House II: The Second Story

Wherein Bill Maher plays the role he was born for: a smarmy douchebag.

Writer Ethan Wiley returns to make his directorial debut with this sequel to "House"(1986). Although the original was more like a dark comedy inside a haunted house than horror/comedy, this movie goes full-blown comedy turning into a fantastical farce. This ridiculousness could have been amazing or horrendous, and it kinda goes back and fourth throughout. Some parts hilarious and others painful to sit through, but like the original some of the best parts come from an actor from TV's "Cheers".

This ought to be better than it is: a living dead grandpa with a caterpiller-dog, zombie cowboy after crystal skulls, Aztecs, dinosaurs, and John Ratzenberger to the rescue! Ah well...

Silly sequel is actually superior to the original, mostly because it makes no pretense to social commentary. Wiley is totally upfront and comfortable about its low brow ambition, and he set out to make a gonzo comic fantasy with horror elements that is totally unlike any other film. He largely succeeded in that respect, it's quite unique, but it's a messy discombobulated affair that sacrifices narrative coherence for faux surrealist spectacle and the trade off doesn't quite pan out.

This movie has received pretty terrible reviews, but this film holds a special place in my heart. When I was a kid in the 80's my dad rigged a Cube cable box so we could get free movies and I must have watched this movie 100 times on Viewers Choice Pay-Per-View. If you want to watch an old "scary funny" movie from the 80's, I would recommend this. A cult classic in my book.

Insane.

Really stupid horror movie about all these weirdos chasing after a magic skull. Cliff Claven, zombie cowboys, caterpillar dogs, dinosaurs and cavemen, aztec warriors, police and Bill Maher all show up. It's not really funny, scary or clever. But it's fun anyway. Especially the touching scenes with zombie prospector grampa. And evil zombie cowboy sounds like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget. Think of it like a really dumbed down Army of Darkness or something.

I appreciated how they went with a different story for this one, but the script is a mess; It basically skips exposition and within minutes the leads are digging up a grave in search of a crystal skull. Other characters are simply forgotten and the goofiest scenes hinder the horror aspect. I was wondering who the target demo was; I would have probably enjoyed this as a 7 years old. At least this one has a more memorable villain than the 1st and utilizes the concept by jumping to different eras.

It's miles better than the first movie, but it's still far from great. That being said, it has some legitimately funny moments & also has a whole lot of heart behind it, which is great. The creature design is again really fun and well done for the '80's, and the makeup looks alright too. The writing leaves a lot to be desired, and the plot isn't spectacular, but it's a fun enough campy horror-comedy.

It must have been work to make such a boring movie out of such wacky ingredients. Some nice practical effects (including a few seconds of a rad skeleton horse) and exactly one good line (from John Ratzenberger's electrician/adventurer) are the only bright spots in this comedic fantasy/adventure that was marketed as horror. First-timer Ethan Wiley's flat-footed direction reveals no flair for storytelling.

A clever title masks an awful, inept sequel. Although this is good-looking and has some great FX, it is killed by unlikable characters it shoves down our throats, as well as annoyingly out-of-place western and fantasy film touches. Dano is good, though.

Ok, it's bad. But, Cliff from Cheers picks up where Norm from Cheers left off in the first House, providing yet another Oscar worthy performance as the lovable electrician-aventurer- handyman. Godspeed cast of Cheers.

Okay Movie

This has the crazy Vietnam vet right?

A followup rather than a sequel to _House_, this incoherent mess is, if anything, a step down. Busy, but chaotic and boring.

i feel nearly sad to say that this is as good as the first. it's a shame that time has forgotten the house movies because they were friggin' awesome. wiley knows how to take some crazy, off the wall ideas and make them come together in some witch's brew of a concoction that, if made by someone else, would be toxic.

I just love this movie. Norm from Cheers was in the first one, and now Cliff from Cheers is in this one, in the best role John Ratzenberger has ever played.

Poor sequel.

Juvenile flatulence