls flat and never goes anywhere. I was getting really bored. If you want a rehash, this is your dish I guess, but otherwise this movie flat out blows. Watch the first one again.

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10 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Decent, Funny Sequel!, 27 November 2004
Author: Prolox from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Second instalment of the Return films, kicks off with three boys setting off a cannister of 245 trioxin gas (as seen in the first), that has a slimy corpse packed inside like a tuna fish, as it turns out, he's the returning Tarman from the original film, with his head mysteriously attached back onto his shoulders! Did somebody actually take the time to sew this poor guys head back on?. Like in the first film, once the gas is out in the open, it spreads over the local cemetery, awakening a throng of rotted cadavers that have definitely been out of the freezer for far to long!, Once free from their graves, they go into a new small town development project & munch on human brains! While a small group of people set out to destroy them before they too join the stiffs! RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD II, although nowhere near as good as the original Dan O'Bannon directed first film, is still plenty entertaining. Director KEN WIEDRHORN'S script is full of humour & that's all properly displayed here, since just like in the original, the casting directors were able to find some very good acting talent, with each actor making their roles very believable & interesting & not only that, the actors are also able to deliver on the jokes in the script just perfectly. The zombie make-up is beyond disgusting, as we see an army of badly decomposing corpses roam about & eating the brains of the unwary. I'm not sure what the budget was for the film, but if anything it looks to be higher than that of the original film, simply because there are more close ups of the zombie make- up & costumes than what the original exhibited. Returning cast members THOM MATHEWS & JAMES KAREN (Along with JONOTHAN TERRY returning as COL. GLOVER & BRIAN PECK returning to play a series of zombies) are once again re-teamed with each other & as in the original, their chemistry really works, these guys are hilarious & make one of the best (but sadly) unrecognizable comedy duo in the history of cinema! MICHAEL KENWORTHY (What ever happened to this kid anyways?) MARSHA DIELTEN, SUZANNE SNYDER, DANA ASHBROOK & the late PHILIP BRUNS, all turn in great performances & the kid playing the lead bully turned zombie, is perfectly cast in the part & makes for a good villain. If anything it could be argued that while the film is not as good as the first, it is indeed funnier, the original's humour came from it's story & how it's characters dealt with a real zombie invasion, as opposed to the ones they seen in the Romero zombie films, as they quickly found out that the rules on how to kill a zombie, established by Romero, sadly doesn't work on these zombies. The jokes are all told in funny situations & one liners. Perhaps the best moment comes from when JAMES KAREN & THOM MATHEWS (who's dressed to look like Marty Mcfly from BACK TO THE FUTURE!) are sitting down to eat in a mausoleum, after some grave robbing, with Karen warning Mathews to watch his tongue if he likes the job he is currently doing, & Thom gets upset, "Like this job! Like this job..." I mean it was funny when it was said in the original, but here it's extra funny, simply because in the first, both men had an ordinary job, but here, their stealing body parts & jewelry! Other humorous bits are derived from an badly decaying female EDDIE MURPHYeseque talking severed head, that despite being dead, still retains it's sense of humour & the MICHAEL JACKSON THRILLER ZOMBIE was hilarious! Another thing I liked that they carried over from the first is the fact that the z ombies all have personalities, unlike most zombie flicks, you really believe that these stiffs were really alive at one time. At one point Director Weiderhorn seems to be making a comment on weather or not there's an afterlife or just dying & being re-incarnated as someone else, especially in a scene where Karen & Mathews are driving along in the car & Mathews explaining the feeling he has, that what their going through feels strangely familiar, like they had been there before, both of being sick & as zombies roaming about, but such a case is not really made clear as it is never mentioned or referenced within the context of the rest of the film & despite it's comedy tone, Director Ken Weiderhorn is able to establish some pretty key effective scenes & jump scares, along with a modicum of suspense & better yet, Wiedrhorn never slows down, as his script always as something going on, both funny, gooey, suspenseful, action packed & horrific. Despite the fact that the original played heavy on the violence, Weiderhorn seems to shy away from heavy violence, true the film has violence in it, but it's mostly committed against the rotting stiffs who have various arms, legs, head ripped off or have the zombies faces literally punched in or their eyes & jaws extracted from their bodies (Don't watch this during dinner or after...) Highly recommended to all zombie fans, especially fans of the first, just don't expect it to top the first film & you should find yourself being mildly entertained. Beware the DVD version released by WARNER BROS. they have added dialogue, some of which plays out of sync with the actors! & the original soundtrack has been stripped from the film & replaced by a horrible sounding score & a somewhat interesting narration, a different rock soundtrack used during the closing credits (Which I admit, I liked better than "Monster Mash") Stick with the VHS version if you still have a VCR & can find a copy. Followed by more sequels, starting with the more serious minded & darkest entry in the franchise, THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD III

*** stars

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
An inferior sequel, but still a lot of fun, 15 February 2010

Author: sgtking from United States

Horror and Comedy have been blended together in so many films, especially in the 1980 and 90s. Sam Raimi did it with his 'Evil Dead' films and Peter Jackson, who has achieved blockbuster success in recent years, with his earlier work. This is really tricky though because if the balance between the two is off then it could fail in one or more areas. One example of this is 'House II: The Second Story,' which lacks that balance and the silly humor takes over. Had this been the case with 1985s 'The Return of the Living Dead' it probably wouldn't have turned out as well as it did, but thankfully it ended up being a genre classic. Can the same be said for this first of four sequels?

Pros: Cast does a good job. A decent score and pretty cool soundtrack. Fast-paced. Excellent special and make-up effects. Some of the humor works. Like the first film, you get the feeling this was a labor of love. Writer/director Widerhorn adds some stylish touches and neat ideas. Has a fair share of camp value.

Cons: Some of the humor is just too silly and falls flat. Lacks the inventiveness of the original. The first one has humor too, but still managed to have some good chills, something sorely missing here. Even less plot this time.

Final thoughts: The first 'Return of the Living Dead' was a tough act to follow and though the makers of this first sequel tried hard, they didn't even equal it. Does that mean it's not worth a shot? No way because there's still a lot of good here and the movie is fun to watch. It's also the only sequel to the original that comes close to capturing it's essence.

My rating: 3.5/5

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5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Was this rated G?, 25 December 2004

Author: xenophonnelson from Los Angelas, Cal

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

What was the point of the movie titled return of the living dead part 2? It doesn't really make sense that there would still be any barrels of that toxic stuff after the huge bomb in the first movie wiped everything out. Why did the people even bother trying to live when they realize that the ghoulish things don't even respond to anything but aerobic videos and 80s music. It was really embarrassing to see the thriller Michael Jackson semi-cameo thing at the end. Who's lame idea was it to have electricity stop the wandering wormbags, wow, what a terribly finish to a ,well, awful try at impressing the kids. Six year old's can't get into R-rated movies. Please don't rent this and ruin your night.

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