House 2

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")

The enjoyable parts prevent this from being a truly bad film, but only just. The original "House" probably never made anyone's list of top horror movies, but it's entertaining in its own, modest way. I can't say the same for "House II." Nor can I honestly say it's a sequel. It doesn't feature any of the characters from the original. It's also a completely different house. The house in "House" was built on a weak spot between our world and the world of the dead, while the house in "House II" was built at the crossroads of time and space. This is, I believe, an important distinction. There doesn't seem to be any reason for calling this "House II," except to justify the clever subtitle. But that's not the only problem. The filmmakers clearly didn't know what kind of film they wanted to make, and the result is a jumbled mess. It starts off promising, and is shaping up to be a good haunted-house horror film when it suddenly and inexplicably becomes a fantasy-adventure comedy, during which time the ghost that the movie once seemed to be centered around is never seen and hardly mentioned. Then, after the viewer has adjusted to the new premise, the ghost comes back, and none of the threads brought up during the middle part are properly resolved. It's all pushed aside for a dramatic dénouement, followed by a final scene that raises further questions rather than answering any of the many existing ones. I should also add that this movie contains several insults to the viewer's intelligence, which I wouldn't excuse even if it were an out-and-out comedy. In one scene, our hero falls hundreds of feet, but falls into a portal that lets him out right above the floor in his own house. The problem is that his momentum shouldn't change, so he should still be dead. In another scene, a zombie is strangled until he loses consciousness. Just think about that one for a moment. So why did I give this an average review? Because there are good points. It's original, for starters. It may be hugely disjointed with little internal logic, but at least it isn't just retreading old clichés. It features characters who you care about, because they're fairly believable and interesting. It boasts special effects that are well above par for 1987, and some visually intriguing scenes and designs. The humor, as misplaced as it may be at times, is often quite funny. And, above all, there is John Ratzenberger as "Bill Towner, electrician and adventurer." The part with him is just great, not just because of his performance, but the way his character is written, and the sequence's juxtaposition of the banal and the otherworldly. Sadly, he's only in that one scene. If the movie had begun and ended with him, it could have been an '80s fantasy comedy classic (but still wouldn't really be a sequel to "House"). Actually, there are at least three different movies in here, all of which could have been good if they hadn't been thrown together to form a single, unfocused movie. "House II" isn't a winner, nor is it a complete waste of time. Watch it if the things I've described have piqued your curiosity, but don't expect it to be too entertaining overall.

This is one of the worst movies ever made. The first "House" was great. one of the first comedy/horror films. You really have an adventure inside of that "House", which was a normal two story house. This house thought is gigantic, and full of portals to other worlds. The two heroes are very weak. The plot is lame and boring. There is a zombie cowboy who is supposed to be funny, and he's horrible. He's watching TV in one scene, and sees Ronald Reagan (at that time the President) in an old film, and starts going on and on about how Reagan is a "sissy". This is a guy who just entered the eighties after being somewhat dead since the 1800s and he has a liberal left wing bent. Or... maybe it was the writer of the film displaying his political agenda on his sleeve, as happens so much, and always against the right. It's how things are, and people like myself have to take it, take it, and take it some more. This film is horrible. Really bad. There is no plot, bad acting. It looks like it was made straight to video.

Fun but dumb, "House II: The Second Story" is an altogether different tale than that of the original "House," starring William Katt. In the second installment, a yuppie couple (Arye Gross and Lar Park Lincoln) inherit a mansion, only to discover an alternate universe inside. Hijinks ensue when the lucky owner reunites with his undead great-great-grandfather and, along with his goofy buddy, battles baby pterodactyls, angry outlaws and Bill Maher. Although a character in "Scream 2" cites the film as a superior sequel, "House II" does little to one-up its predecessor. Taking on a much lighter tone and with little to no violence, this sequel is more like a campy spoof of the first film, which in and of itself was a silly affair. No worries, though, as once you know what to expect, you can have a good time with the film. The performances across the board are light-hearted and fun, with plenty of lovable goofballs to go around (a sequel concerning these characters would be a good time). The score by Harry Manfredini is most memorable, as you'll be humming the film's main theme not long after the credits have rolled. Writer/director Ethan Wiley may not have created much of a horror film, but his blend of the supernatural and absurd with a hint of Western makes for a winning recipe that just can't be matched. Those expecting bloodshed and jump-scares will be left in the cold, but perhaps with a few drinks in hand and with the right expectations, you'll find "House II: The Second Story" a film deserving of the title "cult classic."

