House II: The Second Story (1987) New World/Comedy-Horror RT: 88 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, creature violence, mild sexual innuendo) Director: Ethan Wiley Screenplay: Ethan Wiley Music: Harry Manfredini Cinematography: Mac Ahlberg Release date: August 28, 1987 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Arye Gross, Jonathan Stark, Royal Dano, Bill Maher, Lar Park Lincoln, Amy Yasbeck, John Ratzenberger, Dwier Brown, Lenora May, Gregory Walcott, Devin DeVasquez, Jayne Modean, Ronn Carroll, Dean Cleverdon. Box Office: $7.8 million (US)
Rating: ** ½
Am I in the minority in thinking that House II: The Second Story is better than its predecessor? I can’t believe that it received a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a fun movie!
This in-name-only sequel to the 1986 horror-comedy has a lighter tone and absolutely nothing to do with the original. If I remember correctly, the idea was that New World was going to make a series of House movies, each one centered on a different house and set of characters. Two subsequent films have been made- House III (1989) which was released as The Horror Show in the US and the straight-to-video House IV (1992).
My favorite of the series is House II for several reasons. For one thing, it has a better storyline. I’ll get into it momentarily, but I will say that it’s quite imaginative. Also, I think it has a better cast than the original. Once again, it’s a B-list collection of actors, but I wouldn’t have it any other way where the House movies are concerned. The creature effects are just as cheesy as the original, but again, I wouldn’t have it any other way. These movies don’t call for inflated budgets or state-of-the-art effects. It kind of defeats the purpose of B-movies, don’t you think?
House II opens in 1961 with a nervous couple (Brown and May) handing over their newborn child to another couple. Soon thereafter, a mysterious figure dressed as a cowboy appears inside their home and kills them. The story jumps ahead to present-day where we find Jesse (Gross, Soul Man) and his girlfriend Kate (Lincoln, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) moving into the same house. He’s the baby that the murdered couple gave away. They’re soon joined by Jesse’s goofball friend Charlie (Stark, Fright Night) and his singer girlfriend Lana (Yasbeck, Problem Child).
Jesse finds a picture of his great-great-grandfather (Dano, Teachers) while going through stuff in the basement. In it, he’s standing in front of a Mayan temple holding a crystal skull. He and Charlie figure out that the valuable piece must be buried with him, so they dig up his grave to get their hands on it. They get the surprise of their lives when they discover that Gramps isn’t quite dead (cowboy zombie!). They take him home where he explains that the old family mansion is actually a Mayan temple with doorways to different points in history. It isn’t long before cavemen and ancient Mayan warriors show up and try to steal the skull. This means that Jesse and Charlie have to go and retrieve the magical object. The main antagonist is Slim Razor (Cleverdon), Gramps’ former partner-turned-bitter enemy. He too wants the skull and will stop at nothing to obtain it.
It goes without saying that House II is shamelessly campy. How else do you describe a movie in which the heroes have a baby pterodactyl and a caterpillar-dog as house pets? They picked them up during their excursion to prehistoric times. After Kate storms out on Jesse, he hooks up with a Mexican virgin (DeVasquez, Can’t Buy Me Love) that he rescues from a sacrificial altar.
I mentioned earlier my preference for the cast of actors in House II. They really are good! Bill Maher (D.C. Cab) shows up as Kate’s smarmy boss. Jayne Modean (Spring Break) plays an ex-girlfriend of Jesse’s. John Ratzenberger (Cliff from Cheers) contributes a hilarious cameo as an electrician that moonlights as an adventurer. I’m about to be a total guy here and say that I love that House II contains three beautiful and talented ladies- Lincoln, DeVasquez and Modean. Dano goes a great job as Gramps. The whole cast looks like they’re having a ball, so why shouldn’t the audience as well?
Manfredini’s score is great as always. I don’t know the exact budget, but House II never looks shoddy or cheap at any point. It’s clearly a low budget job, but the makers know how to put their dollars to good use. Writer Ethan Wiley (Children of the Corn V) serves as director this time out and does a fine job of it. Here’s the deal. House II is a total no-brainer. It’s not a particularly good movie, but it’s fun and that’s what really counts with a B-movie. It’s best to enter into it with no expectations. Do that and you might have a good time with it.
