House II: The Second Story

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"House 2" redirects here. For other uses, see House-2.

House II: The Second Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEthan Wiley
Screenplay byEthan Wiley
Story byFred Dekker
Produced bySean S. Cunningham
Starring
CinematographyMac Ahlberg
Edited byMartin Nicholson
Music byHarry Manfredini
Production
companies
Distributed byNew World Pictures
Release date
August 28, 1987
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million
Box office$10 million[1]

House II: The Second Story is a 1987 American

the first movie
. While the plots and characters are unrelated, House II involves a storyline centered around a new mansion with a supernatural connection. The tone is highlighted with a greater focus on comedy, with a tone even lighter than the original.

House II: The Second Story was released on August 28, 1987, grossing $10 million worldwide against a $3 million budget and received negative reviews from critics.

In the film, a duo of

American Old West
. They bring back animals and people from the past, but eventually decide to permanently settle in the Old West.

Plot

A duo of Yuppies, Jesse McLaughlin and his girlfriend Kate, move into an old mansion that has been in Jesse's family for generations. They are soon joined by Jesse's goofy friend Charlie Coriell, who brought along his diva girlfriend Lana, in the hopes of being discovered by Kate, who works for a record company.

Jesse has returned to the old family mansion after his parents were murdered when he was a baby. While going through old things in the basement, Jesse finds a picture of his great-great-grandfather (and namesake) in front of an

Aztec temple holding a crystal skull
with sapphires in the eyes. In the background is a man Jesse learns is Slim Reeser, a former partner of his great-great-grandfather turned bitter enemy after a disagreement over who would get to keep the skull.

Reasoning that the skull must be buried with him, Jesse and Charlie decide to dig up Jesse's great-great-grandfather in the hopes of procuring the skull. They unearth the casket only to be attacked by the corpse, who then shows himself to be friendly when Jesse reveals his identity as the senior Jesse's great-great-grandson. Jesse and Charlie take the cowboy zombie, nicknamed "Gramps", back to the house, where he is horrified to learn that the skull has not rejuvenated his body as he had hoped.

Gramps and Charlie go out drinking and driving, and later the boys listen for hours to Gramps' stories of the

space and time
, with the skull acting as a key. He charges Charlie and Jesse with defending the skull against the forces of evil, who are drawn to possess the skull.

During an impromptu Halloween party thrown by Charlie, Gramps makes an appearance (though he is overlooked as it is a costume party), Kate leaves Jesse (taking Lana with her) after he is seen with an old girlfriend by her smarmy boss John Statman, and Jesse and Charlie pick up two new pets in the

pterodactyl and a caterpillar-dog that's dubbed a Cater-Puppy, after a barbarian/caveman
arrives at the party and steals the skull.

Bill Towner, an electrician and "part-time adventurer", arrives to inspect the house's old wiring. While seemingly a buffoon, he pulls a

short sword
from his tool case and leads the boys through "one of those time-portal things...you see these all the time in these old houses." In the mystic past, the three fight off a group of Aztec warriors and rescue an Aztec virgin who was about to be sacrificed.

Eventually, a zombified Slim Reeser makes his appearance. Still after the skull, Slim shoots Gramps who then gives Jesse his guns and reveals that it was Slim who shot and killed Jesse's parents when he was a baby. Jesse jumps through a window into the Old West, and eventually succeeds in killing Slim by blasting off his head with a rifle. Gramps, who has been mortally wounded, begins to pass away. Gramps says goodbye to Jesse and tells him he is so happy to have met his great-great-grandson. Gramps then gives a final warning about the power of the skull, encouraging Jesse to get what he wants from the enchanted object and then get rid of it. As Gramps passes, Jesse embraces him.

The film ends with the revelation that Jesse used the skull to travel back into the Old West, where he, Charlie and the rest of their friends drive off in a wagon on a new adventure, leaving the crystal skull behind, marking Gramps' new grave.

Cast

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 9% based on reviews from 11 critics.[2]

Ryan Pollard at Starburst wrote: "House II doesn't quite have anything similar to the strong performance of the original's Bill Katt anchoring the picture, but it still has plenty to make it a worthwhile follow-up that's definitely worth watching.".[3] Creature Feature gave the movie two of five stars, finding it inferior to the first movie.[4]

Comic adaptation

In October 1987,

Jose Marzan Jr. and Pat Redding on inks. Its cover price was $2.[5]

Sequels

House II was followed by two sequels, with:

House III: The Horror Show in 1989, and House IV: The Repossession in 1992. Each film was met with mixed critical and financial reception
.

See also

References

  1. Internet Movie Database
    . Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  2. ^ "House II: The Second Story". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  3. ^ "HOUSE II: THE SECOND STORY". STARBURST Magazine. December 11, 2017.
  4. ^ Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd Edition
  5. ^ "Comic Book DB - The Comic Book Database". comicbookdb.com. Retrieved August 4, 2012.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_II:_The_Second_Story&oldid=1187377159"