* MINOR SPOILERS FOLLOW * Others have panned this one as "forced" and "stupid." I could not disagree more! I absolutely loathed the original 'House' movie, and found the second one to be a wonderful mix of Quality Silly and pretty decent storytelling. Heck... Where else are you going to come across an electrician who keeps a sword in his tool kit, and is a cross-dimensional adventurer at heart, or someone wrestling with a baby pteranodon -- or 'pterodactyl' if you prefer -- for a crystal skull? Sure, the film has its weak points. The ending could have been expanded on, perhaps even re-done, and I'll never stop wanting better FX. 'House II,' though, makes for a good watch, and I don't give a flying banana what the other 'critics' say about it.

I like horror movies. I've seen a lot of them in my time, and House II has to be one of the worst attempts at the genre I have ever seen. The first film was weak enough, but to top it with this splattering of childish and irrelevent plot, characters and emotions, not to mention the rather stupid special effects, I found myself wondering why I had even bothered. I remember when it first came out how the kids in my class at school were so excited by it. I never saw it then, but I can see how the average 11 year old of the time would find it funny. But for me, a seasoned horror buff, there was nothing even vaguely amusing, gorey, or even mildly violent about the film as a merit. They call it Horror/comedy...is this just a way of excusing its lack of merit in the horror or comedy genres? The only saving grace in the film was that the stunts were performed by Kane Hodder, who played 'Jason' in several of the "Friday the 13th" films, but even that is just a point of interest rather than an extra star to the film. Boring, Bloodless, Unfunny. Don't even remotely consider it, even if you have a "get one free" voucher at your video store.

I was always a fan of the first House movie and recently found out about the sequel's existence. I checked it out and within the first 10 minutes I knew I was in for a hell of a ride. This movie is so crazy and unpredictable. I found myself loving the characters and laughing at small little things here and there. Those are the kind of movies I like. When you can find little hidden lines and actions that make you laugh. I think the movie is done really well. At first I thought it was going to be a B Grade mess, but much like the first film they did a great job with the puppets, make up, and stop-motion scenes. There's just an added charm that comes with special effects that don't use computers. In fact, if there's one thing this movie has an abundance of it's charm. The actors looked like they were having fun and were perfect for their roles. This definitely barely qualifies as a horror movie. It's more like a comedy or family flick. Or a comedic Indiana Jones in a haunted mansion setting. I would watch this with my little cousins who are around 7 years old, but I think anyone can enjoy this film. I'm 29 and I loved it lol. Definitely worth the watch!

1987's "House II: The Second Story" really isn't that good of a horror film really more of a screwball spoof comedy that's cheap made and it doesn't follow the originals plot and the storyline is much different with unheard of actors at the time. You have a story that revolves around a murder that took place in a house 25 years ago, then it picks up to the present day with Jesse(Arye Gross) all grown up so he returns to his house where his parents were murdered too. Soon after moving in the old mansion style home with his close friend party animal and craved sex guy Charlie(Jonathan Stark) they discover the history and treasures of the house, and that Jesse's grandfather was an old west legend with a storied past. Yet that past comes back to haunt them after grandpa returns to life as an old friend he had a falling out with returns to settle the score old western gunfire style! Really the movie is campy and has a lot of funny parts not a lot of fright, and many of the stars were not well known. Yet some memorable cameos include now political spin talker Bill Maher as a record promoter, and "Playboy" POTM miss June 1985 the sexy Spanish and Cajun beauty Devin Devasquez she has a small part. Really nothing great but always watchable especially late at night for some entertainment fun.

After reading a review on this film and seeing it for only £2, I thought "How could I go wrong???" I was (unfortunatly) mistaken.... Didn't anybody else (apart from myself) think this film was just PATHETIC ?? How any body can call this a "horror, comedy or fantasy" is beyond me. The ONLY excuse this film has is that it was low budget and was made in 1987. The are SO many 'goofs' in this film you wonder how they didn't notice them. Personal opinion.......AVOID AT ALL COST !!

I think this one of the not too many funny horror movies from the 80's. As a horror 'die' hard in the 80's I've seen a lot of crappy horror movies, a lot of good, scary movies but just a few horror movies with such a comedic background in th story. It is still great to look at the movie now, more than 20 years later. Although the scary effects of the 80's are less than today. The most fun is the old grandpa who seems to find all kind of ways to get into crazy situations all the time. And the crystal skull is great! I've tried to get one of those after I saw the movie the first time. And finally after 12 years found one that was payable for me :)