House II: The Second Story (1987)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

A painful sequel to watch. But it isn't a sequel, it's just a different movie about a house with the title House 2. Sean Cunningham is the man for sure but I'm sure even he would admit this is garbage. How on earth did they get Bill Maher in this?The most cringe-worthy moments involve fake laughing. Makes my toes curl up. Tip for script writers -- don't do fake laughing. It never works, particularly with second-rate actors. My god, I've never seen more fake laughing in a movie in my life.And the plot...well...with a movie titled House 2 you can't expect a whole lot, but this was like they were making it up as they were filming it.Only hardcore 80s horror fans can stomach movies like this, it's trash, and should be avoided by most.

Jesse (Arye Gross) moves to his biological parents' house with his girlfriend Kate (Lar Park Lincoln) and soon he hosts his friend Charlie (Jonathan Stark) with his girlfriend. Jesse reads old documents and decides to go to the local cemetery with Charlie to unbury his grand grand grandfather to seek out an ancient powerful Aztec skull. They reanimate Gramps (Royal Dano) that soon befriends Jesse and Charlie. But demons cross gateways in the house to retrieve the magic skull and Jesse and Charlie need to go to other dimensions to retrieve the skull and keep Gramps alive."House II: The Second Story" is a silly fantasy adventure based on the first House with new characters. The plot is a comedy with silly (and some of them also funny) moments but never a sequel of the first film. There are many points without a solution but the film is entertaining and cult. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "House II - A Casa do Espanto" ("House II - The Frightening House")

Arye Gross, Jonathan Stark, Royal Dano, Lar Park-Lincoln, Amy Yasbeck, Bill Maher and John Ratzenberger star in this 1987 horror comedy. This chapter focuses on 25-year old guy, Jesse McLaughlin (Gross) who inherits his ancestors home. Soon, Jesse learns about his great-great grandfather, Jesse aka Gramps (Dano) who was a cowboy in the old west and possessed an ancient crystal skull. Stark (Fright Night) plays Jesse's goofy pal, Charlie who helps him dig up Gramps to see if the skull is with him. Jesse and Charlie get a surprise when Gramps is basically a 170 year-old zombie brought back to life by the skull and take him home with them. He reveals about his days as a gunslinger, the powers of the skull and the house's mysterious secrets. Jesse and Charlie also meet Gramps' old partner turned enemy, Slim, now an evil zombie trying get his hands on the skull. Park-Lincoln (Friday the 13th VII) plays Jesse's girlfriend, Kate, Yasbeck (Problem Child) plays Charlie's girlfriend, Lana, Maher plays Kate's boss, John who is a record producer and Ratzenberger (Cheers) plays electrician, Bill. I've always enjoyed this film and like the original, it has bizarre, creepy and campy moments plus a bit of dramatic ones as well. The cast, make-up effects and Harry Manfredini's score are great. I recommend this good, underrated 80's flick.

House II: The Second Story has got to be one of the most random films I've seen, veering wildly from haunted house film to zombies to buddy flick to alternate dimension/time-travel tale to jungle adventure to western, with plenty of other goofy stuff sprinkled liberally throughout. Unsurprisingly, this scatter-shot approach rarely makes sense and can serve to irritate, but at the same time, it is this very eclecticism that keeps one glued to the screen; any film that features an electrician/adventurer (played by Cheers' regular John Ratzenberger), a drunken jerk who just happens to keep an Uzi in the trunk of his car, and a meal scene where the diners include a 170 year old man, a prehistoric bird, a dogerpillar (like a caterpillar, but with a dog's face), and a beautiful Aztec sacrificial virgin really has got to be seen to be believed!Also serving to make this film an enjoyably daft treat, particularly if you're fan of old-school fantasy/horror fans, are the various make-up and pre-CGI special effects: prosthetics, animatronics, and stop-motion techniques are utilised to bring a collection of supernatural creatures to life, and there are a few pretty cool matte painting shots used to help create convincing other-dimensional worlds. If the zany nature of the plot annoys you, just lap up the inventive visuals; after all, how often do you get to see a zombie gunslinger riding a skeletal horse?5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.